Are JP's backing vocals on LALP the ones we actually hear?

[rumborak]

I was finally able to watch the second half of LALP today, but one thing struck me: JP does a very shoddy job at facing the microphone when singing backing vocals, and yet your hear perfectly performed and enunciated backing. Anyone who's ever seen a live concert knows, unless you almost inhale the mic, you won't hear anything.
The other thing was during War Inside My Head, where every time the high-pitched having vocals come in, JP is nowhere to be seen. Which makes me guess that he was focusing on the guitar line at that point (which is tricky to sing over, trust me I tried) , so they didn't want to explicitly make it obvious that those vocals were canned.

So, given the otherwise copious use of backing vocals, I have to wonder: is anything except The Silent Man (which actually sounded convincingly like JP) actually really sung by him? Or did they turn down his mic and fed in canned recordings (many of which sounded a lot like MP anyway)?

[Madman Shepherd]

Somebody posted on here that they were able to actually hear JPs vocals but they were turned down lower than the canned vocals. 

The canned vocals were almost certainly James with maybe a bit of JP mixed in but I doubt it.  They probably recorded new canned vocals so as to not use any of MPs voice. 

[chrisbDTM]

i love the close-ups to him obviously lip syncing to a james backing vocal track

[wolfking]

I laughed so hard at War Inside My Head.  Those backings are so not JP.

[BlobVanDam]

I laughed so hard at War Inside My Head.  Those backings are so not JP.

Yeah, a lot of the backing vocals are clearly JLB's vocals. WIMH, the TDEN verses, TTTSTA etc.
There was part where I thought I may have heard JP mixed in very low with JLB's taped vocals, but for the most part it looked silly, and was the only detraction from the DVD for me.

[CrimsonSunrise]

I think it's absolutely him on These Walls and Silent Man

[RaiseTheKnife]

In my DTF review of the tour in 2012 I mentioned JP's lip syncing in a few songs.  It is quite obvious to differentiate which songs he actually sings at the show.  BMUBMD wins the silliness.

[Sycsa]

Yeah, a lot of the backing vocals are clearly JLB's vocals. WIMH, the TDEN verses, TTTSTA etc.
There was part where I thought I may have heard JP mixed in very low with JLB's taped vocals, but for the most part it looked silly, and was the only detraction from the DVD for me.

I showed the DVD to a casual fan friend of mine and I was careful to avoid those songs, because I would have felt embarrassed if she had noticed those stuff.
I find the lip-sync to be the worst offender, but the occasional syncing problems (footage from one night, sound from the other) and the overwhelming amount of backing vocals take me out of the experience just as much. And then there's the mix...

Edit: just listened to a couple songs from Live Scenes, the louder-than-studio keys, bass, the huge drum sound plus the raw vocals please my ears like never before. Not gonna pop Luna Park back in after this, or its rating may plummet.

[BlobVanDam]

Yeah, a lot of the backing vocals are clearly JLB's vocals. WIMH, the TDEN verses, TTTSTA etc.
There was part where I thought I may have heard JP mixed in very low with JLB's taped vocals, but for the most part it looked silly, and was the only detraction from the DVD for me.

I showed the DVD to a casual fan friend of mine and I was careful to avoid those songs, because I would have felt embarrassed if she had noticed those stuff.
I find the lip-sync to be the worst offender, but the occasional syncing problems (footage from one night, sound from the other) and the overwhelming amount of backing vocals take me out of the experience just as much. And then there's the mix...

While I noticed the sync issues on the original Youtube clips when pointed out, I didn't really notice them when watching the DVD. If I was looking out for it, I'd spot it, but luckily I found it easy to forget about altogether.

[Sycsa]

Yeah, a lot of the backing vocals are clearly JLB's vocals. WIMH, the TDEN verses, TTTSTA etc.
There was part where I thought I may have heard JP mixed in very low with JLB's taped vocals, but for the most part it looked silly, and was the only detraction from the DVD for me.

I showed the DVD to a casual fan friend of mine and I was careful to avoid those songs, because I would have felt embarrassed if she had noticed those stuff.
I find the lip-sync to be the worst offender, but the occasional syncing problems (footage from one night, sound from the other) and the overwhelming amount of backing vocals take me out of the experience just as much. And then there's the mix...

While I noticed the sync issues on the original Youtube clips when pointed out, I didn't really notice them when watching the DVD. If I was looking out for it, I'd spot it, but luckily I found it easy to forget about altogether.

I wasn't on a lookout either, but somehow they just managed to pop into focus. Usually it's when they show the whole stage.

[TheGreatPretender]

I think it's absolutely him on These Walls and Silent Man

Definitely.

[Dacling]

I'd like to complain about the fact that they used these backing tracks but opted not to at the one time that they should have. Which is the 'like a scene from a memory' backing vocals during Metropolis Pt. 1. That's the one thing that's missing from all the live versions. Sure Portnoy does them during live scenes but you need more than just one person to replicate it and they had the perfect opportunity and still didn't do it.

[Sycsa]

I'd like to complain about the fact that they used these backing tracks but opted not to at the one time that they should have. Which is the 'like a scene from a memory' backing vocals during Metropolis Pt. 1. That's the one thing that's missing from all the live versions. Sure Portnoy does them during live scenes but you need more than just one person to replicate it and they had the perfect opportunity and still didn't do it.

Good point, I noticed that too. Still, I still wish they'd done every single thing (okay, save for a few samples) live.

[wolfking]

I didn't notice any sync problems with the DVD at all, but I wasn't looking either.

[TheGreatPretender]

I'd like to complain about the fact that they used these backing tracks but opted not to at the one time that they should have. Which is the 'like a scene from a memory' backing vocals during Metropolis Pt. 1. That's the one thing that's missing from all the live versions. Sure Portnoy does them during live scenes but you need more than just one person to replicate it and they had the perfect opportunity and still didn't do it.

I don't really mind it.

Also, Charlie Dominici did backing vocals for that part as well, on WDADRU.

[JiM-Xtreme]

I can't get used to JLB doing counterpoint with his own voice, especially in TDEN. Just doesn't work for me.

[wolfking]

I can't get used to JLB doing counterpoint with his own voice, especially in TDEN. Just doesn't work for me.

Yeah, I get this.  Even if JP recorded vox for it in the studio and they used that and he just did Alex Lifeson, it would still be more acceptable than JLB backings.

[rumborak]

Now that I think of it, there were also several doubled guitar lines throughout the concert that I think were either canned, or overdubbed later.

[Zook]

Are there any live albums that don't get a butt load of post production work done?

[Sycsa]

Are there any live albums that don't get a butt load of post production work done?

Deep Purple's Made in Japan ("the best live album ever recorded") is famous for not having any post-production work done to it. Live Scenes sounds pretty raw, and based on MP's commentary, they didn't mess too much with LAB either (although he wanted to re-recod his very first drum fills, as he messed up their order). JR's keyboard didn't work a the beginning and James re-recorded a single line.

[CrimsonSunrise]

Are there any live albums that don't get a butt load of post production work done?

Deep Purple's Made in Japan ("the best live album ever recorded"

I'm going with The Song Remains the Same here.....

[JiM-Xtreme]

...based on MP's commentary, they didn't mess too much with LAB either (although he wanted to re-recod his very first drum fills, as he messed up their order).

Really? I find it surprising that he found something like the order to be so significant...

[a51502112]

Are there any live albums that don't get a butt load of post production work done?

Live After Death... mistakes, out-of-breath-singing and all.

[Sycsa]

...based on MP's commentary, they didn't mess too much with LAB either (although he wanted to re-recod his very first drum fills, as he messed up their order).

Really? I find it surprising that he found something like the order to be so significant...

I was surptised as well, and he kept going back to it throughout the commentary. Guess it's OCD stuff.

[Elite]

Are there any live albums that don't get a butt load of post production work done?

Deep Purple's Made in Japan ("the best live album ever recorded"

I'm going with The Song Remains the Same here.....

Made in Japan is up there, but the best live album ever recorded is Porcupine Tree's 'Coma Divine'.

[Zook]

[ZKX-2099]

...based on MP's commentary, they didn't mess too much with LAB either (although he wanted to re-recod his very first drum fills, as he messed up their order).

Really? I find it surprising that he found something like the order to be so significant...

Must have been one of Mikes insane random thoughts of neat disorder.

[Setlist Scotty]

Are there any live albums that don't get a butt load of post production work done?

Live After Death... mistakes, out-of-breath-singing and all.

Best live album. Ever.

[a51502112]

Are there any live albums that don't get a butt load of post production work done?

Live After Death... mistakes, out-of-breath-singing and all.

Best live album. Ever.

Agreed.

[rumborak]

I actually like mostly untouched live recordings. Sure, if the guitar drops out during Score, it's fine to dub that over. But a bum chord or a slightly bungled line? Leave it in there, because it shows there's actually humans up there, not a Chuck-E-Cheeze animatronics show.

There's a Ben Folds studio album where he bungles a chord, and he decided to leave it in. I always liked that. I know DT kinda ride on the "perfection live" reputation, but sometimes I wish they scaled it back a bit. CiM was a surprising break from that.

[BlobVanDam]

I actually like mostly untouched live recordings. Sure, if the guitar drops out during Score, it's fine to dub that over. But a bum chord or a slightly bungled line? Leave it in there, because it shows there's actually humans up there, not a Chuck-E-Cheeze animatronics show.

For me it depends on how bad it was flubbed. Obviously in the case of the guitar on Score during UAGM, it's fine to dub it since that was an equipment fault, and not a playing fault. Same goes for JR on As I Am on Budokan.
If it's a mistake that is noticeable of off enough to take me out of the song, then I say fix it, as it still represents how it was live every other night. But if it's a minor thing that doesn't detract, then I like having those little mistakes to show they're humans, as you said.

LSFNY has a lot of little things like that, and some messed up words from JLB, but a lot of it really adds to the live feel of it, which I like. In some other cases, a minor mistake might bother me enough that I wish they'd dubbed it in, and it wouldn't have taken away from the live-ness.

DT's music is precise and layered enough that I think it needs a level of perfection to sound right.

[hefdaddy42]

Are there any live albums that don't get a butt load of post production work done?

Deep Purple's Made in Japan ("the best live album ever recorded"

I'm going with The Song Remains the Same here.....

Never heard that opinion before.

[kirksnosehair]

I prefer live recordings to be "warts and all" style.  I want to hear/see what the audience experienced in the venue. 


To me, the "live" moniker should mean that and only that.  If it's touched up, it's no longer "live" in my view.

[Lowdz]

It's another example of WWRD.

Watching the Rush dvds, they should let Alex sing these days as he sounds perfect.

[seasonsinthesky]

Are there any live albums that don't get a butt load of post production work done?

Deep Purple's Made in Japan ("the best live album ever recorded"

I'm going with The Song Remains the Same here.....

Made in Japan is up there, but the best live album ever recorded is Porcupine Tree's 'Coma Divine'.

agreed, but Coma Divine has completely re-recorded vocals, which makes it a funny contestant up against MIJ.

i'm kinda torn on the "perfection vs. totally live" debate — for instance, i'm glad JLB re-recorded his vox for Live at the Marquee because the whole thing is one of my favourite DT releases. on the other hand, if you're not totally happy with how your band sounds live when you record it and you think it needs millions of hours of post-production to fix it up... maybe you should just work on the band's performance instead and try again next tour, y'know?