Saint John wrote:This is simply not true and is just the excuse du jour. I remember when it was announced that the re-records were going to be on there, and how everyone here said that the Journey fan base would completely alienate this idea, and that this would make the band the laughing stock of music. Then, when that didn't work, it was "OMG ... the Pinoys are all buying 75 copies each!!!" Listen, these guys were on Oprah, Ellen, in GQ, on the Sunday Morning show, and the story was told over and over how the disc "contained 12 new tracks and 12 re-recorded hits," so I'm going to believe that that, coupled with it saying that RIGHT ON THE PACKAGE was enough to give the consumer a clue exactly who was singing those songs.
But, you're assuming that every casual Journey fan stays within the know on all the news about Journey. This simply isn't the case. I have friends who love Journey's classic hits, but unless I told them anything about the current events surrounding the band, they wouldn't know what's going on with them at all. Plus, come on, not everybody watches Oprah, Ellen, or the Morning Show. Lord knows I don't. Most people are at work while those shows are on anyway. And, not everybody reads GQ magazine, just like not everybody reads this site. I am talking about your everyday, average music fan that happens to be in Walmart and happens to come across a new Journey package. Will some inspect the package closely? Sure. But, I betcha good money that the majority will scan the track listing and that's about as much inspection as they'll put into a CD.
Saint John wrote:
I might go along with this if Journey was a rap group and catered to a demographic that's generally about as smart as a fucking carburetor, but their fans and the like are able to read, and virtually nobody doles out $11.88 without checking out the fine print.
This simply isn't true. There are plenty of very intelligent people who do not know the difference between music that is remastered, remixed, or re-recorded. And like I said before, sometimes, there isn't much of a difference. Take the Foreigner classics CD that was shipped with their new album package. It said it contained remixed versions of the classics. Well, other than a few enhancements, the songs were not THAT different. Still had Lou Gramm singing vocals on it. Just because it says re-recorded or re-mixed, whatever...it does not mean people are going to assume someone else is singing those songs. And really, what fine print on the Revelation package (one that is still in the plastic mind you) indicates that Arnel Pineda is singing those classic songs? I do not remember seeing anything on the package that would indicate such unless I have forgotten.
Saint John wrote:Journey's GH has been selling like gangbusters for over 20 years. Prior to Revelation, if you combine the sales of GH, GH Live and The Essential Journey, you get sales in the area of 15 million. I'm guessing that most people that wanted GH already had it. New sales are coming in from the Glee crowd and the like. Not disenfranchised Revelation owners.
I'm not saying that the GH album is selling because people were disenchanted with Revelation. I'm only saying that it's certainly possible that many who bought Revelation on a whelm, and because it had a GH CD in the package, could certainly have went back to buy the real thing, because they did not have the GH before. Just like it's possible that people picked up Revelation, saw that it has the GH CD, saw that they were re-records, and opted to purchase the greatest hits instead. All of that, IN ADDITION TO, Glee, Sopranos, and everybody using Don't Stop believing for their sports games. The point I'm making and the point that TNC was probably trying to make as well, is that to assume that your casual fan will pick up a new Journey album without hearing any songs off of it, is probably not highly likely. ALTY just wasn't played enough on the radio to warrant this huge impact on the music consumer. And trust me, I went to a Journey concert shortly after the CD was released, and it wasn't because the songs were played during the concert (from the reaction of the crowd.) There is just more plausible points that point to Revelation being a 3 disc package at a one CD price coupled with one of those being the GHs than it is because of the new music. Now, if the new music had been played on top 40 radio as much as Lady Gaga or Katy Perry, then I'd agree that it was because of the new music.