Perry & Schon: Inseparable?

[Michigan Girl]

Raised On Radio is my favorite album, but Revelation is clearly better. It's better than Trial By Fire, too.

The buck stops here!

LMAO....was going to say the same thing, Vlad!!!
Our opinions obviously differ from ROR!!

[Vladan]

Raised On Radio is my favorite album, but Revelation is clearly better. It's better than Trial By Fire, too.

The buck stops here!

LMAO....was going to say the same thing, Vlad!!!
Our opinions obviously differ from ROR!!

Indeed Michigan Girl hehe, great mind think alike!

As bad as it was Perry holding all the reins "as they say", it was in Journey's best interest commercially and success wise, and sound wise too.

[RaisedOnRadio92]

If Arnel had sang with Journey from 78-96, and then Steve Perry replaced him, do you really think we'd have an arguement? I think it's bull to say 'so and so' is better because they sang in the 'so and so' era.

Musically speaking, ROR is not as good as Revelation. Perry doesn't make the band better musically. Firing Steve Smith and Ross Valory? Is that musical brilliance? The drums on ROR and the ROR tour were mediocre, and you could tell what songs Steve Smith played on ROR because musically, they were better! Steve Perry wounded the band's sound on the ROR tour when he ripped the band apart and replaced them with studio and tour musicians.

[Enigma869]

Oh, so Steve Perry's still head and shoulders better than Journey

This really has NOTHING to do with who is "better" (what are we in third grade?)! Journey is no more relevant (outside of insane asylums like MR and Jackass Talk) today than Perry is, with or without "new releases"! Last I checked, it's 2009, not 1979!

he releases NOTHING besides his annual 'Happy birthday to me!' comment on FanAsylum.

Who cares what he's releasing? Larry Bird is no longer kicking ass and taking names for the Celtics, but his legend is every bit as big today as it was 25 years ago!

I'll take a mediocre Journey album over a non-existant Perry album.

Nobody said you couldn't take anything you want to take. Just save the BS that Journey is on this extraordinary roll with meteoric success just because they've released one reasonable album in 20 years! The reality is that aside from jackasses like us who visit sites like this, nobody even knows that the band "Journey" is still together (and many of us would argue that "Journey" ceased to exist MANY years ago). The one point I will absolutely acquiesce to you on is that the guys calling themselves "Journey" these days have been toiling away in mediocrity for years!

You don't think any tracks off Revelation like 'After All These Years' or 'Where Did I Lose Your Love' is comparable to ANYTHING from the Perry era?

I'm fairly certain that if you read what I wrote, I said that "Revelation" had a couple of reasonable tracks. I'll listen to "Turn Down The World Tonight" all day long over the super gay "Open Arms", and "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'"!

You act like Perry was invincible.

I never said Perry was invincible. I said that he was the force behind the name Journey, period, end of story. Talk to some of the yahoos on this board who babble on and on and on about "There was a Journey before Perry". I love that line, because it proves my point. Sure, they were around before Perry. In fact, they were around for THREE long years before Perry, and nobody knew who the fuck they were! For all of Schon's musical brilliance (and he's a superb musician), he wasn't getting on the map without Perry's voice, and if you gave him truth serum, he'd tell you the same thing!

They released their fair share of mediocre tracks with Perry.

And I would never suggest otherwise. I'm certain if you ask any of the people here who know me, they would tell you that I think there are more than a few clunkers in the Perry/Journey catalog!

Otherwise, every single song they released with him would've been a huge hit.

This is a whole separate argument that I won't even get into. What I will say is that suggesting that just because a song is good is enough to make it a "huge hit" tells me that you know nothing about music. "Open Arms" is the biggest (i.e. highest charting) "hit" that Journey has EVER had, and in my opinion, it is an AWFUL song, and one of the absolute worst songs in their catalog. A song being good or bad really has nothing to do with whether or not it's destined for "Hitsville U.S.A."!

[Since 78]

If Arnel had sang with Journey from 78-96, and then Steve Perry replaced him, do you really think we'd have an arguement? I think it's bull to say 'so and so' is better because they sang in the 'so and so' era.

Musically speaking, ROR is not as good as Revelation. Perry doesn't make the band better musically. Firing Steve Smith and Ross Valory? Is that musical brilliance? The drums on ROR and the ROR tour were mediocre, and you could tell what songs Steve Smith played on ROR because musically, they were better! Steve Perry wounded the band's sound on the ROR tour when he ripped the band apart and replaced them with studio and tour musicians.

Not sure what you mean in the first part, but I agree with with second part. ROR was a Perry solo album w/ Journey musicians sitting in.

[Enigma869]

If Arnel had sang with Journey from 78-96, and then Steve Perry replaced him, do you really think we'd have an arguement?

It's nice to see in the time I've been away that my Aussie buddy Drew still allows anyone to sign up here! Are you seriously asking "What if"???? Who gives a fuck what if. You could go on all day long with that non-sensical babbling.

I think it's bull to say 'so and so' is better because they sang in the 'so and so' era.

Who cares what you think. That and fifty cents will buy you a newspaper, if there are any still being published! It has nothing to do with any "era". Perry's success with Journey speaks for itself. You can make the argument that maybe Arnel would have had the same success, but he didn't so it's a moot point. You can make the argument that Journey could have been successful without Perry, but they weren't so it's a moot point!

Perry doesn't make the band better musically.

Um...YES, he did!

Firing Steve Smith and Ross Valory? Is that musical brilliance?

Listen...if you want to make some larger point here, going after Valory's importance to the band shouldn't be your angle. Valory was always the least significant member of the band. I know nothing about the bass and won't even pretend that I do. That said, I know enough musicians who do know a lot about it, and not a single one of them claims there is anything remotely remarkable about Ross Valory, as a musician. The bass player in Journey could have been ANYONE, and it wouldn't have made a bit of difference. Also, no disrespect to Steve Smith (He's the only member of the band born and raised in Massachusetts, so I'm required to like the guy), but the three main cogs in Journey were always Schon, Perry, and Cain. Having said all of that, Perry has stated publically that he was dead wrong for firing Smith and Valory, so I'm not sure what your point is!

Steve Perry wounded the band's sound on the ROR tour

Right, and he's the ONLY reason the band ever had an identifiable "sound".

[Enigma869]

If Arnel had sang with Journey from 78-96, and then Steve Perry replaced him, do you really think we'd have an arguement? I think it's bull to say 'so and so' is better because they sang in the 'so and so' era.

Musically speaking, ROR is not as good as Revelation. Perry doesn't make the band better musically. Firing Steve Smith and Ross Valory? Is that musical brilliance? The drums on ROR and the ROR tour were mediocre, and you could tell what songs Steve Smith played on ROR because musically, they were better! Steve Perry wounded the band's sound on the ROR tour when he ripped the band apart and replaced them with studio and tour musicians.

By the way...Please tell me that the 92 in your name doesn't represent the year you were born? I'd hate to think I'm debating anyone who is younger than most of the socks I own!

[Michigan Girl]

If Arnel had sang with Journey from 78-96, and then Steve Perry replaced him, do you really think we'd have an arguement? I think it's bull to say 'so and so' is better because they sang in the 'so and so' era.

Musically speaking, ROR is not as good as Revelation. Perry doesn't make the band better musically. Firing Steve Smith and Ross Valory? Is that musical brilliance? The drums on ROR and the ROR tour were mediocre, and you could tell what songs Steve Smith played on ROR because musically, they were better! Steve Perry wounded the band's sound on the ROR tour when he ripped the band apart and replaced them with studio and tour musicians.

Not sure what you mean in the first part, but I agree with with second part. ROR was a Perry solo album w/ Journey musicians sitting in.

Some Journey, some studio....SS, I missed you dearly!! Good album otherwise!!!

[Vladan]

Ok RaisedOnRadio92, it seems you have your hands full with Enigma869, so I'll keep it brief

If Arnel had sang with Journey from 78-96, and then Steve Perry replaced him, do you really think we'd have an arguement? I think it's bull to say 'so and so' is better because they sang in the 'so and so' era.

That didn't happen, and Arnel is not Steve Perry, nobody is. Perry was in a league of his own, an artist, a singer, but also a poet in the way he delivered his music, to the absolute highest level, and with the combination of the other amazingly talented band members, that is why Journey became what they were. If Perry wasn't chosen for the band, about 1 million other guys and probably even girls would of been considered before a Philippine singer back then, and Journey would never of been a success without Perry back then. The only reason Arnel is singing with the band now 30+ years on because he's the closet thing Neal could find to replicate the Perry legacy sound, that's the only reason (and the fact Arnel and every other singer grew up idolizing Steve Perry).

Thanks mate.

[annie89509]

If Arnel had sang with Journey from 78-96, and then Steve Perry replaced him, do you really think we'd have an arguement? I think it's bull to say 'so and so' is better because they sang in the 'so and so' era.

.

This is really an assinine statement ... sorry ROR92. You make it sound like SP was just a singer they plucked up to sing their songs. SP was a MAJOR contributor to the songwriting ... first with Neal, then with Jon&Neal ... that's just a fact. I dare say there would never have been a DD without Steve.

Now, I'm not saying Steve didn't write some lame songs -- Homemade Love being one. And there are some good songs written post-SP (Higher Place, FITH, TDTWT ... the rest I could take or leave).