Eclipse - Your Reviews

[artist4perry]

Guys? Am I the only one on here that doesn't have Eclipse yet?

Damned I whish I lived in America (or that at least we had Walmart here )

You're all driving me nuts^^

No, gotta wait till payday!

[Behshad]

Andrew

Pretty sad that if people have an opinion that you dont agree with , you call it rubbish or an attempt to bait. Get over yourself, seriously.

I am pleasantly surprised by Eclipse, when it comes to the instrumental efforts, specially the guitars, but also the song structures.
However, Arnel just dont deliver and if he does they held him back. This is nothing against Arnel and his voice. It's the way Neal intended this
album to be.
What used to make this place different from Journey Forum & Backtalk was always the fact that you could point out the flaws in a song or album. Seems like nowdays you have get on board with Journey 100% or one's opinion doesnt count. You want people to follow you and your review blindly the exact same way you're following Neal&Co, blindly .

I called your 100% review, 2 months ago , surprise surprise . When the vocals arent 100% , the album isnt a true 100%. Once again , nothing against Arnel and his voice. He is trying his best, but a) his voice doesnt fit half the songs and b) they have made sure Neal's guitars owerpowers his voice.
If Arnel is gonna belt out these songs night after night , hitting them the way he does on the album, Neal might have to start use YouTube again once this tour is over



Steveo, You dont have to crank up an album loud in a high end stereo system to make it sound better. A great album is a great album whether you listen to it on a THX system or an old walkman, but your pathetic ass doesnt understand this, cause you're just hearing what you want to hear.

[Melissa]

Given it one listen so far and pretty much agree with Behshad's opinions about it too. Great guitar album, but a bit too heavy for the current voice it seems to me. And definitely not standard formula Journey that the radio hit fans are used to. And while that's a good thing to the minority of us here, I don't think it will be live. Those standard formula fans (which are the majority) will sit for the new stuff and not "get it". But, I like that they broke from that norm on this album. Blows Revelation away.

On 2 other album notes, loving Mirrorball and Rockaholic so far too.

[Behshad]

BTW, how much of a degradation of quality is a 320kbs mp3 compared to listening to the actual disc?

Still a little. It's as good as you'll get for a MP3/compression from WAV. Full CD I think I saw at around 390....something like that.

Wrong!

To calculate the bitrate of audio CD you have to multiply the sampling rate by the resolution by the number of channels:
44.1 kHz X 16 bit X 2 chan. = 1411 kbps

I remember back in the day where we could tell if an album is good or not without involving the bitrates though

[Rip Rokken]

I'm sorry and I know a lot of people will disagree when they hear the complete version but Tantra is just too much Pomp and Circumstance when all I want to do is rock. When the next track starts, it's actually a relief.

I like Tantra, but it requires a certain mood. It seems Disney-esque, or something like that....or meatloafish in places.

It's off the wall brilliant. Some will get it...some won't.

I agree with Andrew... I think it's a brilliant song, but will hit different people differently. For me personally, Tantra ultimately doesn't release the same amount of endorphins in my brain as Resonate or Edge do. That will be on a person-by-person basis as people are simply wired differently. Great article on this btw...

http://the-brain-and-music.blogspot.com ... brain.html

[Andrew]

BEHSHAD

Pretty sad that if people have an opinion that you dont agree with , you call it rubbish or an attempt to bait. Get over yourself, seriously.

Dude, you crack me up. You are one of the most combative people on this board and love nothing more than something to stir the shit up about. This is just the latest. But you are taking it far more seriously than I am.

However, Arnel just dont deliver and if he does they held him back.

I disagree.

What used to make this place different from Journey Forum & Backtalk was always the fact that you could point out the flaws in a song or album. Seems like nowdays you have get on board with Journey 100% or one's opinion doesnt count. You want people to follow you and your review blindly the exact same way you're following Neal&Co, blindly .

Yeah, the old 'I'm following blindly fanboy comment. Bwahahahaha. C'mon dude, you are more creative than that!

And if you think this place is anything like Backtalk was, you'd be deleted already!

I called your 100% review, 2 months ago , surprise surprise .

Wow...genius stuff old mate! What are next week's Lotto numbers and where is Osama hiding....oh wait....ok, where is Perry hiding?

When the vocals arent 100% , the album isnt a true 100%.

I think the vocals are 100%. Amazing stuff.

Once again , nothing against Arnel and his voice. He is trying his best, but a) his voice doesnt fit half the songs and b) they have made sure Neal's guitars owerpowers his voice.

I'm sure your analytical powers will find you well sought after once I'm gone.

Cheerio!

[Andrew]

BTW, how much of a degradation of quality is a 320kbs mp3 compared to listening to the actual disc?

Still a little. It's as good as you'll get for a MP3/compression from WAV. Full CD I think I saw at around 390....something like that.

Wrong!

To calculate the bitrate of audio CD you have to multiply the sampling rate by the resolution by the number of channels:
44.1 kHz X 16 bit X 2 chan. = 1411 kbps

If uncompressed. Compressed MP3 has a max bitrate higher than 320.

Non-standard bit rates up to 640 kbit/s can be achieved with the LAME encoder and the freeformat option, although few MP3 players can play those files. According to the ISO standard, decoders are only required to be able to decode streams up to 320 kbit/s.

[Behshad]

BEHSHAD

Pretty sad that if people have an opinion that you dont agree with , you call it rubbish or an attempt to bait. Get over yourself, seriously.

Dude, you crack me up. You are one of the most combative people on this board and love nothing more than something to stir the shit up about. This is just the latest. But you are taking it far more seriously than I am.

However, Arnel just dont deliver and if he does they held him back.

I disagree.

What used to make this place different from Journey Forum & Backtalk was always the fact that you could point out the flaws in a song or album. Seems like nowdays you have get on board with Journey 100% or one's opinion doesnt count. You want people to follow you and your review blindly the exact same way you're following Neal&Co, blindly .

Yeah, the old 'I'm following blindly fanboy comment. Bwahahahaha. C'mon dude, you are more creative than that!

And if you think this place is anything like Backtalk was, you'd be deleted already!

I called your 100% review, 2 months ago , surprise surprise .

Wow...genius stuff old mate! What are next week's Lotto numbers and where is Osama hiding....oh wait....ok, where is Perry hiding?

When the vocals arent 100% , the album isnt a true 100%.

I think the vocals are 100%. Amazing stuff.

Once again , nothing against Arnel and his voice. He is trying his best, but a) his voice doesnt fit half the songs and b) they have made sure Neal's guitars owerpowers his voice.

I'm sure your analytical powers will find you well sought after once I'm gone.

Cheerio!

Huge difference in being "combative" in BS feuds than having an honest opinion about an album.
This isnt about sitting the pot. This is about how you expect people to agree with you 100% , or else you will label their opinions as "rubbish".

This place isnt like backtalk(yet), but the days of critisizing Journey (with valid points) are long gone. Whats next ? "Positive vibes..." threads ?

Go back and check, I predicted 100% review from you, because unlike the lottery numbers of next week, youre quiet predictable these days .

Bottom line, I listen to this CD a bit more openminded and dont give a crap if I piss Neal off with my review. You simply cant say the same

Last but not least, I dont take this as seriously as you . We all know how personally you take it, if God forbid we dont agree with you

[Behshad]

BTW, how much of a degradation of quality is a 320kbs mp3 compared to listening to the actual disc?

Still a little. It's as good as you'll get for a MP3/compression from WAV. Full CD I think I saw at around 390....something like that.

Wrong!

To calculate the bitrate of audio CD you have to multiply the sampling rate by the resolution by the number of channels:
44.1 kHz X 16 bit X 2 chan. = 1411 kbps

If uncompressed. Compressed MP3 has a max bitrate higher than 320.

Non-standard bit rates up to 640 kbit/s can be achieved with the LAME encoder and the freeformat option, although few MP3 players can play those files. According to the ISO standard, decoders are only required to be able to decode streams up to 320 kbit/s.

Duh sherlock,, most people (minus Saint John ) know that a MP3 max bitrate is 320. AUDIO CD bitrate is right around 1411 kbps pay attention, Mr RecordLabel

[Andrew]

Given it one listen so far and pretty much agree with Behshad's opinions about it too. Great guitar album, but a bit too heavy for the current voice it seems to me.

A hint of descent against the album - before Behshad reports you to me for erradication - I will step in and say thank you for adding your voice to the MANY opinions here that are welcomed and encouraged.

[Behshad]

Given it one listen so far and pretty much agree with Behshad's opinions about it too. Great guitar album, but a bit too heavy for the current voice it seems to me.

A hint of descent against the album - before Behshad reports you to me for erradication - I will step in and say thank you for adding your voice to the MANY opinions here that are welcomed and encouraged.

Youre learning! Slowly but surely! Good on ya, mate

[Eric]

Andrew Pretty sad that if people have an opinion that you dont agree with , you call it rubbish or an attempt to bait. Get over yourself, seriously.

I like how you can rip Andrew's review but when he responds to your ripping he's the bad guy.

[Behshad]

Andrew Pretty sad that if people have an opinion that you dont agree with , you call it rubbish or an attempt to bait. Get over yourself, seriously.

I like how you can rip Andrew's review but when he responds to your ripping he's the bad guy.

He ripped my review first, get a clue dickbreath.

He isnt a bad guy at all. Trust me I know him better than you do . You're one of the blind followers who doesnt contribute much, troll

[Melissa]

Given it one listen so far and pretty much agree with Behshad's opinions about it too. Great guitar album, but a bit too heavy for the current voice it seems to me.

A hint of descent against the album - before Behshad reports you to me for erradication - I will step in and say thank you for adding your voice to the MANY opinions here that are welcomed and encouraged.

LOL, you make that sound like it's on purpose, and it's not. I like the album. I don't love it, but I like it. I think Arnel is a great singer. I just also happen to think some of the heaviness of the album and his voice just don't quite go together. That's not a big deal. People can like the album and not have to love it the same way the Journey nutsack swingers around here do.

[Andrew]

Just for the record - my opinion is now on very public record. If anyone agrees - awesome.
Anyone doesn't - not my worry and I respect just about any opinion out there...as long as it makes sense.

The only issue I have is when I read silly comments such as Arnels vocal performance. You may not feel it was right style/volume/zing....whatever. But no one can question the performance on this album. It is an amazing feat.

Behshad - most of the time I'm ribbing you, but a few of your comments seem bewildering and have me wondering if you have a way to short memory about the long history of this board and the ways it has impacted on my relationship with this band.

I'll give Arnel your best when I interview him next week.

[Andrew]

Given it one listen so far and pretty much agree with Behshad's opinions about it too. Great guitar album, but a bit too heavy for the current voice it seems to me.

A hint of descent against the album - before Behshad reports you to me for erradication - I will step in and say thank you for adding your voice to the MANY opinions here that are welcomed and encouraged.

LOL, you make that sound like it's on purpose, and it's not. I like the album. I don't love it, but I like it. I think Arnel is a great singer. I just also happen to think some of the heaviness of the album and his voice just don't quite go together. That's not a big deal. People can like the album and not have to love it the same way the Journey nutsack swingers around here do.

Absolutely! I was just teasing

[Behshad]

Just for the record - my opinion is now on very public record. If anyone agrees - awesome.
Anyone doesn't - not my worry and I respect just about any opinion out there...as long as it makes sense.

The only issue I have is when I read silly comments such as Arnels vocal performance. You may not feel it was right style/volume/zing....whatever. But no one can question the performance on this album. It is an amazing feat.

Behshad - most of the time I'm ribbing you, but a few of your comments seem bewildering and have me wondering if you have a way to short memory about the long history of this board and the ways it has impacted on my relationship with this band.

I'll give Arnel your best when I interview him next week.

And I can see how youre trying to smoothen things up , maybe for another L.A trip in the future

[Behshad]

Given it one listen so far and pretty much agree with Behshad's opinions about it too. Great guitar album, but a bit too heavy for the current voice it seems to me.

A hint of descent against the album - before Behshad reports you to me for erradication - I will step in and say thank you for adding your voice to the MANY opinions here that are welcomed and encouraged.

LOL, you make that sound like it's on purpose, and it's not. I like the album. I don't love it, but I like it. I think Arnel is a great singer. I just also happen to think some of the heaviness of the album and his voice just don't quite go together. That's not a big deal. People can like the album and not have to love it the same way the Journey nutsack swingers around here do.

Absolutely! I was just teasing

youre such a tease , mate !

[Andrew]

Just for the record - my opinion is now on very public record. If anyone agrees - awesome.
Anyone doesn't - not my worry and I respect just about any opinion out there...as long as it makes sense.

The only issue I have is when I read silly comments such as Arnels vocal performance. You may not feel it was right style/volume/zing....whatever. But no one can question the performance on this album. It is an amazing feat.

Behshad - most of the time I'm ribbing you, but a few of your comments seem bewildering and have me wondering if you have a way to short memory about the long history of this board and the ways it has impacted on my relationship with this band.

I'll give Arnel your best when I interview him next week.

And I can see how youre trying to smoothen things up , maybe for another L.A trip in the future

Shit stirrer! I'd love a holiday. Where we going?

[The_Noble_Cause]

I'll give Arnel your best when I interview him next week.

That interview's been a long time coming. I also noticed in your review you said, "is quite obvious that guitarist Neal Schon had a plan. I'm going to ask him just how long that plan has been with him...." Neal taking your calls again? Enjoyed the review, by the way.

[Behshad]

Just for the record - my opinion is now on very public record. If anyone agrees - awesome.
Anyone doesn't - not my worry and I respect just about any opinion out there...as long as it makes sense.

The only issue I have is when I read silly comments such as Arnels vocal performance. You may not feel it was right style/volume/zing....whatever. But no one can question the performance on this album. It is an amazing feat.

Behshad - most of the time I'm ribbing you, but a few of your comments seem bewildering and have me wondering if you have a way to short memory about the long history of this board and the ways it has impacted on my relationship with this band.

I'll give Arnel your best when I interview him next week.

And I can see how youre trying to smoothen things up , maybe for another L.A trip in the future

Shit stirrer! I'd love a holiday. Where we going?

Fuck Neal & LA. Pack your bags and come to cowland Ohio. I will show you a different side of USA you havent seen . I will even let you play Eclipse in the boombox while I make you a mean T-bone on the grill

[Ehwmatt]

I have listened to it once through this morning as I pack up a buncha boxes in a car for a cross-country moving/road trip .

I am not even close to ready to review the album song-by-song in good faith, but a few preliminary impressions:

1. Arnel sounds great on this album. I've listened on two Bose earbuds this morning through my iPod, and I am not hearing the buried in the mix complaints here at all. Kudos to him for not having the accent issues on this one.

2. On the mix/production note, this album is sonically head and shoulders above Revelation and Arrival (goes without saying for Red13/Gens)

3. Yes, these songs are not Journey by numbers. They are not the most accessible or chorus-friendly songs out there. I'm ok with that, because my three favorite genres are undoubtedly AOR, 70s power pop, and last but not least, all forms of prog rock/metal. A lot of these songs remind me of one of my other favorite bands, Dream Theater, when they try and go poppier (think Solitary Shell, Surrounded etc).

4. Neal's and Jon's performances on this album are every bit as good as advertised/hinted at in the past months by Andrew and others.

5. Don't get me wrong, I think I will have some gripes ranging from minor to serious about some of the songs after I've spent more time with them. Back at you all after I spend more time with the album on this cross-country road trip. I do think there were some missed opportunities with some of the songs, the proggier/heavier direction of the album notwithstanding.

[koberry]

Given it one listen so far and pretty much agree with Behshad's opinions about it too. Great guitar album, but a bit too heavy for the current voice it seems to me. And definitely not standard formula Journey that the radio hit fans are used to. And while that's a good thing to the minority of us here, I don't think it will be live. Those standard formula fans (which are the majority) will sit for the new stuff and not "get it". But, I like that they broke from that norm on this album. Blows Revelation away.

On 2 other album notes, loving Mirrorball and Rockaholic so far too.

I'm not getting the comment of Arnel's voice not being up to the heaviness of the tracks. I shouldn't do this, I know I shouldn't, somebody stop me.... but take a listen to Perry on I'm Cryin', Lay it Down, Back Talk and One More. Now, don't get me wrong, I love Steve Perry. But I remember a quote from Neal when Frontiers came out talking about how great Perry sounded. He'd mentioned something about his previously sounding like a seal. He truely meant it as a compliment on how much more he liked Perry's voice since it had dropped. But I think it said quite a bit about Perry's ability to handle the harder stuff.

So accusations of Arnel's voice being too thin just don't ring true for me. I think he kills it on this release.

Let the unhinged lashing and wild gesticulations begin.

[Saint John]

Well, I'm glad to see that everyone has the fucking album ... but me!!! Ehwmatt, did you get the actual CD or just a downloaded version?

PS If you got the actual CD before me, fuck you.

[Behshad]

Given it one listen so far and pretty much agree with Behshad's opinions about it too. Great guitar album, but a bit too heavy for the current voice it seems to me. And definitely not standard formula Journey that the radio hit fans are used to. And while that's a good thing to the minority of us here, I don't think it will be live. Those standard formula fans (which are the majority) will sit for the new stuff and not "get it". But, I like that they broke from that norm on this album. Blows Revelation away.

On 2 other album notes, loving Mirrorball and Rockaholic so far too.

I'm not getting the comment of Arnel's voice not being up to the heaviness of the tracks. I shouldn't do this, I know I shouldn't, somebody stop me.... but take a listen to Perry on I'm Cryin', Lay it Down, Back Talk and Message of Love. Now, don't get me wrong, I love Steve Perry. But I remember a quote from Neal when Frontiers came out talking about how great Perry sounded. He'd mentioned something about his previously sounding like a seal. He truely meant it as a compliment on how much more he liked Perry's voice since it had dropped. But I think it said quite a bit about Perry's ability to handle the harder stuff.

So accusations of Arnel's voice being too thin just don't ring true for me. I think he kills it on this release.

Let the unhinged lashing and wild gesticulations begin.

Let me enlighten you that NONE of those Perry songs you mentioned were HEAVY guitar oriented songs
Perry's voice on Eclipse would be HORRIBLE.

[lordreo]

Well, I'm glad to see that everyone has the fucking album ... but me!!! Ehwmatt, did you get the actual CD or just a downloaded version?

PS If you got the actual CD before me, fuck you.

Even I got it by now, at least a digital version. It was a very nice donation from a member of this forum. And not that my opinion matters but I think Eclipse is freaking AWESOME!!!
I already liked Revelation, but this is so much better. And even if you don't like Arnels voice, you have to admit that his vocals improved a lot!

PS: My personal favourite is Tantra.

[Tito]

Indeed. Can't even be bothered typing a response. Too busy writing my official review...

All I'm going to say is this album better be good. Because if you over-hyped this thing and ruined it for me, I'll kill ya. You got me amped up for it. I got be honest with the exception of a few songs, I'm nervous about the album from the samples (Amazon,etc.) I've heard. However, the samples you had last week give me some hope, not a city of hope, just some hope. You better be right is all I'm going to say.

Not to bust your balls, but it looks like in your review you were rushing to finish it for the last 4 or 5 songs.

P.S. I take 100% seriously. This better be 100% or at least 98% or I'm coming for you.

[Tito]

Deano, don't bail! It's just getting fun again!

He just wants Fact Finder to have to start another thread. Dean, come on, dude. You can't
let people on the internet punch your card like this.

As Neal would say, "Fuck him."

[bluejeangirl76]

I'm not loving it. Sorry. Theres one song, toward the end (I forgot the name) that makes me feel like I'm at a TSO show. Was expecting all the lights to start flashing.

[Tito]

Hey, I'm digging this record for the most part but to the people that said ROR was Perry's album, Eclipse can be painted with the same brush concerning one member dominating a release because Neal has his stamp all over this puppy.

Not really a fair comparison, Don. Firing members, changing the 1 word album theme, liquidating assets and being a completely out of control, 80 proof asshole is a bit different from demanding a harder direction with an emphasis on guitar, rather than the usual keyboard driven albums.

Escape was Cain's album. That was the best period.