Now that is a great way to play along with a song. I love me some Rudess, but he basically just played over the song (Alicia Keys' Empire State of Mind) rather than WITH the song. Justin executed his take perfectly.
Rudess is a prodigy, but virtuosity constantly plays at the limit of overplaying. This stuff works really well for prog, but a bit less for rap, I think as well. By the way, that song was Jay Z’s, featuring Alicia Keys. It was still a fun as hell take on the song for fans of the genre haha.
Justin is insanely creative. All SP members are, to be fair lol. The last chorus, with that super dry funky lead tone, is just incredible.
virtuosity constantly plays at the limit of overplaying
Yeah, and that's the thing. There are virtuoso players out there who know when to pull back and not just go blasting every time. I get that the video was a showcase so he was definitely trying to show his chops. His take on Animals As Leaders' The Woven Web was actually better. Not surprising because it's a prog metal song, but you'd think he'd be playing his ass off on that song instead.
Yeah, fair. IMHO, he’s just really prone to overplaying in general, but it’s also expected in the genre he plays, and what I expect of him most of the time, I guess.
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