The Great Escape (song)

[RuRoRul]

Well The Great Escape is officially released now, and taking up almost half the album is this huge title track.

I love a lot of long songs so I hoped I would be able to get into this one to fully appreciate it. And after only a couple of listens, I definitely did - this is easily the best Seventh Wonder song and probably the best song I've heard this year.

On first listen it sounded like solid music with a lot of catchy Seventh Wonder melodies, which are great because they make you want to come back and listen to the song (After listening to it maybe once or twice, I couldn't get the "Eight thousand hearts" section out of my head, so I just had to keep listening to this song).

But, for me anyway, it takes a little longer to get completely into a song, especially an epic with so much to digest. What really helps is knowing something of the story. The Aniara story - a spaceship leaving earth which has been ravaged by war, heading for Mars, but ended up off course after an incident with an asteroid, drifting off into space with eight thousand people on board. Before I looked that up, I could only tell it had something about people travelling in space. But once I heard it in context with the story it really clicked - this song is amazing.

I thought I was pretty clever for realising the first section was from the point of view of the Earth - little did I know it was actually called "And The Earth Wept". Reading the lyric booklet really helps appreciate this song even more - some of the lyrics are really amazing and it helps you understand exactly what's going on in the story. For example, I was never sure when in the song the incident happened, since it the people still seemed pretty happy after the point where it occurs (of course it makes sense now, because the people are living in simulations etc. provided by the ship's computer).

Anyway, I love the entire album but this song really stands above the others, and I just wanted to let it be known and make a thread for anyone else that wants to share their thoughts about this song.

Parts I really like (I'll try to keep this short since they are all good):

-The intro, so clever to do the Earth's point of view and the singing is really good. -The riff that comes in during A Poisoned Land, which is like the real beginning of the song. It's such an epic riff, in the truest sense of the word
-The opening lyrics of the main body of the song (and of course their vocal delivery) "The morrow winds blow and herald a time, when man will be damned for all his crime".
-The melody of Take-Off
-The piano and the guitar solo at the beginning of A New Balance
-The accoustic guitar at the beginning of The Age Of Confusion: Despair
-The Aftermath - the entire thing, it's very different and Seventh Wonder at their darkest - especially the vocals at the end.
-The outro - fits very well and you can almost hear the beginning.

Thanks for this true epic.

 

[sithpt]

My favourite bits are the:

I couldn't stop them if I tried
As they all rushed to see her die
Chaos, panic, people fight
I can't see, I will not, I won't
Our way of life is overthrown
Is there really no way? Let us turn back time!

Followed by the bass arpeggios and EPIC keyboard solo, then the short guitar solo that follows Despair.

 

[jakethesnake]

So hard to decide what my favourite bit is! Meh, I'll just say that the whole song is my favourite bit ;-)

However, a standout part for me is V - A Turn for the Worse ("A swerve to clear the Hondo stone / Now we proclaim it known / took us off course came too wide of Mars to turn back home"). That melody is so infectious and brilliant! Another highlight would have to be about halfway through VI - A New Balance ("Inside the Mima's eyes, we lived our lives..."), that riff is awesome! Strangely enough, it occurs at 13:37 through the song...I wonder if that's a coincidence, or intentional, haha

 

[luke1304]

By far the best part in my eyes is "Shine your light, be the beacon of hope at night. Be our guide, cause I need what your doing to me"

 

[sithpt]

By far the best part in my eyes is "Shine your light, be the beacon of hope at night. Be our guide, cause I need what your doing to me"

Love that too, possibly my favourite of the 5 different chorus sections.

 

[Frankgate]

Monster of a song. "Shine Your Light" is surely the "tour de force" section of the song. Most of times, long songs come boring. TGE flows like a river, and when it's done, you couldn't even believe you've listened to a 30-minutes suite..... Unbelievable.

 

[compurocker]

I am not typically a fan of long songs because there almost always ends up being at least one section I don't like and it's not easy to just skip through. That said, I was hopeful going into this, and it exceeded my expectations. Amazing song.

For me this album takes the best of WitW and MF and combines them into a great album of standalone songs along with a nice epic concept album. Bravo, my friends. A masterpiece.

 

[fire_angel]

My favourite bits are the:

I couldn't stop them if I tried
As they all rushed to see her die
Chaos, panic, people fight
I can't see, I will not, I won't
Our way of life is overthrown
Is there really no way? Let us turn back time!

Followed by the bass arpeggios and EPIC keyboard solo, then the short guitar solo that follows Despair.

The title track is by many lengths my favourite track on TGE, and this specific part is a good example of why.

 

[amyasdf]

this song is captivating. i've had this album on repeat all day ever since i bought it at 6am this morning. the album is truly brilliant! fantastic job, guys!

 

[Black_Sheep]

this song is captivating. i've had this album on repeat all day ever since i bought it at 6am this morning. the album is truly brilliant! fantastic job, guys!

I couldn't agree more! it's a true masterpiece. I just can't stop listening to it.


Especially the title track..

 

[amyasdf]

 

[RuRoRul]

Is there really no way? Let us turn back time!

Definitely one of the most epic moments - that bit and the instrumental afterwords are like the end of the first part of the song.

Also A New Balance and Dining On Ashes are probably the ones with the most chorus like bits, the "Shine Your Light" and "We crown the skies" ones. Those and The Aftermath are the longest parts I think? Either way all those parts are amazing, I love both of the chorus bits I mentioned.

Some other bits I didn't mention:

The verses in Dining On Ashes
The alternating bass / keyboard solo bits in between verses at the beginning of The Curtain Falls

The entire song really is amazing, it flows so well together as well - even moreso than other epics which different parts, probably. Apart from the absolute stop between the Death of a Goddess and The Age Of Confusion: Despair. At first I didn't like that it stopped completely but it does fit the song well.

 

[the_lone_bard]

well i've been listening to this song for about a month and it was never in context, personally i thought it would have fit well from the point of view of a civilian ship in the battle star galactica universe, though i have been watching that lately so...
still, untill now the album seemed.... confused... jumping from one incident to the other with the title track being a true epic progressing from start to finish like a play or book would.

all in all, now that this has context the album is quite possibly the best i've heard, definately the best album of 2010 and probably 2011.
the only real criticism i can give is i wanna hear more of tommys sister, she has a damn good voice and it fits incredibly well with the album.
keep it up guys, your one of the best bands around and without you music would be in a much worse state than it is already.

 

[Shadowsoul]

Best song ever written tbh, dream theater couldn't even dream of writing something like this. The first time i listened to it with the booklet in my hand, i was literally just sat in silence, it was an emotional rollercoaster, absolutely astonishing

 

[MAXX68]

Monster of a song. "Shine Your Light" is surely the "tour de force" section of the song. Most of times, long songs come boring. TGE flows like a river, and when it's done, you couldn't even believe you've listened to a 30-minutes suite..... Unbelievable.

Absolutely agreed with that!! As I told to Johan the boring part of such a great masterpiece is the 2 (maybe 3) seconds of complete silence in the middle of the song...too long for our hungry ears...

I completely match with "compurocker" thoughts :
"For me this album takes the best of WitW and MF and combines them into a masterpiece" - you read my mind! -

and to complete my "I FULLY AGREE!! comment" (sorry I'm like the Pope or Ghandi...) the_lone_bard is absolutely right! we must have more and more of Jenny (tommy's sister) especially after we personally met her at the Party

 

[the_lone_bard]

and to complete my "I FULLY AGREE!! comment" (sorry I'm like the Pope or Ghandi...) the_lone_bard is absolutely right! we must have more and more of Jenny (tommy's sister) especially after we personally met her at the Party

you lucky sons of... if i didn't have family xmas crap to go to i was going to fly in from aus... and after seeing the tracklist + that jenny was there i can honestly say if i ever get the choice family can just sit around whinging without me for a year, cause really, i only go to keep them from annoying me about why i didn't go.

 

[Akumu]

I was somewhat afraid going into this, since monstrously long songs tend to be hit-or-miss with me, but this one is just... wow. I've only listened to it twice so far, but I've already fallen in love with all of XI. The Aftermath. Jenny's chorus is fantastic. And when Tommy sings this:

"God and Satan hand in hand
through this badland
took a flight uphill and down from man,
a king with an ashen crown"

I love how absolutely dark this section is - SW's not a band I really associate with darkness (as even some of the darker themes on WitW had some uplifting melodies), but they've proven that they can do it well. Can't wait to give this some more listens...

 

[mad_taffer]

Right now I'm really digging the "Cradle of Confusion" section. I love the chorus in it, and the groove man...the groove!
Tons of emotion and then Jenny's vocals make it just an emotional powerhouse.

 

[RuRoRul]

Listened to it a lot more obviously, and there really isn't a weak section in this song (which is quite an achievement for one with so many parts). If I had to, I think maybe A Turn For The Worse and Age Of Confusion: Lust and Reason would be my least favourite sections, but even they are practically perfect.

I've come round to the most popular opinion that A New Balance is probably the best (or at least most important) section of the song. Everything about it is just amazing... it's even a strong contender for the best lyrics of any of the sections.

It's pretty short but Take Off is still one of my favourites - those vocal and lead guitar melodies are probably the best few seconds of the song. It was that that got me hooked to the song.

 

[Detective Clarence Beauregard]

I've come round to the most popular opinion that A New Balance is probably the best (or at least most important) section of the song. Everything about it is just amazing... it's even a strong contender for the best lyrics of any of the sections.

I agree! I particularly love the verses!