Originally published in Guitar World magazine · October 2006
The 100 Greatest Guitar Albums Of All Time
Article1 min read
[as picked by GW’s readers]
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95 Scenes From A Memory
Dream Theater, 1999
When making a concept album, it always helps if your subject matter is a major-ass bummer. In that respect, Dream Theater were on the mark with Scenes From A Memory, a prog-rock mini-opera – told in two acts, no less – about the 1928 murder of a woman and how a modern man is haunted by the crime. Over a series of very long songs with titles like ‘Scene One: Regression,’ ‘Scene Two: Overture 1928,’ John Petrucci, unfettered by restraint, conducts high-octane guitar clinics. The aimless storyline is told in aimless fashion, but for fans of virtuoso musicianship, the playing's the thing, and Petrucci plays to the gallery in breathtaking fashion.
What they said
John Petrucci: “We have the freedom to write songs the way we want to do. It doesn't matter whether they're three minutes long. We're not writing for someone else.”