Dream Theater Music:

When Dream and Day Unite Track Listing:
1. Fortune in Lies
2. Status Seeker
3. Ytsé Jam [Instrumental]
4. Killing Hand
5. Light Fuse and Get Away
6. Afterlife
7. Ones Who Help to Set the Sun
8. Only a Matter of Time

When Dream and Day Unite Reviews:
A landmark album
2007-06-23 - I understand that most DT fans got to know them from Images and Words, Awaken and onwards and this album does sound very different. Yes, the production is not as professional and the sound is not as fantastic as on the albums following when they joined a bigger label. Still, the material on this album is so fresh and bold and uncompromising, and at the time nothing out there could compare. Personally, I think the first albums with LaBrie compromised between their progressive roots and neverbefore heard of songwriting, and the "need" to access a bigger audience. LaBrie's vocals on the Images and Awake show potential but immaturity - he seems at times to sing to a following of 14 year olds with an overdone vibrato and excessive airy voice. Dominici is not as good a vocalist as LaBrie but he was more mature and do these songs justice. He doesn't have the variety of tones in his voice as LaBrie and is not as artistic and not a virtuoso but he CAN sing and he does it well.

The material on this album is a canonade of fabulous musicianship and uncompromising songwriting. The changes in the songs come as total surprises which is very refreshing compared to how many bands turn to the obvious again and again. The solos of Petrucci are technical showpieces but always with a great build up and melodic musical approach. The drumming is rock solid and shows an amazing talent. The bass sound is a bit muddy for my taste but when listening closely you hear that Mr Myung is a remarkable player and gives the songs some wonderful flavours with his playing. THe keyboards are also great, the solos are guitar like and the backing is not dominating the music (the guitar is) but adding depth. My favourite here after all these years is still Light Fuse And Get Away, but I truthfully do like every song on this album. Of the DT albums I have this is still my favourite. Don't miss out!

Solid and underrated first album from these greats!
2006-08-01 - When Dream and Day Unite was the first album released by Dream Theater, and their one and only with second vocalist Charlie Dominic (Chris Collins being their first vocalist, who appeared on their Majesty Demos when they were still called Majesty, little trivia for anyone who didn't know). This album, while raw, still is a remarkable record made by guys barely into their 20s (except for Dominici, who was much older, the core DT guys, Petrucci, Myung, Portnoy, and Moore were all 21-22 years old). In fact, quite a few of these songs are still staples of their live sets: The Killing Hand, Ytse Jam, A Fortune in Lies, and Only a Matter of Time...HALF the album. So, is it any good? Yes.

The above mentioned songs are all classics, and Ytse Jam is their attempt to record a YYZ-like instrumental (get the official bootleg Majesty Demos to hear them do a killer version of YYZ as 18 year olds at Berklee in 1985....stunning!). The other songs are very good as well. Light Fuse and Get Away is a hard rockin' song with cool lyrics and great music. The Ones Who Help to Set the Sun has a creepy long intro before breaking into a great prog metal song. The other two songs, Afterlife and Status Seeker, while the weakest of the bunch are still very good.

Only two things prevent this album from 5 stars...the production, which is decent but not great by any stretch, and Charlie's vocals. He sounds like a Geddy Lee wannabe, only without the power, range, or presence. He was fired shortly after this album was released and James LaBrie, DT's current vocalist, was hired in 1991 as his replacement. And the rest, as they say, is history. While this CERTAINLY should be the LAST DT album anyone getting into the band should buy (as it was for me), it's still worthwhile.

Also, for diehards, the official bootleg (released on Mike Portnoy's Ytsejam Records label) of When Dream and Day Reunite is awesome! It was recorded in 2004 on the exact day this album was released 15 years prior. They play the whole album with James singing.....MUCH MUCH better. And then Charlie and ex-DT keyboardist Derek Sherinian join in on two encores. Very cool!

A Taste of Things to Come
2005-12-20 - While it has certainly been eclipsed by the albums that immediately followed it, Dream Theater's debut album When Dream and Day Unite is still an excellent album in its own right.

Like many other fans, I discovered Dream Theater with their breakthrough Images and Words album, and only picked up WDADU after I had all of their other studio albums. The vocals are always my top priority in a band, and I wasn't really excited about a Dream Theater album without James LaBrie. I wish I hadn't waited so long to get this disc. It is clear that Charlie Dominici is no LaBrie in terms of talent or emotion, but he still gave a solid performance, and more importantly the rest of the band was in great form on this album. It is full of great songs that I regard as some of their best (Ytse Jam and the Killing Hand are just two examples), and is probably a more consistent album than some of their later albums like Falling Into Infinity or Octavarium. It sounds even better now since it was recently remastered and re-released.

Front to back, this is a great album, especially considering when it came out. In terms of maturity and complexity, there were very few bands in 1989 that could stand up to Dream Theater. Images and Words may have set the progressive metal standard, but When Dream and Day Unite is still a great album, and should be a must-have for fans of the band and the genre.

NOTE: When Dream and Day Unite was reissued in 2002 and featured digitally remastered sound, which is a nice improvement over the original. Early versions came in a neat digipack (but without liner notes/lyrics), while later versions came in a standard jewel case (but with the full liner notes).