Queen without Freddie vs. Journey without Steve

[Voyager]

He (Augeri) doesn't sound like Perry. He doesn't look like Perry. Heck, even his stage presence is in no way reminiscient of Perry's.

Yeah, you're right... what the hell was I thinking? I've got to quit drinking those margaritas for lunch! He looks, sounds, and acts much more like David Lee Roth than Steve Perry.

[mnmsjrny]

Well....they could have done a Van Halen or a Genesis and tried to reinvent the live renditions of the old catalogue...but that would have taken a lot of balls and imagination.

And a time machine. Van Halen & Genesis replaced their lead singers immediately after the original singer left the band, not 12 years later. The Journey/VH comparision is probably one of the most tired arguments I've heard over the years. If Neal & Jon had decided to continue Journey in 1987 with out Perry then grabbing a different singer and reinventing the old catalogue might have worked. When people wait 12 years to hear those songs live again, they're going to want it to sound as close to their memories as possible.

[itsjustme]

Both will never be the same, but could still be great again.

Freddie and Perry are in a whole different league, and will never be equalled. But there are plenty of great vocalist/songwriters in the next few tiers.



.

Agreed. Two of the best ever!


No comparison. Queen is a monster group. Journey is a pimple on their ass. I caught the Queen tour last year, It was one of the best shows I've seen in years. Paul is a legend, Augeri ?

I'm guessing you mean the Queen and Journey of today, not in their heydays?

[Matthew]

Well....they could have done a Van Halen or a Genesis and tried to reinvent the live renditions of the old catalogue...but that would have taken a lot of balls and imagination.

And a time machine. Van Halen & Genesis replaced their lead singers immediately after the original singer left the band, not 12 years later. The Journey/VH comparision is probably one of the most tired arguments I've heard over the years. If Neal & Jon had decided to continue Journey in 1987 with out Perry then grabbing a different singer and reinventing the old catalogue might have worked. When people wait 12 years to hear those songs live again, they're going to want it to sound as close to their memories as possible.

Michelle - it would be easier to agree with you had Journey's strategy worked out. Yes, Augeri might have been able to bring back some memories to the relatively few old Journey fans who went to the shows. But he didn't connect with the majority of Journey fans and in terms of the bands recording career the last nine years have been pretty disastrous.

Also - can you imagine the controversy had Schon and Cain replaced Perry in 1987? God...it's been bad enough twenty years on but to do that during the band's peak? They might just have got away with it had they hired a singer of equal stature - which Van Halen did - but a complete unknown?

As for reinventing the classics...well, I saw Robert Plant last month and he reinterpreted many Led Zep songs in such an interesting and inspiring way. He wasn't just grinding out the old catalogue, he wasn't trying to replicate the sound of Led Zep's heyday. He took some risks.

Unfortunately, this wasn't true of Journey when I saw them in May. One Perry era hit after another...all played in exactly the same way they were twenty years ago but nowhere near as good.

This is why the arrival of JSS has restored my faith in the band - or at least some hope. Maybe Journey can finally surprise a few people and become more than just another nostalgia act?

[jrnyman28]

can you imagine the controversy had Schon and Cain replaced Perry in 1987? God...it's been bad enough twenty years on but to do that during the band's peak? They might just have got away with it had they hired a singer of equal stature - which Van Halen did - but a complete unknown?

Actually, I think it would have been a whole lot easier to do it during the heigth of their success. There would be a LOT more fans following them at the time, there would have been press and statements. Perry likely would have made an official announcement about leaving the band which would have made things a LOT easier on the band. Like Michelle said, VH made it's change during the height of it's success and they did it smart. I am sure VH lost some fans, I am sure Journey would have as well. But with the music landscape supporting these bands, record label backing and HUGE fan bases, Journey could have made the change with less difficulties. The biggest problems Journey encountered from 1998 on is the lack of support for their style of music and BTM.

[A Fire Inside]

But he didn't connect with the majority of Journey fans and in terms of the bands recording career the last nine years have been pretty disastrous.

You can't say they lost the majority of their fans. You don't know that based on Arrival sales. Plenty of people have attended their tours year after year. You don't know how many they "lost" due to Perry or if they "lost" a bunch of people who still think they broke up in '86 and that was it. If Journey never comes to their town, how would they know they're still around? I mean, heck, plenty of people at shows STILL come in and don't know Perry's not in the band!

[Rock Fn]

Both will never be the same, but could still be great again.

Freddie and Perry are in a whole different league, and will never be equalled. But there are plenty of great vocalist/songwriters in the next few tiers.



.

Agreed. Two of the best ever!


No comparison. Queen is a monster group. Journey is a pimple on their ass. I caught the Queen tour last year, It was one of the best shows I've seen in years. Paul is a legend, Augeri ?

I'm guessing you mean the Queen and Journey of today, not in their heydays?

Yes! Not the Journey of the past. They were in the leauge of Queen back in the day.

[mnmsjrny]

Michelle - it would be easier to agree with you had Journey's strategy worked out. Yes, Augeri might have been able to bring back some memories to the relatively few old Journey fans who went to the shows. But he didn't connect with the majority of Journey fans and in terms of the bands recording career the last nine years have been pretty disastrous.

Relatively few??? Journey is on it's EIGHTH tour of the US since 1998, and they're not playing to empty venues or the same 200 people night after night. Sure, Journey has lost some of their die-hard fan base, but the typical casual fan and concert goer is showing up to pretend it's 1983 all over again.

Sure, Arrival & Generations haven't been chart busters, but after it's inital debut, neither was TBF. Personally, I heard tracks from Arrival on the radio more than I did tracks from TBF.

Also - can you imagine the controversy had Schon and Cain replaced Perry in 1987? God...it's been bad enough twenty years on but to do that during the band's peak? They might just have got away with it had they hired a singer of equal stature - which Van Halen did - but a complete unknown?

As Dave pointed out, they probably would have done better to replace Perry in '87 -- the machine behind the band would have pushed it forward. Sure the fans would have rioted, but there would have been a clear and defining change. And if they'd made the change in '87, they could have brought in any one they wanted. An unknown or an established name or someone in between. It's all speculation. IMO, they probably WOULDN'T have brought in someone like Augeri. They probably would have gone the VH route and found someone with their own fan base and taken the band in a different direction. Or they could have just tortured us with Michael Bolton.

As for reinventing the classics...well, I saw Robert Plant last month and he reinterpreted many Led Zep songs in such an interesting and inspiring way. He wasn't just grinding out the old catalogue, he wasn't trying to replicate the sound of Led Zep's heyday. He took some risks.

Unfortunately, this wasn't true of Journey when I saw them in May. One Perry era hit after another...all played in exactly the same way they were twenty years ago but nowhere near as good.

There are lots of performers who reinvent their catalog, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I'd love for Journey to play obscure tunes and newer stuff but at virtually every show I've been to in the last 8 years (a considerable number I assure you) every time they stray too far from "the dirty dozen" and other more familiar tracks they lose the audience. Audience energy wanes, band energy wanes -- it's a symbiotic relationship. The band is going to play what the majority of the paying audience wants to hear. Not what the 10-20 people in the crowd who know the lyrics ot La Raza del Sol want to hear.

This is why the arrival of JSS has restored my faith in the band - or at least some hope. Maybe Journey can finally surprise a few people and become more than just another nostalgia act?

At this point in time... I doubt it. There are very few acts around from the 70s and 80s when Journey was at their peak that can escape the "nostalgia" tag. The ones that have managed that trick are the ones that have kept their careers going and in the public's eye and managed to evolve with or rise above the changing trends in popular music.

If you take a look at the most successful touring acts of the last decade, nearly ALL of them had their peak recording and musical success prior to 1990. It's all nostaligia now.

[conversationpc]

Yeah, you're right... what the hell was I thinking? I've got to quit drinking those margaritas for lunch! He looks, sounds, and acts much more like David Lee Roth than Steve Perry.

You said...

He sings Perry's songs, and does his very best to impersonate Perry.

You're just wrong. Why not admit it instead of looking like a fool?