An introduction to Dream Theater
Dream Theater is a progressive metal band, formed by three students at the Berklee College of Music in 1985. In the twenty years since their inception, they have become one of the most commercially successful progressive bands since the height of progressive rock in the mid-1970s, despite being relatively unknown in mainstream pop and mainstream rock circles.
Website structure
The buttons on the left hand side lead to the various parts of the website. Here is brief description of what you can find under each section.
Latest news: This is a summary of the latest news concerning the band and band members. Where possible I have provided external links to the source.
Pride of the collection: This a collection of pictures of the item that I am most proud to own in my entire collection.
Dream Theater Collection: This is the heart of the website. I have catalogued the collection by album, and listed all the related items, promos and singles with these. There are several hundred items on the individual pages supporting the collection.
Side projects: This is a full list of all material produced by the current members of the band. I have determined the extent of the contribution of the band member to each recording and there is an alternative way of looking at this using the band member tabs shown at the top of this page.
Bootlegs: This is a list of original bootlegs that I am now selling. I have decided to stop bootleg trading and clear out the collection that I have built up. This will include the sale of nearly 100 Silver bootlegs.
New arrivals: All my new arrivals are listed by month of acquisition. This gives an idea of where I am focusing at a particular time.
Concert reviews: This is where I will write reviews of any concerts that I attend. I have decided not to write reviews of historic concerts.
Dream Theater History: Really just a quick summary for any casual visitors who do not know anything about the band.
Links: Links to other offical sites and some of the better fan resources around the net.
Contact me: Feel free to contact me with questions about any Dream Theater rarities or just to say hi.
The collecting bug
Collecting is not really a rational habit but it does seem to be one that is deep in the human psyche. I have listened to many types of music over the years and at times I have collected the entire music catalogues of various bands and artists. Looking back, I now realise that collecting was an end in itself rather than the music. For that reason, I have rationalised my collection and sold most of my CDs even some by artists that I was very devoted to.
Once I had acquired all of the album releases by Dream Theater, I realised that I was slowly acquiring other things. I guess I also recognised that Dream Theater was going to replace all other bands in my affections, so I decided to try and understand exactly what I was going to collect and what I would ignore.
There are some exceptions, but my general aims are to collect:
- At least one copy of each album in CD format
- At least one copy of each album in cassette format
- At least one copy of each album on vinyl if these exist
- All the singles from every country in which they were released
- Any releases from different countries, that are different to the standard release in the UK
- All the promotion releases issued in support of official releases, from every division of Atco, Elektra or Warner that issued them
- Any compilation release that features Dream Theater
- Any side project or solo project that features a current member of the band
- Annual CDs issued by the International fan clubs
- Official bootlegs issued by YsteJam Records
- Silver bootlegs, particularly historic ones
Generally, I am not a collector of the following:
- Memorabilia
- Tee-shirts and clothing
- Ticket stubs, not even for concerts that I attended
- Side projects or solo projects featuring former members of the band
- Counterfeit or pirate releases
- Japenese bootlegs issued as CDRs
I know that other collectors do collect such items, but each of us draws our own lines.
Credits
My profound thanks to Franz who has helped me build my collection over the years. In addition, I am indebted to him for allowing me to use some of his images, which considerably speeded up the building of my site.
Thanks to Andreas Viklund for the template. Mistakes in how it is being used are all my own.