Neal Schon's Playing

[Red13JoePa]

Neal lost his "fire." Well, only after he fired JSS, that is.

Mm?
How many shows have they played since then?

[STORY_TELLER]

What the hell happened to this guy? Is it just me or has he lost the drive, passion and soul that made his playing so good. All That I hear now is a guy replacing emotive playing with speed. His guitar used to "talk" to you.

Lost it and making a choice are two different things. Neal's always wanted to be respected as a hard edged rocker over a softer edged melodic guitar player. My guess is, now that he's out of Perry's control, he's making choices he's always wanted to make. That doesn't mean he's not capable of doing it again. Eye on U had the elements you crave as did Electric World. Next solo album he comes out with will put you back in his good graces.

In concert, Neal's probably going for 'impression factor' in his playing. Making his speed technique so 'cool' that it draws attention to itself instead of the audience paying attention to the overall song (or the singer). Neal's always sought the spotlight in Journey but was never able to command it to his satisfaction because, thanks to Perry, the band's central focus was around the vocals and the melodies, not the guitar playing (as opposed to say Van Halen).

[JH'sTXfan]

Neal lost his "fire." Well, only after he fired JSS, that is.

Mm?
How many shows have they played since then?

JSS=fire