"The Best of Times - Mike Portnoy Vocal Demo"

[noahl]

Well what are your thoughts? There's more feel than the La Brie version in my opinion. The only part I like more about the released version is the chorus where both MP and JL sing, it's a beautiful harmony.
Mike Portnoy put so much work into that song, and I feel that the Vocal Demo has more power. This song was about MP's father, so I feel that letting Mike Portnoy sing it would allow more feel, and emotion.
Just imagine.
What if Dream Theater performed this song with MM? Do you think that MP would flip out and completely go berserk? I would because it would be my final song to my father who died. Think about it--Mike Portnoy couldn't even perform that song live because he felt the wound was still fresh. It would be pretty low of DT to perform without at least Mike's consent.
Well what are your thoughts on these two ideas?

[rumborak]

First of all, DT will never perform the song. It's not that good a song to begin with, and they're smart enough to not start that shit show for a song that's not worth it.
Regarding the demo, frankly, to me it just showcases how weak of a singer MP is. It's karaoke level.

[KevShmev]

What rumborak said, on both issues.

I still wish JLB's vocal had been better and more emotional, but as much as the song means to him, Portnoy does not have the vocal chops to pull off the emotional delivery a song like that requires to really hit home.

I still like the song, especially that awesome outro solo, but it could have been so much better.

[noahl]

First of all, DT will never perform the song. It's not that good a song to begin with, and they're smart enough to not start that shit show for a song that's not worth it.
Regarding the demo, frankly, to me it just showcases how weak of a singer MP is.

I feel  the song is quite amazing , it's all a matter of opinion.
Did it ever occur to you he just had a hard time singing that song? Put yourself in his position. He probably had a hard time singing that song.

What rumborak said, on both issues.

I still wish JLB's vocal had been better and more emotional, but as much as the song means to him, Portnoy does not have the vocal chops to pull off the emotional delivery a song like that requires to really hit home.

I still like the song, especially that awesome outro solo, but it could have been so much better.

JLB didn't have the feel of portnoy. And agreed, they could have, but portnoy probably didn't want to put much time into it, he probably almost broke down, he seems strong, but I know part of him broke down.

[rumborak]

First of all, DT will never perform the song. It's not that good a song to begin with, and they're smart enough to not start that shit show for a song that's not worth it.
Regarding the demo, frankly, to me it just showcases how weak of a singer MP is.

I feel  the song is quite amazing , it's all a matter of opinion.
Did it ever occur to you he just had a hard time singing that song? Put yourself in his position. He probably had a hard time singing that song.

Yes. When you're not a good singer, singing a song is hard.

[noahl]

First of all, DT will never perform the song. It's not that good a song to begin with, and they're smart enough to not start that shit show for a song that's not worth it.
Regarding the demo, frankly, to me it just showcases how weak of a singer MP is.

I feel  the song is quite amazing , it's all a matter of opinion.
Did it ever occur to you he just had a hard time singing that song? Put yourself in his position. He probably had a hard time singing that song.

Yes. When you're not a good singer, singing a song is hard.

You make me laugh  
I feel that he wasn't too happy during the singing

[rumborak]

One thing's for sure, TBOT has hands-down some of the worst DT lines in it.

"And then came the call, our lives changed forevermore"

and

"Thank you for ... my life!"

make the song quite cringeworthy.

[noahl]

One thing's for sure, TBOT has hands-down some of the worst DT lines in it.

"And then came the call, our lives changed forevermore"

and

"Thank you for ... my life!"

make the song quite cringeworthy.

Laughs I agree, those are the only lines I find quite interesting.

[SeRoX]

One of the worst song DT's done. Lyrics are disaster and even JLB's performance can't save it. The only good thing is JP's solo which is one of his weak solo among others.

[Madman Shepherd]

noahl, you're not allowed to post links to material that has been officially released in some capacity by the band so you should probably take that link out of your original post

[black_biff_stadler]

On an unrelated note, I can't fucking believe this song was used in the documentary where they auditioned new drummers. If it was out of the band's hands, then I at least hope they had the decency to let the brass know how absurdly tasteless it would be to use it and if they did try to prevent its use (assuming it was the brass forcing the issue about using it) then the brass should get their teeth knocked in for using a guy's "farewell, dad" song in a doc about his replacement.

[Rodni Demental]

^^^

Egh.. Just sain' in my opinion you might be reading into it a bit much. I don't think there was any sort of intent of causing bad taste about anything. They might have just wanted to use parts of the song because they actually like it? Besides, I'm fairly sure there was barely any vocals if that used in the clips, it was mostly instrumental. For me, I was like; "Oh cool! They actually used TBOT, and still recognise it exists!"

[black_biff_stadler]

I wasn't trying to say it was included to spite MP. I meant it should've never even been considered for use in the doc in the first place because it's right up there with A Change of Seasons in terms of songs that are most personal to MP so it's ludicrous for it to be associated in any way with a doc about the process of replacing him especially considering how acrimonious his departure was regardless of who's to blame.

[Sycsa]

Yeah, but where it all boils down to me in the end is that it's just another DT song used in a DT documentary, nothing more. Just because it's sacred and personal to MP doesn't mean that it has to be that way for the fans as well. I could never get upset about something like this, in fact, I was quite happy to hear it in the doc, because it reassured me that no songs will be off limits from there on out for this hollow reason (12SS, ACOS). Whether or not writing and releasing a song about a dying loved one was a good idea, is a different story (it wasn't), but the song is out and DT may do with it whatever they please as far as I'm concerned.

[Kotowboy]

Amazing solo at the end and great intro.

[jingle.boy]

Best song from BCSL.  I can't believe all the hate for the lyrics... they were so emotional for Mike, and it's not like he was ever a good lyricist to begin with, so cut the guy a little slack.  I'd like to see you write something better Rumbo!

"Two score and a year we had" was so much more appropriate than just saying the 41 years we had, or the time we had.  Mike writes some deep, insightful, and impactful words with such meaning.

[Cruithne]

I think MP's vocal performance in the demo is a good example of why James LaBrie is a professional singer and MP isn't, though I think MP does actually do quite a nice job in the second half of the song.

He certainly sounds a hell of a lot better singing 'nicely' like this than trying, and failing, to do a Hetfield impersonation.

One of the worst song DT's done. Lyrics are disaster and even JLB's performance can't save it. The only good thing is JP's solo which is one of his weak solo among others.

Some days I'd say that on that day those days are days when days seem most like today. Days.

I do like the song, but the lyrics are a bit of a damp squib. There're some good bits, some utterly meaningless to anyone who isn't closely related to MP bits and some quite bad bits - the overuse of the word day being a case in point.

[noahl]

On an unrelated note, I can't fucking believe this song was used in the documentary where they auditioned new drummers. If it was out of the band's hands, then I at least hope they had the decency to let the brass know how absurdly tasteless it would be to use it and if they did try to prevent its use (assuming it was the brass forcing the issue about using it) then the brass should get their teeth knocked in for using a guy's "farewell, dad" song in a doc about his replacement.

Funny I do not remember that one bit... They did use the spirit carries on though.

[Skeever]

It's not good, but it's not as bad as JP's wither demo

[noahl]

Amazing solo at the end and great intro.

The taste is awesome in the solo.

[noahl]

It's not good, but it's not as bad as JP's wither demo

I'll go take a look now.

[YtseJamittaja]

Best song from BCSL.  I can't believe all the hate for the lyrics... they were so emotional for Mike, and it's not like he was ever a good lyricist to begin with, so cut the guy a little slack.  I'd like to see you write something better Rumbo!

"Two score and a year we had" was so much more appropriate than just saying the 41 years we had, or the time we had.  Mike writes some deep, insightful, and impactful words with such meaning.

I can agree all of this except the first line. Definitely not the best song from BC&SL but I want to give all my respect for MP. If the lyrics were personal for his father, no matter what the lyrics means to me. 

[Sycsa]

Best song from BCSL.  I can't believe all the hate for the lyrics... they were so emotional for Mike, and it's not like he was ever a good lyricist to begin with, so cut the guy a little slack.  I'd like to see you write something better Rumbo!

"Two score and a year we had" was so much more appropriate than just saying the 41 years we had, or the time we had.  Mike writes some deep, insightful, and impactful words with such meaning.

I can't believe that the "if you can't do better, don't criticize" argument is still being tossed around, it's senseless. Meaning isn't the only criteria to consider when it comes to evaluating song lyrics, it's also very important that they sound good and are phrased eloquently. TBOT fails on both counts and some of the imagery is indeed hard to take with a straight face. ACOS, on the other hand is great and I don't have too much gripe with the 12SS lyrics either, in spite of my contempt for the subject. 

[noahl]

Best song from BCSL.  I can't believe all the hate for the lyrics... they were so emotional for Mike, and it's not like he was ever a good lyricist to begin with, so cut the guy a little slack.  I'd like to see you write something better Rumbo!

"Two score and a year we had" was so much more appropriate than just saying the 41 years we had, or the time we had.  Mike writes some deep, insightful, and impactful words with such meaning.

I can agree all of this except the first line. Definitely not the best song from BC&SL but I want to give all my respect for MP. If the lyrics were personal for his father, no matter what the lyrics means to me.

Agreed. Best would have to be (by far) NTR

[Tick]

Mike is not a singer. Mike should avoid singing lead vocals, imo. Being a vocalist for 25+ years I have a good ear. Mike sings more flat notes than good ones. James does the song far better. James is the pro, Mike is not.

[Siddhartha]

I love the song and I hope to see it played live.

Losing a loved one is a universal topic that anyone can relate to, and it is a DT song. It won´t be rude to play it.

[Skeever]

Mike is not a singer. Mike should avoid singing lead vocals, imo. Being a vocalist for 25+ years I have a good ear. Mike sings more flat notes than good ones. James does the song far better. James is the pro, Mike is not.

Maybe not as much as Mike, but James sounds flat to me too.

[Madman Shepherd]

He certainly sounds a hell of a lot better singing 'nicely' like this than trying, and failing, to do a Hetfield impersonation.

I agree.  I actually kinda like his vocals where he sings "The fleeting wind of time"

[425]

I listened to this for the first time in a long time to comment substantively on it in this thread. Mostly because The Best of Times has never been one of those songs that I listen to on its own, so I'm almost always listening to it in the context of Black Clouds & Silver Linings.

The MP version is really good. Better than I remembered it being. I would say the album version is better from a technical perspective since James is the better singer, but the MP version is nice given the knowledge that it's his song about his dad. Mike has always had this aspect to his clean voice that I would best describe as sounding pure and honest. It really shines through in this song.

Granted, he makes more than his share of mistakes—more so on the initial verses where I'm pretty sure I hear some pitch correction. I think this can be explained by the fact that he's not a professional singer and by the fact that this song was probably emotionally difficult for him to sing that many times—this is probably all one take that he did so he would have a version where he sang to play for his dad and possibly also to demonstrate the melodies for James. I'm willing to believe that if he was seeking to make it perfect to go on a record he could have hit the notes he missed. It's also a factor that there's no layering, no backing vocals—just one amateur singer taking the whole song in which is likely to be just one take. And he has a really nice-sounding natural tone (yeah, the guy who did "Day after day" has a downright pleasant clean voice—deal with it)  and surprisingly good range. I've always really liked Mike's backing vocals. I thought he was just spectacular on the Black Clouds album—he provided fantastic texture on a lot of the songs, this one included (seriously, listen to the album version again; a lot of the song is sung by both Mike and James). And I think with a good vocal coach to help him with some of his issues, Mike could be a decent lead vocalist for a particular kind of music.

[TAC]

On an unrelated note, I can't fucking believe this song was used in the documentary where they auditioned new drummers. If it was out of the band's hands, then I at least hope they had the decency to let the brass know how absurdly tasteless it would be to use it and if they did try to prevent its use (assuming it was the brass forcing the issue about using it) then the brass should get their teeth knocked in for using a guy's "farewell, dad" song in a doc about his replacement.

It's ironic isn't it.

[senecadawg2]

Best song from BCSL.  I can't believe all the hate for the lyrics... they were so emotional for Mike, and it's not like he was ever a good lyricist to begin with, so cut the guy a little slack.

Not my favorite song from BCSL, but still really under appreciated I think. One of my favorite JP solos ever

[TAC]

Best song from BCSL.  I can't believe all the hate for the lyrics... they were so emotional for Mike, and it's not like he was ever a good lyricist to begin with, so cut the guy a little slack.  I'd like to see you write something better Rumbo!

"Two score and a year we had" was so much more appropriate than just saying the 41 years we had, or the time we had.  Mike writes some deep, insightful, and impactful words with such meaning.

I'm with you 100%.

[King Postwhore]

I like TCOT better.

[senecadawg2]

I like TCOT better.

Me too. But TBOT is #2

[TheGreatPretender]

Not my favorite song, and I don't think the lyrics are that well written. At least a good chunk of them. And don't get me wrong, this song actually has significant sentimental value to me, because of its subject matter, but that doesn't mean I'm just gonna gush over every second of it. It has some amazing moments and some great lyrics, but it also has some inconsistently underwhelming moments and lyrics... And that's also how I'd sum up the whole BCSL album, as a matter of fact.

As for the final question that the OP posted, I doubt they'll play it live, but IF they did, I'd see nothing wrong with it. The thing is, if MP wanted this song to be HIS, to have it be a "Mike Portnoy" song that DT couldn't touch without him, then he shouldn't have put it on a DT album.