Score: XOX - 20th Anniversary World Tour Live with the Octavarium Orchestra (CD - 2006)

Personnel: John Petrucci (vocals, guitar); Mike Portnoy (vocals, drums); James LaBrie (vocals); Jordan Rudess (lap steel guitar, keyboards); Karen Karlsrud, Abe Appleman, Elena Barere, Joyce Hammann, Carol Pool, Belinda Whitney, Avril Brown, Katherine LiVolsi Stern, Ann Leathers, Jan Mullen, Yuri Vodovoz (violin); Crystal Garner, Judy Witmer, Vince Lionti, Adrian Benjamin, Jonathan Dinklage (viola); David Heiss, Richard Locker, Eugene J. Moye, Caryl Paisner (cello); Pamela Sklar (flute); Ole Mathisen (clarinet); Jeff Kievit, Jim Hynes (trumpet); Larry Di Bello, Daniel Culpepper, Bob Carlisle (French horn); George Flynn (bass trombone); Gordon Gottlieb (percussion).

Audio Mixer: Michael Brauer.

Recording information: Radio City Music Hall, New York, NY (04/01/2006).

Photographer: Todd Kaplan.

Arranger: Jamshied Sharifi.

Sidestepping the glam and thrash obsessions of their peers, Dream Theater updates Rush's blueprint with a modern texture. The progressive metal touchstones are all here: changing time signatures, dizzyingly complicated tablature, tonsil-snapping lead vocals, lyrical bombast, and a healthy sense of self-importance. John Petrucci and Co. deftly combine all of these elements on SCORE: 20th ANNIVERSARY WORLD TOUR LIVE WITH THE OCTAVARIUM ORCHESTRA, their fourth (!) live record since 2001. While SCORE might not be the best start for neophytes, the three-disc opus will sate the appetites of serious devotees. minimize