He will have been busy as lead singer of the band
Dream Theater, but it had to be nine years before James Labrie came out with a follow-up to the well-received
Impermanent Resonance (2013). That was a true band record, a tad rougher, pointier and more metal-oriented than Dream Theater. A lot has happened in those nine years, because there is no question of a band now. Beautiful Shade Of Grey was
… mainly created with keyboardist and guitarist Paul Logue and on drums we hear son Chance Labrie for the first time. With these new names, LaBrie takes a stab at smooth rock in traditions of the (late) Doobie Brothers and Toto. Warm-sounding acoustic guitars set the tone for a collection of melodic and often catchy soft rock songs. With his smooth and warm voice, Labrie takes all the space he needs to put a lot of feeling into the songs and, in Sunset Ruin for example, to remember his deceased brother. The strong Beautiful Shade Of Grey thus gets a rewarding place of its own alongside LaBrie's work for Dream Theater. (MR)more
