I like BTFW overall, but Trial of Tears doesn't work for me on that. The fusion solo section doesn't groove at all.
My problem with the solo section isn't the drumming at all, but that Jordan brutally murdered one of Derek's best keyboard solos ever (it gets even worse when you realize Derek hates keytars with all his soul)
And, for the record, I've always prefered Jordan over Derek and Kevin, but he changes their keyboard solos way too much and just plays fast scale runs and all thar
Yep. As awesome as Rudess is, whenever he changes keyboard solos originally done by Moore or Sherinian, he butchers them.
Also, even though it is one of my favorite DT songs, Trial of Tears is one of their songs where the live versions never touch the studio version. Granted, I think it is rare for live versions to be better anyway, but the distance on that one is pretty wide, IMO.