JLB - "I can't sing like that anymore"

[nikatapi]

Good to see James at least being open about his struggle with the old material, which is understandable given his age and natural decline of the human voice.

"Well, anything off Images and Words is mildly unpleasant because I can't sing like that anymore," LaBrie says of the material on Dream Theater's 1992 breakout LP. "I can't sing in the stratosphere. [Those songs are from] 30 years ago.

"I'll alter the melodies to fit into what my voice is these days, but I still love those songs. But for me to do 'Another Day' and sing that whole last verse and chorus, it's like, yeah right!

"Any of the songs that I find extremely challenging would be from before I ruptured my vocal cords, anything that was [recorded] before December 30th, 1994. Before I did that, I was able to sing up in those higher registers, and it was nothing for me. It was effortless.

"But I still do fondly look at those songs from those albums. But I'd say that it's more about the beauty of singing songs from any era... because I'll just alter the melodies to make it work and still enjoy the vibe and still enjoy what the song represents to us, and to the fans."

https://www.revolvermag.com/music/dream-theaters-james-labrie-my-least-favorite-songs-play-live

[bosk1]

The other factor is that they didn't know how to write vocal melodies back on the first two albums.  I mean, they wrote vocal melodies that sound really cool as far as note choices and how those blend with the music.  But there are plenty that are written poorly from the standpoint of NOT being conducive to actually being able to replicate them well in a live setting where you can't just sing line by line, either because they stay too long in too high and narrow a register, or they lack breath space, or what have you.  OAMAT, Another Day, and Take the Time are poster children for that.  It's all well and good when your singer is in his 20s and feels immortal.  But it's just not sustainable, even for the most impressive of vocalists.

[nikatapi]

The other factor is that they didn't know how to write vocal melodies back on the first two albums.  I mean, they wrote vocal melodies that sound really cool as far as note choices and how those blend with the music.  But there are plenty that are written poorly from the standpoint of NOT being conducive to actually being able to replicate them well in a live setting where you can't just sing line by line, either because they stay too long in too high and narrow a register, or they lack breath space, or what have you.  OAMAT, Another Day, and Take the Time are poster children for that.  It's all well and good when your singer is in his 20s and feels immortal.  But it's just not sustainable, even for the most impressive of vocalists.

Very true. Especially on Images the vocal lines are unrealistic when considering a live performance.

[TAC]

I'm happy it was being discussed at least, but whatever fix the band does, they need to do a better job than the last couple of legs. It is going to have to be addressed.

[Schurftkut]

i'm just happy that Octavarium was on his list of favorites to sing.

but, i'm only going to see that show if he can perform it. i'll wait for some videos first before buying a ticket.

[wolfking]

I'm happy it was being discussed at least, but whatever fix the band does, they need to do a better job than the last couple of legs. It is going to have to be addressed.

I agree.  It's good they are finally addressing it, but the changes need to be more radical and extensive IMO on a whole.

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

What I found more insightful than his admitting he can't sing I&W the same way he used to in his 20s - we all agree on that probably - is that he said he is changing the melodies to suit what he can sing. This is something people have brought up on other threads and I feel like it's always brought up as a negative thing-- on that is contributing to the live struggles. But here he is saying he is altering the notes to what he feels he can accomplish.

[Setlist Scotty]

The other factor is that they didn't know how to write vocal melodies back on the first two albums.  I mean, they wrote vocal melodies that sound really cool as far as note choices and how those blend with the music.  But there are plenty that are written poorly from the standpoint of NOT being conducive to actually being able to replicate them well in a live setting where you can't just sing line by line, either because they stay too long in too high and narrow a register, or they lack breath space, or what have you.  OAMAT, Another Day, and Take the Time are poster children for that.  It's all well and good when your singer is in his 20s and feels immortal.  But it's just not sustainable, even for the most impressive of vocalists.

Very true. Especially on Images the vocal lines are unrealistic when considering a live performance.

That also easily extends to Awake as well with some melodies in IF and Voices just being brutal to perform live.

[Stadler]

What I found more insightful than his admitting he can't sing I&W the same way he used to in his 20s - we all agree on that probably - is that he said he is changing the melodies to suit what he can sing. This is something people have brought up on other threads and I feel like it's always brought up as a negative thing-- on that is contributing to the live struggles. But here he is saying he is altering the notes to what he feels he can accomplish.

I didn't experience that the two times I saw them on these last two legs.   I'm thinking that maybe we can't wing this as we go, depending on the night.  Settle in and agree on a new melody and stick with it.  It feels like he's not sure of the melody until he actually sings it.

And the different melody doesn't explain the pitchiness.

[crystalstars17]

Good to see James at least being open about his struggle with the old material, which is understandable given his age and natural decline of the human voice.

"Well, anything off Images and Words is mildly unpleasant because I can't sing like that anymore," LaBrie says of the material on Dream Theater's 1992 breakout LP. "I can't sing in the stratosphere. [Those songs are from] 30 years ago.

"I'll alter the melodies to fit into what my voice is these days, but I still love those songs. But for me to do 'Another Day' and sing that whole last verse and chorus, it's like, yeah right!

"Any of the songs that I find extremely challenging would be from before I ruptured my vocal cords, anything that was [recorded] before December 30th, 1994. Before I did that, I was able to sing up in those higher registers, and it was nothing for me. It was effortless.

"But I still do fondly look at those songs from those albums. But I'd say that it's more about the beauty of singing songs from any era... because I'll just alter the melodies to make it work and still enjoy the vibe and still enjoy what the song represents to us, and to the fans."

https://www.revolvermag.com/music/dream-theaters-james-labrie-my-least-favorite-songs-play-live

Well, if this isn't a straight answer to all those
who were thinking it was a matter of ego, I don't know what is.

He freely admits there's a problem, and is publicly stating his plans to adjust for it.

I would think there is a lot of pressure on him from both sides, from the fans who expect him to deliver and also from within the band/management (I don't know which) who are requiring him to still be able to sell those songs from the pre-injury era.

He also freely admits that his injury ended some of his ability in the top range. Many injuries end careers. It happens all the time in sports (where the comparison is apt as singing is an athletic event), and so often with singers. Look at Julie Andrews. There are many others whom we don't hear about, because maybe they weren't as famous or they just gave up. James didn't. He could still sing, even though not quite the same, but he didn't give up. He kept on going, doing what he was born to do. And he does so to this day. There's no arguing with his tenacity in the face of adversity, and I admire him for it.

[Wim Kruithof]

There are over 200 official songs Dream Theater has brought out since 1989. I really don't know why they choose songs that are obvious out of LaBrie's range these days and then torture them until it fits in, in the vocal range of LaBrie. So many songs aren't that high (or vocal-fast)... why can't they infiltrate them in the setlist?

I've seen it happen quite a few times, that he sang another line than (then?) the original and it's always a compromise... never a win-win or something that comes close to a win-win situation. I'm totally ok with that some songs aren't able to perform anymore, due to the vocals, but really do not understand the torturing until it fits. It's not like they run out of songs.

[crystalstars17]

There are over 200 official songs Dream Theater has brought out since 1989. I really don't know why they choose songs that are obvious out of LaBrie's range these days and then torture them until it fits in, in the vocal range of LaBrie. So many songs aren't that high (or vocal-fast)... why can't they infiltrate them in the setlist?

Agreeing, there are many songs that are in a medium-high range and with soaring, lyrical melodies that would show him at his best.

Those songs need to come out of hiding.

[devieira73]

With all due respect to LaBrie, unfortunetly the real problem is that his overall live performances in most of DT songs, including the most recent albums, haven't been good. And this problem wasn't addressed in that interview.

[cramx3]

There are over 200 official songs Dream Theater has brought out since 1989. I really don't know why they choose songs that are obvious out of LaBrie's range these days and then torture them until it fits in, in the vocal range of LaBrie. So many songs aren't that high (or vocal-fast)... why can't they infiltrate them in the setlist?

I'd guess the band feels those songs are the ones fans want to see?  But I agree, play the stuff he can be his best at singing.  I'm open to seeing the rest of those songs live.  I know PMU is their hit and they are going to play it, but there's soooo many other songs I'd be happy to see them play that he can probably perform significantly better on. 

[Trav86]

There are over 200 official songs Dream Theater has brought out since 1989. I really don't know why they choose songs that are obvious out of LaBrie's range these days and then torture them until it fits in, in the vocal range of LaBrie. So many songs aren't that high (or vocal-fast)... why can't they infiltrate them in the setlist?

I'd guess the band feels those songs are the ones fans want to see?  But I agree, play the stuff he can be his best at singing.  I'm open to seeing the rest of those songs live.  I know PMU is their hit and they are going to play it, but there's soooo many other songs I'd be happy to see them play that he can probably perform significantly better on.

Agreed. Outside of this message board, the fan favorites are the ones that are hardest for him to sing.

[Skeever]

With all due respect to LaBrie, unfortunetly the real problem is that his overall live performances in most of DT songs, including the most recent albums, haven't been good. And this problem wasn't addressed in that interview.

Right... I noticed on tour that it wasn't just the high notes. Some of the pitchiest sounding performances to me seemed to be newer stuff.

[Stadler]

With all due respect to LaBrie, unfortunetly the real problem is that his overall live performances in most of DT songs, including the most recent albums, haven't been good. And this problem wasn't addressed in that interview.

Right... I noticed on tour that it wasn't just the high notes. Some of the pitchiest sounding performances to me seemed to be newer stuff.

Look, I don't want to sound like that guy bagging on James; he's the reason I got into DT in the first place, and he's still a unique and special singer, so I have no real complaints (I listen to bands whose singers have not aged NEARLY as well).   But if we're going to acknowledge a change in circumstance, and we're going to try to mitigate that change in circumstance, we ought to at least be HONEST about what that circumstance is.  The two times I saw him on this cycle, the noticeable problem to me WASN'T the high notes.  The problem for me was that in the middle of the song his pitch would seem to vary pretty noticeably.  I feel like that's an eminently fixable problem, but to fix a problem you have to acknowledge it.

[gzarruk]

Yeah, the Images/Awake material is the most challenging for the high pitched stuff, but he has been struggling with the recent material A LOT. Not to keep beating on a dead horse, but losing his range isn't the same thing as not being able to sing in tune. The former is expected with age/injuries/whatever, but the latter is a much bigger issue and there's no real excuse for a world touring, professional singer to not do it.

[crystalstars17]

And how do we know that he is not addressing issues of pitch? Just because the scope of the interview, based on the interviewer's questions or what he is allowed to come out and say by band management to whatever other factors affected what he said or didn't say, did not include the pitch issue, that's a lousy excuse to call him out on being dishonest or essentially lying by omission. That's pretty harsh when we don't know all the facts.

He publicly mentioned that he has a problem and is working on it. This is a step in the right direction.

[gzarruk]

And how do we know that he is not addressing issues of pitch? Just because the scope of the interview, based on the interviewer's questions or what he is allowed to come out and say by band management to whatever other factors affected what he said or didn't say, did not include the pitch issue, that's a lousy excuse to call him out on being dishonest or essentially lying by omission. That's pretty harsh when we don't know all the facts.

He publicly mentioned that he has a problem and is working on it. This is a step in the right direction.

Not sure if directed at me or not, but that's not what I was implying at all.

[crystalstars17]

Not sure if directed at me or not, but that's not what I was implying at all.

Not directed at you at all. It was a general response to the  overall tone I was seeing in the thread.

It's only the first (that I know of) public declaration of a problem, and something like this takes guts, but it also takes team approval before the fact. For example, remember Olympic gymnast Simone Biles? She was having problems with balance. Unheard of and uncharacteristic for a gymnast at her level, right? But then it came out that she was having, and working on, balance issues. It didn't come out until later on that she was also working through some other issues that were affecting her performance at the same time.

These things are discussed among teams and with management long before they publicly come out. An omission of the full scope of the issue(s) should not be assumed to be a wilful concealment of all that is going on, but the agreed-upon extent that is allowed to be revealed by the entire team at large at the present time.

[Wim Kruithof]

I know PMU is their hit and they are going to play it, but there's soooo many other songs I'd be happy to see them play that he can probably perform significantly better on.

As a perfect example, The Ministry of Lost Souls lost tour. To me their best performance I've ever seen live, even LaBrie nailed it spot-on. Not the highest high's, not Images-or-Awakish, but perfectly fits his nowadays voice and the song is so beautiful. And there are many, many more.

I hope they re-find themselves with song that are still within LaBrie's range, and we've not seen a thousand times before (like Scenes from a Memory).

[Schurftkut]

range is not what people are complaining about. That's perfectly fixed with the melodychanges and downtuning like on PMU.
it's not being on pitch within his range that's been bugging fans last 2 tours.

[Samsara]

The other factor is that they didn't know how to write vocal melodies back on the first two albums.  I mean, they wrote vocal melodies that sound really cool as far as note choices and how those blend with the music.  But there are plenty that are written poorly from the standpoint of NOT being conducive to actually being able to replicate them well in a live setting where you can't just sing line by line, either because they stay too long in too high and narrow a register, or they lack breath space, or what have you.  OAMAT, Another Day, and Take the Time are poster children for that.  It's all well and good when your singer is in his 20s and feels immortal.  But it's just not sustainable, even for the most impressive of vocalists.

Beat me to it. Those songs on Images and Words are phenomenal, but not at all conducive to a singer. Yes, a person can sing them. But singing them for 150 nights a year? Pass. No way. Well said all around bosk.

And very pleased JLB just came out and said that. The fact he sings them anyway is a testament to him. He could very well say no. So a big thanks to James for being honest, and still giving it his all. The human voice is unlike any other instrument. It changes continually, and doesn't change the same way for people.

[devieira73]

range is not what people are complaining about. That's perfectly fixed with the melodychanges and downtuning like on PMU.
it's not being on pitch within his range that's been bugging fans last 2 tours.

I also think that's what at least 85% of us are talking albout. I hope, like crystalstars17 said, that that interview was a way they found to let the fans know, politely, that they are aware of the vocals problems live and are working on it. Although, personally, it felt more like LaBrie was belittling the issue, shifting the focus from what it really is. I don't think he was being dishonest (I always enjoy his interviews, always a nice, down-to-earth guy), but maybe it's very difficult for him to talk about it openly, to the fullest extent (by the way, I don't think he or DT have any obligation to make it public). I hope that JLB manages to give a better live performance, considering his age, modifying the melodies when necessary. I really would like to see him as DT vocalist until the end of the band. And I still like a lot his studio performances, being The Astonishing my favorite performance in any album that he ever recorded.

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

With all due respect to LaBrie, unfortunetly the real problem is that his overall live performances in most of DT songs, including the most recent albums, haven't been good. And this problem wasn't addressed in that interview.

This.

Everyone understands about the 1992-1994 stuff. It doesn't address the fact that everything else is also an issue.

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

And how do we know that he is not addressing issues of pitch? Just because the scope of the interview, based on the interviewer's questions or what he is allowed to come out and say by band management to whatever other factors affected what he said or didn't say, did not include the pitch issue, that's a lousy excuse to call him out on being dishonest or essentially lying by omission. That's pretty harsh when we don't know all the facts.

He publicly mentioned that he has a problem and is working on it. This is a step in the right direction.

All will become clear on the next tour. If we get to the DT16 tour and he still is having the exact same issues he had on View and DreamSonic, then we have an unmitigated problem.

EDIT: to clarify, I am not even thinking about I&W stuff. On the last two tours they opened each night with the Alien and that was all over the place. That's the sort of thing I believe fans will not be as forgiving about because he just wrote that.

[gmillerdrake]

I utterly LOVE DT and JLB. The night my two sons and I stalked the tour bus and got to meet and talk with everyone in the band, JLB sat and talked with us for a solid 15 minutes….just us three and him. He was and is such a nice guy and genuinely ‘care’ (or seemed to at least) about the conversation we were having. It was something I’ll never forget.

He ‘was’ an incredible singer for a very long time. He IS the voice of DT. But the sad truth is he simply can’t do it live anymore. It’s sad, it’s heartbreaking….but the tone/pitch issues and the changing of the influx on phrasing of the vocals…..it’s just too much at this point. The efforts to hide it and adjust to his age make it even more glaring.

I will continue to go to every DT concert I can because as I said…..I utterly love the band. I’ll cheer and take home great memories from the concerts…..but the hey day of DT is long in the past.

[crystalstars17]

I will continue to go to every DT concert I can because as I said…..I utterly love the band. I’ll cheer and take home great memories from the concerts…..but the hey day of DT is long in the past.

This really depends on what you consider the "heyday"! If you're an early 90's, I&W/Awake-era purist, then yeah maybe that's a valid opinion for you. But why look at it in such bleak, all-or-nothing terms?

I think we're looking at here is a new era. And it wouldn't be the first new era for this band. Why not see the present day as a new beginning? Sure, it won't sound like Awake. But if every album sounded the same, we'd get bored. If they never had moved on from that same old formula, amazing as it was, then we wouldn't have all the other flavors of amazing. We wouldn't have Black Clouds and Silver Linings. We wouldn't have Octavarium. Or even Scenes From A Memory.

So now we are in the era of View and Astonishing. This is a fine thing. If this is where the band's creativity is heading, and what James is capable of singing now, then I'm here for it. 🥂

[TheOutlawXanadu]

I will continue to go to every DT concert I can because as I said…..I utterly love the band. I’ll cheer and take home great memories from the concerts…..but the hey day of DT is long in the past.

This really depends on what you consider the "heyday"! If you're an early 90's, I&W/Awake-era purist, then yeah maybe that's a valid opinion for you. But why look at it in such bleak, all-or-nothing terms?

I think we're looking at here is a new era. And it wouldn't be the first new era for this band. Why not see the present day as a new beginning? Sure, it won't sound like Awake. But if every album sounded the same, we'd get bored. If they never had moved on from that same old formula, amazing as it was, then we wouldn't have all the other flavors of amazing. We wouldn't have Black Clouds and Silver Linings. We wouldn't have Octavarium. Or even Scenes From A Memory.

So now we are in the era of View and Astonishing. This is a fine thing. If this is where the band's creativity is heading, and what James is capable of singing now, then I'm here for it. 🥂

I am on the same page as you. Of course there are some contexts in life where you shouldn't accept anything less than the best, and hold yourselves and others to the highest standard, but if you do that all the time, you'll probably just bum yourself out.

When it comes to Dream Theater, my personal approach is more along the lines of, "I am so happy to have this band in my life and so thankful that they are still making awesome music almost 40 years in. That is an exceedingly rare thing these days." Do I think that the band's best period is behind them and we're probably never getting anything on par with the "Big Four" ever again? Yes. Do I worry about it? Nope!

[Trav86]

I will continue to go to every DT concert I can because as I said…..I utterly love the band. I’ll cheer and take home great memories from the concerts…..but the hey day of DT is long in the past.

This really depends on what you consider the "heyday"! If you're an early 90's, I&W/Awake-era purist, then yeah maybe that's a valid opinion for you. But why look at it in such bleak, all-or-nothing terms?

I think we're looking at here is a new era. And it wouldn't be the first new era for this band. Why not see the present day as a new beginning? Sure, it won't sound like Awake. But if every album sounded the same, we'd get bored. If they never had moved on from that same old formula, amazing as it was, then we wouldn't have all the other flavors of amazing. We wouldn't have Black Clouds and Silver Linings. We wouldn't have Octavarium. Or even Scenes From A Memory.

So now we are in the era of View and Astonishing. This is a fine thing. If this is where the band's creativity is heading, and what James is capable of singing now, then I'm here for it. 🥂

I am on the same page as you. Of course there are some contexts in life where you shouldn't accept anything less than the best, and hold yourselves and others to the highest standard, but if you do that all the time, you'll probably just bum yourself out.

When it comes to Dream Theater, my personal approach is more along the lines of, "I am so happy to have this band in my life and so thankful that they are still making awesome music almost 40 years in. That is an exceedingly rare thing these days." Do I think that the band's best period is behind them and we're probably never getting anything on par with the "Big Four" ever again? Yes. Do I worry about it? Nope!

All of this.

[gmillerdrake]

I will continue to go to every DT concert I can because as I said…..I utterly love the band. I’ll cheer and take home great memories from the concerts…..but the hey day of DT is long in the past.

This really depends on what you consider the "heyday"! If you're an early 90's, I&W/Awake-era purist, then yeah maybe that's a valid opinion for you. But why look at it in such bleak, all-or-nothing terms?

I think we're looking at here is a new era. And it wouldn't be the first new era for this band. Why not see the present day as a new beginning? Sure, it won't sound like Awake. But if every album sounded the same, we'd get bored. If they never had moved on from that same old formula, amazing as it was, then we wouldn't have all the other flavors of amazing. We wouldn't have Black Clouds and Silver Linings. We wouldn't have Octavarium. Or even Scenes From A Memory.

So now we are in the era of View and Astonishing. This is a fine thing. If this is where the band's creativity is heading, and what James is capable of singing now, then I'm here for it. 🥂

I am on the same page as you. Of course there are some contexts in life where you shouldn't accept anything less than the best, and hold yourselves and others to the highest standard, but if you do that all the time, you'll probably just bum yourself out.

When it comes to Dream Theater, my personal approach is more along the lines of, "I am so happy to have this band in my life and so thankful that they are still making awesome music almost 40 years in. That is an exceedingly rare thing these days." Do I think that the band's best period is behind them and we're probably never getting anything on par with the "Big Four" ever again? Yes. Do I worry about it? Nope!

All of this.

I'm by far saying that I don't like them, in fact, it's the opposite. I agree with near all the above. There have been some pretty incredible songs and albums written in the Mangini era and I think they're still phenomenal musicians and a band I'll go to see until the opportunity to see them stops.

But for me....the prime DT era so to speak, when they were Dream F'n Theater was that three album run of SFAM, 6DOIT and TOT. That was them in full stride. That's not taking away from Images, Awake and FII because I dig the hell out of those albums as well....and Octavarium was a freaking solid album also....but...that three album run for me WAS peak DT.

[Trav86]

Not to get too off topic, but gmillerdrake makes a good point.  I think there are different eras of the band that fans consider those “golden years”. I realize there is the “big four” which is sort of the majority consensus. But for me, I would expand it and just say ‘92-‘06 were the peak of this band. While I like, and sometimes love, stuff they’ve done since then. They just were never really the same after that. Or maybe I changed. If someone were to ask me where to start, I would just point them to anything during that period, then just keep going. Ok, maybe not FII for their first listen. But you know what I mean.

[devieira73]

DT is still my fave band, they keep making great albums, but I 100% agree with Trav86. And I don't think I ever known another band that continued 14 years at their peak.

[nobloodyname]

I agree with the last few posts. So pleased in hindsight I became a fan at the end of 2002 (I lamented not finding out about them sooner for years!) because I caught them when they were at the absolutely peak of their game live. Hard to believe that's over 20 years ago and I've now been a fan for most of their career. Time does funny things