Dream Theater entered the studio in February v. No News is Good News

[rumborak]

That's why I changed it!

[Sycsa]

Not that I will repeat the f** word here, but I think I know what he is referring to, and I too find it somewhat unfortunate when he sings that way. I realize it's supposed to be a more intimate, softer type of singing, but it does indeed go into rather unfortunate territory when he sings that way.

The only time that crossed my mind was at the "I ran into Julian...it's time for him to goooo-eeeehh-ooow" part, but he's channeling Victoria there, so it fits perfectly. Not to mention, I love that part and JLB's delivery (especially in the studio version), one of my favorite DT sing-along parts.

[TheCountOfNYC]

Not that I will repeat the f** word here, but I think I know what he is referring to, and I too find it somewhat unfortunate when he sings that way. I realize it's supposed to be a more intimate, softer type of singing, but it does indeed go into rather unfortunate territory when he sings that way.

The only time that crossed my mind was at the "I ran into Julian...it's time for him to goooo-eeeehh-ooow" part, but he's channeling Victoria there, so it fits perfectly. Not to mention, I love that part and JLB's delivery (especially in the studio version), one of my favorite DT sing-along parts.

My favorite aspect of James' singing is that he always seems to accurately convey the emotions behind the music to the listener. He sings a song like Vacant completely differently than a song like Panic Attack. His voice covers such a broad range of emotions and he does it so effortlessly.

[Skeever]

I'm a little baffled by this discussion. James' sometimes feminine sounding voice has never really bothered me, but I'm a huge Mercury fan. What does bother me is his occasional pitchiness and sometimes thin timbre 

[rumborak]

Interesting comparison there with Mercury. I think in his case that type of singing came with his persona that was larger than life.

[425]

My favorite aspect of James' singing is that he always seems to accurately convey the emotions behind the music to the listener. He sings a song like Vacant completely differently than a song like Panic Attack. His voice covers such a broad range of emotions and he does it so effortlessly.

I agree. My musical tastes have been shifting for a while away from the JLB style of bombastic singing towards more straightforward, plain deliveries, but I still really enjoy and admire JLB, largely for this reason. JLB has one of the greatest emotional ranges of any singer I've ever heard. He really does embody whatever emotion the song requires. Not that many people could hit the right emotional notes for This Dying Soul, Wait for Sleep, Breaking All Illusions, Finally Free and The Dark Eternal Night. Whatever flaws he may have, JLB is an extraordinarily strong singer in this department.

[ErHaO]

Not that I will repeat the f** word here, but I think I know what he is referring to, and I too find it somewhat unfortunate when he sings that way. I realize it's supposed to be a more intimate, softer type of singing, but it does indeed go into rather unfortunate territory when he sings that way.

The only time that crossed my mind was at the "I ran into Julian...it's time for him to goooo-eeeehh-ooow" part, but he's channeling Victoria there, so it fits perfectly. Not to mention, I love that part and JLB's delivery (especially in the studio version), one of my favorite DT sing-along parts.

My favorite aspect of James' singing is that he always seems to accurately convey the emotions behind the music to the listener. He sings a song like Vacant completely differently than a song like Panic Attack. His voice covers such a broad range of emotions and he does it so effortlessly.

This is indeed one of his best aspects. Last tour and his great performance made me appreciate this aspect more. Lie, The Looking Glass, Finally Free, Space Dye Vest and Lifting Shadows are all very distinct peformances, for example.


A quote from Arjen Lucassen about working with Labrie for Human Equation:

– What was something you absolutely didn't expect?

Arjen: That he would come so well-prepared. He knew the story and the character he had to portray even better than I did! And the amount of emotion he put into his performance, I can easily see why he sells millions of albums.

Sometimes he attempts lines that I feel do not suit his voice though (especially some moments during 8V, SC and TOT) and offcourse there are certain styles that are simply not my cup of tea.

[hefdaddy42]

I thought JLB on the last album was pretty great, I thought that was the popular opinion?

I think it is. It's just not my opinion. He was loads better on ADToE, or he at least knew his limitations better then.

But he shines even more on Frameshift, or even JLB's last couple of solo album. I still think DT under utilizes him in the vocal department.

One thing you have to remember is that DT has to utilize him in such a way that what he does on the album can be recreated live. That's not something he has to worry about on side projects (at least, not anywhere near the same extent).

Well James did take his solo material on the road and that worked pretty well. At least for the couple of bootlegs that I heard...

Yeah, but only for a handful of performances, not a months-long world tour.  Which is why I said "not anywhere near the same extent."

[rumborak]

JR posted a video on FB, practicing for the tour. Just FYI. Nothing long though, don't get overly excited.

[BelichickFan]

The wait and the lack of information on direction, etc, doesn't bother me a bit.  However I would kill for a statement that "The album is going well and we're hoping for a (fall, winter, spring, whichever) release".  Just one line is all I need 

[hefdaddy42]

The wait and the lack of information on direction, etc, doesn't bother me a bit.  However I would kill for a statement that "The album is going well and we're hoping for a (fall, winter, spring, whichever) release".  Just one line is all I need 

That would be nice.

Either way, it seems evident that they are now no longer in music production mode, but rather tour preparation mode.

[YtseJamittaja]

That Jordan's latest fb video (introducing Cinematic Guitars Infinity) shows a few tasty riffs. I found that riff which starts at 0:48 very interesting, only if that would be a new riff for a DT song... 

[BlobVanDam]

That Jordan's latest fb video (introducing Cinematic Guitars Infinity) shows a few tasty riffs. I found that riff which starts at 0:48 very interesting, only if that would be a new riff for a DT song... 

That one was great, as were many others.
I don't like watching these videos, because I always want stuff like this on the albums, and it doesn't happen.

[NotePad]

I really like ADTOE despite what I say about the wankery and such. When that's not going on, its very good. Same can be said about most other DT albums. So I don't know what i can say I want to hear next from them.

I would like to see them branch out more from their traditional sound. Like when I put in an album like ADTOE and the first song begins, you know immediately that its DT, and honestly when that happened it did not excite me. It was a more of the same old thing situation. You know exactly what you're in for (it did grow on me and now I enjoy it). Now its good for a band to have their own sound and style. But I want to see them change that sound more. Honestly, I think they should take inspiration from Awake because its their best album, it has a different sound and atmosphere, but also is recognizable as Dream Theater. I guess the last album was a step in the right direction, but not enough.

I'm not saying they should make Awake 2 (as cool as that would be). I'm saying they need to do something more unique, because nothing they have done since are what I'd call unique. And yea, something raw and dark like Awake would be amazing but I can't see that happening in a million years, which depresses me.

[GandL]

That Jordan's latest fb video (introducing Cinematic Guitars Infinity) shows a few tasty riffs. I found that riff which starts at 0:48 very interesting, only if that would be a new riff for a DT song... 

That one was great, as were many others.
I don't like watching these videos, because I always want stuff like this on the albums, and it doesn't happen.

Agree 100%

[BelichickFan]

I still hope for "Tales from Theatrical Dreams", double CD, four 30 minute tracks (2 per CD).  The End.

[wasteland]

I'm glad most of the comments picked up the two best riffs of the video! I really do hope, as all the other people, that those two will be featured in some way in the new album. It won't happen, though.

If I remember correctly, in the wilderness months between the auditions announcement and the documentary, when the DT fan base was reaching an unparalleled level of left-in-the-darkness psychosis, JP was featured in some guitar-techy video demoing some new feature playing a few riffs. One of those in particular appeared to be more structured and coherent than your average improvised on the spot riff. For a while there was some talk about that riff being part of the then to be announced ADTOE.
It much later turned out to be the main riff of the JP solo song Zero Tolerance, that I believe was premiered in the SA G3 tour of 2012.

[Kotowboy]

I still hope for "Tales from Theatrical Dreams", double CD, four 30 minute tracks (2 per CD).  The End.

i'd rather have an album of 12 / 13 eight to 10 minute songs.

Screw the big epic at the end. They need to get off of that treadmill now.

[BelichickFan]

I still hope for "Tales from Theatrical Dreams", double CD, four 30 minute tracks (2 per CD).  The End.

i'd rather have an album of 12 / 13 eight to 10 minute songs.

Screw the big epic at the end. They need to get off of that treadmill now.

No problem with what you want, I just would love to see DT's take on "Tales from Topographic Oceans", four 30 minute tracks certainly wouldn't be them being on a treadmill; not that there's any chance of it actually happening.

[RaiseTheKnife]

I still hope for "Tales from Theatrical Dreams", double CD, four 30 minute tracks (2 per CD).  The End.

i'd rather have an album of 12 / 13 eight to 10 minute songs.

Screw the big epic at the end. They need to get off of that treadmill now.

100% agree.

[Sacul]

I'd love them to make a more experimental album. With each member's background, something really good can come out of it. And with such a solid fanbase, I don't think they have much to lose.

[Skeever]

I'd love them to make a more experimental album. With each member's background, something really good can come out of it. And with such a solid fanbase, I don't think they have much to lose.

I'm not so sure about that. It seems like fans take a few years to come around to their less conventional material. It took fans forever to warm up to FII, and for awhile SDOIT disc 1 was something many fans considered vastly inferior to disc 2. I also remember the tepid reaction to Octavarium when that first came out. Albums like Dramatic Turn and DT12 may not satisfy fans in the long term, but they do seem to make fans happy enough initially, and get people back into the seats for shows.

[Lucien]

I'd love them to make a more experimental album. With each member's background, something really good can come out of it. And with such a solid fanbase, I don't think they have much to lose.

Absolutely this.

[hefdaddy42]

I still hope for "Tales from Theatrical Dreams", double CD, four 30 minute tracks (2 per CD).  The End.

i'd rather have an album of 12 / 13 eight to 10 minute songs.

Screw the big epic at the end. They need to get off of that treadmill now.

Yeah, they've done one in a row.  It's really getting tedious.

[SuperTaco]

I'd like to see them jam out an album instead of their usual writing process, but that won't happen 

Also

I'd love them to make a more experimental album. With each member's background, something really good can come out of it. And with such a solid fanbase, I don't think they have much to lose.

Absolutely this.

Agreed.

[Dream Team]

Just catching up in this thread - re: James on DT12. Yes, overall he sounded good but there were a LOT of effects on the vocals weren't there?

[Kotowboy]

I still hope for "Tales from Theatrical Dreams", double CD, four 30 minute tracks (2 per CD).  The End.

i'd rather have an album of 12 / 13 eight to 10 minute songs.

Screw the big epic at the end. They need to get off of that treadmill now.

Yeah, they've done one in a row.  It's really getting tedious.

What the fuck are you talking about ?

Octavarium. The Count Of Tuscany. Illumination Theory. All songs are 20 minutes or over.

And don't start with that " BUT DER NOT LE LE EPICS LE !!!!! !!1111!!! " - You know I meant finishing the album with a lengthy song.

[hefdaddy42]

And don't start with that " BUT DER NOT LE LE EPICS LE !!!!! !!1111!!! " - You know I meant finishing the album with a lengthy song.

Aren't you a little old to speak like that?  I certainly am.

[Kotowboy]

No Comment. 

[BelichickFan]

I still hope for "Tales from Theatrical Dreams", double CD, four 30 minute tracks (2 per CD).  The End.

i'd rather have an album of 12 / 13 eight to 10 minute songs.

Screw the big epic at the end. They need to get off of that treadmill now.

Yeah, they've done one in a row.  It's really getting tedious.

What the fuck are you talking about ?

Octavarium. The Count Of Tuscany. Illumination Theory. All songs are 20 minutes or over.

He said one in a row, not one ever.

[Kotowboy]

He knows exactly what I meant.

[cramx3]

I dont see what the problem is with ending the album with a long song, assuming they write such a song, isnt the best spot the last track? 

[bosk1]

I'd like to see them jam out an album instead of their usual writing process, but that won't happen 

Um...that's pretty much how they write every album.

[The Presence of Frenemies]

I dont see what the problem is with ending the album with a long song, assuming they write such a song, isnt the best spot the last track?

It would be one thing if they always wrote the albums in order, such that the writing session was "Oh gosh guys, we have eight short tracks...we gotta make sure we do the epic now!" If it's shoehorned in, I get the complaint. But on SC for example, the epic was the first thing they wrote. As long as it's developed organically, I'm fine with it. DT's made great 20+ minute songs and less great ones, and they've made great short songs and less great ones. Whatever preferences we have about lengths (and I have them as much as anyone), ultimately those preferences become (largely) irrelevant once we actually have the music and are simply evaluating its quality.

[TheCountOfNYC]

I dont see what the problem is with ending the album with a long song, assuming they write such a song, isnt the best spot the last track?

I would even go as far to say that I'm disappointed when they don't end with the longest track. I love Beneath the Surface but Breaking All Illusions should absolutely be the last song you hear when listening to A Dramatic Turn of Events. Ditto for Scarred with Awake (although I don't really like Space-Dye Vest) and The Killing Hand for When Dream and Day Unite. The only album where the longest song not ending the album is fine is Finally Free with Scenes From a Memory but being the last part of a whole story, it's different.