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JOHN PETRUCCI looks back on working with hitmaker DESMOND CHILD on a DREAM THEATER song three decades ago

26-01-2026

In a new interview with Gustavo Maiato and Mateus Ribeiro of Brazil’s Whiplash.net, DREAM THEATER guitarist John Petrucci spoke about the band’s 1997 collaboration with writer/producer Desmond Child on a song called “You Not Me”, which appeared on the album “Falling Into Infinity”Child, who is perhaps best known for co-writing the pop/rock hits “You Give Love A Bad Name” from BON JOVI and “Livin’ La Vida Loca” from Ricky Martin, was reportedly recruited by DREAM THEATER‘s then-record label East West to help the band adopt a more mainstream sound, including reworking a song that DREAM THEATER had originally demoed under the title “You Or Me”.

Petrucci told Whiplash.net about the experience of working with Child: “Well, I remember that we wrote the song in its original form. I think this was the first and the only time this ever happened, but the label had this idea where they wanted to try to have more of a commercial song from us and suggested that we work with him. And it was something new. It was something that we never did before. I do remember flying out to his place and getting together and working with him. It was a lot of fun, going to his studio. But, again, it’s not something that we continued to do. It was the only time that we did that. Again, it was a fun experience meeting him and working on the song together and developing it. It was just something different.”

With a running time of just under five minutes, “You Not Me” was produced by Kevin Shirley, who had worked on the AEROSMITH album “Nine Lives”, and it reached No. 40 on the Mainstream Rock chart.

In a Songfacts interview with Petrucci, the guitarist also described writing with Child as “a fun experience. It was something I never did before,” he said. “We had always kept everything internal to the band — we never had outside writers or anything like that — but it was an opportunity to do something different. I went down to his place. He was great, and we spent some time in the studio and reworked the lyrics to be in a better place, coming from his expertise and his influence. I never really have done anything like that again. It was a one-time thing, but it was a cool experience.”

DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy later said that he didn’t think the collaboration with Child was a successful one for the progressive metal band. “As far as I’m concerned, the experiment failed and this will never happen again,” he wrote on his web site.

DREAM THEATER spotlight their influential studio recordings with two releases arriving on November 21. “The Studio Albums 1992–2016” brings together nearly 25 years of groundbreaking music, while “Dream Theater Vol. 3” concludes the vinyl reissue series covering the band’s studio albums.

“The Studio Albums 1992–2016” unites 12 of the band’s core studio works for the first time across 14CDs. The boxed set charts more than two decades of DREAM THEATER‘s musical growth — a career that helped define the sound of modern progressive metal while selling more than 12 million albums worldwide.

It begins with the band’s gold-certified 1992 breakthrough “Images And Words”, featuring the Top 10 hit “Pull Me Under”, then navigates a prolific decade as the band scaled new creative heights on albums like “Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory”, one of the greatest concept albums in progressive-rock history.

The band continued adding to its legacy in the 21st century with a string of acclaimed works, like “Six Degrees Of Inner Turbulence” and “Octavarium” — milestones that expanded DREAM THEATER‘s musical range and cemented their reputation for unmatched technical precision and ambition.

Also arriving November 21, “Dream Theater Vol. 3” serves as the final installment in the group’s vinyl reissue series. Limited to 2,500 copies worldwide, the 10LP boxed set pressed on 140-gram black vinyl is available exclusively through Rhino.com. It includes “Black Clouds & Silver Linings” (2009),  “A Dramatic Turn Of Events” (2011),“Dream Theater” (2013) and “The Astonishing” (2016), each pressed on 140-gram black vinyl and housed in a newly designed slipcase.

“Black Clouds & Silver Linings” marked the end of an era as DREAM THEATER‘s final studio album with founding drummer Mike Portnoy before his return to the band in 2023. The record balanced towering epics such as “The Count Of Tuscany” with deeply personal writing on tracks like “The Best Of Times” and “A Nightmare To Remember”.

With “A Dramatic Turn Of Events”DREAM THEATER began a new chapter with drummer Mike Mangini. The album earned the band its first Grammy nomination for “On The Backs Of Angels”, reaffirming their ability to evolve while maintaining their signature precision and emotional range.

Their self-titled “Dream Theater” followed in 2013, debuting in the Top 10 of more than 20 countries and earning another Grammy nomination for “The Enemy Inside”. Combining intricate musicianship with renewed energy, the album distilled the group’s defining elements into one of their most focused statements.

Finally, “The Astonishing” expanded the band’s scope into cinematic territory with a two-act rock opera. Orchestrated and expansive, it embodied the ambition that has long defined DREAM THEATER‘s approach — melding storytelling, virtuosity, and scale into an immersive listening experience.

DREAM THEATER will release “Quarantième: Live À Paris” on November 28 via their longtime label partner Inside Out Music/Sony Music. The second performance video from the effort, for the song “Barstool Warrior”, was released last week.

Watch the live version of “Overture 1928 / Strange Déjà Vu” below.

Watch the previously released live version of “Overture 1928 / Strange Déjà Vu” below.

“Quarantième: Live À Paris” documents DREAM THEATER‘s November 23, 2024 concert at Adidas Arena in Paris, France during the band’s 40th-anniversary headlining tour of Europe, and it features the lineup of James LaBrie (vocals),John Petrucci (guitar),John Myung (bass),Jordan Rudess (keyboards) and Mike Portnoy (drums). The effort contains a setlist that spans the band’s entire career with classics like “Metropolis Pt. 1”“Panic Attack”“Octavarium” and “Pull Me Under” represented among other fan favorites.

Petrucci comments: “From the moment we announced our 40th-anniversary tour, we knew it would be a very special event for both the band and our fans and must be captured. With this release, our performance in Paris is presented so beautifully in both stunning audio and video and really encapsulates this momentous occasion for all to enjoy.”

Adds Portnoy: “We always knew this tour would be unforgettable because not only were we celebrating four decades since forming the band, but also the reunion of the band’s classic lineup. The excitement and emotions between us and our fans at each and every show were palpable and totally off the charts! The night captured here in Paris was an epic evening that we can now share with the whole world to celebrate this incredible tour.”

Presented in several formats, with artwork by longtime collaborator Hugh Syme“Quarantième: Live À Paris” will be available as a limited deluxe 3CD+3Blu-ray artbook, including 68 pages of photos and artwork as well as an additional Blu-ray of bonus material. It will also be available as a special edition 3CD+2Blu-ray Digipak, limited deluxe 180g 4LP boxset and digitally. The Blu-ray includes the full show with Dolby Atmos, 5.1 Surround Sound and high-resolution stereo audio.

The track listing for “Quarantième: Live À Paris” is as follows:

CD1:

01. Metropolis Pt. 1
02. Overture 1928
03. Strange Déjà Vu
04. The Mirror
05. Panic Attack
06. Barstool Warrior
07. Hollow Years
08. Constant Motion
09. As I Am

CD2:

01. Orchestral Overture
02. Night Terror
03. Under A Glass Moon
04. This Is The Life
05. Vacant
06. Stream of Consciousness
07. Octavarium

CD3:

01. Home
02. The Spirit Carries On
03. Pull Me Under

Blu-ray 1:

01. Metropolis Pt. 1
02. Overture 1928
03. Strange Déjà Vu
04. The Mirror
05. Panic Attack
06. Barstool Warrior
07. Hollow Years
08. Constant Motion
09. As I Am

Blu-ray 2:

01. Orchestral Overture
02. Night Terror
03. Under A Glass Moon
04. This Is The Life
05. Vacant
06. Stream of Consciousness
07. Octavarium
08. Home
09. The Spirit Carries On
10. Pull Me Under

Parasomnia was released on February 7, 2025 via InsideOut Music. The LP marks the band’s first release with Portnoy since 2009’s “Black Clouds & Silver Linings”.

“Parasomnia” was produced by guitarist John Petrucci, engineered by James “Jimmy T” Meslin, and mixed by Andy SneapHugh Syme returns once again to lend his creative vision to the cover art.

The track listing: for “Parasomnia” is:
01. In The Arms Of Morpheus (5:22)
02. Night Terror (9:55)
03. A Broken Man (8:30)
04. Dead Asleep (11:06)
05. Midnight Messiah (7:58)
06. Are We Dreaming? (1:28)
07. Bend The Clock (7:24)
08. The Shadow Man Incident (19:32)

Parasomnia will be available for pre-order here starting October 11th in the following configurations:
Ltd Deluxe Box-set – includes Ltd Deluxe 2CD+Blu-ray Artbook (Incl. CD1: full album, CD2: instrumentals, Blu-ray: Dolby Atmos & 5.1 Surround Sound – mixed by Mark Gittins, High-Resolution Stereo Mixes, animated visualizers for each song created by Wayne Joyner, + 68-page booklet), Ltd Gatefold 180g Dark Green 2LP (feat. alternative cover artwork), Majesty-logo dream catcher keyring, Sleeping mask, Dream journal, 60x60cm poster & hand-numbered, foil-stamped certificate of authenticity. Limited to 3500 copies worldwide.
Ltd Deluxe 2CD+Blu-ray Artbook – (Incl. CD1: full album, CD2: instrumentals, Blu-ray: Dolby Atmos & 5.1 Surround Sound – mixed by Mark Gittins, High-Resolution Stereo Mixes, animated visualizers for each song created by Wayne Joyner, + 68-page booklet)
Gatefold 180g 2LP + 12-page LP-booklet
Special Edition CD Digipak
Digital Album – (incl. Dolby Atmos – mixed by Mark Gittins)

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