For adamant collectors and faithful fans only - A review of Dream Theater's Lost Not Forgotten Archives: A Dramatic Tour of Events – Select Board Mixes

Lost Not Forgotten Archives: A Dramatic Tour of Events – Select Board Mixes is the second release in the new Dream Theater archives series started earlier this year. This double-album had been released digitally as Happy Holidays seven and a half years earlier. Only adamant collectors will be willing to pay roughly twenty bucks for a release that was a free download just to have a physical version with a new cover artwork.

The release itself has more positive than negative elements to offer. On the positive side, this record offers two discs with a total of thirteen songs and a running time of two hours. The selected tracks include some intriguing rarities such as power ballad ''Peruvian Skies'', narrative progressive metal epic ''The Great Debate'' and the airy, dreamy and imaginative ''The Count of Tuscany'' that clocks in at just under twenty-two minutes. The musicianship is excellent as usual. New drummer Mike Mangini is given the occasion to shine in his ''Drum Solo'' as well as in the diversified instrumental ''Ytse Jam''. Quiet bassist John Myung delivers the goods in the double closer consisting of his own complex epic ''Learning to Live'' and the playful, powerful and sinister ''As I Am''. Guitarist John Petrucci convinces as usual with poignant riffs as heard in ''Endless Sacrifice'' and soulful melodic guitar leads as witnessed in ''Another Day''.

On the negative side, keyboardist Jordan Rudess shines a little bit less than he usually does. There are few solo spots or improvisations to be heard and the keyboards are sometimes buried under the guitar sounds in the production. Singer James LaBrie delivers good average performances that don't match his energetic vocal skills of the nineties or his recently established more mature sound in the past few years. The crowd recordings sound canny as if they had been made with an old cell phone. This release is overall best compared to the bootleg style presented on Chaos in Motion 2007-2008.

At the end of the day, Dream Theater's Lost Not Forgotten Archives: A Dramatic Tour of Events – Select Board Mixes is a good but not excellent live document that is only interesting for adamant collectors and faithful fans. Occasional fans can skip this release without any regrets but should check out other releases in the archives series such as the excellent Lost Not Forgotten Archives: Images and Words - Live in Japan, 2017.

Final rating: 70%