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| When Dream and Day Unite | |
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| Album info | |
| Release | June 11, 1989 |
| Recorded | July 18 – August 12, 1988 at Kajem/Victory Studios in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania |
| Genre | Progressive metal, progressive rock |
| Length | 51:25[1] |
| Label | Mechanic/MCA |
| Producer | Terry Date, Dream Theater, Steve Sinclair |
When Dream and Day Unite is the debut studio album by American progressive metal/progressive rock band Dream Theater, released in 1989 through Mechanic/MCA Records. The album is composed mainly of material that originally surfaced during the band's early years as Majesty, and is the only Dream Theater album to feature Charlie Dominici on vocals, as James LaBrie replaced Dominici as the lead vocalist on subsequent albums. It is also one of only three Dream Theater albums not to display their iconic font on the cover, as well as being the only one not to feature a track lasting longer than ten minutes. As with many of their albums, there is no title track, but the lyrics "when dream and day unite" appear on "Only a Matter of Time".
History
The band originally formed in 1985 by founding members John Myung (bass), Mike Portnoy (drums), and John Petrucci (guitar) under the name Majesty, which was inspired by Portnoy's commentary on the ending of "Bastille Day" by Rush. After the band found a keyboardist in schoolmate Kevin Moore, the band hosted auditions and settled on Chris Collins as the lead vocalist. While touring around New York, Collins left the band, and the band went through many lead singers before settling with experienced vocalist Charlie Dominici.
The band, still titled Majesty, recorded The Majesty Demos between 1985 and 1986, but shortly after was forced to change their name after another band threatened legal action if they did not change their name. Unable to come up with a replacement name for their band, Portnoy's father suggested the name Dream Theater, which was the title of a nearby movie theater. They adopted the name, and eventually signed their first recording contract to Mechanic/MCA. The album was then recorded during the summer of 1988 at Kajem/Victory Studios in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania.
With the relatively warm reception of their original demos, the band expected their debut album to be received with much fanfare and buzz, but the album went largely unnoticed by the music scene, and eventually led to Mechanic/MCA cutting their contract ties with the band, resulting in a small, club tour for the album only in the New York area. Due to tensions within the band and creative differences, Dominici was fired from the band and they were without a lead singer for the next few years.[2]
15th anniversary performance
On the 15th anniversary of the album, the band performed it in its entirety in Los Angeles. Furthermore, during two additional songs in the encore, special guests Dominici and Derek Sherinian (both now former Dream Theater members) performed along with the rest of the band; however, original keyboardist Kevin Moore did not appear. The entire performance was recorded live and later released on CD and DVD under the title When Dream and Day Reunite through Portnoy's independent label YtseJam Records. The album also featured a live version of "Metropolis—Part I", which was originally from the band's 1992 album Images and Words, and a performance of a B-side called "To Live Forever".
Critical reception
When Dream and Day Unite did not receive much attention upon release, but due to the commercial success of Images and Words, the album would later receive critical reviews and criticism from many resources. Robert Taylor of AllMusic attacked the band's ability to actually write songs, despite agreeing that some of their melodies are quite enjoyable.[3]
The album also produced two singles, "Status Seeker" and "Afterlife", whose remixes and single edits for radio were done by Terry Brown of Rush production fame and who continued working with the band producing the band's second recorded and permanent singer, Canadian James LaBrie's, when he recorded vocal tracks for several albums in Canada and not with the band, as well as several of LaBrie's solo releases.
Track listing
All music composed by Dream Theater, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Fortune in Lies" | John Petrucci | 5:12 | |
| 2. | "Status Seeker" | Charlie Dominici, Petrucci | 4:17 | |
| 3. | "The Ytse Jam" (music: Petrucci, John Myung, Kevin Moore, Mike Portnoy) | (instrumental) | 5:46 | |
| 4. | "The Killing Hand"
| Petrucci | 8:41 | |
| 5. | "Light Fuse and Get Away" | Moore | 7:23 | |
| 6. | "Afterlife" | Dominici | 5:26 | |
| 7. | "The Ones Who Help to Set the Sun" | Petrucci | 8:05 | |
| 8. | "Only a Matter of Time" | Moore | 6:35 | |
Total length: |
51:25 | |||
Personnel
- Charlie Dominici – lead vocals, production
- John Petrucci – guitar, production
- Kevin Moore – keyboard, production
- John Myung – bass, production
- Mike Portnoy – drums, production
- Joe Alexander – engineering, mixing
- Terry Date – engineering, mixing, production
- Brian Stover – engineering assistance
- Trish Finnegan – engineering assistance
- Steve Sinclair – executive production
References
- ↑ When Dream and Day Unite (CD release "MCD42259/MCAD42259").
- ↑ "Dream Theater - When Dream and Day Unite". mikeportnoy.com. Retrieved 2013-11-27.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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