JP getting worse?

[Riitasointi]

Just something I've been thinking recently.

JP used to nail EVERYTHING. Every phrasing, vibrato, bend and passage no matter how fast or slow used to sound amazing when he played them. Nowadays his playing seems to be much more sloppy, showcased on Live At Luna Park, Breaking The Fourth Wall and some recent stuff on Youtube. Not to mention his tone, which is crap compared to the 90's or early 2000's.  Somehow I put this together with him getting huge ass muscles and especially the new Majesty guitars (which look horrible btw).

What do you guys think of this? Anyone bugged about this as much as I am? 

[Kotowboy]

I have noticed he isn't as spot on with his solos as he was on say..Budokan.

But those could always have been touched up so we'd have to go by bootlegs to be 100% sure.

Plus he's almost 50 and it might be harder for him.

He has mentioned before that he is very aware of his playing being affected by his workouts and when to stop etc..

[Sycsa]

Yeah, I'm especially surprised that he can't play lots of DT12 solos properly (The Enemy Inside is a prime example, I never once heard him nail that live, but he also slightly flubbed Behind the Veil on a recent YouTube video). It's one thing not to be able to play stuff you recorded in your 20s and 30s, but it's your latest release, why would you record solos that are over your head when you're pushing 50 and declining technically?

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

I wouldn't say worse. I would say old.

[bosk1]

JP getting worse?

No.

[Dublagent66]

Well, none of us are getting any younger.  JP not as fast?  Maybe.  Doesn't necessarily mean worse.  You can play slower and still be just as good or even better.

[Kotowboy]

JP getting worse?

No.

Wait ! You're not Hef !

[Riitasointi]

Well, none of us are getting any younger.  JP not as fast?  Maybe.  Doesn't necessarily mean worse.  You can play slower and still be just as good or even better.

Yeah, playing slower is definitely not the problem. Slow playing can be awesome indeed. The problem is sloppy playing.

And yes, of course he gets older and that affects his precision. But if it's only age, it has delayed its arrival and then appeared rather fast don't you all think? He used to be inhumanly good for many years and then suddenly I see this decrease in tightness. Of course my point of view could be twisted by his tone as well, which basically sucks on recent releases of the band.

[bosk1]

But if it's only age, it has delayed its arrival and then appeared rather fast don't you all think?

No.

[Riitasointi]

But if it's only age, it has delayed its arrival and then appeared rather fast don't you all think?

No.

Alright, I guess it's solved then...

[hefdaddy42]

JP getting worse?

No.

Wait ! You're not Hef !

It's OK, I"ve licensed that out to bosky.

[bosk1]

But if it's only age, it has delayed its arrival and then appeared rather fast don't you all think?

No.

Alright, I guess it's solved then...

Glad we are in agreement.

JP getting worse?

No.

Wait ! You're not Hef !

It's OK, I"ve licensed that out to bosky.

We share a lot of things.  Not just France.

[MajorBoobage]

But if it's only age, it has delayed its arrival and then appeared rather fast don't you all think?

No.

[rumborak]

Absolutely. Many of his fast solos these days are quite sloppy actually. Maybe it's because I play guitar myself, but it has been very noticeable for me over the last few years.

Particularly when you compare it to say Live in Tokyo, where his solos were just butter smoothness.

[Sycsa]

Absolutely. Many of his fast solos these days are quite sloppy actually. Maybe it's because I play guitar myself, but it has been very noticeable for me over the last few years.

Particularly when you compare it to say Live in Tokyo, where his solos were just butter smoothness.

I just checked out the LiT version of UAGM, which is one of his more challenging solos, there's a mistake at 6:48: https://youtu.be/twMsgXsI2_g?t=6m48s. So even in his prime he made tiny flubs, no need to worry. His tone, however, especially when he's playing rhythm, needs to be fixed asap, it the weakest point of the otherwise impeccable latest live release.

[Kotowboy]

If he's not the precision master he once was - he's still nowhere near Kirk Hammett levels of fucking up.

[rumborak]

This is obviously not an either-or situation. He's in his 50s, *obviously* things will get harder for him.

[zecawolf]

Perhaps he's just realizing that execute the same thing verbatim over and over night after night is boring. That said, I disagree with everything else, including the majesty guitar. I think it is beautiful.

[Kotowboy]

It's certainly nicer than the Paul Gilbert Fireman - which is a fucking Ugly piece of crap.

[wolven74]

No I don't think JP is getting worse for missing a note here and there when playing live. If it's a consistent thing, like he's missing the same note in the same section of the same song every night on stage, then yes; I'd say he's losing something of his ability, but if he's missing the occasional note sporadically on tour, then there could be a number of reasons. He could be tired that night, the band could be playing at a different tempo (though this is unlikely due to MM using a metronome.) He could be sick. He could be bored with the song and want to change it up a bit. Getting worse? Nah...

[hefdaddy42]

We share a lot of things.  Not just France.

bosk!  Think of the children!

[ariich]

Weren't his fastest solos always pretty sloppy? I remember in the early 2000s (apparently his peak according to the OP) he definitely couldn't do the TGP arpeggios, for example.

[TAC]

  He's in his 50s, 

Isn't he 47/48?

[TAC]

So JP's a sloppy player now? Really?
WTF??

[wasteland]

So JP's a sloppy player now? Really?
WTF??

That's DT fandom for you 

Seriosuly, JLB misses one note in a 90 minutes concert and all the bloggers say is: "James is not the singer he was in 2002" (and thank god for that, they can't even get their facts straight when they complain!  )

[cramx3]

The guys a bear, its tough to play with claws night in and out.  We are lucky his strings aren't snapping every song.

Seriously, is this real?  He is getting older and mistakes happen live.  He is human afterall. 

[ariich]

So JP's a sloppy player now? Really?
WTF??

Well, overall no, obviously. Some of the outrageous shit he does in the studio is just insane and the fact that he can't always quite replicate it live simply demonstrates that he's a human being. I was just pointing out that that's not a new thing.

[wolfking]

I don't think so.  I think people underestimate how technical some of his DT12 solos actually are.  He was never perfect back in the day either.  As ariich said, TGP intro is a fine example, he never completely nailed that.

Saying that, JP live these days is perfect compared to a lot of guitarists live performances out there.

[Darkstarshades]

Well, none of us are getting any younger.  JP not as fast?  Maybe.  Doesn't necessarily mean worse.  You can play slower and still be just as good or even better.

This

[Riitasointi]

Haha I see not many are thinking along the same lines as me...  I'm just a sucker for perfect execution when it comes to live playing. DVD's like Score and L@B blow me away with the tightness of JP's guitar parts and it just makes me sad to hear the recent recordings with muddy and (I know I've used this word way too much at this point) sloppy playing of his.

The tone is perhaps even worse a problem though. Even DT12 had a disappointing guitar sound. It was supposed be a delicious chocolate cake and what we got was... err... a very dried up cake with not very much chocolate at all. Does anyone know how his gear has changed from, say, Octavarium days 'till now?

[LCArenas]

Saying that, JP live these days is perfect compared to a lot of guitarists live performances out there.

This. JP's solos, as we all know, are incredibly difficult to play. Let's consider he's playing live, standing up, doing those motherfucking solos and playing songs that last at least six minutes each, for more than two hours minimum. Now consider he's been doing that shit for 30 years non-stop. There's got to be a point when you can't do that stuff perfectly anymore.

I don't think there's a single guitar player that, at 50 years old, plays the guitar solos he composed when he was 25 flawlessly live. *awaits unavoidable quote naming several guitar players that do exactly that* *Seriously though I'm curious to know*

He's not getting younger, and the fact that he can still do most of his solos pretty well live and that he's not doing the horrible things Kirk Hammett is doing to songs like Hit the Lights nowadays shows he's far from being a "sloppy" player (And think about this: Kirk began overusing his wah back when he wasn't even 35 years old). Not like JP's 75, but Age does take its toll.

I can see your point about the tone, though.

[Darkstarshades]

Kirk Dave is a prick, and an useless one.
At the Pantera tribute show, Petrucci was playing flawlessly and then this dude arrives and fucks up the solo completely by playing total unbearable shit and then leaves like the prick he is.

So, no, JP is awesome.

[KevShmev]

His tone is crap now?  No way.  Granted, I still prefer the sound of his Ibanez over the Music Man, but it's still really good.  I think his tone wasn't that great at first live with the Music Man - it's like it was too muddy or something at times, which I notice every time I watch LSFNY - but it got better over time.

[Tomislav95]

Kirk is a prick, and an useless one.
At the Pantera tribute show, Petrucci was playing flawlessly and then this dude arrives and fucks up the solo completely by playing total unbearable shit and then leaves like the prick he is.

So, no, JP is awesome.

Wasn't that Dave Mustaine?

[Darkstarshades]

Kirk is a prick, and an useless one.
At the Pantera tribute show, Petrucci was playing flawlessly and then this dude arrives and fucks up the solo completely by playing total unbearable shit and then leaves like the prick he is.

So, no, JP is awesome.

Wasn't that Dave Mustaine?

Yeah my bad, was typing fast cuzz I wanted to take a dump.
Both suck anyway.