In 2011, before the split that tore Queensÿrche into two separate bands, singer Geoff Tate told Prog why their 1992 single Silent Lucidity became their only UK Top 20 on its second release.
Even if most people regard the 1988 concept album Operation: Mindcrime as the apogee of Queensrÿche’s career, it was the follow-up, 1990’s Empire, that was their biggest commercial success. It also gave them their only Top 20 single in the UK when Silent Lucidity made it to Number 18 in August 1992.
Written by guitarist Chris DeGarmo (who left in 1997, returning briefly in 2003 and 2007), the song is assumed to be about lucid dreaming. “Well, that’s one of the sub-themes of it,” says vocalist Geoff Tate.
“It was really about being a parent and waking up in the middle of the night by your kid who’s had a bad dream. It’s trying to explain to a young child that dreams aren’t necessarily a bad thing or a good thing.”
Tate has his own theory about the track’s success. “I think it really connected with people at that time for a number of reasons. The Gulf War was going on and people were separated from their families and loved ones. That tends to put people’s emotional radar a little bit higher than normal. Also, that album came out at the height of popularity for rock music.”
On first release as a single in April 1991, Silent Lucidity only got to Number 34 in the UK charts. It was only when released for a second time that it took off, with EMI’s backing.
“We had a functioning record industry with millions of dollars to put behind the promotion of a record then,” Tate recalls. “People were really exposed to that song. There was a tremendous focus on rock music at that time, and Silent Lucidity had all the right ingredients.”
Still, it didn’t fit what would be regarded as the usual parameters for a hit single; it stood apart from much that was popular at the time, partly because of its inner strength and substance.
“Most singles are about love in one way or another,” Tate says. “But there’s a simple reason why we put it out – it’s a beautiful song.”
