James Labrie’s Voice
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URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=18404
Printed Date: February 13 2025 at 21:01
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Topic: James Labrie’s Voice
Posted By: Thufir Hawat
Subject: James Labrie’s Voice
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 00:34
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I want to know what you, my fellow forum Members think of Labrie’s Voice. ------------- "I can't see through my eye lids" |
Replies:
Posted By: Moatilliatta
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 00:43
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Not always easy on the ears. Some might not like his tone, understandably so, but he has a great range, and I enjoy his voice. I couldn't see anyone else fronting Dream Theater. Without Dream Theater, however, he is next to nothing. His solo work isn't very good. I mean, his vocals are good, and there are some nice melodies, but it's not exceptional or memorable. ------------- www.last.fm/user/ThisCenotaph  
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Posted By: Progdrummer05
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 00:44
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I think James as an AMAZING VOICE gah i mean listen to IMAGES AND WORDS and AWAKE you wanna talk about range he knows how to hit them high. i also like his vocals on MEMTROPOLIS PT. II: SFAM i mean their not like the albums i just mention but they are really good. Plus he does a great job on Ayreon's HUMAN EQUATION CD. ------------- Carry On My Wayward Son |
Posted By: TheProgtologist
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 01:19
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I like Labrie's voice.Very powerful and a tremendous range. DT initially conisdered John Arch before settling on Labrie.Now THAT would have been awesome. -------------  |
Posted By: calvin
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 02:03
| Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don't. Depends on the song, depends on the mood. Anyway, it's not amazing. (Well, putting aside "Images and Words" - here I could find Labrie at his best.) |
Posted By: transend
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 02:29
| He is definitley better in the studio than live...I think that when he tries to 'compete' with JP & MP he just loses his key a bit.. |
Posted By: Norbert
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 02:34
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He definively has a good voice, even on stage. Some Dream Theater songs are not suitable for him, which are usually the worst ones. |
Posted By: ANDREW
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 08:06
| Unreachable!!! |
Posted By: Prog-jester
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 08:32
| I LIKE IT!!!And I can't get why someone consider him to be the weakest link in DT's chain!!! |
Posted By: JayDee
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 08:46
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Wheres "Very Good"?.. I like his voice a lot, esp. in "Awake". Great singer, cant immagine DT without him. ------------- 
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Posted By: Shark Sandwich
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 09:22
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Good singer, with DT and solo. His last solo CD was good, rocked hard! |
Posted By: sleeper
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 09:31
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I like his vocals, they have excellent range and his live performances are getting much better. ------------- Spending more than I should on Prog since 2005 
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Posted By: Under
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 10:04
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Not really enthusiastic about his voice. Only imagin if Akerfeldt from Opeth would do the vocals of Dream Theater. They would have made history! |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 10:06
Labrie has a very nice voice in the studio, but when he sings Live I feel he over does it , he stresses his voice , tries to push it to far , he should just peg back and play it cool as he does have a very good voice in the studio. 
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Posted By: FragileDT
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 10:08
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It's not a question of whether his voice is good or bad, we all know he has a
good voice. It's just about whether you like it or not. ------------- One likes to believe In the freedom of music But glittering prizes And endless Compromises Shatter the illusion Of integrity |
Posted By: krusty
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 11:30
^And I don't really I think he has a very Cliché'd metal voice. I can still listen to DT just prefer it when there's no vocals. I suppose that's why I prefer Liquid Tension Experiment.  ------------- http://www.humanism.org.uk/site/cms/contentChapterView.asp?chapter=309" rel="nofollow - Humanism |
Posted By: Drew
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 11:33
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"Good" ------------- |
Posted By: viperjr98
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 11:50
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I voted for "Good" because "Great" wasn't one of the choices
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Posted By: Bj-1
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 11:56
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His voice is OK. Maybe a bit exaggerating (sp??) sometimes, but otherwise; pretty good! ------------- RIO/AVANT/ZEUHL - The best thing you can get with yer pants on! |
Posted By: Paulieg
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 12:10
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I'm not that crazy about Labries voice. |
Posted By: bctruce
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 12:26
| I can't take it. He's the main reason I never got into Dream Theater. |
Posted By: rushaholic
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 12:47
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Where is the "sucks" option? Obviously, I voted no. I think they are a great band. I have all their albums except their first. However, Labrie's voice is awful - worse live then in the studio. Great band, great musicians, terrible vocals. |
Posted By: W.Chuck
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 13:02
Yeah, in my opinion his vocals are mostly terrible. It's not only about hitting the notes, his style is simply slimy and terrible and his screaming is exaggerated and can't be called singing. But I agree that he sounds better in the studio. Just listen to "Pull me under" on "Once in a Livetime", the instrumental performance is great, but his vocals (in this track) are the worst I've ever heard! ------------- 
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rushaholic wrote:Posted By: limeyrob
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 13:20
| The first time I heard his voice I was captivated. Excellent. Arjen can't be wrong??!! |
Posted By: Thufir Hawat
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 17:55
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Woh, great turn out. Anyway I’m off to play Tennis, wish me luck. PLEASE. ------------- "I can't see through my eye lids" |
Posted By: Ty1020
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 18:06
Don't judge his live performance abilities on a recording from over a decade ago. He wasn't very good back then, no, but if you've seen him live within the past year, it's clear that he's worked very hard to change that as he now sounds at least as good live as he does in the studio. I'm a big fan of his voice, personally. It's certainly not the most accessible tone in the world, but there's something about it that I love. ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Ty1020/"> 
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Posted By: rushaholic
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 18:18
Absolutely not true. I was so excited to get the Live at Budokon and then utterly dissapointed when I heard his voice. It was shouting, not singing. And it was poor shouting BTW. No, his voice during live performances has not gotten better. Recent performances only prove that he has an awful voice. |
Posted By: Drew
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 18:23
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Totally disagree- the last couple times I have seen them live- and Budokan showed me he has only gotten better since Once in a Livetime. ------------- |
Posted By: Tony Fisher
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 18:31
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Bad does not do it justice. Bloody awful isn't that close either. DT would go up a star if they ditched him and got someone in who can sing - James Hetfield comes to mind immediately. |
Posted By: rushaholic
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 19:10
He may have gotten better but a turd is still a turd. I won't argue with you anymore though. I did like what he did with Ayreon and I do like his vocals sometimes. However, I think he tries to oversing things. Anyways, they are a good band and I'll keep on buying their stuff. |
Posted By: lunaticviolist
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 19:14
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I'm not big on Dream Theater, but the vocals definitely fit the music.
------------- My recent purchases: 
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Posted By: lunaticviolist
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 19:15
Good luck ------------- My recent purchases:
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Posted By: Ty1020
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 19:32
I thought he was slightly better on Budokan, but still not great. Over the past year or so, though, he has definitely improved a lot. ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/Ty1020/">
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Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 20:10
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I believe the Dream Theater could have found a better vocalist than James Labrie way back when they did images and words, I`m not sure why they didn`t ? I can only presume that they didn`t want the vocals to over shadow the music. One thing is certain one things for sure if they had of found a younger sounding (steve walsh from the band Kansas who could also write great lyrics) Dream Theater would have been in my top five bands
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Posted By: Rising Force
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 20:20
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Sometimes he's ok, but sometimes he's annoying and sounds queer. Edit: IMHO |
Posted By: MajesterX
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 20:22
Oh really? Go to google video and look up "James labrie" Has your opinion changed now? 
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Posted By: The Miracle
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 20:25
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I love him, sorry Pretty hard to imagine DT with someone else. ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/ocellatedgod" rel="nofollow - last.fm |
Posted By: rushaholic
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 20:26
 What does google have to do with my opinion of his voice? It is my opinion based on listening to their albums over the past 7 years or so. BTW, I did the search and no, my opinion hasn't changed. Happy listening though. |
Posted By: ChadFromCanada
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 20:26
I really really like his voice. About his solo work, I thought Mullmuzzler 2 was excellent. |
Posted By: Rashikal
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 20:28
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im kind of embarassed to even own dream theater cd's.
------------- 
listen to Hella |
Posted By: Arsillus
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 21:07
It's good, it's getting better. I was pleased with his performance on Octavarium, but some of the earlier stuff...
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Posted By: ambriz
Date Posted: February 03 2006 at 22:25
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My favorite album is AWAKE, by Dream Theater. Labrie's voice there is nothing short of amazing! ------------- Progressive music, a kind of life. |
Posted By: W.Chuck
Date Posted: February 04 2006 at 03:55
Yes! I just mentioned this "Pull me under" performance as an example since it's the worst I know. He's terrible on every live album. Of course he became better later, but in the studio he has been always better! -------------
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Posted By: Certif1ed
Date Posted: February 18 2006 at 17:35
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It's amazing what you can do with Antares |
Posted By: Ed_The_Dead
Date Posted: February 18 2006 at 17:42
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Damn... I'm actually embarrassed people write stuff like this... I mean we are all humans! ------------- http://www.last.fm/user/ed_the_dead/?chartstyle=asimpleblue5"> 
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Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: February 18 2006 at 17:46
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Ive been listening to a prog metal band called STRIDE , anyway my point is STRIDE have dream theater chops but they also have a great singer with a voice like (Brad Delp) from Boston , for this reason I enjoy Stide lots more than Dream Theater (if you like dream theater you would be nuts not to check Stride out, its amazing what a great singer can offer !) Labries voice is OK in the studio but its no match on the guy from Stride , take a listen I think you will agree
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Posted By: AtLossForWords
Date Posted: February 18 2006 at 17:46
I saw that you posted here, and I knew exactly what you posted. Dream Theater are true perfectionists with their albums, and I support them using recording technology like Pro Tools to get the best possible result for an album. This doesn't subtract at all from their musical genius. No matter how many effects or how many remixes are done to a song, it will always sound like the human being playing or singing the song. The best result comes from when a band mixes their natrual talent and creativity with the technological enhancements of modern musical recording and mixing. -------------  
"Mastodon sucks giant monkey balls." |
Posted By: Certif1ed
Date Posted: February 18 2006 at 17:54
I rather think you miss the point. Do you know what Antares is? http://www.antarestech.com/ - http://www.antarestech.com/ |
Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: February 18 2006 at 18:07
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I was listening to "Images and words" yesterday and I couldn`t help but thinking that if there is one small problem with it and the problem is in the vocals, for me labries voice starts off OK but after a few tunes starts to bug me theres something in James Labrie`s tone , I can`t put my finger on , I hope what I am saying doesn`t offend anybody but I believe DT would have lifted in people impressions had they got a fantastic singer like the guy from STRIDE. Dream Theater should have aimed for mass apeal by investing time in a formula that works by using a melodic voice with excellent range somebody that sings like 70`s Kansas`s Steve Walsh or Boston`s Brad Delp. DT sacked Charlie Dominici but atleast he sounded like Geddy Lee a bit, thats a start In many ways its as if DT didn`t want a singer with great vocals to overshadow their musicality but I think if the target is mass apeal vocals are the key |
Posted By: sleeper
Date Posted: February 18 2006 at 18:12
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I dont know what it is with this bashing of Labrie, he has very distinct vocals that people can either love or hate (personally I love them, I could never hit those high notes). As far as the studio goes, he shows the range in his vocals on every album, and I'm guessing its this amazing range that led DT to add him to the line up. On the Live In Tokyo I&W DVD he was growling and shouting a lot and his vocals sucked there and I dont think it did him any good because after I&W I dont think his vocals were as good until Scenes.. but since he has been fenominal, especially on Live At Budokan. I believe he also has an opera singing coach now witch helps to explain the constant improvement in his vocals these last few years. ------------- Spending more than I should on Prog since 2005
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Posted By: sleeper
Date Posted: February 18 2006 at 18:14
They sacked Charlie because he wanted to take the band in a more comercial direction, something that the others didnt agree with. ------------- Spending more than I should on Prog since 2005
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Posted By: AtLossForWords
Date Posted: February 18 2006 at 18:18
Yes, producers often use it in studios to get voices that you can't exactly make yourself. -------------
"Mastodon sucks giant monkey balls." |
Posted By: Rockin' Chair
Date Posted: February 19 2006 at 04:58
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James Labrie's voice is the only thing I don't like by Dream Theater. ------------- 
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Posted By: jesperz
Date Posted: February 19 2006 at 12:35
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Another subjective question, oh well.... Technically, i think James LaBrie did quite a good job. He got all his vibrato and stuff controlled well... Well, in live, DT actually played 3 hours plus rock show, maybe his parts are 1 and a half hours. But what the heck, it is still long hours of singing... So technically he is good, that is something i can't deny.. Timbre of his voice, well, subjective.. Some may like it, some may not. Voice timbre actually is a very difficult thing to please all ppl. At least he tried his best on the technique. You can actually tell he is improving since IMages and words all the way up to octavarium. So..... To sum up my reply, Technically he is good, but voice timbre is a very subjective question and i didn't want to comment anything on that. LOL.. Neutral Neutral! Cheers! Z' ------------- <<Dark side of Z' Drummination>> |
Posted By: Emiaj
Date Posted: February 19 2006 at 20:35
James LaBrie's voice sounds so similar to Robbie Williams' 
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Posted By: CryoftheCarrots
Date Posted: February 19 2006 at 21:31
| I first heard a Dreamtheater live cd and thought great band but the vocals terrible.Too much vibrato etc.Then I was given Octavarium, what a difference.That album sold me on Dreamtheater.I think LaBrie over extends live but in the studio he shines. |
Posted By: Fede
Date Posted: February 19 2006 at 22:07
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For me he has an AMAZING voice. All the musicians on Dream Theater are amazing too. I think he has the best progressive metal voice, no doubt. Albums like "Images and Words"," Awake" and "Scenes from a Memory" shows it at his best. A lot of people don't like his voice:
WHY????????????? I really don't know.
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Posted By: jesperz
Date Posted: February 19 2006 at 22:26
Most likely is about the timbre of his voice... =) Z' ------------- <<Dark side of Z' Drummination>> |
Posted By: Mharo
Date Posted: February 19 2006 at 22:32
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I think Labrie's voice is the main reason that I don't enjoy DT a lot. He's quite good in some songs, but usually I don't like his timbre at all (such a shame ).
------------- Suritis: The Remembering. Hopefully we should appreciate that given points in time are not so significant as the nature of what is impressed on the mind, and how it is retained and used. |
Posted By: Sean2989
Date Posted: February 20 2006 at 00:59
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Being a colector of Dream Theater Bootlegs and Live CDs as well as all there studio ablums, he has lost some of his punch over the years. Since his vocal surgery he has lost some of the clarity in his voice but he still has the same amazing range that he has always had...... By far some of the best live tracks come from Live at the Marquee and Live Scenes. I think that he has a great voice, as well as a very adapitable one as well, if you span his carrer with DT you can find alot of diversity between the CDs which show that he can sing and well!
------------- http://my.opera.com/YtseJam/homes/albums/12552/thumbs/Dream% 20Ball.jpg_thumb.jpg |
Posted By: TheLamb
Date Posted: February 24 2006 at 12:25
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Some people claim to "not be able to put their finger" on why Labrie's voice annoys them. I think it might be the almost constant vibrato he uses in most of his songs... Although on Awake he sortof controls his vibrato pretty well, on most other albums he over-uses this and it's sometimes annoying. It dosen't bother me at all but I'm not crazy about it.
Also, he often adds sighs at the end of words so sometimes it sounds really wierd. For instance, if he would sing the word "Annoying", it would be "Annoyinnngah"... Or something like that... You know what I mean? Anyways, it's pretty annoying....
Despite these factors I love his voice I think he's very good on Awake, although he is ABSOLUTELY GENIUS on A Change of Seasons... The rest of the albums are not bad at all aswel. ------------- 
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Posted By: bctruce
Date Posted: February 24 2006 at 12:27
| I just can't take Labrie's voice. It hurts to listen. |
Posted By: MajesterX
Date Posted: February 24 2006 at 16:12
I cannot understand why people don't like his voice. I f you don't have anything nice to say don't say it at alll. 
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Posted By: PaHa
Date Posted: February 24 2006 at 17:18
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James LaBrie is one of the best male vocalist I ever heard. I especially like his his voice on Octavarium (the album). He can sing with every emotion he wants. I like dramatic vocals (Arena) and LaBrie is great! It's seems there's no limit to his voice. He can reach every tone he wants to. |
Posted By: AtLossForWords
Date Posted: February 24 2006 at 19:08
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For all of you nay-sayers. I have two words for you. COME ONNN!!!! Seriously, come on and go check out James LaBrie's solo album Elements of Persuasian. I think that is truly his best vocal performance, even better than Awake or Images and Words. He shows some more control, but also more range. I was quite suprised by the quality of the album when I bought it. -------------
"Mastodon sucks giant monkey balls." |
Posted By: Valarius
Date Posted: February 24 2006 at 20:25
| I think he is an amazing singer! |
Posted By: hamham
Date Posted: February 24 2006 at 22:04
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he never really bothered me all that much
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Posted By: Raff
Date Posted: February 25 2006 at 03:51
| I voted for the third option, though I've often thought he was absolutely dreadful. His performance on "Once in a Livetime" was abysmal, but some of his studio recordings show he's got some potential. Strangely enough, I like him best when he impersonates other singers - James Hetfield on "Train of Thought", Ian Gillan in the cover of "Perfect Strangers" on "A Change of Seasons"... Not my favourite singer by any means, anyway. I tend to prefer baritones to tenors, and La Brie's style lacks originality as well. |