Awake (Dream Theater album)
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Awake
Studio album by Dream Theater
Released	October 4, 1994
Recorded	May – July 1994 One On One studios Devonshire studios
Genre	Progressive metal
Length	75:00
Label	EastWest
Producer	John Purdell and Duane Baron
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Sea of Tranquility link Metal Archives 97% link The Metal Observer (9/10) link Sputnikmusic link
Dream Theater chronology
Live at the Marquee (1993) Awake (1994) A Change of Seasons (1995)

Awake is the third studio album by American progressive metal band Dream Theater, released in 1994. The record holds the distinction of being the last Dream Theater album to feature keyboardist Kevin Moore, and is the band's second-highest selling effort to date behind 1992's Images and Words^{citation needed}.

History

After the relative commercial success of Images and Words, the band went back to the studio in 1994 with the first timetable and most pressure they had experienced going into recording. To shake things up a bit, the band recorded the album in Devonshire, England. The band wanted to expand their horizons and influence with their third release, which in result created the darker, heavier, and more abrasive sound found on Awake. This was also the first album for the band in which the band collaborated as a working unit with each other, thus the more varied sound of the album.

Shortly before the album's mixing, keyboardist Kevin Moore decided to quit the band to follow his own musical endeavors. Fans were outraged, and the band was left shocked at his decision to leave the band. The band went on a hunt for a new keyboardist to replace Moore for the upcoming tour, and discovered Derek Sherinian, who offered to play keyboards for the band's upcoming tour.

Unfortunately, more occurrences affected the upcoming tour, such as when LaBrie suffered a terrible case of food poisoning and ruptured his vocal cords while vomiting. Doctors advised LaBrie to rest his voice for a few months so he could regain his vocal abilities, but against their wishes he took part on the tour. Much criticism surfaced surrounding his voice as fans and critics alike noticed a much dramatic change in the tone and range of his voice. He would never fully recover his voice until later tours.

Reception

Awake has garnered overwhelmingly positive critical and fan acclaim. As of July 2, 2008, heavy metal database The Metal Archives ranks Awake as Dream Theater's best album with a 96% rating based on 17 fan reviews [1]. Murat Batmaz of the popular progressive rock/metal review website Sea of Tranquility called Awake "one of [the band's] most amazing, profound and timeless masterpieces ever" and "perfect" [2].

The record is currently ranked #21 on Digital Dream Door's list of the top 100 progressive metal albums of all time [3].

Album Structure

Tracks 4-6 form a three-part suite titled A Mind Beside Itself. They are labeled as such inside the CD booklet; however, the back of the album cover lists them individually, with no mention of the phrase "A Mind Beside Itself." Each song is a separate index on the CD, and Dream Theater often treats them as individual songs at live concerts. They have, however, performed the suite 117 times live as of Osaka, Japan in 2004. They were released on the live album Live Scenes from New York and are listed under the title "A Mind Beside Itself parts I, II and III" there.

Similarly, "The Mirror" and "Lie" can be said to be parts of a single song broken in half. They flow coherently into each other and have a very similar mood with the interlude in "The Mirror" repeating in an altered state as a solo section in "Lie". Despite each part being written by a different member, they share similar themes of betrayal, trust and loss of control. Additionally, the main piano melody of "Space Dye Vest" is featured in "The Mirror."

The samples in "6:00" are taken from the John Huston film The Dead.

The samples in "Space Dye Vest" are from the 1986 film, A Room with a View, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, and from a news report following the O.J. Simpson freeway chase.

The track "Scarred" is not featured on the cassette version of the album.

Track listing

Bonus track (Japanese release)

The Japanese edition of the album featured a bonus track of a B-side to the "The Silent Man" single.

Chart performance

Albums^[1][2]

Singles^[3]

Credits

Band

• James LaBrie — Vocals
• Kevin Moore — Keyboards
• John Myung — Bass
• John Petrucci — Guitar
• Mike Portnoy — Drums & Percussion

Cover art references

Although not confirmed by the band to be an intentional effort, some elements on the cover art represent some of the tracks. Examples:

• Hour and minute on the moon, representing the song "6:00"
• The spider web beside the mirror, representing the song "Caught in a Web"
• The big mirror on the ground, representing the song "The Mirror"
• The false reflection seen on the mirror, representing the song "Lie"
• The mirror's reflection in colour, representing "Lifting Shadows Off A Dream", and also the video of "The Silent Man"
• The old man, as shown on the music video, representing the song "The Silent Man"
• The night sky with the planet, representing the song "Space Dye Vest"

Demo version

According to the liner notes of the Awake demo CD released through Ytsejam Records, 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:

• "6:00" was called "Beachhouse Reality"
• "Caught in a Web" was called "Squid"
• "Innocence Faded" was called "Fresca"
• "The Mirror" was called "Puppies on Acid" (the early version of this song, consisting of the introduction up to where the vocals come in, appears on Live in Tokyo and Once in a LIVEtime)
• "Lie" was called "Kittens on Crack"
• "Lifting Shadows Off a Dream" was called "Blowfish"
• "Scarred" was called "The Keymaster"

References