In Defense of James LaBrie: A Manifesto

[DT05]

The cameo snippets are still indicative of what he can do. I care more about his recorded output than his live output as it is.

[gzarruk]

The few videos I found of the AVFTTOTW tour were not official, so they were peoples own recordings on their phone, and as we all know, phone microphones do not capture the sound very well! And in terms of the D/T tour, I listened to Through Her Eyes live at Hammersmith, and he really did not sound bad at all! Obviously, if you were at a show on the AVFTTOTW tour, then you'll have a much better understanding of how is live voice is doing, but as I wasn't there, this is what I'm going off! 

If a phone recording makes him sound out of tune when he was *actually* perfectly in tune, does that mean the phone recordings of other singers that show them singing in tune are wrong and they're out of tune? Does this happen with every singer or just James? Are those cameo videos (phone recordings as well) also out of tune but miraculously auto tuned by the phone?

[gzarruk]

The cameo snippets are still indicative of what he can do. I care more about his recorded output than his live output as it is.

But those videos were all recorded before the View tour, back in 2021-ish. Time and context matter.

[DT05]

Nevertheless, James sounds terrific, and I love him more than any other member in the band's history of lineups because his consistency is matchless. 

[CraftyCaleb2483]

If a phone recording makes him sound out of tune when he was *actually* perfectly in tune, does that mean the phone recordings of other singers that show them singing in tune are wrong and they're out of tune? Does this happen with every singer or just James? Are those cameo videos (phone recordings as well) also out of tune but miraculously auto tuned by the phone?

Oh, I didn't realize that he was actually out of tune! In that case, I take back my former comment!

[hefdaddy42]

Comment to bring this thread back to the top, since it was actually created this year, not in 2010.

[Puppies_On_Acid]

Nevertheless, James sounds terrific, and I love him more than any other member in the band's history of lineups because his consistency is matchless. 

[Dream Team]

He wasn't being serious, and the troll is no longer with us.

[Puppies_On_Acid]

He wasn't being serious, and the troll is no longer with us.

Yeah I saw that, good riddance.

[Dream Team]

Not sure if we've done this recently, but since this is kind of a Labrie appreciation thread and I've been critical of his live performance of late I thought I'd try to list my 10 favorite Labrie studio performances. Deliberately not just listing I&W and Awake vocals.

1. Under a Glass Moon
2. Surrounded
3. Wait for Sleep
4. Scarred
5. A Change of Seasons
6. Misunderstood
7. Goodnight Kiss
8. Breaking all Illusions
9. Illumination Theory
10. A Life Left Behind

[WilliamMunny]

Not sure if we've done this recently, but since this is kind of a Labrie appreciation thread and I've been critical of his live performance of late I thought I'd try to list my 10 favorite Labrie studio performances. Deliberately not just listing I&W and Awake vocals.

1. Under a Glass Moon
2. Surrounded
3. Wait for Sleep
4. Scarred
5. A Change of Seasons
6. Misunderstood
7. Goodnight Kiss
8. Breaking all Illusions
9. Illumination Theory
10. A Life Left Behind

Not only is the above my favorite song from TA, it might be my favorite song from the past 4 albums. JLB just nails that vocal.

[Ayeegit]

We're gonna talk about James' Cameo videos, and NOT include this one!? Come on people!!!

[Dream Team]

We've already had more than our fill of it thanks to HoveringSojourn.

[MoraWintersoul]

He wasn't being serious, and the troll is no longer with us.

No, I think he has had several accounts and that a couple of them are as of yet unbanned because they haven't failed anyone's smell test (except mine). It's a bit frustrating, because some of their posts contribute something at times, but I have a hard time engaging because I know it's not for anything serious and they don't actually care to have a conversation with me, they just care to grow the number of posts and interactions for purposes.

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

No, I think he has had several accounts and that a couple of them are as of yet unbanned because they haven't failed anyone's smell test (except mine). It's a bit frustrating, because some of their posts contribute something at times, but I have a hard time engaging because I know it's not for anything serious and they don't actually care to have a conversation with me, they just care to grow the number of posts and interactions for purposes.

whom does the troll inhabit now?

[MoraWintersoul]

whom does the troll inhabit now?

[Dream Team]

I get the concerns about not having a click track, but let's be real—James LaBrie is going to absolutely slay it this tour. The guy has been killing it for decades, and his experience is going to shine through, click or no click. James and the rest of the band have the chops to deliver an incredible performance regardless. They've been doing this for so long that their chemistry and musicianship are off the charts. They know how to adapt and make it work, even in challenging conditions. Just think of how having Mike Portnoy back in the band, and his incredible energy, is going to boost James' performance to new highs. James has been working hard on his vocals, and it will show. His recent performances have been top-notch, and there's no reason to doubt that he'll bring that same energy and precision to this tour. The harmonies and background vocals are a big part of Dream Theater's sound, but let's not forget the raw talent and passion that James brings to every show.

This post has not aged well it would seem.

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

 

[Uncle Rico]

His voice is toast; he's done. Dragging the whole rest of the band down with him. The problem needs to be addressed, sooner or later, one way or another. It's embarrassing.

[MoraWintersoul]

This post has not aged well it would seem.

I would say that if the post was seriously meant, but imo it reads as if it was provoking this kind of reaction when the tour rolls around and it's inevitably not the best tour ever for James. Which I find kind of sad, and insulting towards James too, even if THS actually is a fan of James who just took it a bit too far in the spirit of jest.

[CodyWanKenobi]

At the end of the day, every post I've seen from people who were actually there are saying it sounded great and James sounded fine in the building. I think that's all that matters. I've been to shows where James was really struggling and it affected my experience. I've also seen shows where I thought James was on fire and was absolutely killing it. Obviously the emotional investment in what's going on must play a bit of a role, but that being said I've still been able to tell when James was not doing well, so it can't be a complete blinder. I think unprofessionally recorded audio from these shows have to have a level of unreliability where we must try to wait until we see the show for ourselves before making these massively harsh judgements.

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

I don't think there's anything wrong with what I said in the quoted post, though it is funny to see the same 3-4 accounts making a point to let it be known how bad they think James did at one (1) show in 3-5 threads on the DT fan forum. You guys must be so fun at parties   

[nobloodyname]

At the end of the day, every post I've seen from people who were actually there are saying it sounded great and James sounded fine in the building.

Well, time to break your streak. Not once did he sound "great". In fact, he sounded exactly like he sounds on Rodderica's excellent recordings on YouTube.

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

Thanks for clearing the air, nobloodyname. Your honesty is admirable.

[CodyWanKenobi]

Well, time to break your streak. Not once did he sound "great". In fact, he sounded exactly like he sounds on Rodderica's excellent recordings on YouTube.

Well damn, sorry to hear that.

[Dream Team]

Hey I'm just having a bit of fun, no offense meant, but if you're gonna write hyperbolic stuff like that you have to back it up. 

[Uncle Rico]

At the end of the day, every post I've seen from people who were actually there are saying it sounded great and James sounded fine in the building. I think that's all that matters. I've been to shows where James was really struggling and it affected my experience. I've also seen shows where I thought James was on fire and was absolutely killing it. Obviously the emotional investment in what's going on must play a bit of a role, but that being said I've still been able to tell when James was not doing well, so it can't be a complete blinder. I think unprofessionally recorded audio from these shows have to have a level of unreliability where we must try to wait until we see the show for ourselves before making these massively harsh judgements.

This is just ridiculous. I get so tired of people saying "oh, it's just the cellphone footage that makes him sound bad — he was great in person!" I know you didn't say that per se, but saying he sounded fine in person is just flat out not true. Perhaps the sheer decibel level made it hard to discern, but recordings don't lie. Pitch is pitch. He sounded awful, and that's all there is to it. Too many fans are in denial.

[Whitefish]

At the end of the day, every post I've seen from people who were actually there are saying it sounded great and James sounded fine in the building. I think that's all that matters. I've been to shows where James was really struggling and it affected my experience. I've also seen shows where I thought James was on fire and was absolutely killing it. Obviously the emotional investment in what's going on must play a bit of a role, but that being said I've still been able to tell when James was not doing well, so it can't be a complete blinder. I think unprofessionally recorded audio from these shows have to have a level of unreliability where we must try to wait until we see the show for ourselves before making these massively harsh judgements.

No, I was at the gig and it didn't sound great in the room. I will say that it sounds worse on the recordings, but I think that's because I couldn't hear all of the singing clearly when I was in the room. It was just so loud (and I had earplugs in), so I couldn't discern all of the vocal lines. In that context, I think my brain was filling in some of the gaps with what it expected to hear. My wife was also there, and she is not a DT fan and was unfamiliar with the music. She said that to her the whole thing sounded badly out of tune.

My feeling is that the recordings we are seeing on YouTube are an accurate representation of how it sounded. If people are saying it sounded better in the room, that is because they were hyped by the experience and could overlook the vocal issues, or because they couldn't hear all the vocals clearly in the first place. (Or they're just in denial because they love the band so much.)

What all of that means is that if you're excited to see the band, then by all means go to the show and throw yourself into it, because you'll probably have a great time (I loved the show on Sunday, in spite of these comments). But we shouldn't deceive ourselves about the vocals. They're really not good, and it's a real shame. I feel bad for James. Given the talent he once had, it must be so painful to struggle like this.

[DAYAFTERDAY]

I think it's a mixture of the sheer volume of being in the room which for some reason makes it sound better (to me anyway who has dodgy hearing and wasn't wearing earplugs) as well as the fact that there are inevitably thousands of people (myself included) belting along at the top of our voices which somewhat masks the sound.

Either way, what I would say is that in person, the vocals did not at all ruin the show for me, whereas when watching a youtube video of it back, it does actually affect my enjoyment of the performance.

[nobloodyname]

As I've said, after about a decade if not slightly longer of frustration with James, I've managed to achieve a level of inner peace with it in the last week. But when your drummer is consistently more in tune than your professional lead singer, you may have a slight challenge.

[|KirK|]

I attended more than 10 of their concerts and the only one I clearly remember as really bad was from the Astonishing tour, in fact they canceled the night after.
It's clear that he's struggling, I don't want to deny it, but I think that we're losing the point and the meaning of the shows.
I think we should judge the overall live performance instead of analyzing the videos on youtube. They're at this point of their career and I really doubt it's gonna get any better.
That said, again I'm not denying anything, I'm just saying that we should enjoy the last years of their career.

I'm gonna see them in Rome this Saturday, so maybe my post as well won't age well.

[CodyWanKenobi]

Well, if he is truly performing so poorly I wonder what he's saying post gig. Like, is he looking at everyone saying "hey great show guys" or is he apologizing to them, admitting he had an off night? They must have discussions about it right?

[hefdaddy42]

It's possible to have been there and been nonplussed at the singing and still have had a great time at the show.  Two things can be true at once.

[Uncle Rico]

I've seen DT live 42 times. Mostly in the 90s and early 2000s, but the last 10 times were from the self-titled album tour and on, and LaBrie sounded awful, all 10 of those times. It was embarrassing having to explain to the friends that went with me "I promise, he used to sound awesome!"

[DoctorAction]

I've been going to see them since 2000. He was never great but it's got to a ridiculous degree. I feel terrible about the situation. It's dire - both vocally and emotionally.