Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Pull Me Under (2007 Remix)
2. Take The Time (2007 Remix)
3. Lie (Edited Version)
4. Peruvian Skies
5. Home (Edited Version)
6. Misunderstood (Edited Version)
7. The Test That Stumped Them All
8. As I Am
9. Endless Sacrifice
10. The Root Of All Evil
11. Sacrificed Sons

Disc 2:

1. Another Day (2007 Remix)
2. To Live Forever
3. Lifting Shadows Off A Dream
4. The Silent Man
5. Hollow Years
6. Through Her Eyes
7. (Alternate Album Mix)
8. The Spirit Carries On
9. Solitary Shell (Edited Version)
10. I Walk Beside You
11. The Answer Lies Within
12. Disappear

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10346 in Music
• Released on: 2008-04-07
• Number of discs: 2

CD Description
One of progressive metal's leading voices, Dream Theater have been consistently doing their thing since forming in 1985. Sporting all three founding members and a modest but adoring legion of fans, they've racked up awards and accolades for being serious musicians with the chops that go along with a Berklee School of Music education. The two-disc GREATEST HIT (AND 21 OTHER COOL SONGS) is broken up into "The Dark Side" and "The Light Side". "The Dark Side" is aimed at satisfying headbangers with its atmospheric excursions into heaviness, and the "Light Side" represents the band's more melodic abilities. The "Hit" of the collection's title refers to "Pull Me under", the band's lone moment in the mainstream spotlight and represented here by an updated 2007 version. In fact, many of the Tracks on GREATEST HIT are remixes or alternate takes, which avoids redundancy for the diehards and makesit a fine intro for newbies.

Customer Reviews

...the history and mystery that is Dream Theater...
Well, with Dream Theater off to pastures new, it was inevitable that a compilation from their old paymasters would appear on the shelves. So welcome to the knowingly titled "Greatest Hit".

That hit, 'Pull Me Under', opens the show with a new remix from Kevin Shirley, one of three new mixes alongside 'Take The Time' and 'Another Day'. For once, a retrospective has been compiled with the approval of the band, and coming off the back of the bands 20th anniversary, it's an excellent reminder of just why Dream Theater have slowly worked their way towards their exalted position at the top of the prog-metal tree. It's certainly unusual nowadays for a band to achieve their level of success without the support of radio or music television, and for a band so revered by, let's call them 'obsessive enthusiasts', they can actually be surprisingly accessible.

Which is why I'm slightly questioning the way that "Greatest Hit" has been presented. Eschewing chronology, the album has been carved up into 'The Dark Side' and 'The Light Side'. CD1, therefore, presents the darker side of Dream Theater, and once you're past the hit, then you're off into an intensive listening experience, taking in some heavy, crushing slabs of music like 'Peruvian Skies', 'Endless Sacrifice' and 'The Root Of All Evil', which demonstrate how you can move through different gears, and still remain heavy. Which is why, if a compilation is also designed to reel in some new listeners, it might not be the best idea to have this CD first.

'The Light Side', conversely, presents the more melodic side to Dream Theater, and you've got to think that this might be the stuff to draw the casual punter into their world. There are some really wonderful moments on this CD that will lull newbies, as Dream Theater display a warmth sometimes missing on 'The Dark Side', where they're busy showing their chops off a bit more. It also has 'Hollow Years', a song that always brings a tear to my jaded eye, as well as truly stunning songs like 'The Spirit Carries On' and ' I Walk Beside You'.

I'm not sure how devotees will take to some of the tracks appearing in edited form as despite 'The Dark Side' being packed to the gunwhales, there's room to play with over on CD2. And I'm sure they would also have appreciated a couple of genuine rarities to sweeten the deal.

However, any compilation is bound to cause dissent as fans debate inclusions and exclusions, and this one will be no different. But it amply demonstrates just what a great band Dream Theater can be.

Mr H has said it all....except....
Is it just me, or are the 2007 "edits" just a bit scrappy? They all seem to just stop in mid-flight - I had to check that "pull me under" wasn't jumping. Otherwise if you are a fan you know what to expect and in common with all artists with a substantial back catalogue, there are some songs here that I would have left out, and others that I would have included. Dream Theater are to me a classic album band and whatever way they had chosen to represent their history would be flawed. Still the music is great.