John Petrucci appreciation thread

Bucket

People who know me from MusicRadar may remember that I am a bit of a John Petrucci fan, and after listening to the whole of Dream Theater's "Awake" earlier I thought I'd post something here, to see if there are any other fans. I think he's just a superb guitarist in pretty well every sense - technically he's all but untouchable, yet he has a really developed sense of melody and his solos are very well-constructed. He's a great songwriter and also has a tone to die for. And he does play like he means it - I understand it's not to everyone's taste, but people who assert that he's "soulless" or emotionally disconnected are just wrong IMO.

Obviously he's a shredder of truly epic skill, but I think comparisons can also be drawn with players like Steve Lukather and Neal Schon.

3:00 here is a good example of his early style - clear 1980s rock influence:

This clip from 1993 is just stunning, particularly from about 2 minutes:

This is from 1997, the solo at 6:25 displays a lot of Allan Holdsworth influence, very cool:

This is from 2003, and the album that was my introduction to Dream Theater. The solo at 3:50 blew my mind, I'd never heard anyone play that fast before and it still gets me going today... it's not just the speed, it's the energy with which it's delivered. It screams.

This is from 2009, and it's utterly marvellous - about 30 seconds in is a really nice, melodic solo, then the song develops and develops from there into a 19-minute epic with some brilliant musical moments. Then at 17:00, another solo, based on the theme that was introduced in the first solo, but taken to new heights. That last solo really reminds me of Neal Schon, except even better. Superb.

Not to mention that he can riff with the best of them too - Awake and Train of Thought are stuffed with great downtuned metal riffs.

So there we are. Surely I can't be the only fan of this full-on guitar genius?

Deijavoo

Ha! 

I am really not into Dream Theatre however totally appreciate Petrucci's skills and technique. Anyways I laugh as I watched Rock Discipline for the first time in years tonight and was gonna post an "appreciation" thread. Bit drunk and forgot though.

hubobulous

I love Images and Words and Awake, but that's really it. His playing is unreal and I agree that it's not lacking feel.

However, my brother and I saw DT live at Hammersmith a few years ago and unfortunately it was one of the dullest gigs we've been to. Stunning performance by the whole band, but was too 'clinical' if you know what I mean.

But, he's a great player and seems like a cool human being which is what it's all about :-)

viz

I love his solos on cd 2 of 6 degrees. Beautiful.

Kebabkid

I, too, like "Images and Words" and loved the track "Pull me under" but that's about it. I appreciate him as a player and he definitely stands out. I also like the "Steve Morse" type picking thing that he does but you've mentioned a couple of other guys here (Schon and Lukather, and let's not forget Huff) who I prefer. For middle ground i.e. someone who melds flash, melody and technical ability with the percussive pump of Nuno, check out Pete Lesperance of Harem Scarem and here's a slower piece of his but you might like their first album and Mood Swings.

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

Octahedron

John Petrucci is great. I love Dream Theater. This makes me laugh every time...

Elx

Yeah, I'm a fan, but he's a nerd. All of them are I like Images and Words, A Change of Seasons and Awake. The rest leaves me cold, not as melodic as it used to be. It's actually laughable when they try to make it uber heavy...being nerds that they are, it simply doesn't work. Like on Train of Thought. It's comical.

But as I said, I love him as a player, I've analysed and learned majority of his I&W solos and they are simply great. I keep coming back to that album, it defined the genre. 

joneve

Kebabkid said:

I, too, like "Images and Words" and loved the track "Pull me under" but that's about it. I appreciate him as a player and he definitely stands out. I also like the "Steve Morse" type picking thing that he does but you've mentioned a couple of other guys here (Schon and Lukather, and let's not forget Huff) who I prefer. For middle ground i.e. someone who melds flash, melody and technical ability with the percussive pump of Nuno, check out Pete Lesperance of Harem Scarem and here's a slower piece of his but you might like their first album and Mood Swings.

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

You dick. I'm going to have to listen to Mood Swings (and weight of the world) now. 

Ok, that's not a bad thing. But I agree with everything you say about Pete Lesperance (and Harem Scarem).

Oh, I love Petrucci too. His work on Scenes from a Memory (still) blows me away. 

joneve

Weight of the World isn't on Spotify. I haz a sad  

EDIT: There is, however, a re-recorded version of Mood Swings. Hooray  

bazxkr

Big fan of Petrucci too...have 2 x JP6s but strangely they sound nothing like his & I can't figure out why LOL

Saw DT at Wembley in Feb 14...awesome but were clinical as has been said...Petrucci is an astonishing technician...buit I do prefer much more improvisation & going off into off the cuff jams and such like as Deep Purple used to do when the mood took them

Bidley

I'm another who loves Images & Words and Awake. I found everything they did since to be incredibly difficult to get into, I should really spin them again. But yeah, Big Johnny Pet is a great guitarist, lots of soul to go with the technique.

beed84

Massive fan of Petrucci here.  I really admire his approach to the guitar and his overall inventiveness.  His technique his pretty much flawless, although I think he was at his peak around 2004.  When I watch him play on live at Budokan, there's something a bit 'Zen' about his playing. It's almost like a he was this enlightened guitarist where anything was possible! Not to say he's a bad player now, mind!

I've seen him live 3 times now and he delivered each time.  I love pretty much all the DT stuff pre Mike Portnoy's departure.  To me, there isn't any direction in the songs; the last album failed miserably where melody is concerned, and for some reason they've abandon the progressive style for heaviness, which is a big shame compared to the epicness of Scenes From A Memory, Images and Words, and Octavarium.

The stuff on Liquid Tension Experiment is amazing too.

If there was one player that I wish could play like, it would be him.

I'm not a show off by any means, but here's a drawing I did out of my appreciation for him:

firks91

Im also a big fan Petrucci and DT. theyre all spectacular musicians, i love pretty much every song theyve composed. 

Petrucci's style is great, hes one of my favourite players along with guthrie and bonamasaa, but i do prefer Petrucci's playing and his tone back in the earlier days, for the most part. 

i basically feel the same as beed84, nowadays i feel like he's a bit more about the heavy riffs with his 7 string, which is awesome but, i dont know... i guess i just miss his old train of thought (no pun intended) on writing. i enjoy DT's new stuff, but its just not the same as pre mangini although they were sort of heading in this musical direction in the last few years with Portnoy anyhow. i think the loss of his influence has turbo'd their gradual mutation of style, if you know what i mean. All that said though he/they still know how to write emotive music, theres just a lack of their classic progressiveness. 

Liquid tension stuff is also awesome and his solo album is great too. 

viz

bazxkr said:

Big fan of Petrucci too...have 2 x JP6s but strangely they sound nothing like his & I can't figure out why LOL

Saw DT at Wembley in Feb 14...awesome but were clinical as has been said...Petrucci is an astonishing technician...buit I do prefer much more improvisation & going off into off the cuff jams and such like as Deep Purple used to do when the mood took them

Yep it was good, astonishing even, but not that moving. Here's a clip. It was all a bit samey like this, I felt.

Kebabkid

joneve said:

You dick. I'm going to have to listen to Mood Swings (and weight of the world) now. 

Err...glad to have been of service (I think)

beed84

Kebabkid said:

joneve said:

You dick. I'm going to have to listen to Mood Swings (and weight of the world) now. 

Err...glad to have been of service (I think)

Yeah, what a dick.  I'm gonna have to listen to it as well!

Adji

Big DT fan and quite the Petrucci fan, he isn't my favourite however. I'm kinda 50/50 with him, either love what he does or hate what  he does. No doubt he is a monster.

Bucket

Good to see some fans on here!

If you like Petrucci, check this guy out too - he plays guitar with DT singer James Labrie when he does his solo stuff.

Fantastic player, I'd bet he's very influenced by Petrucci.

TPReggie

JP is phenominal and I have seen him live several times with DT - to be honest the first time I went I was determined to prove there was some trick involved and that he couldn't actually play that fast, lol. 

I was proved wrong and most of that show I probably had my jaw on the floor. 

What I love about him is the way he can be so technical and blazing fast, and still come up with gorgeous leads with carefully picked notes that really sing. Most guys are one or the other - he can pull off both with equal skill. 

I second the guy above too, James Labrie's guitar player for solo work, he is another etrucci really, even tone is similar, awesome player. 

axisus

I was a massive DT fan for many years, and he was in my top 3 guitarists. I much preferred them when they were more melodic though. I loved all the albums up to octavarium, but didn't really engage with any after that. I continued to buy them, but couldn't get into them. Their last album is the first I didn't bother buying. Saw them live 5 times over the years, very good! The JP forum was my main Internet hangout for over a decade, but I quit when MP left the band and everyone went into douche mode.

thomasross20

Is this the typical Dream Theater fan? 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-28524348

Only kidding lol... I bought and sold "Awake" three times before I attuned myself to them. I find this to be their best album, followed by Metropolis then 6 degrees. Don't listen to them much nowadays, though. My top (guitar) bands are G N' R, Van Halen and Extreme.