Images and Words

Untitled

Images and Words is the second album by progressive metal band Dream Theater. It is highly regarded by fans of all types as the band's magnum opus.

It is the first album on which Dream Theater's current singer, James LaBrie, appears, and is considered a seminal release in the progressive metal genre.

"Pull Me Under" received substantial airplay on radio stations and MTV, and to this day remains the band's biggest hit. The album itself is also the most commercially successful of all Dream Theater's albums, attaining gold record certification in the U.S. and platinum in Japan.

The album is also notable as being the only studio album by the group (until Octavarium, almost 15 years later, and its follow-up, Systematic Chaos) not to include at least one instrumental track. Coincidentally some of the additional recordings to this album were recorded in the same studio (BearTracks) where Octavarium was recorded, in The Hit Factory.

To celebrate the albums 15th anniversary the band stated that they will play the album in its entirety 15 times on the "Chaos In Motion" tour.

Track listing

1. "Pull Me Under" (music by Dream Theater, lyrics by Moore) – 8:15
2. "Another Day" (Dream Theater and Jay Beckenstein, Petrucci) – 4:24
3. "Take the Time" (Dream Theater) – 8:21
4. "Surrounded" (Dream Theater, Moore) – 5:30
5. "Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper" (Dream Theater, Petrucci) – 9:32
6. "Under a Glass Moon" (Dream Theater, Petrucci) – 7:04
7. "Wait for Sleep" (Moore) – 2:32
8. "Learning to Live" (Dream Theater, Myung) – 11:31

Demo version

According to the liner notes of the Images And Words demo CD released through Ytsejam Records (and the FAQ on www.mikeportnoy.com), some of these songs had different working titles, which are used for the band members to reference while recording and were never intended to remain as such on the final album. Those that were changed were originally titled as follows:

• "Pull Me Under" was called "Oliver's Twist"
• "Take the Time" was called "Grab That Feel"
• "Metropolis" was called "Crumbling Metropolis"
• "Under A Glass Moon" was called "The Battle Of Jimmy Cocoa And Fishface"
• "Learning to Live" was called "Creep With Tonality"

Personnel

• James LaBrie – vocals
• Kevin Moore – keyboards
• John Myung – bass
• John Petrucci – guitars
• Mike Portnoy – drums
• Jay Beckenstein – saxophone on "Another Day"

Chart performance

Billboard 200:

• Images and Words - #61

Top Heatseekers:

• Images and Words - #2

Billboard Singles:

• "Pull Me Under" - #10
• "Take the Time" - #22
• "Another Day" - #29

Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time:

• "Under a Glass Moon" - #98