Comments on: This Jordan Rudess Synth Jam Will Melt Your Ears Off Of Your Head

By: Norcal Emu

Norcal Emu — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 21:14:37 +0000

Watched it again. Definitely looks like a MusicReader displaying notation. And my previous comment regarding passion….well I could never sling together a performance this good so take that bit of criticism with a grain of salt.

By: Norcal Emu

Norcal Emu — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 21:10:57 +0000

It's interesting because it looks like he is reading his cues from a music stand for each section. Reminds me a little of Tony Banks and the non-improvised improvisations. Maybe this might relate to the lack of dynamism and passion in the playing.

By: wi_ngo

wi_ngo — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:19:11 +0000

More notes. I think he definitely needs to play a few more notes.

All kidding aside… yeah, the guy's got chops like no other, but after a while it all just sounds the same – kind of a wash. And Triton presets? Really? Those are some pretty bland factory-like sounds.

By: ShredMenace

ShredMenace — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 08:16:03 +0000

Chopin, Debussy, and especially Franz Liszt played fast too, but their music (that's played fast) lasted more than 100 years. I don't think playing fast and music lasting over 100 years are antagonistic to one another.

Playing fast appropriately with phrasing, articulation, and a good sense of a theme qualifies as something musical. In the case of this video, there's that hint of musicality going on, especially when you're trying to describe the Egyptian Sun God in a shreddy prog way.

By: Pedro

Pedro — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 04:38:03 +0000

YES, he can play!…FAST!!!!!!!!!!
BUT…can he ever make a song like VANGELIS or an album like MIKE OLDFIELD!
after 2m of music i just lost interest.
Remember nirvana's " come as you are" intro, now imagine that played by an orchestra:
Genious, and those guys played very bad, i am pretty sure that they only new half dozen chords.
well….some guys can play fast, others make music that lasts 100 years!
Peace

By: @Magaro

@Magaro — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 04:00:26 +0000

Yeah.

That's pretty relevant at Synthtopia.

Good call.

By: Pierre

Pierre — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 00:33:24 +0000

What, no organ solo? He certainly had everything else in there! Still, I'm very impressed but I don't understand how he doesn't have massive carpal tunnel syndrome or something similar based on how his wrists rest nearly on the keyboard. Maybe what we've just seen is his daily warm up routine!

I wish Mr. Rudess had the opportunity to do more of this kind of work with Dream Theater…

By: Norcal Emu

Norcal Emu — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 21:36:26 +0000

Paul Jacobs playing "L'Isle Joyeuse" comes to mind

By: tom Shear

tom Shear — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 17:45:42 +0000

Great, we get it. The guy can play. How about playing something I'd actually want to listen to?

By: dante

dante — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 17:40:32 +0000

Displays of pure skill are great, if you're a juggler. If you're a musician, it isn't enough. Your end results–your music and how it connects with people–is what matters. And that's quite a different thing from your level of playing skill.

Can Rudess play? Of course. More importantly, can he play something that has meaning for you? That depends on who you are.

By: zuidi

zuidi — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:46:10 +0000

You can criticize Rudess for relentlessly promoting himself or for his style of music, but you can't fault his chops. The guy can play his butt off.

My ears officially melted about halfway through that.

The king of prog keyboards is still Keith Emerson, though!

By: Sotiris

Sotiris — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:10:32 +0000

As much as i enjoyed the energy of the music, and as much as i admire JR's playing abilities ,,,, my ears have NOT "melted off of my head". Most of the time i enjoy melodies and synth lines that let me hear the notes and the silence between them. There's a lot of beauty to enjoy in slow playing with emphasis on rests and harmonic combinations. My 2c.

By: Norcal Emu

Norcal Emu — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:01:15 +0000

Musically it's pretty much all over the map (pretty much a pastiche of themes) but that's all part of the genre. He definitely has chops and can play very musically so I don't know what your comments are about. I would take this any day over a bunch of ripped off loops, beats and prerecorded sound bites from vintage TV all lovingly processed by some "dj." What Rudess is doing (regardless of whether you appreciate the particular genre) takes years to learn and perfect…it's called musicianship.

By: Andy

Andy — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:02:18 +0000

f**in utter cack….. this guy should really have a word with himslelf and lay off the acid

By: violetta

violetta — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:49:06 +0000

So you don't like prog, huh?

By: sos

sos — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:36:33 +0000

agreed. Jordan Rudess is highly over rated. How many times can you rehash the same basic song and have a million patch changes that have no type of cohesive glue what so ever.

By: splump

splump — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 14:12:36 +0000

agreed with previous speaker

By: aer

aer — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 13:41:23 +0000

it sucks