Kevin or Jordan?

[i_am_here_]

I'm sure this has probably been done before, but with all the talk of SDV is making me miss kevin really bad. So would you rather have Kevin or Jordan in DT?

[CountVoorhees]

Sorry Jordan.

[yeshaberto]

the wizard

[Adami]

They're both wonderful. 

[orcus116]

Kev purely for songwriting. Jordan seems to gel with their newer mindset though.

[pogoowner]

Oh no, not again...

Kevin, though. Easily.

[dethklok09]

the wizard

same here but i love kev's stuff as well

[juice]

This Kevin Moore poll option joke is getting old. 

[i_am_here_]

This Kevin Moore poll option joke is getting old. 

Haha sorry 

[SnakeEyes]

KEVIN.  UNDOUBTEDLY.  100%.  ABSOLUTELY NO CONTEST.  

In my opinion.  

Disclaimer:  

The above opinion does not represent the thoughts or beliefs of DTF.org or any of its staff.  The thoughts and opinions in this post belong only to the individual who made the post.

edit #1..

Nah, I'm sure hef daddy agrees with me. 

edit #2..

And, probably bosk. 

edit #3..

Actually, nevermind.  DTF and its staff completely agree with me because I'm 100% correct.  LOL

[Perpetual Change]

Kevin had nothing creatively left to offer the band, and his work outside Dream Theater is a testament to the fact that he or Dream Theater would have had to change their attitude completely for them to work together. Basically, it boils down to this: Portnoy/Petrucci/Myung/Moore/LaBrie is my favorite lineup. However, if I had to choose between Dream Theater going on as they did with Derek and later Jordan or Dream Theater going on with Kevin and slowly becoming more and more like OSI with every release, I'd chose to keep the Dream Theater we have now. Every time.

[PowerSlave]

Kevin had nothing creatively left to offer the band, and his work outside Dream Theater is a testament to the fact that he or Dream Theater would have had to change their attitude completely for them to work together. Basically, it boils down to this: Portnoy/Petrucci/Myung/Moore/LaBrie is my favorite lineup. However, if I had to choose between Dream Theater going on as they did with Derek and later Jordan or Dream Theater going on with Kevin and slowly becoming more and more like OSI with every release, I'd chose to keep the Dream Theater we have now. Every time.

His work with Fates Warning wasn't like OSI or his solo material. Yes, it was more subdued than DT but, I think he could have still offered a lot on the creative front. Honestly, I miss Kevin's restraint. It always seemed like he was more interested in creating atmosphere and being a song writer than either of his replacements. The band could use some of that mindset in the future.

[Perpetual Change]

Well to be quite honestly I find  his lyrics to be pretty terrible, aside from Wait for Sleep, 6:00 and Space Dye-Vest. In terms of atmosphere, I don't really think Kevin has anything on Jordan. I think they're about the same. And neither can touch Derek in that department.

[orcus116]

Before anyone jumps to the "Jordan adds atmosphere, just no one really notices it" defense while, yes, Jordan does add some great background to the newer Dream Theater stuff his bread and butter is being that complimentary lead part whereas I see Kevin taking a completely secondary role and excelling at it incredibly. It's tough to judge considering the band as morphed into a guitar/key fronted unit (instrumentally at least) but that just guitar with flavors of keys filling the gaps sounded very appealing back in the day. It's all about what you want out of the band, though.

In terms of atmosphere, I don't really think Kevin has anything on Jordan. I think they're about the same. And neither can touch Derek in that department.

Disagreed. Derek did very well for that iteration in that department but as an artist even just Chroma Key showcases how well Kevin crafts every nuance of a song. "Space Dye Vest" is the obvious precursor to that.

[Perpetual Change]

Chroma Key is way off course, in territory I'd never want to see DT go with. I still think Derek did the best job. Hells Kitchen, Lines in the Sand, and Trial of Tears slays anything Kevin did atmosphere wise, and anything Jordan would go on to do.

[RoeDent]

Jordan Rudess

[orcus116]

Hells Kitchen, Lines in the Sand, and Trial of Tears slays anything Kevin did atmosphere wise, and anything Jordan would go on to do.

That's hard to argue. If Kev did stay on I dunno if those songs would've even come out of the band.

[Perpetual Change]

Right.

And that's the thing. I can't imagine Kev staying with the band and it being good. Granted we don't know what it would have sounded like, the only thing I can compared it to is Chroma Key, OSI, or his work in Fates Warning. And while I think DT were at their best when he was a part of them, I'd take the DT we have now with Jordan over something that sounds more like anything Kev's been involved with since he left.

[tri.ad]

I think that Derek would have been a great fit for a more permanent position DT. Sure, he wasn't as technical proficient during his time in DT, but this kind of tension would have provided some very interesting things for DT's sound imo.

As for this debate, I can't really decide. Both have their pros and cons, and JR fits DT's present sound better, but I really, really enjoy KM's playing on the albums he played on.

[Kosmo]

I automatically voted for Rudess since he was the one who got me behind the Keyboard, but...Kevin has something unique in his playing that i can't figure out.

[Adami]

I automatically voted for Rudess since he was the one who got me behind the Keyboard,

That's really quite wondeful.

[wolfking]

Does this really matter?

[?]

Kevin's playing is more "atmospheric" while Jordan is more technical. Both are along my favorite keyboardists. Both have their flaws too: Kevin's keyboard sounds on WDADU and some parts of IAW sound a bit dated and Jordan shreds too much sometimes. I still prefer Kevin, he's a great songwriter, his playing brought magic to the old songs and Awake and I&W are my favorite albums.

[Mladen]

Jordan.

Duh!

[Jirpo]

I probably prefer Kevin, he created some great songs, and some very nice keyboard pieces

[SnakeEyes]

I believe that, had Portnoy not been a member of DT, Kevin wouldn't have left DT.  Of course, I can't "factually" back that up, but it's just a feeling I have.  I think Portnoy was pushing for a heavier, ballsier, more contemporary sound and Moore wanted to be more proggy/ experimental.  I think Petrucci and the other guys are more open minded to the experimental stuff and I fully believe that Kevin and Portnoy probably butted heads about what direction DT should be in, Portnoy most likely said, "we're going to go in this direction" (meaning METAL) and Moore probably felt like he didn't have any room to breathe any more.  

Of course this is all speculation, but judging by the fact that a) Portnoy is the only member of DT to speak negatively about Kevin Moore since he left DT and b) James and Jordan played Space Dye Vest, I think it's at least a valid speculation.  

edit..

Oh, and c) since PORTNOY left, the other guys almost seem .... well, kind of relieved, as if they can just do whatever the hell they want now without answering to Portnoy.  Just what it seems like, at least. 

[ariich]

Oh no, not again...

This.

But anyway I voted JR. For the most part I really love KM's contribution to DT's early albums, but I agree with PC that it clearly wasn't sustainable, and while some of the stuff he's done since has been pretty good (some of the OSI albums are great anyway) I still much prefer DT. Jordan fits better with the band and is far more adaptable so can play whatever the other guys want, which maybe has it's flaws at times, but for the most part makes the music quite diverse and exciting.

This Kevin Moore poll option joke is getting old. 

[Lowdz]

Voted the wizard mainly because of KM's attitude to all things DT. If he were in the band his contribution would be chill out ambient stuff and if I wanted that I'd... lie down until the mood passed and put on something with a bit of life!

[hefdaddy42]

I'm sure this has probably been done before

No, no, not that I can recall.

At any rate, the question isn't really fair.  KM was the best choice in the early days, but JR is the best fit now.  If KM had stayed, they wouldn't have kept making music like I&W or Awake, because he was already changing into what he does now, which isn't compatible with what DT wants to be - that's why he left.

[Perpetual Change]

I believe that, had Portnoy not been a member of DT, Kevin wouldn't have left DT.  Of course, I can't "factually" back that up, but it's just a feeling I have.  I think Portnoy was pushing for a heavier, ballsier, more contemporary sound and Moore wanted to be more proggy/ experimental.  I think Petrucci and the other guys are more open minded to the experimental stuff and I fully believe that Kevin and Portnoy probably butted heads about what direction DT should be in, Portnoy most likely said, "we're going to go in this direction" (meaning METAL) and Moore probably felt like he didn't have any room to breathe any more.  

Of course this is all speculation, but judging by the fact that a) Portnoy is the only member of DT to speak negatively about Kevin Moore since he left DT and b) James and Jordan played Space Dye Vest, I think it's at least a valid speculation.  

edit..

Oh, and c) since PORTNOY left, the other guys almost seem .... well, kind of relieved, as if they can just do whatever the hell they want now without answering to Portnoy.  Just what it seems like, at least.  

Sorry SnakeEyes, but this post makes absolutely no-sense at all. Portnoy told Kevin they were going to be more metal and he should leave? The next album was Falling Into Infinity for God's sake.  

The following is the only true explanation for why Kevin left: He didn't want to be in the band anymore. There were, as far as we know, no arguments or creative disagreements that were brought up. Kevin just kept that all to himself and became more and more detached from the guys as time went on, and said he wanted to leave and that was that.

And you're right about one thing: that Portnoy kinda made it into a big deal. I'm not sure Kevin would still refuse to have anything to do with DT anymore if it weren't for Mike's badgering and public insults. But Mike was, quite literally, on drugs back then.

I do hope that there's some kind of reconnection with Dream Theater in the future.  

[Killer123™]

At any rate, the question isn't really fair.  KM was the best choice in the early days, but JR is the best fit now.  If KM had stayed, they wouldn't have kept making music like I&W or Awake, because he was already changing into what he does now, which isn't compatible with what DT wants to be - that's why he left.

This.

Not that I don't like Kevin, but if he's still in the band, i don't think there would be songs like Stream of Consciousness and Octavarium.

[Raziel666]

His work with Fates Warning wasn't like OSI or his solo material.

It's not like he wrote any of the music in the FW albums he participated, as it was all Matheos'.

As for the poll... I prefer JR to KM, but I'm curious to see how JR's playing will be on the next album.

[Chino]

I really enjoy Kevin's work, but I prefer Jordan's more.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

The landslide kinda surprises me

[hefdaddy42]

The landslide kinda surprises me

Not me.  We have more new users than ever before.  Also, JR has been with the band now for the past 12 years or so, and therefore he IS the keyboardist for DT.  In fact, he has been a member longer than KM was.