James LaBrie Solo

[frogprog]

That was fun! I have always dug that song and JLB is so much better than Vince Neil EVER was. I could probably sing better than him now and I don't sing particularly well

[WilliamMunny]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=460AU9mYhiU

James' son band FALSET featuring James LaBrie - Kickstart My Heart ( Mötley Crüe Cover)

Jeez...this is pretty amazing. I honestly can't wait for the new DT...James sounds in top form.

[Samsara]

Fun tune, nice job by JLB. Nice to see him just do something fun. All the Dream Theater stuff, and the crazy operatic notes that are expected from him have to get tedious. It was cool listening to him just have a go and sing something fun.

[TAC]

Fun tune, nice job by JLB. Nice to see him just do something fun. All the Dream Theater stuff, and the crazy operatic notes that are expected from him have to get tedious. It was cool listening to him just have a go and sing something fun.

I put this in The Cool Thread, but it'd be great if Dream Theater could loosen up and do a cover like this.

[deggs37]

Loving the Kickstart cover! James sounds great. His son is a pretty good drummer!

[WilliamMunny]

For me, this has the same vibe of 'Viper King,' which was a personal highlight on D/T.

[SeRoX]

Vocals kinda reminds me James' Winter Rose days. Love it.

[TAC]

For me, this has the same vibe of 'Viper King,' which was a personal highlight on D/T.

I mean, it didn't really fit with the album, but as a b-side, Viper King is all kinds of awesome. Kickstart is indeed in that same vain.

I would love to see more B-sides, covers, etc..

[Architeuthis]

For me, this has the same vibe of 'Viper King,' which was a personal highlight on D/T.

I thought the same exact thing.

[Cool Chris]

I would love to see more B-sides, covers, etc..

I would love to see better songs on their albums. 

[TAC]

I don't know, man. Their albums have been pretty good.

[Cool Chris]

My comment was a big cheeky, hence the smiley. Yes, I have enjoyed the last few albums (even TA). I am just always going to want a solid collection of album tracks before I can begin concerning myself with non-album material.

[HOF]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=460AU9mYhiU

James' son band FALSET featuring James LaBrie - Kickstart My Heart ( Mötley Crüe Cover)

I would never have guessed this was JLB singing if the video didn't say it was him. I wasn't sure it was actually him once the song started.

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

That was great!  Great cover in general also.

[Adami]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=460AU9mYhiU

James' son band FALSET featuring James LaBrie - Kickstart My Heart ( Mötley Crüe Cover)

I would never have guessed this was JLB singing if the video didn't say it was him. I wasn't sure it was actually him once the song started.

I don’t think that was. I think the band has a singer. James was (to my ears) doing some of the vocals. Not all of them.

[Trav86]

Is there anyone else who thinks the Mullmuzzler albums are the best of James’s solo career?

Maybe it’s just me.

[Max Kuehnau]

Is there anyone else who thinks the Mullmuzzler albums are the best of James’s solo career?

Maybe it’s just me.

I don't know if I like these two more than Elements Of Persuasion, but I definitely love his first three solo albums.

[WilliamMunny]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=460AU9mYhiU

James' son band FALSET featuring James LaBrie - Kickstart My Heart ( Mötley Crüe Cover)

I would never have guessed this was JLB singing if the video didn't say it was him. I wasn't sure it was actually him once the song started.

Agreed—they were trading off lines.
I don’t think that was. I think the band has a singer. James was (to my ears) doing some of the vocals. Not all of them.

[HOF]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=460AU9mYhiU

James' son band FALSET featuring James LaBrie - Kickstart My Heart ( Mötley Crüe Cover)

I would never have guessed this was JLB singing if the video didn't say it was him. I wasn't sure it was actually him once the song started.

I don’t think that was. I think the band has a singer. James was (to my ears) doing some of the vocals. Not all of them.

Ah, that makes more sense. Definitely were parts where it sounded more like him.

[MirrorMask]

Same here, had a hard time figuring out if it was all James, half James or no James.

And speaking about the Mullmuzzler... yes, nothing against the latest two - let's consider Elements of Persuasion a bridge between the first two and the last two - but those Mullmuzzler albums were one of a kind and full of great songs, it was the style best suited for him.

[TAC]

Same here, had a hard time figuring out if it was all James, half James or no James.

And speaking about the Mullmuzzler... yes, nothing against the latest two - let's consider Elements of Persuasion a bridge between the first two and the last two - but those Mullmuzzler albums were one of a kind and full of great songs, it was the style best suited for him.

I agree. I take the Mullmuzzler albums all day long over anything that came after them.

[HOF]

I also appreciated how the Mullmuzzler albums showed off more of a classic/hard rock side of James’ voice. Shores of Avalon is good example of that. A Simple Man is another that I think of as one of James’ best vocal performances.

[Enigmachine]

Is there anyone else who thinks the Mullmuzzler albums are the best of James’s solo career?

Maybe it’s just me.

I'm a bit picky about production so I don't think so. At least, from the first one, given that's the one I listened to most recently. It's weird, given that other albums Terry Brown mixed tend to sound way more polished. I also think the material is... hit and miss, to say the least. To me, Beelzebubba is possibly the worst song James has ever sang on and a lot of the longer tracks don't seem like they deserve their length. The following albums may have been more uniform in style but at least they were more refined.

[HOF]

Is there anyone else who thinks the Mullmuzzler albums are the best of James’s solo career?

Maybe it’s just me.

I'm a bit picky about production so I don't think so. At least, from the first one, given that's the one I listened to most recently. It's weird, given that other albums Terry Brown mixed tend to sound way more polished. I also think the material is... hit and miss, to say the least. To me, Beelzebubba is possibly the worst song James has ever sang on and a lot of the longer tracks don't seem like they deserve their length. The following albums may have been more uniform in style but at least they were more refined.

I've listened to both this morning (for the first time in a while), and I think I prefer the production on the first album. Feels more organic, drums sound less big and boxy. Neither are top shelf productions (as I recall they were mostly recorded remotely in home studios and the individual parts emailed back in), and the songwriting is sketchy in places. Between the two there is probably an albums' worth of really strong tracks though.

[Setlist Scotty]

Is there anyone else who thinks the Mullmuzzler albums are the best of James’s solo career?

Maybe it’s just me.

I don't know if I like these two more than Elements Of Persuasion, but I definitely love his first three solo albums.

I'm in the same boat. The first MM was a bit spotty - I agree with whoever said that Beelzebubba is the worst track. But I'm not a fan of Trent Gardner's work in the first place, so I guess that's no surprise (altho I didn't mind As a Man Thinks or the track on MM2 as much). But I like the other tracks and Elements of Persuasion was great pretty much all the way through. Tried his fourth album, but the cookie monster vocals ruined it for me, even if only on half the tracks, and I never even bothered with his last album.
 
 

I take the Mullmuzzler albums all day long over anything that came after them.

Don't you like Elements of Persuasion?
 
 
On a separate note, I happened to be reading an interview in an old issue of the Images and Words fanzine, which was done in August 1998, and JL was asked about doing a solo album. Kinda interesting to see what he said, and how the direction he went in just a year later was completely different. Here's the excerpt:

I think I want to wait for something like that. I’d like to get a little more under my belt with Dream Theater and then branch out when we take a little hiatus later on in our careers. I think at that point, I’d like to be able to use the fact that I’ll be hopefully better known, and be able to get the better players.

It’s kind of wacky, but at this point, the kind of album I would like to do has a lot to do with what I’m listening to right now. I mentioned Gino Vanelli, but I’ve been listening to a lot of Sting as well, and George Michael. Basically, I think it would be on the complete other end of the spectrum. If I were to do a solo album, it probably wouldn’t have much to do with Dream Theater. Even though Dream Theater incorporated a lot of different styles of music and writing. I would like to do more of the pop type thing.

[nick_z]

Is there anyone else who thinks the Mullmuzzler albums are the best of James’s solo career?

Maybe it’s just me.

I can't quite say that, as I'm not very familiar with James' solo work past the Mullmuzzler albums - I think I've only listened to a few songs here and there. I do, however, enjoy those two Mullmuzzler records, and James' singing on them...maybe the second a smidge more. I sort of remember thinking how much I enjoyed the vocal melodies in Blind Faith on Six Degrees...especially the pre-chorus...and how they reminded me of the vibes in some of the more melodic songs in Mullmuzzler 2...

[TAC]

I take the Mullmuzzler albums all day long over anything that came after them.

Don't you like Elements of Persuasion?

No, I don't remember liking it.

[wolfking]

Pretty sure EOP made my top 50 and SI I think was somewhere between 50-60.  I can see why people don't like EOP and it was a gower, but I loved hearing James in this setting, and the arrival of Marco is fantastic.  I like the modern feels too and the modern riffing on some tunes.  The ballads are wonderful too.  Just a great album.

These days though, I think SI would now rate higher than EOP.

[Kwyjibo]

Static Impulse is where it's at, great record all around. 

The Mullmuzzler records were solid but didn't have much staying power for me. And contrary to Setlist Scotty I think Beelzebubba is one of the best tracks.

EOP was better but still didn't fully grab me.

[HOF]

It’s cheesy as heck, but I actually think As A Man Thinks is a fun song.

[Ben_Jamin]

I enjoy Mullmuzzler 2 over Keep It To Yourself.

I do like the way both albums have a sort of late 90's sound to it, in the terms of what styles of music were around at the time, more so Keep It To Yourself.

It wasn't until the label changed the name to James LaBrie when the sound began to lean to more metal. I think, it's just what was selling at the time, and having LaBrie sing songs closer to the Dream Theater style would sell more records as well. Wouldn't it be funny if the label itself was responsible for the Octavarium album leak fiasco, as a means to utilize and take advantage of downloading to draw attention to how similar LaBrie's solo album is to Dream Theaters sound (The intro to Crucify begins like A Change of Seasons, which I find interesting. And funnily enough, also sounds a bit like the intro to Untethered Angel). Which is unlike his past 2 albums.

[Cool Chris]

I tried to like those Mullmuzzler albums, but just don't. Been ages since I gave them a listen, maybe will give them another chance. I loved EoP from the first listen, and highly enjoy the last two offerings. I am sure some of it can be due to me liking James, both his vocals and he just seems like a cool guy. If it was some random band with people I'd never heard of or had any attachment to, I might feel differently.

[Willthescout7]

Static Impulse was my very first metal album (Euphoric was my first metal song) and for that reason no album I will ever listen to will top it. It remains the pinnacle of metal to me and something I still listen to everyday.

[cramx3]

I tried to like those Mullmuzzler albums, but just don't. Been ages since I gave them a listen, maybe will give them another chance. I loved EoP from the first listen, and highly enjoy the last two offerings.

This is how I feel.  I can't get into Mullmuzzler the couple times I tried many years ago.  I don't think it's for me, but I love his latest two releases.  I probably rate SI a bit higher than EOP but those are my two favorites from JLB.

[ZirconBlue]

I tried to like those Mullmuzzler albums, but just don't. Been ages since I gave them a listen, maybe will give them another chance. I loved EoP from the first listen, and highly enjoy the last two offerings.

This is how I feel.  I can't get into Mullmuzzler the couple times I tried many years ago.  I don't think it's for me, but I love his latest two releases.  I probably rate SI a bit higher than EOP but those are my two favorites from JLB.

It's worth pointing out that, unlike the later albums, the Mullmuzzler albums feature multiple writers.  Matt Guillory is still the principle songwriter, but there are also a few songs each by the Shadow Gallery guys, and Trent Gardner.  Personally, I think the Trent Gardner songs are, by far, the weakest and tend to skip them.  If you feel like giving the albums another shot you might focus in on songs by one writer/team at a time and see if some of them strike you as more up your alley than others.