Dream Theater ~ Take the Time ~ Images and Words ~ Live in Tokyo (1993)

"Images and Words: Live in Tokyo" is the first home video release from American progressive metal band Dream Theater. It contains most of the band's performance from their August 26, 1993 show at Nakano Sun Plaza in Tokyo, Japan. "Take the Time" is the seventh song on the "Images and Words / Live in Tokyo" DVD. The VHS version was released November 16, 1993. In 2004, "Live in Tokyo" was released as Disc 1 of the "Images and Words: Live in Tokyo / 5 Years in a LIVEtime" DVD re-release. A commentary track by the band members is included on the DVD. "Take the Time" is the third song from their second album, "Images and Words". It is the third radio single release from the album and its second video release, and is the only song from Dream Theater that feature lyrics from all 5 members of the band. "Take the Time", as it has multiple lyricists and is laden with metaphors, can be a bit daunting to analyze. Closer inspection reveals it to be autobiographical, particularly about the period of time since "When Dream and Day Unite". The song refers to the band's many struggles. An example of this is "I need a new voice" referring to the band's need for a new vocalist and "Go back to square one" referring to the band basically having to start from scratch. It is an anthemic song, though it contains different sections and an extended length, being fairly progressive. The song is somewhat known for its chorus, which is popularly sung live by the audience. The sampled voice saying "Ora che ho perso la vista, ci vedo di più" used during the song is from the film "Cinema Paradiso". The voice saying "Wait a minute..." is sampled from the ending of Frank Zappa's "Dancin' Fool", "Hold up!" is sampled from "Christmas Rapping" by Kurtis Blow, and "Come On!" comes from "Power to the People" by Public Enemy. "Take the Time" is a popular song live, and often has much audience participation in the vocals. Performances are usually extended, with the solo sections lengthening the song upwards of 14 minutes long. In this live version, the intro became the beginnings of the song "The Mirror" on the band's third album release "Awake". It was initially named "Puppies on Acid" before it was fleshed out into a full song. Mike Portnoy - Drums, lyrics John Petrucci - Guitar, lyrics John Myung - Bass, lyrics Kevin Moore - Keyboard, lyrics James LaBrie - Vocals, lyrics #MysticRhythmsLive