20th Anniversary - Globe Unity Orchestra

Advantages: Technically advanced, melodic, powerful, well produced
Disadvantages: No CD Inlay (Small pickup)

...This late 2006 release follows in the footsteps of Metallica (S&M). The Digipak contains 3 discs. Disc 1 is just the band, Disc 2&3 includes the Octavarium Orchestra. I would recommend this album based on the following- - It is technically advanced - Great melodies and harmonies - A slightly different apporach to Progressive Metal - using complex rhythms and melodies, with an Orchestra. The pack does not come with a CD inlay/cover which I found a bit disappointing - like to look through when listening. This is only a minor pickup however - the music is brilliant. John Petrucci peforms well throughout the album - varying his guitar solos slightly (improvisation). Innocence Faded (Disc 1 Track 6) brings back the old school Dream Theater sound that never gets boring. The epic track Octavarium on Disc 3 - 27 minutes long. This is quite... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Fantastic score and an excellent remastered recording
Disadvantages: Control over the orchestra is sometimes poor

...For those of us who were raised on the crackly old vinyl recording of the ET soundtrack, this new release, to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the film, will be an essential purchase. For those who weren't, it will be the best introduction to this fantastic score. Digitally remastered, and with some tracks re-recorded and others appearing for the first time, the true beauty and excitement inherent to John Williams' score become very clear. None of the orchestral thrills of the original recording are lost. Unlike many of his later scores, there are few echoes of other past great composers (it's amazing to note how many themes from Mahler symphonies find there way into film scores these days!), the score is one of the most original I've heard. The earlier tracks contain mostly eerie chords and some ghostly echoes of the main... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average not helpful

Advantages: Light, clear, could be played over and again
Disadvantages: Perhaps lacks a bit of magic or sparkle

...If I was to think of performers I would choose to play my favourite pieces of music, then I would not readily think of the Oregon Bach Festival Chamber Orchestra. But a friend of mine who played in the orchestra tipped me off that this was a good one. So I got hold of the CD, opened a bottle of red and sat back with an open mind. Surprise surprise, it's good. Enthusiastic playing for sure, with plenty of joie de vivre. The typical American attention to detail slightly grates with my British sense of spontaneity, but the flawless phrasing, breathing (and no doubt bowing too) and dynamics work in the overall performances because of the lack of indulgence in the tempi. Bach can all too easily sound like a mathematical exercise written out in notes, but there is a lightness and deftness of touch here in the conducting that lifts this out... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful