9: Lifting Shadows off a Dream
Don't wonder anymore, fellow listeners because it's time for another ballad (Images & Words had a few, so why not?). This ballad is a perfect example of a Dream Theater ballad gone...Right!
The song is simply amazing and is the perfect wedding song. The lyrics were written by Myung and appear to depict two people who have overwhelming love for each other. Just about everything in this track works right: the lovely strings playing the melody, the gripping introduction with Myung making use of a very wide range, Portnoy takes us there with nice cymbal hits and a bass drum at the start of every bar, and not to forget Petrucci's wonderful job of playing a soft counter melody to Myung's.
When LaBrie enters, the feeling of the song is the same but boy, do things advance! Even if it is only subtle, the change is fantastic. Petrucci elevates his role by playing complex arpeggios with ascending chords that are hard to follow. Meanwhile, beautiful low staccatos are being implemented by what appears to be a string quartet. And it is the strings that make use of passing notes that flow superbly onto the chorus, and you can't help but feel warmth as the chorus begins.
In the chorus, Portnoy starts playing more on the bass drum and quick bursts on the toms, but other than that the music is the same apart from the melody of course. And because the melody is so beautiful, it doesn't matter that the music underneath hasn't changed – well it has a bit with Petrucci adding a layer by frequent acoustic strums. The next section is much like the intro but we're soon taken into verse two which is completely different: Myung is playing drones, Petrucci's rhythms and chords have changed, and LaBrie is singing with more passion. The bridge builds upon what has been already been but Portnoy strengthens things up with frequent bass drum beats which is in tandem with Petrucci's now changed rhythm and ascending arpeggio pattern. Here, LaBrie sings the touching lyrics: “Moved by desire and fear, he takes a few steps away,” and holds the “away” note which segues perfectly into the return of the chorus. This time, LaBrie sings the chorus with more feeling (louder and fuller) and it ends with the bridge which appears to be mystifying with its first brief introduction of the lyrics: “And she listens openly...”
After this comes a strange change in tonal colour as we head into the solo section. The notes used here by Petrucci are the darkest yet but also bring along an aspect of mysteriousness to them. And here is where the 4/4 time signature used throughout is changed into odd time signatures. Myung follows Petrucci's melody which takes us all over the place. Towards the end of the section, things slow down and become less dark. LaBrie sings in the pre-chorus which uses the chords carried on from the end of the solo section.
This is where the track really becomes amazing. The lyrics: “And she listens openly...” returns but undergo a huge change from LaBrie and are repeated twice; with the second time being completely exuberating and once again a segue is used. “Openly” segues into the final chorus which is accompanied by a beautiful ascending scale by Petrucci and the strings. The final chorus is sung brighter than ever and the listener is undoubtedly left with a feeling of warmth. Beautiful vocal harmonies are also used when LaBrie repeats “Lifting shadows off a dream” towards the end.
The track concludes with more beautiful string work and a return of the very first theme introduced. This might suggest that love ends the way it begins. The ballad obviously has its moments but repeated listens will dampen its enjoyment (more so than Innocence Faded, for example) mainly because of the quite simple structure
Rating: 7.1/10
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