Track 1, Acid Rain: This is a song with amazing work with John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess, as the song starts out with a nice palm mute on a Ibanez 7 string guitar the guitar quickly progresses into a Eddie Van Halen style playing. The song then moves on to intensify with some amazing keyboard work dueting with John Petrucci. With some AMAZING work with Tony Levin on the Chapman stick. This song duration is 6:36 and features AMAZING musicianship with all of these 4 music maniacs. I give this song 5/5 stars. Here is the song if interested Acid Rain
Track 2, Biaxident : The song starts off with some very soft keyboard and guitar featuring some single guitar picking and soothing piano music. At 1:48 this song picks up for a more distorted and interesting sound with some simple 5/8 time signature work. Later in the song it picks up to a VERY interesting Jazz riff with a slight mix of blues for a great diverse versatility part. The song picks back up to the opening riff to ease it back up. Time duration is 7:41. I give this song 4/5 stars
Track 3, 914: This song is a amazing use of the Chapman Stick by Tony Levin and a amazing affect duo with Jordan Rudess doing fantastic keyboard accompaniment. The song then even gets MORE fantastic with Jordan Rudess doing some sweet solo work toggling his Pitch shifter for a half step higher and more! This duration of this song is 4:01. Just because of it's time and it could have a lot more done do it... I give this 3/5 stars
Track 4, Another Dimension: Yet again this song begins with some FANTASTIC Chapman Stick work. The song picks up with John Petrucci sounding to be using a 7 string palm mute Power chord to start the songs tempo and then joined with Portnoy (Drums) and Rudess (Keyboard). This song is VERY well made for amazing hammer ons and pull off's by Petrucci and even more amazing Rudess keyboard work. This song features as a start of a dance beat and even moves to a more Progressive Rock style, with an original Petrucci Solo that sounds like his heart is in it... It picks up after the solo to a keyboard solo then ended by a John Petrucci and Mike Portnoy duet with some simple China Symbol playing by Portnoy and palm mutes by Petrucci to be re entered into a full orchestra piece with Rudess and Levin. The song even later in the song (6:45) moves into a John Petrucci flamenco piece! To then finish back into a more heavy finish of the song with incredible Levin playing and bending. Duration of this song is 9:50. I give this 4 1/2 /5 stars.
Track 5, When the Water Breaks: OHH boy what a big song. The song starts with a baby crying for the cause John's 2nd little girl was born during the making of this song. It starts with nice baby soft music and then rushes into a extreme opening for a Progressive Metal feeling of the song, featuring incredible soloing by John Petrucci inside and out! After all this HIS song, then for a short duration of the song (meaning 20 seconds) there is a soft piano part to be picked up slowly and be re-introduced with some Chapman Stick and Pinch Harmonics by John Petrucci. As it moves back into a slower but soothing solo (most of LTE is soloing.) The song moves back to a upright beat after a break or so to start with Chapman Stick and China Symbols by Portnoy to all be blended in carefully with Petrucci. Then it just jumps back to a regular 5/8 time signature with some excellent Palm Mutes and playing to a new Jazz/Fusion sound. To be fixed right back with a Rudess main stage act. The song moves back into a more slow beat of 4/4 time to have a quick Petrucci and Portnoy solo as they slowly fix back to the standard 5/8 signature (standard for Progressive Metal), with a Portnoy solo that lasts maybe 45 seconds that's enjoyable to be then re-introduced with the whole band again and some INSANE Rudess work on keyboard that makes me want to start floor running! As it once again switches to a new feeling more to a Jazz/Blues now with Rudess doing some sick key work with a slightly distorted organ… When you think of the big picture, LTE treated this song like it actually was a baby... It started with child music, and then BAM! It grew to something older with a new genre, as it keeps growing faster and faster with new genre and new genre! It just won't stop growing because there is no limit for growing in music. This song is MOST DEFIANTLY a AMAZING work of art!!! This song makes me want to start seizuring instantly just from it's sweet work... The song Duration is 16:57 I give this song a 8/5 stars!... For a more literal, 5/5 no if's and's what's or BUT'S!
Track 6, Chewbacca: The song starts with a futuristic-o sound of a space ship or something ET like that. Later with solo drum work Petrucci joins Portnoy for nice work of art of playing and FANTASTIC Wah pedal use, and even better Petrucci soloing! It mostly is like that so I am going to jump to 5 minutes in the song with some pretty awkward affects of ET things and you can hear Portnoy Bass kicking and china symbol hitting as he runs into a mini solo with Petrucci just palm muting to set feeling, to have some very slow work in what to me sounds like a 2/4 time signature. Then it moves on with Levin doing some weird Chapman Stick work for the time being and Rudess doing a wind up sound while Petrucci starts single string picking. After this short period Petrucci just ends the song doing incredible wah pedaling. Song Duration is 13:35. I give this song 4/5 star.
Track 7, Liquid Dreams: Liquid Dreams has a nice bed time opening for a great keyboard opening to have anyone forget the stress of the day, after 3 minutes in piano quiet drums and guitar come in. Obviously the star of this song is Rudess for amazing key changes, and scale work. Even though this song is so simple, it is so amazing at the same time... Even though simple is easiest, it's not so easy... It's simple but SO complex all at once... It's just incredible how these 4 musicians work in this song for this relaxing song. Duration is 10:50. I give this 5/5 stars.
Track 8, Hourglass: This is most likely the sweetest (soothing) (sounding) song on the CD. It's in a 4/4 time entire song. It has some finger picking with Petrucci and Rudess... Nothing distorted in this song... Just a nylon stringed guitar, a nice Korg Keyboard (or grand piano for recording?) but this song is always going to be one of my favorites for the simple things are sometimes the greatest again... It's nothing fancy with long solos or anything hard, just enjoyable music to end the CD from extremely fast to a sleep worthy slow... Duration is 4:25. This song receives 4/5 stars.
For an overall: Liquid Tension Experiment 2 CD is a smash hit. Not your usual music, nothing like Green Day, just an original piece of art work... CD overall receives 5/5 stars for its beauty of how it was made.
My first review, be honest please :P
