Holy Land in American Protestant Life, 1800-1948 A Documentary History Book

In another instance of art mimicking life, Rich Wilson's "Lifting Shadows", much like Dream Theater's music, will only appeal to the already converted. The book is jam-packed with interviews from the band members themselves (including the taciturn John Myung!), crew members, producers, and collaborators for a panoramic view of the band's many trials and tribulations.

Indeed, there's much more drama to the Dream Theater story than one might initially expect from "the greatest band you've never heard of." Wilson is keenly aware of his niche audience, and as such, seeks to answer many of the questions fans have wondered about over the years. Aside from the interesting (and sometimes amusing) anecdotes of band interaction, the best parts of the book are the ones that give insight into the music industry. Wilson does a fine job of showcasing the band's perspectives, as well as conflicting perspectives from the record executives they struggled against.

Wilson is clearly quite familiar with Dream Theater's history, and "Lifting Shadows" is very much a book "for the fans, by a fan." Each chapter details the story of the band by album, and it's here that Wilson's music journalism background really shows through--sometimes to the book's benefit, other times to its detriment. Wilson coaxes great interviews from all his subjects, and his research is impeccable. However, there are times where he waxes on about each album as if he's writing a glowing music review when it's clear that anyone reading this book will already be quite familiar with Dream Theater's discography.

Finally, reading this book after Mike Portnoy's departure is both telling and quite sad. The book depicts an interesting picture of the drummer, who loves the band as much as he loves perfection and control over it. No one would be able to doubt Portnoy's dedication to the band, but its interesting to see some of the threads that eventually led to his departure. Knowing that, the closing chapters of the book take on a bit of sadness as the reader knows how the band's expressed optimism turns out.

Fans of the band will love this book, and the DT fanatic would be remiss to miss Wilson's article in Classic Rock magazine detailing Portnoy's departure.