This is why he will be the voice of Dream Theater until the end. He was simply perfect. Sad how age hit him. He still does amazing when he’s having a good day.
This is about as magical as it gets within the Dream Theater mythos. The youth, enthusiasm and energy of everyone in the band, and James finally coming into the fold to bring it all together as the singer they needed. A Change of Seasons, Images and Words, Awake. That is their legacy.
@@byom3100 I agree with that. But those came with Jordan Rudess in the band, after Kevin had left. Kevin, The two John's, and Mike were all the founding members of the band, and spent several years writing what would end up being the albums I mentioned. James came in to complete their line up and bring those albums to life. SFAM and Octavarium are also great albums, but they were written in a different era of DT, one where they had matured and evolved from the sound of their first albums. I love both of those albums too, but the ones I pointed to are what helped to define the genre of progressive metal, as it is today.
@EnergyDeficit You are wrong. Their legacy is their whole discography. ut if you want to narrow it down to a few albums, then the golden era is definitely from SFAM to BC&SL. And I love every album that came after, especialy The Astonishing. But yeah, those six albums in a row are just the best thing thast ever happended to humanity.
@@147pablox Images and Words/Awake/SFAM is their golden era. Anything other than that is nu-metal/groove metal alternative garbage. Octovarium sounds like a U2 album rather than a prog metal record. The song writing went downhill after Kevin Moore and Derek left.
Honestly man...at this point in his development, James might’ve been the best tenor in rock. That high clarity, sheen and effortless belting. Not even Geoff hit these kinds of notes with such ease...
I went to school with Kevin and his brother........great great people.....they were funny and would give you their shirt off back.....where he come from we are not groupies...just normal folk...Cheers
Honestly, James has aged better than most rock singers. Have you heard Vince Neil lately? How 'bout Axl Rose? Rock and roll takes it's toll on singers.
This is just phenomenal. Such an intimate look into the days right before they recorded the album that would forever change their lives. I could listen to this stuff for hours. Just subscribed 🤘
Kevin Labrie Kevin Moore John Petrucci John Myung Mike Portnoy Mike Mangini Jordan Rudess... are we sure that his real name is not Kevin, John or Mike!?!?
On December 30, 1994, while vacationing in Cuba, LaBrie was stricken with a severe case of food poisoning from contaminated pork and while vomiting, he ruptured his vocal cords. He saw three throat specialists who all said there was nothing they could do except have him rest his voice as much as possible.
Pra quem curte o que importa é ver a banda mantendo seu nivel e trazendo de volta Mike, então quando jovens os cantores costumam ir onde terão mais dificuldade com a idade. Porém os grandes sabem conduzir a obra! Labrie🎉
In ‘92 on images and words tour I got to go back stage and tell him he sang the Charlie stuff even better! But feel so bad that on the falling into infinity tour I got to talk to him by the tour bus and told him the album sucked oh a fooled asshole I was! James your still awesome!
LaBrie in the early 90's is easily one of the best metal singers of all time, if not THE best. Check out the gig at Deer Park. Just search on youtube Dream Theater Deer Park, you'll be blown away by LaBrie's performance that night.
Wow I'm just reminded how beautiful and unique his voice was... Still love him to this day but the notes of their songs are too much for a 50 year old guy
I always figured it was a no brainer. Labrie seemed to fit in every corner of the Dream Theater realm. He had what they needed and they had what he wanted.
Aunque a muchos no le guste James labrie es Dream Theater. Pues la voz de un vocalista es lo primero que te entra de la banda. Pues si alguna vez es cambiado pareceria una banda de cover de Dream. Es verdad que a tenido un desgaste muy grande en su voz, pero todos ya saben porque fue.
I love this video because afther know the most increíble músic I ever hear with this video know the first steps of the band who makes me fly , thanks DREAM THEATER .
Jeez i didnt know that rich chycki was in winter rose with james. Rich engineered some later rush albums like snakes and arrows i believe. Small world.
Rich is also complicit in slopping up some of the more recent Dream Theater albums with bad vocal editing and bad drum engineering. Not a man I respect.
Perhaps he made it big too late, and peaked too early in terms of recording anything that anyone actually listened to. And then he had that vocal rupture in '94 which was pretty much the end. At least we had the first two albums with him.
yeah he was definitely not the same after that incident in 94…but it seems to me that he started pushing his vocals waaaay too hard on the 95 tour, trying to add this more aggressive edge…not humanly possible to keep that up forever! As long as the muscles and joints and tendons hold out, a musician can play their instrument at a high level for many many years…but the human voice seems to be much less resilient! His singing in the last several years is what we’re left with after all the years of him trying to keep up that same intensity and range he had in his 20s…Tragic in a way but it is just nature!
What are the odds of damaging your vocal chords after food poisoning ? Now same question, but combined with the odds of being one of the best singers in the world. Talk about terrible luck 😮
Still sad there was never an official studio recording on any of the albums. I suppose the "Best Hits" one counts but I don't like the lyrical change at the end.
Not related but would you happen to have the Grateful Dreams’ 5 Days In a Livetime bootleg? I’ve tried looking almost everywhere for this one and only found one song off of it on TH-cam.
DT Archive Considering that the bootleg itself is out of stock on both Discogs and their own website, therefore making it impossible to get, is pretty stupid but thanks anyways!
The only thing that stands out as being particularly interesting from that show is the Pink Floyd Run Like Hell cover, which is on the Dark Side Of The Moon official bootleg. Beyond that, it's pretty similar to the other December 1998 shows. I want to eventually get Acoustic At The Electric Factory and Heading For Planet X up on this channel.
DT Archive The electric version of Cover My Eyes from that show also surfaced but that’s about it. I was honestly curious how good the recordings were for The Way It Used To Be, Hell’s Kitchen and a few others. Since other live recordings of those songs are not really the best from that era.
Dream Theater already gave the vocal melodies for each song to all the singers in the auditions. You can see in ACOS or Metropolis demos with another singers, and they sing the same vocal melodies.
honestly, idk if there was anyone ever who sang better than James of that era. he's not doing the operatic thing of the metal of the decade prior, his voice isn't thin like in classic prog rock. it's somehow natural, both clear but still substantial. it's interesting, as much as I'm drawn to DT's music as such, what keeps me away from other prog metal bands is their vocals cuz they all try to do that power metal shit, which I can't help but perceive as pretentious and fake. James is just authentic. Sorry Charlie, but DT made the right call with James.
I saw 'Take the Time' on MTV in 1992 at the age of 18 and was hooked...until 2016 when "The Astonishing" happened...blah...haven't bought anything since.
@@lowdz68, not one memorable song to my ears. Kinda sad, really. The latest single, 'The Alien,' sounds like a leftover from Systematic Chaos. But, being a fan, I will probably buy AVFTTOTW. Lets hope it won't end up at Goodwill like "The Astonishing."
A View From the Top of the World is much better than Distance Over Time, which I wasn’t a huge fan of.. The Astonishing, I don’t speak of - I’m covered in DT tattoos and just couldn’t rock with it. I would definitely give the new album a try, though. Even if just for the title track!
Yup. He joined the band as James bc there was already two Johns, and so they didn’t want two Kevins, with Kevin Moore being one of the original members. I think DT went down creatively after Moore left. JR is technically great but can’t match Mr. Moores’ energy, soul and creativity. In my opinion
I think Labrie should be replaced. He's too old now and is struggling way too much to reach a mediocre at best level. I like the guy but even years ago he was off.
100% this. I don't get the people who act like he's entitled to remain in the band indefinitely because he was a good singer once. That's like saying Jeffrey Dahmer never turned into a serial killer because you can point to a time in history when he was not a serial killer.
This is why he will be the voice of Dream Theater until the end. He was simply perfect. Sad how age hit him. He still does amazing when he’s having a good day.
This is about as magical as it gets within the Dream Theater mythos. The youth, enthusiasm and energy of everyone in the band, and James finally coming into the fold to bring it all together as the singer they needed. A Change of Seasons, Images and Words, Awake. That is their legacy.
For me, SFAM and Octavarium also are great DT albums and belong to their legacy.
@@byom3100 I agree with that. But those came with Jordan Rudess in the band, after Kevin had left. Kevin, The two John's, and Mike were all the founding members of the band, and spent several years writing what would end up being the albums I mentioned. James came in to complete their line up and bring those albums to life. SFAM and Octavarium are also great albums, but they were written in a different era of DT, one where they had matured and evolved from the sound of their first albums. I love both of those albums too, but the ones I pointed to are what helped to define the genre of progressive metal, as it is today.
@EnergyDeficit You are wrong. Their legacy is their whole discography.
ut if you want to narrow it down to a few albums, then the golden era is definitely from SFAM to BC&SL. And I love every album that came after, especialy The Astonishing. But yeah, those six albums in a row are just the best thing thast ever happended to humanity.
@@147pablox Images and Words/Awake/SFAM is their golden era. Anything other than that is nu-metal/groove metal alternative garbage. Octovarium sounds like a U2 album rather than a prog metal record. The song writing went downhill after Kevin Moore and Derek left.
@@muhtasimshahriyar8351 oh no, one of the annoying DT fans that hates everything after scenes
If not for James we may have never heard of Dream Theater.
I would have, but than again I'm a nerd for late 80s early 90s prog metal.
@Johnny Dong yeah, gimme da cookie!
Phenomenal voice in both low and high tones... James LaBrie was just perfect. It doesn’t even look like an audition!
That's because this isn't an audition recording. I believe this was a recording of a fanclub day in The Netherlands.
Honestly man...at this point in his development, James might’ve been the best tenor in rock. That high clarity, sheen and effortless belting. Not even Geoff hit these kinds of notes with such ease...
And Geoff is a baritone, haha. ;)
Rafail Mitopoulos
Geoff was such a freak at his best...deep and rumbling to superhuman highs
@@manifestgtr I know my friend, I know... 👊😎
I think that no tenor will ever beat Dio and Bruce Dickinson in metal...
Geoff Tate was amazing noone beat him back in the 80's
This version of To Live Forever is so good that you could post it separately.
I think Mr. Robo4900 has it posted individually, and it's a version modified from the Subconscious disc.
Another version of this song can be found jn Cleaning The Closet
What a voice! Unique , clear, powerful...at least theses days
Hearing this, it's easy to see why they chose James over everybody else.
Man, thank you for share this amazing material with us. I love this channel!
James sounds UNREAL in Learning to Live. I could listen to this version everyday.
My favorite singer after Neal Morse. This is a very impressive audition, the other guys surely were excited!
I respect everyone that involved in this band 😊
He sings a hell of a lot better than I do.
That's how I feel about it too. Yeah he's not perfect, but the dude is the voice of DT for a reason.
What a powerful Labrie's voice
I love his voice! LaBrie rocks!!!!!
I went to school with Kevin and his brother........great great people.....they were funny and would give you their shirt off back.....where he come from we are not groupies...just normal folk...Cheers
no matter how much you hate James LaBrie now, you still have to admit that he used to be a very good singer
And he's still being great, just different because of the passage of time and the poisoning that damaged his vocal cords
@@majosoadicta I actually didn't know that happened. Just looked it up. Wow.
If someone actually HATES LaBrie (or any other great musician like him) then that person doesn't deserve to be alive.
Honestly, James has aged better than most rock singers. Have you heard Vince Neil lately? How 'bout Axl Rose? Rock and roll takes it's toll on singers.
@@majosoadicta That is one thing, but the other thing - pointed out by vocal coaches - is the way he and many other singers used their voices.
Im pretty sure that harmonization with the solo on learning to live is what got him the spot
He is one of the greatest, no doubt.
Keep up the good work dude. This channel is incredible
This is just phenomenal. Such an intimate look into the days right before they recorded the album that would forever change their lives. I could listen to this stuff for hours. Just subscribed 🤘
Kevin Labrie
Kevin Moore
John Petrucci
John Myung
Mike Portnoy
Mike Mangini
Jordan Rudess... are we sure that his real name is not Kevin, John or Mike!?!?
maybe his real name is Derek :P
@@AcidicBiaxident hahahah
Or charlie ruddes
@@AcidicBiaxident good one
Michael Jordan should join 😛
11:52 so LaBrie made the second half of Petrucci’s solo? :0
He did something like that in scene from New York
@@asabovesobelow2299 yeah, and the melodies are almost the same
@@TheDarkEternalKnight07 yessssss
So good!
On December 30, 1994, while vacationing in Cuba, LaBrie was stricken with a severe case of food poisoning from contaminated pork and while vomiting, he ruptured his vocal cords. He saw three throat specialists who all said there was nothing they could do except have him rest his voice as much as possible.
I’ve heard this story many times but is there an official source? It makes sense because it was just before Awake.
@@AndreCoelhoMatos James himself has said it in interviews.
Pra quem curte o que importa é ver a banda mantendo seu nivel e trazendo de volta Mike, então quando jovens os cantores costumam ir onde terão mais dificuldade com a idade. Porém os grandes sabem conduzir a obra! Labrie🎉
thank fk for Labrie coming into the band.
Take The Time is freaking unreal, such a rockin version.
In ‘92 on images and words tour I got to go back stage and tell him he sang the Charlie stuff even better! But feel so bad that on the falling into infinity tour I got to talk to him by the tour bus and told him the album sucked oh a fooled asshole I was! James your still awesome!
Yeah he was a phenomenal singer back then, no doubt.
Woow learning to live!!
Me imagino las caras de Portnoy, Petrucci, Myung y Moore en 11:41
Todos cargados jajaj
the visual timekeeper!
Labrie is the best singer early 90's, hand down lml
LaBrie in the early 90's is easily one of the best metal singers of all time, if not THE best. Check out the gig at Deer Park. Just search on youtube Dream Theater Deer Park, you'll be blown away by LaBrie's performance that night.
Wow I'm just reminded how beautiful and unique his voice was... Still love him to this day but the notes of their songs are too much for a 50 year old guy
Listen to the classic Petra live concert from 2012 with Greg X Voltz. He killed the high notes with ease in that concert at 62 years old!
He kinda sounds like a mix between Sebastian Bach, Vince Neil, and Geddy Lee here
He did a great audition
Com certeza essa é a melhor execução do hino learning to live na voz do Labrie
I always figured it was a no brainer. Labrie seemed to fit in every corner of the Dream Theater realm. He had what they needed and they had what he wanted.
11:41 What we all came here for.
I'm not always a James LaBrie fan but it's clear the was the right guy for the job.
the man.
LaBrie in his prime was superb vocalist. He fitted the band perfectly. Now he is their weak spot.
Dream Theater Is This Voice.
Feels so weird to hear this demo version of "Take the Time".
this is why this guy was hired
Aunque a muchos no le guste James labrie es Dream Theater. Pues la voz de un vocalista es lo primero que te entra de la banda. Pues si alguna vez es cambiado pareceria una banda de cover de Dream. Es verdad que a tenido un desgaste muy grande en su voz, pero todos ya saben porque fue.
20:14 sounds like entering heaven
Which is exactly how DT should feel
Young LaBrie has charizmaric voice.
OMG!!! Powerful :D
The best audition
I love this video because afther know the most increíble músic I ever hear with this video know the first steps of the band who makes me fly , thanks DREAM THEATER .
Jeez i didnt know that rich chycki was in winter rose with james. Rich engineered some later rush albums like snakes and arrows i believe. Small world.
Rich is also complicit in slopping up some of the more recent Dream Theater albums with bad vocal editing and bad drum engineering. Not a man I respect.
Priceless
Divina voz melodias soñadas lo sinfonicos modernos gracias
This video its a treasure !!!!!!
damn those bass lines
James siempre será el mejor.
He has charismatic voice
Can't believe 17.39 made it into the final version.
Wdym? There's nothing wrong
Pristine lovely
Perhaps he made it big too late, and peaked too early in terms of recording anything that anyone actually listened to. And then he had that vocal rupture in '94 which was pretty much the end. At least we had the first two albums with him.
yeah he was definitely not the same after that incident in 94…but it seems to me that he started pushing his vocals waaaay too hard on the 95 tour, trying to add this more aggressive edge…not humanly possible to keep that up forever! As long as the muscles and joints and tendons hold out, a musician can play their instrument at a high level for many many years…but the human voice seems to be much less resilient! His singing in the last several years is what we’re left with after all the years of him trying to keep up that same intensity and range he had in his 20s…Tragic in a way but it is just nature!
Praise the sun!
11:41 :O
I'm not sure why James was so fond of the short shorts, but I'm glad he ditched them.
maybe Canada is so cold that US is hot in comparison lol idk
I can't understand what does he say from 4:30 to 4:45, anyone can help me please?
Francisco Roldan This just in from Baghdad, seven Patriot missiles (SAM) have been spotted *among cuepacs*
@@imagez11... Have been spotted *above Cuba*
What are the odds of damaging your vocal chords after food poisoning ? Now same question, but combined with the odds of being one of the best singers in the world. Talk about terrible luck 😮
wow
Still sad there was never an official studio recording on any of the albums. I suppose the "Best Hits" one counts but I don't like the lyrical change at the end.
So when he came down in late 90 did he sing with the live band? Or sang over a recorded track?
With the band.
Not related but would you happen to have the Grateful Dreams’ 5 Days In a Livetime bootleg? I’ve tried looking almost everywhere for this one and only found one song off of it on TH-cam.
I have it, but the Grateful Dreams people didn't want their stuff being shared electronically. I think it's a stupid rule.
DT Archive Considering that the bootleg itself is out of stock on both Discogs and their own website, therefore making it impossible to get, is pretty stupid but thanks anyways!
The only thing that stands out as being particularly interesting from that show is the Pink Floyd Run Like Hell cover, which is on the Dark Side Of The Moon official bootleg. Beyond that, it's pretty similar to the other December 1998 shows. I want to eventually get Acoustic At The Electric Factory and Heading For Planet X up on this channel.
DT Archive The electric version of Cover My Eyes from that show also surfaced but that’s about it. I was honestly curious how good the recordings were for The Way It Used To Be, Hell’s Kitchen and a few others. Since other live recordings of those songs are not really the best from that era.
The quality is OK. The drums sound pretty good.
R.I.P. Charlie Dominici
Did they tell him what to sing or did he do his own thing?
@Johnny Dong yes what 😐
Dream Theater already gave the vocal melodies for each song to all the singers in the auditions. You can see in ACOS or Metropolis demos with another singers, and they sing the same vocal melodies.
honestly, idk if there was anyone ever who sang better than James of that era. he's not doing the operatic thing of the metal of the decade prior, his voice isn't thin like in classic prog rock. it's somehow natural, both clear but still substantial. it's interesting, as much as I'm drawn to DT's music as such, what keeps me away from other prog metal bands is their vocals cuz they all try to do that power metal shit, which I can't help but perceive as pretentious and fake.
James is just authentic. Sorry Charlie, but DT made the right call with James.
I saw 'Take the Time' on MTV in 1992 at the age of 18 and was hooked...until 2016 when "The Astonishing" happened...blah...haven't bought anything since.
You’re missing out. The Distance Over Time album is excellent xcellent
@@lowdz68, not one memorable song to my ears. Kinda sad, really. The latest single, 'The Alien,' sounds like a leftover from Systematic Chaos. But, being a fan, I will probably buy AVFTTOTW. Lets hope it won't end up at Goodwill like "The Astonishing."
I recommend listening to A View from the Top of the World, awesome album from start to finish
A View From the Top of the World is much better than Distance Over Time, which I wasn’t a huge fan of.. The Astonishing, I don’t speak of - I’m covered in DT tattoos and just couldn’t rock with it. I would definitely give the new album a try, though. Even if just for the title track!
astonishing may have a cheesy story but the songwriting and playing is amazing
Kevin James?!
Yup. He joined the band as James bc there was already two Johns, and so they didn’t want two Kevins, with Kevin Moore being one of the original members.
I think DT went down creatively after Moore left. JR is technically great but can’t match Mr. Moores’ energy, soul and creativity. In my opinion
@@AndreCoelhoMatos Yeah I agree, Images is yhe best album much thanks to Moore. Kevin Moore was the Dream and Mike Portnoy the theater.
Our lives in 2024, why lord..why tell me why?
HOW did you get this?
bribery and intimidation.
È bravo ma non si applica. Si distrae ed è poco preciso. Comunque le faremo sapere...😂
How can this be a real audition if there are at least two james labries singing o.Ô ? (7:15)
Maybe they arranged it later
I suppose they dragged JLB in the studio, recorded a demo, overdubbed a few things and decided they liked how this guy sounded overall?
@@TobiaTesan Exactly, I would rather call it a demo than an audition.
@@byom3100 bla bla bla bla bla
@@camilomoreno6396 Thank you for this interesting comment :D
He's still an amazing singer, it's hard to sing this way LIVE..
James on his worst day is a king compared to Dave Mustaine lol
I think Labrie should be replaced. He's too old now and is struggling way too much to reach a mediocre at best level.
I like the guy but even years ago he was off.
100% this. I don't get the people who act like he's entitled to remain in the band indefinitely because he was a good singer once. That's like saying Jeffrey Dahmer never turned into a serial killer because you can point to a time in history when he was not a serial killer.