Short Reviews [James LaBrie - 2022 - "Beautiful Shade Of Grey"]

In 2011, James LaBrie met bassist Paul Logue of Eden’s Curse when he provided vocals for their song “No Holy Man”. They kept in touch and spoke every often about working together, and then in 2020 they bumped into each other at Glasgow Airport when Dream Theater were in town for some gigs. With the world about to change they committed to a project together, with Logue providing acoustic guitars (both six and 12-string) as well as acoustic bass. Guitarist Marco Sfogli, who has contributed on all of LaBrie’s solo albums since 2005’s ‘Elements of Persuasion’, handled the leads and solos while Logue brought in Eden’s Curse keyboard player Christian Pulkkinen and suggested to LaBrie that they should use James’ son Chance on drums. The result is something which is quite different to what we would normally expect from LaBrie, as while his vocals are as stunning as ever, here they are against a far softer, gentler and acoustic backdrop which provides for something very interesting indeed. I must confess I did not realise he is 14 days older than me (we are both 60 next month), as I always thought he was much younger, and although he still may struggle to hit the very high notes due rupturing his vocal cords when he had food poisoning back in the 90’s, he has had a major impact on singers in multiple genres and can always be relied upon to deliver a great performance. The more acoustic setting on this album means that James is more relaxed and not as driving as one normally expects from him, and consequently delivers a wonderful vocal performance which is a delight. While the basis of this album is melodic rock, there are also elements of singer songwriter, and it very much feels like a singer’s album with multiple layers contained within. Like most progheads I have been a fan of Dream Theater for many years, and have always been an admirer of his vocals, yet here he shines in a very different direction and the result is something which will appeal to those who are already fans as well as those who have yet to jump in. I certainly hope that Logue and LaBrie work again in the near future.