Question on vocals

[Dani Helios]

Right, so, here's the thing: I've been to 5 DT concerts. They were all great. Except one thing, James' vocals never seem to be great. Although this has been something i've known for a while. Why is it that James gets breathless on stage, despite that, when in studio, he sounds like the best singer in the world. (quite literally) Despite my internet searches, i've not found an answer. (understandably) I'm just curious how he can sound so radically different live to his studio performances?
P.S: I'm not insulting Mr. LaBrie in any way! I love him, and he is a great inspiration to me as a signer, and a human! 

[Evermind]

Well, to be honest, I thought James' vocals were outstanding on this tour.

And in studio you can have a lot of tries on every vocal line, whereas live you have only one go. You also have to perform 2+ hours straight almost every night during the few months, so while you can go nuts in studio to record the song, you really have to save your voice during the tour (and this man sang Illumination Theory at every concert!). Then again, I think James nailed the material on this tour and there wasn't a lot of difference between vocals.

[Dani Helios]

Well, to be honest, I thought James' vocals were outstanding on this tour.

And in studio you can have a lot of tries on every vocal line, whereas live you have only one go. You also have to perform 2+ hours straight almost every night during the few months, so while you can go nuts in studio to record the song, you really have to save your voice during the tour (and this man sang Illumination Theory at every concert!). Then again, I think James nailed the material on this tour and there wasn't a lot of difference between vocals.

I get most of the points you're making here. However, there wasn't really much difference between the start and finish of the shows. I think he was definitely best on this last concert, however, just not studio standard. The worst one would have to be a pre ADTOE concert i went to. I think that was largely down to a crappy venue, though

[SeRoX]

I don't think there is many singers out there that exactly sound as they do at studio. For JLB, there are some performances he sounds better than studio, some that he fails and some that he sounds better than average but nothing more. This is the nature of singing, I guess. You just can't keep it in best shape everyday.

But again, James is great nowadays. He seems to know his limits, having great control, plus better stage presence.

[Dani Helios]

James is great nowadays. He seems to know his limits, having great control, plus better stage presence.

He's definitely better now than he was in the first 3 times I saw him. (2004, 2008, 2010)

[TheAtliator]

To me, JLB has always been one of the less consistent professional singers that I've seen. He makes more mistakes and off-key notes than most singers at his level when singing live. BUT, there is another side to that coin, and that is that he also hits amazing notes that are more amazing than most professional singers I've heard. His lows are lower, but his highs are higher, and the only lows he has are accidents- nothing he does on purpose ever sounds bad in my opinion.

Everything taken into consideration, he is one of my very top favorite, if not my favorite singer out there, and that is just due to the collection of live and studio recordings I've heard of him where he sounds spectacular and does things that I've never heard any other singer do.

Watching him sing live is one of the greatest things ever for me because you never know what's coming next or just how he is going to emote the next part.

[Rodni Demental]

This isn't a hit on Labrie, but anyone can sound half decent in the studio, even if they're generally not a very good singer. With enough takes, and subtle post production an amateur singer can create a perfectly decent performance (as is the case with a lot of "15 minute wonder" bands). James Labrie is a great studio singer because he's got a huge range, good technique, and many different textures and styles in his voice. So there's all kinds of things he can do with his voice in studio. Live is a different ball game because you have to go all in everytime, which is exhausting. Personally I thought at the live shows he's always sounded better than what a recording of that same show would sound like, but if you've actually been to 5 concerts and come away with that impression, then I guess it just reflects the nature of live performances. There are good and bad days, and even the greatest singers of all time aren't 100% consistent.

[Skeever]

I have seen Dream Theater almost half a dozen times, all within the last 10 years. James was on fire once, and the other times he was just OK.

To me James has never really been a true operatic vocalist, but that's OK because almost none of the vocalists that have been called operatic really are anyway (Tate, Dickinson, etc). I would describe James more as a "power hitter". He usually hits the big note. He might miss quite a few notes along the way, and sometimes he just plain has an ugly strike out, but occasionally he really just knocks it out of the park and you just have to hope that happens more often than not.

[CodyWanKenobi]

The only problem that I have ever had with james, is that when he gets tired, the words just kinda turn into a big melting pot of vowels.

The last two tours however, he has been absolutely superb and he has had me so impressed that he's become one of my favorite live singers.

[RodrigoAltaf]

 What I´ve noticed as well is that when he´s "into it", he´s much more consistent live. When he´s far removed from the fact that he´s on stage singing in from of 5 thousand people, he´s pretty bad. I´ve seen great performances by James, and crappy ones too. But the crappy ones seem to happen less and less since Mike Portnoy left - and that´s not a stab at either of them, just my personal take. It seems that MP´s attempts at singing more really annoyed James, which led him to not give 100% on stage during the last years of MP's tenure with DT.

[hefdaddy42]

Studio performances almost always sound more "perfect" than live performances, especially in the rock/metal genres.  Not really sure what the question is.

[Dublagent66]

I thought it was common knowledge that studio vocals can always be altered and fixed by the multi-talented sound engineers.  However, that doesn't mean JLB's live performances aren't great.  Just different.

[Dani Helios]

Not really sure what the question is.

Sorry, I think I phrased that wrong. Was it maybe supposed to be "questioning vocals" or something? My English isn't great, so I'm not sure 

[CodyWanKenobi]

I thought it was common knowledge that studio vocals can always be altered and fixed by the multi-talented sound engineers.  However, that doesn't mean JLB's live performances aren't great.  Just different.

Not exactly. A good engineer can add effects and auto tune to a voice, but they absolutely cannot fix a bad performance. If you have the attitude in your voice but you're not entirely hitting the notes, they can fix that. If you're hitting the notes but your attitude and emotion lacks, you're fucked.

[wolfking]

IMO, people don't give enough slack and credit to singers like JLB in a live setting.

[Podaar]

IMO, people don't give enough slack and credit to singers like JLB in a live setting.

I'm waiting for JLB to put in a completely flawless, untouched performance and watch the "he's too mechanical", "he's a robot," critiques come barreling in. 

[NickySpanjaards]

For those interested, here is a video of Lie recorded on 24 september and James LaBrie is on fire here! Especially after 4:30 and onward 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xuk8kWBHyXA

[ariich]

I thought it was common knowledge that studio vocals can always be altered and fixed by the multi-talented sound engineers.

It's not just altering and fixing (although of course that does happen). I'd say the biggest difference is being able to record one line at a time, take regular breaks, keep sipping warm water, etc. It's a totally different envinronment, and one in which it is much easier to sing well. Yeah, at the end the engineers will refine it as well, but for singers like JLB and many many others, I think the setting makes the bigger difference.

[adamack]

Here are a few differences between the studio and the live setting (some things were already pointed out by others), all which contribute greatly to the vocal performance:

- In the studio, James is in a comfortable setting, where he is standing still and can put 100% focus into every line

- He is able to record his vocals in very small parts, so he can focus on each line much better. As for the difficult lines which he may fail a few times, he is repeating them over and over, so he is practicing them with each take. A luxury he does not have at a show

- The post-production engineering can be used to fix any mistake. Small amounts of auto-tune are used to fine-tune any lines which may be off a bit. On top of this, they choose only the best takes to begin with....ones which require very minimal processing

- Professional mixers use compression, reverbs and delays, among other effects, to achieve an optimal sound. The end result is the best possible vocals


As for James live:

- He has to perform every single song, line after line, in succession. His vocal chords become worn out as the show progresses

- He is walking around on stage, in a very high-energy setting. He needs to focus on being a showman to some degree, something he doesn't need to do in the studio

- On tour, he is performing show after show, night after night. There is a high possibility that he will not be "on" every single night. Also, his vocal chords can become worn out from so many shows

- He only has one chance to do everything right, without any breaks

[EraVulgaris]

For those interested, here is a video of Lie recorded on 24 september and James LaBrie is on fire here! Especially after 4:30 and onward 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xuk8kWBHyXA

Oddly enough, this video shows all the problems I've had with JLB as a singer. The studio versions are alright, but I rarely can stand his live performances. :/