Since 1985, the five-man outfit named Dream Theater has offered progressive rock fans thoughtful and emotional music that makes them marvel and ask, how do they do that? DT's brand of prog vividly shows eclectic, hard-to-place influences, which include jazz, neo-classical, and ethnic music forms. The band mostly plays as a very focused unit. Their latest offering is Metropolis, Part 2: Scenes from a Memory, an intelligent, well-executed album with an interesting fantasy theme. A two-act murder mystery, Scenes is a continuation of Images and Words' "Metropolis, Part 1", a song about twin brothers, Miracle and Sleeper. This concept album seems to be in the vein of The Who's Tommy in its epic rock-opera aspect.

Jordan Rudess will bowl over fans of the Kevin Moore era with licks and chops that show he's got virtuosity to spare. John Petrucci's guitar work is up to its crunchy, wail-y standard. Mike Portnoy's playing contains the usual odd rhythms and double bass drum pounding although it seems a bit tighter and more restrained to my ear. The interesting quality to James LaBrie's voice in Scenes is that the vibratos or high note hitting that marked him in previous works are gone. Though Scenes isn't driven by any one instrument, John Myung's bass work is markedly downplayed.

Scenes from a Memory is an epic not just in duration but concept as well. The music is lyrically and sonically poetic, direct and intelligent. Overall, longtime Dream Theater fans will forgo their frustration at the story's lack of resolution and love this CD. I urge them to add this to their collection.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: The Early Years Volume 1 at garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-The-Early-Years.