SPIN IT BACK -- DREAM THEATER: IMAGES & WORDS

By Philip Sayblack
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More than thirty years ago, leading prog metal act Dream Theater released what has since become of its most important albums in the form of Images & Words.  The band’s sophomore album, it was arguably the catalyst for the band’s success.  That is due to its musical arrangements just as much to its lyrical themes.  One of the songs included in the album that serves well to make that clear comes late in the nearly hour-long record’s body in the form of its penultimate entry, ‘Wait For Sleep.’  ‘Take The Time,’ one of the record’s earlier entries, does just as much to show the album’s strength.  ‘Metropolis—Part I: The Miracle and the Sleeper,’ the opener for the album’s second half does just as much to exhibit the album’s impact both on the band’s career and the prog community.  When it and the other two songs noted here are considered with the rest of the album’s entries, the whole makes clear why Images & Words is a record that every prog and prog-metal fan should hear at least once.
Images & Words, the sophomore album from Dream Theater, is one of the most best and more important albums in the prog and prog-metal community’s history.  As is noted that is due both to its musical and lyrical content.  Musically, the album shows the band’s ability to play heavy and with heart, ensuring appeal among a wide range of audiences.  The thoughtfulness of the record’s lyrical content adds even more to its appeal.  One of the songs featured herein that does so well to make that clear comes late in its 57-minute run time in the form of ‘Wait For Sleep.’  Composed and written by then keyboardist Kevin Moore, the song opens in fully moving fashion through Moore’s keyboard line and an equally emotional string arrangement.  Front man James LaBrie’s vocal delivery herein adds even more emotional depth to the song what with his control.  The triplet patterns that Moore plays against the song’s seeming slower 2/4 time signature makes for even more interest, especially in the points between the verses and choruses. 
The emotional depth of that overall musical presentation makes the song’s lyrical content all the more powerful.  As noted, the song’s lyrics and music were composed by Moore.  According to information available through research, the song’s lyrics tell the story of a young woman who is dealing with the emotional pain of a friend’s death.  The unnamed woman is trying to come to grips with the friend’s death and move on.  This is illustrated nicely as LaBrie sings in the song’s lead verse and chorus, “Standing by the window/Eyes upon the moon/Hoping that the memory/Will leave her spirit soon/She shuts the doors and lights/And lays her body on the bed/Where images and words are running deep/She has too much pride/To pull the sheets above her head/So quietly she lays and waits for sleep/She stress at the ceiling/And tries to think/And pictures the chain/She’s been trying to link again/But the feeling is gone/And water can’t cover her memory/And ashes can’t answer her pain/God give me the power/To take breath from a breeze/And call life/From a cold metal frame.”  This is a visual that audiences will find play out so clearly in their minds.  The young woman is standing there, remembering all of the memories but wishes she could forget everything.  The emotional depth that Moore presents in these lyrics works so well with the song’s equally moving musical arrangement to make the whole a prime example of the band’s softer side on this record.
While ‘Wait For Sleep’ shows the band’s ability to play softly and with so much emotion, the band does not stick to just that avenue in Images & Words.  The band shows a somewhat heavier sound and approach at points throughout the album, too.  One of the most notable of those points comes much earlier in the form of ‘Take The Time.’  Clocking in at nearly eight and a half minutes, it obviously is not for those with short attention spans.  It does well to blend the band’s somewhat softer side and heavier lean.  Because it blends those leans, it also gives the band full chance to really put its talents on display.  In turn that display gives listeners all the more reason to appreciate the group’s work.
The range of emotion that the band displays throughout the song plays well into the song’s lyrical theme.  According to available information from research, the song’s lyrical theme plays into the album’s overarching theme of dealing with personal emotional struggles.  In the case of this song, it seemingly centers on the familiar matter of not looking at life from just one angle.  It encourages listeners to look at life for its bigger picture.  This is inferred from the song’s outset, as LaBrie sings, “Just let me catch my breath/I’ve heard the promises/I’ve seen the mistakes/I’ve had my fair share of tough breaks/I need a new voice/A new law/A new way/Take the time/re-evaluate/It’s time to pick up the pieces/Go back to square one/I think it’s time for a change.”  That sentiment that, “It’s time for a change” perfectly illustrates that seeming message.  Right off the bat, this is someone who has been through a lot but immediately realizes he or she needs to look at things differently as a result of those experiences.  Far too often, such a message is saved for the end of a song in many other cases.  So, for the band to present the song’s key message right off the bat here makes it all the more impacting.  Together with the mood set by the song’s musical arrangement, the whole therein makes the whole all the clearer an example of the power of this record’s overall content.
Yet one more example of what makes Images & Words such a wonderful album is ‘Metropolis—Part I.’  This song is so interesting in part because of its musical arrangement.  Coming in at just over nine and a half minutes, it is the album’s longest composition.  The mystery in its opening bars, courtesy of Moore, Petrucci, and Portnoy immediately makes it an immersive work.  Once the band kicks in the song’s full depth, that heaviness immediately displays the identity that Dream Theater would eventually develop in the rest of its catalog.  Every performance in this song expertly compliments that of each musician’s work, making no surprise why it is one of Dream Theater’s most beloved works. 
Lyrically, the song shines just as much with its approach.  While not the full on conceptual work that would eventually become ‘Metropolis—Part 2’ (that work being great in its own right), it still is definitely engaging and entertaining.  John Petrucci has even said in a past interview that the song is lyrically “abstract.”  To that end, one could argue the three dances to sort of be three other “constants.”  For those not understanding, Benjamin Franklin once said there are two constants: death and taxes.  According to this song, it would seem that there are other constants: Deceit (along with death) and love.  Keeping this in mind, the overall lyrical presentation could really be considered to be philosophical and existential in nature, making for even more for audiences to appreciate.  Keeping that in mind, the whole herein is clearly one more example of how much Images & Words offers audiences.  When it and the other songs examined here are considered along with the rest of the album’s entries, the whole makes clear why Images & Words is one of the most iconic albums in the prog and prog-metal communities.
Images & Words is available now.  More information on the album is available along with all of Dream Theater’s latest news at:


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