Dream Theater, "Once In A Livetime"

nonsqtr · #1 02-16-2005, 03:29 PM

What's up with this disc? Is this the most amazing piece of live engineering ever, or what?

Mark Latimour · #2 02-16-2005, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nonsqtr

What's up with this disc? Is this the most amazing piece of live engineering ever, or what?

nonsqtr · #3 02-16-2005, 05:05 PM

Check it out dude. Imagine yourself as the engineer doing the mix. Think about it carefully. There's all kinds of midrange adjustments, and subtle changes in sound that highlight one instrument or another. Do you think you could do that "in real time"?

reasonbass · #4 02-16-2005, 05:09 PM

I have it on VHS, and the sound was ok i guess. I'll have to check it out on DVD. Or are you talking about the Live CD? The Live at Budokan sounds pretty damn good too.

nonsqtr · #5 02-16-2005, 05:17 PM

Yes, "Live at Budokan" is an amazing piece of work too. Perhaps just as good But listen to track 8 on the second disc of "Once in a Livetime", it's the favorite "Pull Me Under". Listen to the subtle midrange changes that occur during that song. That's masterful engineering, IMO.

Mark Latimour · #6 02-16-2005, 05:55 PM

Wasn't it mixed by Kevin Shirley "after the fact". It certainly looks that way on the making of documentaries on their website. Also, it wasn't all taken from one night IIRC.

nonsqtr · #7 02-17-2005, 06:20 AM

Good point. The onus is on me. I'll have to do a little more research.

Ian Perge · #8 02-18-2005, 02:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nonsqtr

Good point. The onus is on me. I'll have to do a little more research.

I think I can lend some help to this - Once In A LIVEtime was indeed recorded from one show: June 25th, 1998 at Le Bataclan in Paris, France. Kevin Shirley was also on hand to supervise the taping, but did not mix it in real time. The confusion might stem from the fact that the band also taped the "unplugged" Fan Club show three days earlier in Rotterdam, Holland w/ Shirley as well. Early ideas were to combine songs from both shows for release. However, they ended up using only the majority of the Paris show for the CD release and a combination of both (plus various footage from the past 5 years) for the video release "5 Years In A LIVEtime", now reissued on DVD together with their first home video from 1993, "Live In Tokyo".

As for the actual mix, it has its pros and cons. Being close to the end of a year-long tour with few breaks, James LaBrie certainly isn't shown at his best (he's infinitely better on the "Live at Budokan" release, which is also at the end of a tour and not his peak - this shows just how much he's improved in general as a live singer) I've also not a Kevin Shirley fan, but OiaL is certainly light-years ahead of LAB in terms of not being quite so drum-and-guitar orientated. The greatest positive, however? Derek Sherinian's keys. His "Monster Lead", aggressive Korg Trinity-based sounds, and killer real B-3 make Jordan Rudess' patches the equivalent of baby food to Derek's Prime Rib.

nonsqtr · #9 02-18-2005, 06:01 AM

Excellent! Thank you for that, that's great info.

Mud Flaps · #10 02-19-2005, 09:48 PM

I think Derek's rock-metalish synth on Once in a Livetime has to be the coolest use of a synth in rock I have ever heard.

reasonbass · #11 02-20-2005, 02:28 AM

Derek's was an amazing player, I love his parts in "A Change of Seasons".
Kevin Moore is still my favorite.