"The Best of Times" Discussion Thread

[emindead]

Here we discuss everything related to TBOT.

[ariich]

I love it.

Really nice upbeat music. The only upbeat they've done in a while except I Walk Beside You, which was pretty average.

The lyrics are simple but they are heartfelt and genuine, and listening through the song while reading the lyrics brings the emotion out to me a lot more.

[emindead]

It's great. It's beautiful. GREAT GUITAR WORK!!!! I love the chorus!!!

True, the lyrics aren't as poetic as "A Change of Seasons". Too much tongue in cheek, but it does its purpose.

That solo is definitely going to be a fan favourite in no time. JP is a maestro.

[PlaysLikeMyung]

This is such an emotional song. The violin at the beginning was really nice, and it added to the tone of the song.

And JP's outro solo...  the man is a genius

[emindead]

Oh, am I the only one listening to that Journey riff just after the acoustic intro?

[antigoon]

Disappointing and unfortunate. The lyrics really drag this one down. Otherwise, great song.

[STEVETHEATER]

Beautiful tune... and a nice hommage to Mikes dad Howard Portnoy... love the intro and again DT wrote their best choruses on this album.

Steve

[Blind_FaithX]

Gives me such chills. Really good song and I disagree with the lyrics haters. They're simple but great.

Anyway, there's still two things that I don't like about that song:

1) The "Spirit of Radio" part. This isn't just a small ressemblance, it's way too similar. I wondered if that song had any link with his father. Maybe his father was a Rush fan or something and that's why he almost took a part from that song and put it there.

2) The ending solo is awesome... but again, I feel like hearing another song: The Ministry of Lost Souls. The solo is so similar, I felt like ITPOE2 was going to start at the end of the song. Couldn't get rid of that impression.

[nightmare_cinema]

The beginning admittedly does bore me somewhat after having heard it a good few times... but the way the guitar comes in at 2.46 absolutely gives me chills. I love how upbeat this song is despite what it's about, it makes a lovely change from the darkness of most of the rest of the album. It's just a feel good, bittersweet song.

[ariich]

The beginning admittedly does bore me somewhat after having heard it a good few times... but the way the guitar comes in at 2.46 absolutely gives me chills. I love how upbeat this song is despite what it's about, it makes a lovely change from the darkness of most of the rest of the album. It's just a feel good, bittersweet song.

Couldn't have put it better

And yeah, the solo at the end is just incredible, one of JP's best.

[AtmosphericV]

Beautiful song with an outstanding end. I for one love the lyrics, and the "thank you for/my life" is AWESOME. I dig it, and it is so powerful, it hit me big first time. And ofc the giant solo at the end. Majestic as fuck.

[faemir]

Beautiful song with an outstanding end. I for one love the lyrics, and the "thank you for/my life" is AWESOME. I dig it, and it is so powerful, it hit me big first time. And ofc the giant solo at the end. Majestic as fuck.

After studying the lyrics, I can certainly see why Portnoy was reluctant to hand it over to James. How he managed to sing it to his father is even more touching.

[zmazar]

This is such an emotional song. The violin at the beginning was really nice, and it added to the tone of the song.

And JP's outro solo...  the man is a genius

OMG when I hear that outro......... I get effing chills.  

This song took a couple of listens to really warm up to, but it's such a good song musically.  Lyrics are odd in some places, but JLB makes this song awesome.

[axeman90210]

beautiful song, sounds upbeat like I&W era DT, and Petrucci absolutely steals the show with his lead work for the last few minutes of the song

[AtmosphericV]

And ofc the giant solo at the end. Majestic as fuck.

[/quote]

hey

[HarlequinForest]

Great instrumental intro.  The first half sounds extremely Rush-y (I haven't listened to a lot of Rush, so I may be wrong in thinking this).  Probably the most cheesy song DT has produced.  My opinion, of course.  The lyrical content is extremely uplifting (or depressing, depending on how you look at it) considering what they are based on (Mike's father), but equally as cheesy as the music.  Petrucci's solo is the cheese of cheesiness, but fits the song.  My least favorite song on the album: 6/10

[SeRoX]

Not what I expected... Something is missing about the lyrics! I think; the best side of song LaBrie's voice.

[tri.ad]

The lyrics are very direct and simple and I can see where the critics are coming from. Still, they fulfil their purpose and are pretty touching. JLB's performance doesn't always do them justice, though. Sometimes, there's a lack of emotion in his vocals, but mostly, it's very well song.
Musically, it's a blast anyway. This may be one of the most emotional DT songs, regardless of what it's about; big, big JP moment again.

[emindead]

To be fair, the only part that made me lose the flow is when it says that MP received the call. The harmony could've been better.

[bmc]

i agree that the beginning sounds like rush, but what part is the "the spirit of radio" part? i must not be hearing it.

[tri.ad]

The vocal lines/phrasing of the first verses sound pretty similar to TSOR's.

[jag66]

Prob my favourite after 2 listens. The last vocal parts are epic (those were the best of times, i miss these days..) and the solos follows that marvellously.

Seems to have the biggest split of opinion this one (particularly on 5/8).

[bmc]

ah yeah, i thought you meant just a specific part

[The Letter M]

This is probably as close to IAW-era DT as we'll ever get again (unless they surprise us with the next album), and it delievers quite well! Touching lyrics, sweeping and moving music (love the running guitar part after the quiet intro, very "The Spirit Of Radio"-intro as many have said before), and just a great over-all feeling.

The dynamics, emotion and musicality all correlate and shape the song in a way that hasn't been done by them in some time! The outro guitar solo is also very godly!

It's a shame that it may never be played live, and if so, maybe once or twice (like "Disappear"... hopefully it gets "Disappear"-status and not "Space-Dye Vest"-status).

-Marc.

[emindead]

Listening for the first time "The Spirit of Radio". Wow, it does sound really similar.

My opinion still stays the same.

[nightmare_cinema]

To be fair, the only part that made me lose the flow is when it says that MP received the call. The harmony could've been better.

Same here, starts to feel less of a song and more of a story. Which I suppose it is as well, but I coulda done without that part. It's a bit too much

[Phoenix]

A very heartfelt and emotional song, took a while to grow on me but now I love it

[perfectchaos180]

Ok guys this is one song even I can't flame

Its so brilliant in every aspect, a classic DT song. Ending solo does sound Ministry of Lost Soulish, but I loved that song more than most so it was fine by me

[brakkum]

emotional, and really great. the lyrics don't speak to me that well, but that's because these were for Howard Portnoy. RIP.

[FlashCE]

In a few months' time, this will most probably be one of my favourite DT songs.

[ReaPsTA]

JP's outro solo is incredible. I have no idea how he does it.

[wasp2020]

I haven't warmed up to it too much. The upbeat, lighter music is great, reminds me of Surrounded, and adds a lot of balance to the album as a whole, but I'm still not too hot on the lyrics.

The outro solo completely blows me away, though. Right when I listened to it I said "OH MAN I HAVE TO LEARN THAT"

[hefdaddy42]

Very nice song.  The intro with piano, violin, and acoustic guitar is amazing and haunting.  Then comes the uptempo section.  LaBrie is amazing on this song. 

After the transition to the melancholy section of the song, when LaBrie sings "These were the best of times..." I got a quick flash of Freddie Mercury from "Those were the days of our lives".

Is it just me, or is JP channelling Neal Schon a little in his outro solo?  That thing is melodic heaven.

[SnakeEyes]

Overall, a decent song.  It's REALLY nice to hear them doing something Images & Words-esque.  Kinda reminds me of "Don't Look Past Me."  The lyrics are tough for me to criticize.  Knowing that they're about Portnoy's dad passing away makes me tolerate them a little more.  I do have to be honest and say that they DO get tiresome after a while and don't flow well at all. 

Petrucci's solo is well executed, but.... in a song about MP's dad passing away, the shredding is really tacky.  Just my opinion on that. 

[hefdaddy42]

It's not about his passing away so much as it is in remembrance of the time they had together.  Although bittersweet, it is still triumphant.  It's not called "The Day I Lost My Dad Forever," it's called "The Best of Times."  I think the solo is perfectly matched to such a concept.