DREAM THEATER’s Jordan Rudess spoke to Noisecreep recently and in that interview he named five albums that changed his life. See below for some extracts from that piece:

“I come from a very classical music type of background. I studied piano throughout my childhood and into my teen years. ‘Tarkus’ changed my life because it was the first time I heard something so musically progressive on the piano be played with so much power behind it.”

“For me, Hendrix was always the master of cool. He epitomized that whole trippy, musician kind of vibe. That was something that really captured me as a kid…His use of the wah-wah pedal was so cutting edge. It literally sounded like his guitar was talking. I still haven’t heard anyone make a wah-wah pedal sound like that.”

“Gentle Giant was a really interesting band and had a unique way of fusing rock with classical music. They had an uncanny sense of counterpoints and rhythm that was really amazing.”

“This was a huge album in my life, but I’m sure some people will be surprised that I would choose it for this list. What I mean is that a lot of Dream Theater fans might think I would be more into something more technical and with more chops, but I’m also really attracted to gentle music too.”

“I’ve always loved Jon Anderson’s voice. There’s something really beautiful and pure about it. It’s like a magical kind of sound. But there are so many other things I also love about Yes. There are a band filled with really amazing players. The way their parts intertwined with each other was so powerful, and then having Anderson’s voice on top of that made it even more special. The word “glorious” comes to mind when I think about that album.”

See what albums Jordan is talking about by clicking this link.

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