Eclipse - Your Reviews

[Jana]

I really like everything about She's a Mystery. I love the acoustic -ike nature of the first part of the song and the great backing vocals is so reminiscent of Infinity era Journey and then love where the songs goes to, such a surprise. Probably my favorite playing by Neal so far.

My girlfriend really likes it. Her music taste tends to side with the more eclectic/heavier bands, but I've pretty much forced Journey down her throat and forced her to swallow.
"Resonate" is our mutual favorite, though.

I've always said from the time of the concert clips I loved Resonate. It is my favorite, too. I agree with your top three songs in that order, but they're almost interchangeable for me as I love all three, Resonate, Chain of Love, and Edge of the Moment.

We totally agree, and Resonate is my ultimate top pick. The guitar intros, the heavier rhythm during the 2nd verse, and all the layered harmonics and whammy bar divebombs after the verses -- on top of Deen's churning beats... I can't wear this song out.

I so agree. Resonate is just breathtaking from beginning to end. The song sweeps me up right from the beginning with that intro I mean,you're just waiting and the buildup is fantastic. And I'm not even on a great sound system. I only have this on my computer, nowhere else, because I want to have Monday to look forward to on an awesome sound system with the CD.

[Don]

Edge Of The Moment is really picking up speed. I hate to say this so I won't. Fuck You Tito.

[Jana]

I am stunned by Chubby's absence on this momentous occasion for her beloved Arnel.

I'm sure somewhere, we're probably all being cast into the fires of damnation for our audacity to acquire a sneak peek at this new release.

Whatcha gonna do though? No Youtubes, crap samples, regional lockouts.... the dam had to break eventually and of course it had to be here, at MR.

The leak on here is a dream come true for Journey. The word of mouth advertising will far outpace the few maggots that will download it without buying an actual copy. And, hey, to those that listened to it for free and gave it a shot that they wouldn't have otherwise, at least they gave it a listen! Maybe a few will buy that otherwise wouldn't have. Journey has a mature audience that will still march into Walmart and buy this CD. And they should, because it's fucking excellent!

Absolutely, this is a CD worthy of buying. The band should be rewarded by each and everyone of us on here buying the actual disc after our sneak peeks. I know I will, this CD is superb.

Absolutely. I will be buying three: The physical CD, one for my iPod, and one for my nephew. There's been little to no promo, so they should thankful for these threads on the leaked album and Andrew's great reviews. LOL

[Don]

I still think there are moments here where Arnel is throttled down. I would have liked to see him be allowed to just rip it a few times more than just on Tantra. The guy has a bit of Ronnie James Dio in him, I wanted him to be allowed to bust out with it more, especially with this type of material. A little emotional investment in the vocals is all that is needed here.

[ChicagoSTYX]

Anyone willing to send me a download of the CD? I would love to give it a listen on my trip this weekend.
Thanks
CS

[Saint John]

Edge Of The Moment is really picking up speed. I hate to say this so I won't. Fuck You Tito.

Arnel has a cool little vocal run in that song.

[Don]

City Of Hope is one song that still isn't pushing my buttons, even with the extended play.

I don't know what it is, the layering on the chorus, just a lot of little things I guess.

[Don]

I'm forcing myself to listen to Tantra again. This has Cain written all over it and if it was a bit restructured (and shortened) would surely be on the Adult Contemporary Stations. As loud as it gets, it's more of an operatic pop/rock song, and like others have alluded to would fit right in with Queen's catalog.

[Don]

One thing's for sure, Human Feel makes great back round music. I'm convinced more than ever that this would have been a good song to have running behind some dialog in Tron Legacy.

[VirgilTheart]

I'm forcing myself to listen to Tantra again. This has Cain written all over it and if it was a bit restructured (and shortened) would surely be on the Adult Contemporary Stations. As loud as it gets, it's more of an operatic pop/rock song, and like others have alluded to would fit right in with Queen's catalog.

Yeah, having let 'Tantra' have a few listens, I realized the song was a bit too long. I liked it on the whole, but cutting out about 30 seconds or so would've been just fine with me.

[Jana]

Okay. Here's my review. Thanks to my benefactor on MR I got to listen to it several times yesterday, but never uninterrupted and time to completely focus on the album as a whole. So I put the earphones on and listened to the album today from beginning to end with zero distractions.

I was very negative about the direction they were going on this album when it was announced for the reasons I've stated before on MR: I love some ballads and mid-tempo Journey music. I love Jonathan's keys in the music. I, truthfully, wanted an of Arrival 2.0 for the new album,, not a copycat, but where they would go from there. I felt Neal was so melodic on there and loved his playing and everyone, really, Jon, Deen.

And as far as Arnel, the reason I loved him from the get-go were the shades to his voice, the warm tones but also the pure tenor vocals. I felt on Revelation sometimes he sang too hard but sounded great. On this album, I feared he was going to go all Manila on me and do his rock impersonation raspy voice I've heard on some of the TV shows in the Phils and never felt they were going to use the upper pure tenor pitch I loved on him in heavier songs.

I was wrong on all counts. The album is very melodic and catchy. I feel differently than some on here. I think Arnel shines on this album. His vocals are stunning - to me. His voice soars effortlesly. Neal is flat-out amazing but always for the good of the song and what works. The wall of sound that Andrew talked about is so true. And Don was right, Jon's influence is all over this album. I really feel there is no filler on this album. City of Hope is not my favorite song, but a good song and a good opener and the extended version is great because I love Neal's playing at the end. From there it is truly amazing. Edge of the Moment, Chain of Love, Tantra, Resonate - WOW on all of them. And Anything is Possible is a real sleeper for me that I really like and is a great fit before Resonate. Then you get to the jewel of a song, She's a Mystery. Human Feel is just the band firing on all cylinders. A great song and loved Deen on it. I won't go on about all the songs. Some are good, not my favorites (Ritual), but enjoy them all for different reasons, Neal's playing, Arnel's voice, etc. I do love the instrumental at the end.

Where this album is amazing is as a whole. I just can't find fault with it. They accomplished what they wanted. And Shirley may have said they acted like babies and it was stressful making this album. Well, it worked to have that much passion and butting heads about it, I guess. It brought out the best in them musically.. And for someone like Neal, as passionate about music as he has stayed his whole life, and not being happy at times with the direction of the band, or trying to pander to fans, or losing interest (Generations), I'm glad for him that he got to, at this stage in his career, have a vision and stick to it when he and Jon were writing most of it, but, mainly, I'm glad it turned out as brilliantly as it did and not fall flat.

[Don]

Okay. Here's my review. Thanks to my benefactor on MR I got to listen to it several times yesterday, but never uninterrupted and time to completely focus on the album as a whole. So I put the earphones on and listened to the album today from beginning to end with zero distractions.

I was very negative about the direction they were going on this album when it was announced for the reasons I've stated before on MR: I love some ballads and mid-tempo Journey music. I love Jonathan's keys in the music. I, truthfully, wanted an of Arrival 2.0 for the new album,, not a copycat, but where they would go from there. I felt Neal was so melodic on there and loved his playing and everyone, really, Jon, Deen.

And as far as Arnel, the reason I loved him from the get-go were the shades to his voice, the warm tones but also the pure tenor vocals. I felt on Revelation sometimes he sang too hard but sounded great. On this album, I feared he was going to go all Manila on me and do his rock impersonation raspy voice I've heard on some of the TV shows in the Phils and never felt they were going to use the upper pure tenor pitch I loved on him in heavier songs.

I was wrong on all counts. The album is very melodic and catchy. I feel differently than some on here. I think Arnel shines on this album. His vocals are stunning - to me. His voice soars effortlesly. Neal is flat-out amazing but always for the good of the song and what works. The wall of sound that Andrew talked about is so true. And Don was right, Jon's influence is all over this album. I really feel there is no filler on this album. City of Hope is not my favorite song, but a good song and a good opener and the extended version is great because I love Neal's playing at the end. From there it is truly amazing. Edge of the Moment, Chain of Love, Tantra, Resonate - WOW on all of them. And Anything is Possible is a real sleeper for me that I really like and is a great fit before Resonate. Then you get to the jewel of a song, She's a Mystery. Human Feel is just the band firing on all cylinders. A great song and loved Deen on it. I won't go on about all the songs. Some are good, not my favorites (Ritual), but enjoy them all for different reasons, Neal's playing, Arnel's voice, etc. I do love the instrumental at the end.

Where this album is amazing is as a whole. I just can't find fault with it. They accomplished what they wanted. And Shirley may have said they acted like babies and it was stressful making this album. Well, it worked to have that much passion and butting heads about it, I guess. It brought out the best in them.
And for someone like Neal, as passionate about music as he has stayed his whole life, and not being happy at times with the direction of the band, or trying to pander to fans, or losing interest (Generations), I'm glad for him that he got to, at this stage in his career, have a vision and stick to it when he and Jon were writing most of it, but, mainly, I'm glad it turned out as brilliantly as it did and not fall flat.

Excellent review. While not in total agreement on all accounts, I do fall in line with you on many of them. One of your best posts ever, Jana.

[Gideon]

City Of Hope is one song that still isn't pushing my buttons, even with the extended play.

I don't know what it is, the layering on the chorus, just a lot of little things I guess.

It's probably because we've heard too much of that style already. Believe In Me, Faith in the Heartland, Never Too Late, Never Walk Away, etc. City of Hope was a predictable lead in.

[Don]

City Of Hope is one song that still isn't pushing my buttons, even with the extended play.

I don't know what it is, the layering on the chorus, just a lot of little things I guess.

It's probably because we've heard too much of that style already. Believe In Me, Faith in the Heartland, Never Too Late, Never Walk Away, etc. City of Hope was a predictable lead in.

You're probably right, thus the safe release for radio.

[Gideon]

You're probably right, thus the safe release for radio.

Because none of the previous ones (with the possible exception of NWA) ever really hit it big on the radio, I'm inclined to disagree. I really think "Resonate" or "Chain of Love" might have garnered some new attention, though.

[wednesday's child]

I'm forcing myself to listen to Tantra again.

Why?

IMO...
Standout tracks are She's A Mystery and to a lesser extent Edge Of The Moment
Given the harder edge of most of the content, I find the album overproduced.
That especially applies to Arnel's vocals --I suspect his raw vox was fuller/throatier,
but was dehorned in the mix.

Big improvement over Revelation, but they seem hellbent on dulling whatever
new edge they try record.

[Ritchie]

What a fantastic album this is !
A lot of great songs but the MOTHER of all songs on this album is "Tantra" ..what a fucking brilliant song!!!

[Gideon]

I'm trying to articulate in my mind what's not working with "Someone."
The first 15 seconds of the song just seem really hokey; I'm not sure if it's the synthesizers or what, but I think it's just a bad intro. Too poppy and hokey for the theme of the album; "City of Hope" was an anthem by all counts, but it had a much more appreciable intro.
Then they get to the chorus and it's spectacular (all of it: the tempo, the guitar, the keys, the voice) until Arnel sings "before" -- instead of letting loose a much more appropriate scream or shriek to end the note, he lets the syllables tumble down why Deen does his best impersonation of the BeeGees in the background.
I like the lyrics, I love the chorus, but there were some bad decisions made on this song that turned it from a great one to an okay one.
Score: 6/10

[Jana]

Okay. Here's my review. Thanks to my benefactor on MR I got to listen to it several times yesterday, but never uninterrupted and time to completely focus on the album as a whole. So I put the earphones on and listened to the album today from beginning to end with zero distractions.

I was very negative about the direction they were going on this album when it was announced for the reasons I've stated before on MR: I love some ballads and mid-tempo Journey music. I love Jonathan's keys in the music. I, truthfully, wanted an of Arrival 2.0 for the new album,, not a copycat, but where they would go from there. I felt Neal was so melodic on there and loved his playing and everyone, really, Jon, Deen.

And as far as Arnel, the reason I loved him from the get-go were the shades to his voice, the warm tones but also the pure tenor vocals. I felt on Revelation sometimes he sang too hard but sounded great. On this album, I feared he was going to go all Manila on me and do his rock impersonation raspy voice I've heard on some of the TV shows in the Phils and never felt they were going to use the upper pure tenor pitch I loved on him in heavier songs.

I was wrong on all counts. The album is very melodic and catchy. I feel differently than some on here. I think Arnel shines on this album. His vocals are stunning - to me. His voice soars effortlesly. Neal is flat-out amazing but always for the good of the song and what works. The wall of sound that Andrew talked about is so true. And Don was right, Jon's influence is all over this album. I really feel there is no filler on this album. City of Hope is not my favorite song, but a good song and a good opener and the extended version is great because I love Neal's playing at the end. From there it is truly amazing. Edge of the Moment, Chain of Love, Tantra, Resonate - WOW on all of them. And Anything is Possible is a real sleeper for me that I really like and is a great fit before Resonate. Then you get to the jewel of a song, She's a Mystery. Human Feel is just the band firing on all cylinders. A great song and loved Deen on it. I won't go on about all the songs. Some are good, not my favorites (Ritual), but enjoy them all for different reasons, Neal's playing, Arnel's voice, etc. I do love the instrumental at the end.

Where this album is amazing is as a whole. I just can't find fault with it. They accomplished what they wanted. And Shirley may have said they acted like babies and it was stressful making this album. Well, it worked to have that much passion and butting heads about it, I guess. It brought out the best in them.
And for someone like Neal, as passionate about music as he has stayed his whole life, and not being happy at times with the direction of the band, or trying to pander to fans, or losing interest (Generations), I'm glad for him that he got to, at this stage in his career, have a vision and stick to it when he and Jon were writing most of it, but, mainly, I'm glad it turned out as brilliantly as it did and not fall flat.

Excellent review. While not in total agreement on all accounts, I do fall in line with you on many of them. One of your best posts ever, Jana.

Thanks, Don. And what I meant by "I just can't find fault with it," is overall. I mean, I coulld knitpick little things, like every album. But the album really flowed and never lagged. No song was ever dull or flat where I felt the urge to skip it, and I really liked the song placement, and the sound production and musicianship was just outstanding to me and carried through to the end. This is definitely a great headphones album, like has been said, and where you get a true appreciation for it.

[brywool]

AAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

[Everett]

AAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

You playin star fox 64 or something

[brywool]

AAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

You playin star fox 64 or something

no, everybody's got it but me. I'm trying to resist....

[Everett]

AAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

You playin star fox 64 or something

no, everybody's got it but me. I'm trying to resist....

Even i have it and i didn't want it

[Jana]

AAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

You playin star fox 64 or something

no, everybody's got it but me. I'm trying to resist....

Aw. Just three more days, Bry. I was going to wait until I had the actual CD in my hand, but I caved the minute it was offered to me.

[brywool]

AAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

You playin star fox 64 or something

no, everybody's got it but me. I'm trying to resist....

Even i have it and i didn't want it

WHY wouldn't you want it? Man, get over the Perry thing. It's okay to like both/all singers for the band.

[Everett]

AAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

You playin star fox 64 or something

no, everybody's got it but me. I'm trying to resist....

Even i have it and i didn't want it

WHY wouldn't you want it? Man, get over the Perry thing. It's okay to like both/all singers for the band.

Not about the perry thing. Just no interest

[mmberry301]

Okay the CD is out here in Memphis.

Just got it and for the most part liked what I heard. I'll give it another spin later tonight.

Think I'll wait til tomorrow to go through each song one by one here on the forum.

Didn't hear hardly any 'klunkers' at all. Pretty solid. A couple of songs need some artistic touches to make them really good.

I'd give it about 84 out of 100.

Do wish Deen would get more opportunities to sing a song or two. Also having Deen and Arnel share singing responsibilities on some tunes would really add texture as well.

More tomorrow...

Have a Great night everyone til the end of the world tomorrow
HAHA!!

[Aaron]

While not being able to getting a copy of Eclipse from the dh's at walmart, I broke down and listened to a couple of tracks on you tube with my son. We listened to City of Hope and Resonate for a bit. The son's comment was wow, this doesn't sound like Journey, they need to change the band name if it's not Steve Perry singing. I tend agree with him, the guitar riffs were really good, but the vocals just weren't quite there for either of us. Hopefully listening to the whole cd will provide a different feel. We both agree it doesn't sound like Journey but we'll see.

The kid says get Hugo into sing or change the band name. I agree, it's not the same. The kid is a chip off the old block.

[Gideon]

I'd give it about 84 out of 100.

Agreed.

Do wish Deen would get more opportunities to sing a song or two. Also having Deen and Arnel share singing responsibilities on some tunes would really add texture as well. !

Two in a row!

[VirgilTheart]

While not being able to getting a copy of Eclipse from the dh's at walmart, I broke down and listened to a couple of tracks on you tube with my son. We listened to City of Hope and Resonate for a bit. The son's comment was wow, this doesn't sound like Journey, they need to change the band name if it's not Steve Perry singing. I tend agree with him, the guitar riffs were really good, but the vocals just weren't quite there for either of us. Hopefully listening to the whole cd will provide a different feel. We both agree it doesn't sound like Journey but we'll see.

The kid says get Hugo into sing or change the band name. I agree, it's not the same. The kid is a chip off the old block.

While you and your son's view on the matter is totally understandable, I'd like to point out that there was a Journey before Steve Perry. Changing the band's name would be unnecessary and only hurt the current members of the band. While Eclipse won't sell as well as Escape or Frontiers, the album will definitely sell better under the band name "Journey" than anything else. Remember, the music media on the whole won't support these types of bands and this type of music all that much anymore. So while Perry may have been the face and voice of the band to millions, the point is that it was always Neal Schon's band and renaming the band just because of Perry would only be damaging to Arnel, Neal, Ross, Deen and Jonathan.