Jordan Rudess - Notes on a Dream
CD Review 
Cyrus Hiruma
Create new versions of classic rock is a risky venture. Jordan Rudess, keyboardist of Dream Theater, tried this proposal on the CD The Road Home, which brings songs to covers of Yes, Gentle Giant, Genesis, Emerson Lake and Palmer, among other big names in the progressive movement.
The result of this work was uneven, not through the fault of the performance of the keyboard. The lack of performance tuning and the other musicians affected the project.
In Notes on a Dream, Rudess brings a similar proposal, this time with acoustic versions of his own Dream Theater on piano. And three new compositions. In addition to familiar with this material, Jordan knew his remarkable technique to dose with maturity and common sense, avoiding excesses in their work.
You can hear the influence that the musician received two keyboard players, progressive reference for their learning: Keith Emerson, Patrick Moraz (Yes, Moody Blues).
The CD opens with "Through Her Eyes," which had a natural emphasis on keyboards. So the proposal was to add Rudess improvisations which added many new features to the original arrangement.
"Lifting Shadows off a Dream", in turn, became more sombre, dense, perfect for a thriller. Underscores especially the quality of composition. "The Silent Man" follows in the opposite direction, is an exercise in free jazz style. Exciting and creative.
Some tracks really surprising, as the lightness that adds Jordan in "The Spirit Carries On." Without the weight of the band gains another dimension, more intimate and sober. And "The Answer Lies Within" was better than the version of Dream Theater, after the music was not a highlight of the CD Octavarium.
Who knows the "Speak to Me" original may be curious as to how it was adapted to the piano. The impression is an arrangement difficult to be worked. And the strategy was the keyboardist radical. Although it has highlighted some aspects of melody, put tension on the subject, became more somber.
Train of Thought CD out "Vacant," which continues the same line with melancholy, but without major changes. The same goes for "Hollow Years", the piano arrangement closely follows the guitar John Petrucci. Yet, the recreations are fully valid.
Missed comment on the new compositions Rudess, who are almost vignettes, but they are nonetheless essential in the context of the album.
The classical line of "Perpetuum Mobile", traverses sounds of Johann Sebastian Bach and Alberto Ginastera (who ever heard Keith Emerson playing "Creole Dance", written by the composer, will recall immediately).
"Collision Point" and "The Grand Escapement" are dynamic in the extreme and show that the keyboardist is betting on new forms of composition.
The next article presents the latest installment of the trilogy of "keyboardist of Dream Theater," which began in the previous post with Molecular Heinosity , Derek Sherinian. Stay tuned!
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