Help me "get" John Petrucci...

[Spectre]

I also agree that Scenes From A Memory is great. My fave DT cd by far.

[SimonC]

That's awesome dude!! About the 'Peaked at Awake' thing mentioned above - Im in that camp pretty much. Although ive enjoyed every DT album, none of them has hit me as hard as I&W and Awake did when they came out. (Scenes was excellent, however). Personally I think it was Kevin Moore's writing influence - while he has great technical chops he's a much more atmospheric type guy - a 'creator of soundscapes'. Jordan is an incredible player, but when he joined the band DT went full tilt bezerk in a technical sense. Moore helped balance out Petrucci's virtuosity, and you can really tell in the older albums.

I agree about the keyboard players. Rudess is an amazing keyboard player (and pianist) but the instrumental sections have got a bit overly technical since he joined the band. Moore was a great player and song writer and aat the time definately help shape the DT sound for Awake which is probably my favourite album in general and for petrucci's playing (solos on Lie, Scarred, Voices and of course Erotomania are all amazing). Then there was Sherinian who came from a much more rock n roll camp. More hammond and rhodes sounds but still had that old school prog side, he really tamed the band a lot although Falling into Infinity was quite a mainstream album (due to East West's influence, with Desmond Child co writing a song) but you get solos like the ones in Trial of Tears which are a lot slower and have some really nice phrasing in them.

Petrucci is an amazing player and for years was my favourite player but it is a bit too much about the technical aspect now whereas his older solos had some great phrasing instead of just streams of lines and arpeggios.

Sorry that was a bit long...

[Craggin]

that may be true for the average joe, but if i'm going to hear a fantatic musician.....i want them to play, not roll around on the stage like a moron. Case in point, I can barely stand to watch Vai play becaus of all the goofy crap he does while playing, I'd rather him just stand there and kill the songs he's playing.

 

 

 

 

I think there's a happy medium somewhere in between. I can understand it takes a certain degree of concentration to play difficult passages (for most of us), but even when JP's playing simple riffs, he's glued in one spot with virtually no emotion at all. I know I shouldn't care...and usually, I don't (maybe there's a deeper issue at play here...), but for some reason during the Live at Budokon show I couldn't get past it. Vai is over the top, but he entertains on all levels, Buckethead does the same. For me, I get "into" the music more when the performer seems to capture the audience with interaction.

 

I certainly can't bag on the guys technical skill.

 

 

I really appreciate everyone's input...I don't hate John Petrucci by any stretch of the imagination. I think a problem I may have had while watching was that I kept looking for him to stand out more...maybe his supporting cast is so good that it made it that much more difficult. Also, it probably speaks volumes about JP's taste that he didn't try and upstage the rest of the band. (Which, IMO would've been a REALLY tall order.) After watching the program on HDnet, I was most impressed with the drummer.

 

Thanks for all the links...it definitely helped up my "getting" John Petrucci factor a bit more.

[Diablo II]

The emotion that John doesn't put out on the audiance (smiling and moving around) is put out in the music he plays. That's enough for me

[jcoggins7]

To truly understand how somebody can be completely enraptured with John Petrucci's playing, one must listen thoroughly to both Liquid Tension Experiment albums at least, as well as the Dream Theater albums. What gets me is that not only can he technically outplay pretty much everybody out there in speed, but he can also slow it down and create the most stunningly beautiful melodies in his solos. Check out "Goodnight Kiss," "Eve," "Kindred Spirits," "Biaxident," "When the Water Breaks," "Freedom of Speech," and "Lines in the Sand," and you'll know exactly why he's one of the greatest guitarists ever and that probably ever will be.

 

And I totally agree with what Diablo just said. Who cares if he runs around on stage and stuff? Save that for Dragonforce concerts. John Petrucci produces more than enough emotion with just his music than anyone could hope to achieve with their music and on stage antics.

[presa_tito]

Movement and facial expressions don't make a good guitarist for me. It's all about the sound that they produce. Look at Derek Trucks, he's just as bad as Petrucci for these things. Does he have sterile playing with no emotion?

[Random Hero]

There are certain Petrucci solos that just nail me (like in 'Another Day'), and times where it just sounds like well played, skillful, high tech noise... If you want a different take on Petrucci, get the live CD he cut with Jordan Rudess called 'An Evening with John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess'. I'm not really thrilled with his acoustic playing on the CD for the most part, but he has some drop dead gorgeous solos on the CD. The CD is just the two of them - no band, and is a great showcase for both of them outside of DT. I highly recommend the CD....

 

 

+ALOT

 

I love that album. I {censored}ing adore the tone too.

[TheGreatGreen]

 

I understand what some say about Petrucci. Either way, I love his playing. His lead playing speaks to me like no one else (especially when he slows it down). When he leads with melody he is at his best. I already posted this in another thread but this is John at his best IMO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfHDH8jR66o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUYFLT2repo&mode=related&search=

 

 

Anybody who listens to that first video and still thinks Petrucci sounds "sterile and cold, with no feeling" is delusional.

 

 

Why do some people think sucking on a technical level is a prerequisite for being able to put "feeling" in their music?

 

Maybe it's just the people out there who have no talent, so they make up for it by running around and making sex faces while they clang away at their guitars, who say that Petrucci is robotic.

 

I can understand not liking the music, but to say you don't like it because you think there is no feeling there is pretty ridiculous.

[Jofan]

If you want a different take on Petrucci, get the live CD he cut with Jordan Rudess called 'An Evening with John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess'. I'm not really thrilled with his acoustic playing on the CD for the most part, but he has some drop dead gorgeous solos on the CD. The CD is just the two of them - no band, and is a great showcase for both of them outside of DT. I highly recommend the CD....

I will second that! Just a couple songs themselves would qualify as masterpieces.

and for the reason jp doesnt move around on stage much.. could this be it?

(watch JP carefully)

[Inca Roads]

Check out Liquid Tension Experiment

[AMSnell]

I prefer quality playing over detuned one finger chords, no solos, and running around like idiots but that is me. Nobody can deny his playing ability nor should they. I go to a show for the music and could care less about how high his guitar is or how much he moves around blah blah blah.

I disagree, this is the problem with guitar players! They go to a show expecting amazing tone and perfect playing. I go to a gig to see an amazing show, even if it means sloppy playing, for example...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9-r82TakGY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZZUp317ZVU

I dont even like the music in the second one, but it would have been awesome to have been in that crowd

[Jakem]

I prefer quality playing over detuned one finger chords, no solos, and running around like idiots but that is me. Nobody can deny his playing ability nor should they. I go to a show for the music and could care less about how high his guitar is or how much he moves around blah blah blah.

Go and watch Yngwie's concert and you'll get the best of the both worlds!

[Slaytallica]

JP is an amazing player.


But he is a {censored} performer.

He has no stage presence at all. None of them do.


I'd rather see an entertaining high energy show with some playing mistakes than a bunch of boring stiff dicks that can play every note perfectly.

[presa_tito]

JP is an amazing player. But he is a {censored} performer. He has no stage presence at all. None of them do. I'd rather see an entertaining high energy show with some playing mistakes than a bunch of boring stiff dicks that can play every note perfectly.

Funny enough, I think Portnoy has the best stage presence in the band. Too bad he's never able to be front and center.

[Slaytallica]

Funny enough, I think Portnoy has the best stage presence in the band. Too bad he's never able to be front and center.

Portnoy annoys me. His stage presence is more like " Look I'm Mike Portnoy You Wish You Were ME" But I get what your saying he is the only one that makes any effort to be entertaining aside from playing.