I didn't get to experience it for the first time as I had hoped (headphones and some medicinal herbs) but I'm listening to it now in my studio and just hearing Petrucci's guitars with Portnoy's drums is making me feel 16 again. I'm only a few songs in but there are definitely some LTE1 moments on here that I love.
Rudess has been fairly restrained so far and I'm just praying there's no ragtime section on this album. As amazing as Rudess is, he's my least favorite keyboard player in DT. Love a lot of his sounds, it's just his actual playing sometimes leaves a lot to be desired. Not as moody as Moore and not as vibey as Sherinian.
"Chris And Kevin's Amazing Odyssey" just started, I've been looking forward to this since I saw it on the track listing because I whistle the first one ALL the time and have for 20 years. I love the drum groove in it....so hoping they bring something similar with this one. Levin's tones are awesome on this so far and I'm loving the stuff in this right now with the panned, distorted bass.
Edit- DAMNIT, he couldn't help himself. There HAD to be a fucking ragtime section in this. Who actually enjoys it when he breaks into this crap? It's been done over and over and over. Man, that just pulled me right out of the enjoyable experience I was having. I wonder if he has like 40 ideas shot down and then waits until the guys start feeling bad for shooting down his ideas and they just give him the ragtime section. (I'm be facetious, but still). It's towards the end of "Rhapsody In Blue".
I'd love to know what has consistently led to a goddamn ragtime section being on nearly every album Rudess has been on for over 20 years now. It was clever/funny the first time. Only that one time, yet it's made it's way into so many damn albums now, he even tried to ruin "A Change Of Seasons" during the LSFNY (I was at that show!) performance with it. It's just so damn jarring, especially when there's a good groove going on.