Allow me a couple more nitpicks. James LaBrie’s voice can still be gratingly hair metal as can his onstage presence. Fans of the band either like his vocals or have learned to tune him out as a break between moments of instrumental virtuosity. Folks in the first camp have no idea what I am talking about. I am in the second camp and sometimes it is hard to ignore.
To the instrumental moments… less Jordan Rudess and more Mike Portnoy is the way to put a smile on my face. Someone tougher than me should threaten Rudess with a good, hard cockpunch if he ever does that stupid circus music interlude (“Under a Glass Moon”) in another song. It is cheesy. It is not cute. It is not funny. He really must stop or he must be stopped! Portnoy, on the other hand, never gets boring. I have never heard a better drummer and would love it if one of his drum solos would appear as part of a proper DT live show and album.
Although Score is aimed squarely at the faithful and the faithful likely will not mind, it was a mistake not to include "Pull Me Under" in the set list for this show. Sure, longtime fans have heard the song a billion times and are probably good and tired of it. It is understandable. However, on a night aimed at celebrating a twenty-year career (and counting) it seems somehow appropriate to revisit the song that helped launch it. An unforgivable omission? No, but it was an unfortunate oversight.
Despite the nitpicks, Score is worthwhile for hardcore fans. Is it better than Budokan? Probably not, but it doesn’t have to be.
For those who might be interested, Chris Beaumont's review gives a little more attention to the DVD presentation of the show.
Article comments
1 - Mark Saleski
James LaBrie’s voice can still be gratingly hair metal...
that's true, but isn't it better than the uvula flapping barking coming out of a lot of metal "singers" mouths these days?
2 - DJRadiohead
Better or annoying in a different way? You be the judge. His vocals are consistently the least enjoyable part of their music for me. I own most of their albums so I can look past it to an extent but don't think I don't wish they had a different voice.
3 - nugget
yea LaBrie sounds like a whiney little teenager. Of course, I guess it IS better than a screaming little teenager. lesser of two evils.
4 - Brian aka Guppusmaximus
Just when I thought the reviews for Score were finished.... A refreshing & intriguing point of view wrapped nicely in a review. Nice Job DJ!!
Granted I loved Budokan, I am dying to witness this concert that I missed out here in Boston.So far, the only DT live DVD that I didn't get into was 5 years into a Livetime(?).
As for James Labrie, I don't know what other voice you could fit into this prog outfit without trying to match what Chuck Shuldiner did with Death. Or to be as successful as DT has been. I mean, he's been fairly consistent for 20 years which is more than I can say for the bands that probably influenced them (Metallica,Kansas,etc)and they were still able to brand the complex virtuosity without being unaccessible. We all know Watchtower was a far more talented band but they didn't have the ability...well, I shouldn't say that. Maybe, they didn't feel the need to write the prog ballad like songs to break the barriers of success. And, Fates Warning was more concerned with the Drama than to give what alot of metal heads wanted... Flashy Instrument Work.
So, besides being able to pump out 2&1/2 hrs of brilliant live performance, I think that their style is what really brought them along all these years.
As for "Pull Me Under", I would have only wanted that song on there if they incorporated "Master of Puppets" like they did when I saw them on "Six Inner Degrees...". That would've been killer!!