My controversial opinion is that some of DT's music is tuneless and completely lacking in vocal melody. But only some!
Not sure I agree with you completely, but I have found a few of their recent songs having some fairly uninteresting vocal melodies. As I mentioned earlier, I'd really like to see JR write the vocal melodies next time around.
I don't think the melodies are boring, but I would like to hear what JR could do with them. I'm conscious that, the way the band operate, that would mean JR writing the lyrics.
However! I think that's an incredibly good idea. Jordan's written lyrics before, I used to love Rhythm of Time, and while he's not some lyrical genius, he's at least good enough to keep up with the other guys --
Beyond TomorrowI remember only yesterday
Seems like not so long ago
Moving sideways on a shifting stage
Don't know where time seems to go.
I watch myself turn away
All in a memory
Rewinding just a single page
Now it's all coming back to me...
There's a young man in an endless dream
Projecting through a world of sound
Fingers fly and then a silent scream
Always high above the ground
I'm living - this moment
Through all the years
Illusion - in my mind
Washing out the fears
One day I'll be far from here
A star beyond tomorrow
And distance beyond this sphere
Will lead me on!
It's not Wordsworth, but it's pleasant, it fits the music very well, and it's a new voice! JR's spoken about how he loves that the band's more democractic since MP left,* how everyone's got a voice rather than the narrative being dominated by a single leader, and I think that bears out in the music. The lyrics are pretty much the only place they've gone backwards, rather than forwards. They've not technically lost any lyricists since John Myung returned to the fold, but JM never really aimed to fill Mike Portnoy's boots, and James LaBrie's been so busy with his solo albums that he sat DT12 out completely. He's written one short song in the last seven years or so! JP's grand, but he wrote most of DT11 and practically all of DT12, as he almost certainly helped out with Surrender to Reason. More voices are always welcome, and I think JR's plenty good enough to contribute in that department.
*"I think what happened is that Mike Portnoy, whom I have a lot of respect for to this day - he's a wonderful musician, he's creative, he did great things for Dream Theater - when he left everybody else was able to offer their full energy to the project. You're talking about five guys who are extremely capable, who can make and produce their own albums, who just know how to do this, and we kind of allowed Mike to take over a lot of stuff. When we got to the point where he was no longer there we were excited about having that extra space. We suddenly had an organization that could be fully democratic and we could put ourselves behind it and figure out the best way to make it work."
- Brave Words and Bloody Knuckles, "Dream Theater - Along for the Ride: Prepare to be Illuminated"