Most overrated and underrated JLB performance?

[nikatapi]

I think the Astonishing is super-underrated, James did an incredible job on that. But i guess it's underrated as a whole. I also think his performances on ToT are pretty stellar.

I don't think there's anything that can be considered overrated, his pre-injury performances are all incredible, and i think these are the ones that are considered as good overall.

[Ben_Jamin]

I think the Astonishing is super-underrated, James did an incredible job on that. But i guess it's underrated as a whole. I also think his performances on ToT are pretty stellar.

I don't think there's anything that can be considered overrated, his pre-injury performances are all incredible, and i think these are the ones that are considered as good overall.

For me, he hit his absolute peak around the 8vm era. His pre-injury performances weren't really that great to be honest, Yeah sure, he can hit those highs, but they were more screechy and belty than smooth, His vocals also improved in smoothness.

[Herrick]

I have to agree with those who say fans who don't like The Astonishing still think LaBrie was great on that album.

[Architeuthis]

Labrie was incredible on The Astonishing tour. I haven't seen DT live since then.  Still the biggest abomination is that tour didn't documented for a video concert release. The lighting and stage show was amazing and Labrie really had his moment in the sun.  It would have been really unique.

[geeeemo]

Labrie was incredible on The Astonishing tour. I haven't seen DT live since then.  Still the biggest abomination is that tour didn't documented for a video concert release. The lighting and stage show was amazing and Labrie really had his moment in the sun.  It would have been really unique.

Agree! I saw the show 3x and this show is what got me hooked on Dream Theater!

[SeRoX]

I think his ADTOE vocal performance is underrated. Correct me if I'm wrong but ADTOE is the first time James recording vocals alone. I think  this affected his live performance. During this album tour he was amazing live on every song from ADTOE.

Overrated? To me he is mostly underrated so I can not point out his overrated points.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

Overrated: Live at the Marquee/Live in Tokyo.

JLB in the early 90s, although an incredible powerhouse, was so inconsistent. I don't like the constant screeching and wailing. I'd take his more controlled, not-as-raspy tone from Score to that any day.

Underrated: The Astonishing.

His performance on that doesn't get as much love as it deserves. He's the absolute star of that album.

[Herrick]

Overrated: Live at the Marquee/Live in Tokyo.

JLB in the early 90s, although an incredible powerhouse, was so inconsistent. I don't like the constant screeching and wailing. I'd take his more controlled, not-as-raspy tone from Score to that any day.

Same here. I'm not a fan of that "metal" style he used. There's a video on YouTube from a 1992 concert they played in Deer Park, New York and LaBrie used the nice clean singing style. Much better methinks.

Are we allowed to post stuff like that?

[TheCountOfNYC]

Underrated: Octavarium. This album was written to highlight every aspect of the Dream Theater sound, and James responded with a diverse and consistent performance. From the smooth and subdued melodies in The Answer Lies Within, to the Muse-esque falsetto in Panic Attack, to the clean but aggressive delivery in Never Enough, to the entire box of Crayola in the title track, James nailed the different styles required of him for this record, playing a huge role in it ranking so high for me.

Overrated: This is harder to pick, as James is very good at delivering the exact vocal performance required for a given album, and I feel really bad about judging his live performances due to his food poisoning incident, but I'll give the nod to Awake here. This isn't to say that it's bad, as I love his vocals on this album, but in general he had two modes of singing on this one: raspy mids and clean mids. He does it well, and he can't be entirely faulted for the range of the melodies on the record when there were four other guys also writing vocal parts here, but as it stands, he doesn't cover as much ground stylistically as he does on other albums.

[Siddhartha]

Overrated: No doubt  Learning to Live O-O-O   O-O-O  O-O-OOOOOOOO.
Underrated : I would say his mellow side a la Sorrounded, Goodnight Kiss, etc... seems to get less praise than the Power metal moments, but usually he sings those parts beautifully.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

Overrated: No doubt  Learning to Live O-O-O   O-O-O  O-O-OOOOOOOO.

That's a chessy-amazing-90smetal moment that doesn't get enough praise. It's so climatic and serves so good to the overall arc and narrative of that song.

[Ben_Jamin]

Underrated : I would say his mellow side a la Sorrounded, Goodnight Kiss, etc... seems to get less praise than the Power metal moments, but usually he sings those parts beautifully.

This is where JLB's voice shines the best.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

Underrated : I would say his mellow side a la Sorrounded, Goodnight Kiss, etc... seems to get less praise than the Power metal moments, but usually he sings those parts beautifully.

This is where JLB's voice shines the best.

Yeah, which is why The Astonishing is such a great vocal achievement. JLB sounds amazing all the way through.

[DT1138]

Overrated - I'll say nothing.  JLB takes takes more abuse and criticism than anyone else I've ever heard in my entire life.  Other than we forum people here and one lady I met at a DT show, I don't personally know anyone that loves him let alone likes him.  I've played DT for friends who aren't familiar with them and the first thing out of their mouths is always "You know, the music is great, but that singer...".

Underrated - My idea of a great singer is someone that not only sounds good, but also makes me want to sing along with them.  In this regard, the DT cover of Queen's "Tenement Funster/Flick of the Wrist/Lily of the Valley" comes to mind.  Freddie's voice is probably near impossible to match on the originals, but I think JLB's voice works fairly well on that considering the range, etc.  Close second for me would be "Panic Attack".

[Ben_Jamin]

Underrated : I would say his mellow side a la Sorrounded, Goodnight Kiss, etc... seems to get less praise than the Power metal moments, but usually he sings those parts beautifully.

This is where JLB's voice shines the best.

Yeah, which is why The Astonishing is such a great vocal achievement. JLB sounds amazing all the way through.

Also a reason why I quite enjoy The Astonishing. Specifically, Chosen, Begin Again, and The X Factor.

[Skeever]

Overrated - Score. He sounds fine, but his voice has such a processed and inhuman quality to it at that points. They did a really good job mixing his vocals in though so that it never sounds bad or anything, I just don't think it deserves all this praise as being his "comeback" live album.

Underrated - LSFNY. Despite not hitting all the notes, his voice has a really full and warm quality to it on this, and he is singing with quite a lot of intensity and emotion.

[gzarruk]

Overrated - I'll say some of his live stuff in the 90s. He was ON FIRE back then, but sometimes it was way too much, he wasn't singing as clean as he would do later on.

Underrated - TA is a good example. I'll say maybe his performances on LALP and BTFW too. I don't know how much studio magic was applied to his vocal performance for those live releases, but he sounds really good on both.