Greatest Hit (...And 21 Other Pretty Cool Songs)

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Greatest Hit (...and 21 Other Pretty Cool Songs)
Greatest hit big.jpg
Greatest hits album by Dream Theater
Released Australia March 29, 2008
United States April 1, 2008
Recorded October 14, 1991–February 25, 2005 at various studios
Genre Progressive metal, progressive rock
Length 138:16
Label Rhino
Producer John Petrucci, Mike Portnoy, David Prater, Duane Baron, John Purdell, Kevin Shirley
Dream Theater chronology
Systematic Chaos
(2007)Systematic Chaos2007		 Greatest Hit (...and 21 Other Pretty Cool Songs)
(2008)		 Black Clouds & Silver Linings
(2009)Black Clouds & Silver Linings2009
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 2.5/5 stars[1]
Sputnikmusic 3.0/5 stars[2]

Greatest Hit (...and 21 Other Pretty Cool Songs) is a compilation album by progressive metal/rock band Dream Theater released by Rhino Records on April 1, 2008.[3] The title alludes to their only top 10 radio hit, "Pull Me Under". It features three songs from their breakthrough album Images and Words remixed by Kevin Shirley: "Pull Me Under", "Take the Time", and "Another Day". It also features the song "To Live Forever", an Awake-era re-recording of the song from the Images and Words sessions (featured as a B-side of the "Lie" single), which was previously unreleased on a full length album. Several single edits of popular Dream Theater songs are also featured on this compilation.

The songs have been divided in two discs: the first one, dubbed "The Dark Side", features heavy, metal-influenced songs, while the second one, entitled "The Light Side", spotlights the band's melodic side. The set spans the years from 1991 to 2005, therefore it doesn't include any songs from Dream Theater's debut album, When Dream and Day Unite, their A Change of Seasons EP (although it was released in 1995) or their 2007 release Systematic Chaos.

Then-drummer Mike Portnoy explained in the album's booklet that the selection of songs were carefully made in order to appease both the newcomer and the already existing fan by offering up different versions of songs on other albums to "make the newcomer want to buy the albums from whence they came" and to "give different versions of songs already on other albums" to the current fan. He also suggests that a third disc should've been included called "The Epic Side".

Track listing

Disc one ("The Dark Side")

No. Title Lyrics Music Original album Length
1. "Pull Me Under" (2007 remix) Kevin Moore Dream Theater Images and Words, 1992 8:13
2. "Take the Time" (2007 remix) Dream Theater Dream Theater Images and Words 8:22
3. "Lie" (Single edit) Moore Dream Theater Awake, 1994 5:02
4. "Peruvian Skies"   John Petrucci Dream Theater Falling into Infinity, 1997 6:42
5. "Home" (Single edit) Mike Portnoy Dream Theater Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory, 1999 5:38
6. "Misunderstood" (Single edit) Petrucci Petrucci, John Myung, Jordan Rudess, Portnoy Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, 2002 5:14
7. "The Test That Stumped Them All" (Single edit) Portnoy Petrucci, Myung, Rudess, Portnoy Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence 5:00
8. "As I Am" (Clean single edit) Petrucci Petrucci, Myung, Rudess, Portnoy Train of Thought, 2003 7:14
9. "Endless Sacrifice"   Petrucci Petrucci, Myung, Rudess, Portnoy Train of Thought 11:23
10. "The Root of All Evil" (Edited version) Portnoy Dream Theater Octavarium, 2005 7:16
11. "Sacrificed Sons" (Edited version) James LaBrie Dream Theater Octavarium 9:41

Disc two ("The Light Side")

No. Title Lyrics Music Original album Length
1. "Another Day" (2007 remix) Petrucci Dream Theater Images and Words 4:25
2. "To Live Forever"   Moore, Petrucci Dream Theater B-side to the "Lie" single, 1994 4:56
3. "Lifting Shadows off a Dream"   Myung Dream Theater Awake 6:09
4. "The Silent Man"   Petrucci Petrucci Awake 3:47
5. "Hollow Years"   Petrucci Dream Theater Falling into Infinity 5:55
6. "Through Her Eyes" (Alternate album mix) Petrucci Dream Theater Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory 6:03
7. "The Spirit Carries On"   Petrucci Dream Theater Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory 6:40
8. "Solitary Shell" (Single edit) Petrucci Petrucci, Myung, Rudess, Portnoy Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence 4:10
9. "I Walk Beside You"   Petrucci Dream Theater Octavarium 4:28
10. "The Answer Lies Within" (Edited version) Petrucci Dream Theater Octavarium 5:15
11. "Disappear"   LaBrie Petrucci, Myung, Rudess, Portnoy Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence 6:45

Personnel

Trivia

  • The album's booklet is missing credits of "As I Am" and the songs from Octavarium as edited versions; those tracks are actually shorter than the ones from that album as secondary versions for "As I Am" (also a clean edit), "The Root of All Evil" and "Sacrificed Sons" with the first minute intro taken out, "The Answer Lies Within" has the first 15 seconds of bells ringing taken out, "I Walk Beside You" has the same length as its original album but with the clock ticking sound taken out of the first riff.
  • On the album cover, on the words "Greatest Hit", some letters are printed in red, being the "s" from Greatest and the word "hit", making the word "shit".

Chart positions

Year Chart Position
2008 Italian Albums Chart 27
2008 UK Albums Chart 113
2008 Billboard 200 122

References

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