![[hand]](/hs-pics/portraits/hands/gillan7.jpg)
![[face]](/hs-pics/portraits/faces/glover2.jpg)
Dream Theater – Made in Japan
What could be better than one of my favourite bands paying hommage to another one of my favourite bands? Dream Theater are known to occasionally perform classic albums by other bands live on stage in their entirety: Master of Puppets, Dark Side of the Moon and Number of the Beast among them. They also make a point of recording these unique performances and issue them as official bootlegs via their own label Ytsejam Records.
On January 13, 2006 in Tokyo and on the 15th in Osaka Dream Theater covered Purple’s Made in Japan. The official release was pending for a long time, but according to the message from Mike Portnoy it will see the light of day shortly and will be sold at the merchandise booths at the upcoming Dream Theater shows. Roger Glover himself blessed the album by mixing it.
Here’s a sneak peek at Dream Theater playing Purple. This is from a bootleg video “In the Land of Meungs” recorded on the same tour in Seoul, Korea. Dream Theater played a regular set that night, but they did a take on the Highway Star for the encore:
Thanks to Christophe Largeau for the release news and to Martin for spotting the clip.
UPDATE, Sep 10: the CD is now available for purchase online.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
GREAT! I will for sure buy the MIJ album by this great band. The guitar part is the best since Ritchie played it with DP tooooooo long time ago.
July 27th, 2007 at 20:57Listen to the crowd!
Kudos to the guitarist who did his own take on the solo, leaving enough to be recognizable but injecting his own improv into it. Before anyone calls it “amateurish,” “out of time,” etc., remember there is no point to doing a re-make by mimicking the exact notes on the live album.
I believe it was Ian Paice who said that a lot of the live tributes sound better they *they* do.
I really miss the “old” sound… This version of the song was hurt by a lack of a Hammond, but they are quite expensive and very heavy to move around and the keyboardist did a good job with what he had.
Unfortunately, Steve Morse can’t play this way for being accused of “copying” Blackmore. They weren’t looking for a Blackmore clone. But it sure sounded good.
Yeah, I’d say the album will be worth getting. Heck, I bought the Out of Phase version of “Machine Head.” It was…different.
July 28th, 2007 at 04:52I already have an good audience CD of a MIJ Show from Dream Theater and it is really fantastic. They all get the sound of the seventies togehter. Also the audience sounded like in 1972. But it is no clone – it is perfectly improvised.
Of yourse I will buy it and hope it will be available in Germany!
It will be my first dream theater CD. Maybe more will follow.
July 28th, 2007 at 08:22I think this is the best version I have heard so far in many years. I think even better than the new Deep Purple line up.Just joking, so Mark8 Deep Purple fans do not get pissed off.
July 28th, 2007 at 11:43Karl-Heinz:
that’s how i discovered dream theater — bought their ‘a change of seasons’ album solely for perfect strangers cover. didn’t like the cover though, it’s really not the same without the growling beast of a hammond. loved the title track.
July 28th, 2007 at 16:58just downloaded a bootleg version of this!! i’m not a dream theater fan at all but it sounds great
July 28th, 2007 at 21:15Nice try. Nice, really nice. But why do you need it when there exists the original? The singer tries it really but he is far far away from Gillan in the seventies. Sounds more like Bruce Dickinson.
July 29th, 2007 at 05:14Brilliant musos,but get rid of of that awful vocalist (LaBrie)! Though I´m not a DT fan I will buy that album for sure! I think a big thanks to DT is also in order for keeping the music of the best live album of all time alive!!
July 29th, 2007 at 05:49this prooves once again that Dream Theater is more or less a cover band and are copy cats all the way.
July 29th, 2007 at 08:19Dream Theater are quite possibly the finest rock band to emerge in the past 25 years, and as music fans themselves occasionally enjoy paying homage to their own heroes. Their astounding talent and musicianship allows them the ability to tackle almost anything and do it successfully.
I’ve heard a bootleg of this show and DT really have done a terrific job. In my opinion, the only part they haven’t succeeded in mastering are the Gillan wails in Child In Time; James LaBrie puts his own interpretation on it, and although he is a very fine singer, one could not really expect him to match Gillan’s extraordinary performance.
This release is an essential buy for the die-hard Purple fan, but for anyone unfamiliar with DT, it will unfortunately not allow them the opportunity to hear the quality of their own amazing music, which is a pity!
July 29th, 2007 at 10:12The Keyb player need a real organ to sound like Dp.
July 30th, 2007 at 00:44Images & words and awake are the bests works from dream theater, is a excelent band of progressive metal, the sound of this band is original, maybe influncied for the trash of metallica but riched whit progressive and heavy sounds from the seventies, indeed dream theater is the deep purple of the seventies even eightys, not black sabbath not led zeppelin, something from yes and pink floyd. And DT is not copy cats, deep purple in the begginings was a cover band.
July 30th, 2007 at 01:04i have not heard it yet ,but the inlay cover itself is great! when i first saw it i laughed outloud! genius ! even the angle of the photograph is like the original!
July 30th, 2007 at 05:152 patiscat:
Before making such a silly (not to say stupid) comment please, go and listen to at least one Dream Theater album, thank you. There was not a single cover-song on any of their ten albums. As opposed to DP and (to much larger extent) Rainbow. Covers were made only on their live shows. And if we judge by such criteria – what is DP with their rather average-quality cover of Stones and recent medleys made live?
July 30th, 2007 at 06:20And please, remember, that these coveres were done after full two-hour sets of their own material. Anyone able to play MIJ in full after two hours of intense playing at leats deserves some respect.
DP is my favorite band, but I would prefer Petrucci’s playing over Morse’s mindles and repetitive noodling any time.
Im all for bands doing covers. Sounds great!!
At the end of the day it is a great tribute for DP and ‘made In Japan’.
Lets face it JLT belongs to a DP/Rainbow tribute band, but unfortunately it sounds nothing like Dream Theater.
July 30th, 2007 at 11:46To me it´s pretty boring.
July 30th, 2007 at 14:56The only thing worth watching is the audience.
The fans are insane.
The reason why i don´t like it is mainly that the singers power in the voice doesn´t even come near to what i should be like.
in my opinion his voice is to clean. it doesn´t matter what he sings i won´t buy it. same with glenn hughes (solo or fused with iommi) or doogie white..
It’s cool that they are exposing their audience to Deep Purple.
July 31st, 2007 at 01:17It also makes me really appreciate Deep Purple that much more.
Listening a DP cover can never be boring. The DT musicians are absolutely great. Vocalist still has some homework to do, but, I guess, while anyone can trash around with a guitar, k/boards,drums and whatever, and manage to impress, the vocals are quite something different. Goes to show how ABSOLUTELY GREAT Ian Gillan is!!!! Cover and tribute bands (once decent) only do good to the original band and their material, as these help in exposing the audiences (who may never have a chance to see the real thing) to some great music, stimualte interest and help sell records! (take the Aussie Pink Floyd, for example!)
July 31st, 2007 at 12:31Dream Theater opened for ELP & DP in 1998. The audience was bored by them.
August 1st, 2007 at 19:38I’ll pass on this.
The audience is bored with Dream Theater??? maybe don´t known the music and songs of DT, the audience and the music DP & ELP is twenty-thirty years older than DT is much the diference, and the sound of DT is modern not antique.
August 2nd, 2007 at 04:43DT has always been a mega clone band.
Really boring.
His music is a pastiche of influences. they don´t have any imagination.
The innovation doesn´t exist.
I don´t understand why this band have to much fans in the world.
August 2nd, 2007 at 04:57Are you crazy Joan? DT is a very good band, maybe with some influencies like many bands, but is a great band whit a music & SOUND original and yes DT is innovation and imagination(in the firsts albums), maybe your music styles are others, more classics and antiques. my favourite band is deep purple, very near iron maiden, today exists many very good bands doom, gothic, black… say no to the stagnation.
August 3rd, 2007 at 05:26DT Blows Goats. And swallows.
August 4th, 2007 at 18:06I saw most of a Dream Theater concert on VH-1’s “Classic In Concert” the other night. I saw some very good musicians playing some ballads interspersed with some power. The guitarists was particularly good.
This was my only experience with them, but from what I saw, they are a very “artsy” band similar to Spock’s Beard in some ways and very, very different from Purple–so we’re talking apples and oranges here.
I plan on getting the “Made in Japan” tribute as part of “The Collection” but at this point they didn’t pique my interest enough to start a Dream Theater collection.
August 5th, 2007 at 03:59Yes we´re talking about apples and oranges, for the fans deep purple DT can be boring, and for the fans Dream Theater DP can be to much boring. I believe the two bands respects one the other, more DT than DP. for DT DP is a biggest influence, for they said.
August 6th, 2007 at 05:06What is the point in having vocals and keyboards the same or as similar as possible to the original. I have loved DP for 30 years but current output makes DT far more relevant now. Just enjoy a homage from todays most exciting band or just play the original and keep your blinkers on!!!
August 10th, 2007 at 14:06Good version of the best DP song ever. Dream Theater is a great band with great musicians, which are tributing their reason to play music.
August 10th, 2007 at 15:59As Purple fans we should be thanked that newer bands take DP as a reference because they’d do great music.
Regarding this record, you can buy it or not, but i’m sure it will be good cause it’s a great band covering the greatest of all time.
nothing to add, tincholes – that´s it.
August 14th, 2007 at 14:53I’m amazed by the hostile reaction the mere mention of the name Dream Theater arouses in some people. I’ve been a fan of Deep Purple for close to 30 years now and I’ve been a fan of DT for almost 18 years now. That doesn’t necessarily make me an expert by the way. Clearly DT enjoy playing their own music (9 studio albums and numerous live recordings) and playing music of a variety of bands that have influenced DT (4 cover albums now, contributions to a Rush cover album some years back, etc.). Some will think DT don’t stick close enough to the original and see this as proof of musical inability or disrespect (a much misused word nowadays). Others will think exactly the opposite and accuse DT of being a bunch of copycats. I’m sure somewhere in between there’s a “Third Way” taken by those who, like myself, appreciate DT’s effort for what it is: a well-played tribute to a great band and a great live-album. There aren’t too many bands of DT’s standing doing things like this. That at least should be appreciated.
October 2nd, 2007 at 10:07I’ve been a fan of DP since about 1980. New to DT, and seen them live twice – both times excellent. This is a fantastic cover of the original. Think the singer makes a good fist of it – powerful vocals!
June 22nd, 2008 at 22:52max…the keyboardist does have a REAL organ he just chose not to use it…he uses a continuum, keyboard and organ on all of dream theaters epics…
February 17th, 2009 at 19:16patiscat…Dream Theater is SOO not a cover band…you even listen to the songs that they wrote? you ever listen to their epics?
February 17th, 2009 at 19:24DT destroso el made in japan de deep purple, lo he escuchado con detenimiento y ningún músico supera a los purple, sino lo contratio destrosan sus solos hasta el punto de la verguenza ajena, nada que ver con el original de esta majestual obra. Labrie no canta, Petrucci engreido y sin alma, Pornoy mmm sin creaitividad en the mule, Myun ni se oye y el presumido de Rudess ni a los talones de Lord. Si no fuese por la producción de Glover este discos es pura basura…
February 21st, 2015 at 01:39