Dream Theater's first official release gave an indication that this was a talented band that combined the styles of Yes, Rush, and Queensrÿche.
The latter seemed to be too big of an influence at this stage of their career.
Vocalist Charlie Dominici's voice is not powerful enough to carry out the band's otherwise convincing intensity, and his attempt to sound like Queensrÿche's Geoff Tate was unsuccessful.
The music here is not as heavy as it would become in the '90s but could still be classified as progressive metal.
Guitarist John Petrucci and drummer Mike Portnoy established themselves as competent musicians, but their individual styles were not yet refined.
The band's originality does shine through on "Light Fuse and Get Away," "The Ones Who Help to Set the Sun," and "Only a Matter of Time." The odd-meter measures and numerous time changes gave the group a complexity that hadn't been experienced for an entire decade in the rock genre.
"YTSE Jam" was essentially their answer to Rush's "YYZ" and became a staple in the band's live set.
The session was marred mostly by subpar singing, too many metal clichés, and poor production.
There is, however, enough interesting playing to make it a worthwhile listen for fans of this genre, and is certainly essential for Dream Theater fans.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Fortune in LiesDream Theater | Dream Theater | Play | 05:12 | 11 MB | 35 MB |
| 2 | Status SeekerDream Theater | Dream Theater | Play | 04:17 | 9 MB | 28 MB |
| 3 | The Ytsé Jam | Dream Theater | Play | 05:46 | 13 MB | 38 MB |
| 4 | The Killing HandDream Theater | Dream Theater | Play | 08:41 | 19 MB | 54 MB |
| 5 | Light Fuse and Get AwayDream Theater | Dream Theater | Play | 07:23 | 16 MB | 49 MB |
| 6 | The Ones Who Help to Set the SunDream Theater | Dream Theater | Play | 08:05 | 18 MB | 50 MB |
| 7 | Only a Matter of TimeDream Theater | Dream Theater | Play | 06:35 | 15 MB | 44 MB |
| 8 | AfterlifeDream Theater | Dream Theater | Play | 05:27 | 12 MB | 36 MB |
| 51 mins | 117 MB | |||||
| 51 mins | 338 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joe Alexander | Audio Engineer, Engineer, Mixing |
| 2 | Chris Carroll | Insert Photography |
| 3 | Terry Date | Audio Engineer, Audio Production, Engineer, Mixing, Producer |
| 4 | Charlie Dominici | Liner Notes, Member of Attributed Artist, Vocals |
| 5 | Dream Theater | Audio Production, Composer, Primary Artist, Producer |
| 6 | Dennis Friel | Package Design, Redesign |
| 7 | Amy Guip | Concept, Cover Art Concept, Cover Design, Cover Photo, Photography |
| 8 | Joannis | Cover Art Direction |
| 9 | Kevin Moore | Keyboards, Member of Attributed Artist |
| 10 | John Myung | Bass, Guitar (Bass), Member of Attributed Artist |
| 11 | John Petrucci | Guitar, Member of Attributed Artist |
| 12 | Mike Portnoy | Drums, Member of Attributed Artist, Percussion |
| 13 | Steve Sinclair | Executive Producer |
| 14 | Jimmy Starr | Remastering |
| 15 | Brian Stover | Assistant Engineer |
| 16 | Howie Weinberg | Mastering |
| 17 | Eddie Wilner | Reissue Producer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |