Freedom out now - thoughts

[Eric]

In past release we knew the weekly sales number. Does anybody have a way to show the weekly sales for Freedom?

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Es3 ... n_qcc/edit

[Rick]

The more I listen to it, the more I like it.

So I have a question. There's no mistaking that Don't Give Up On Us channels Separate Ways. Is this done from being creatively bankrupt, or is it done intentionally to reinforce the band's identity? I like the song. It has a great vibe.

[Monker]

The more I listen to it, the more I like it.

So I have a question. There's no mistaking that Don't Give Up On Us channels Separate Ways. Is this done from being creatively bankrupt, or is it done intentionally to reinforce the band's identity? I like the song. It has a great vibe.

Or, was it done to capitalize on Stranger Things using Separate Ways?

[Mikele]

Well, I guess I'll give my general 2 cents opinion based on 3 listening on CD, at home and in the car.

First, so darn happy the boys gave us a new album, I don't take it for granted. They do it for passion and fans should appreciate that (I should know, still waiting for Survivor to come out with whatsoever release).

For me, the production was not an issue in any way, actually on my home system it felt like a live album where you can decide to focus on an instrument of choice and follow its course through the song. Maybe that's what Neal was going for, a live feel. Be aware, I am in NO way a fan of current AOR productions: they all sounds exactly the same, sure the instruments are all clear but with no soul at all. Plastified. Thank you Neal for keeping it real for people who actually care and are/were used to listen to vinyls. In that age each record was unique in terms of sound production, giving it a distinctive print. Thank you Neal for not following the current awful trends.

In terms of performance and songs I agree with Andrew review. Great vocals from Arnel, you can see an improvement in terms of delivering. In some instances he channels Perry so closely one can shake from the emotions. He worked hard indeed on this release.
The songs? Well the songs are there, no doubt, for fans to enjoy. I actually like a lot "Still believe in love" and I mention this because I read some negative comments on this one in a few places online. Don't understand the hate, it is really beautifully crafted. Rockers and ballads are well balanced (cant get through Let it rain still thou).
All in all is a master class record.

[Journey/Survivor]

Well, I guess I'll give my general 2 cents opinion based on 3 listening on CD, at home and in the car.

First, so darn happy the boys gave us a new album, I don't take it for granted. They do it for passion and fans should appreciate that (I should know, still waiting for Survivor to come out with whatsoever release).

For me, the production was not an issue in any way, actually on my home system it felt like a live album where you can decide to focus on an instrument of choice and follow its course through the song. Maybe that's what Neal was going for, a live feel. Be aware, I am in NO way a fan of current AOR productions: they all sounds exactly the same, sure the instruments are all clear but with no soul at all. Plastified. Thank you Neal for keeping it real for people who actually care and are/were used to listen to vinyls. In that age each record was unique in terms of sound production, giving it a distinctive print. Thank you Neal for not following the current awful trends.

In terms of performance and songs I agree with Andrew review. Great vocals from Arnel, you can see an improvement in terms of delivering. In some instances he channels Perry so closely one can shake from the emotions. He worked hard indeed on this release.
The songs? Well the songs are there, no doubt, for fans to enjoy. I actually like a lot "Still believe in love" and I mention this because I read some negative comments on this one in a few places online. Don't understand the hate, it is really beautifully crafted. Rockers and ballads are well balanced (cant get through Let it rain still thou).
All in all is a master class record.

Every time that I've listened to Freedom it makes me wish that Frankie Sullivan would get his act together and put out a new Survivor album.

You might think that I'm crazy on this, but "The Way We Used To Be" has a similar feel to me as Survivor's "Give Me The Word."

Schon's guitar intro on "You Got The Best Of Me" also reminds me of Frankie Sullivan's guitar intro to "Didn't Know It Was Love." Although, Schon had already used a similar guitar intro on Journey's "I Got A Reason" before the one in "You Got The Best Of Me."

[Art Vandelay]

I thought it was a solid classic rock album. Nothing there I'd go back for to listen to specifically, but something I'd keep on in the background if it ended up in the rotation.

[JourneyHard]

The more I listen to Freedom, the more I love it. There isn't a single song that I dislike. I love them all. Circumstances denied them the ability to tour. So, they had time on their hands to write great songs and deliver a great double album. This is their best album in 40 years, and the fact it is a double album makes me think it might become my favorite Journey album.

[JourneyHard]

I don't know if Journey did this on purpose or if it was a happy mistake, but the last song on the new Freedom double album flows nicely into the first song. Journey always used the infinity symbol, and now Freedom is a never-ending album!

[jestor92]

Freedom landed at #88 on the Billboard Top 200. Incidentally Greatest Hits was at his at #52.

[danielb]

Didn't people here predict a top 3 placing on Billboard?

Considering how well they're still doing in arenas, it's strange they didn't fare better with the first week positions.

[Loneman1]

Finally had a chance to blast it on my surround sound setup........while it obviously isn't mixed for it, having it play through the 5.1 setup made things definitely sound like they could breathe a bit better and the instruments were a little more separated than on setups I've previously played it on. If you have access to a surround sound setup, I highly recommend giving it a try.

[Mikele]

I don't know if Journey did this on purpose or if it was a happy mistake, but the last song on the new Freedom double album flows nicely into the first song. Journey always used the infinity symbol, and now Freedom is a never-ending album!

Hey you are right...did not notice this before, thanx!

As far as Billboard charts...ahah...those US charts are totally worthless! In Europe records are still sold in records store, where music lovers go regularly to find out olds and news. In Germany, for example, Journey's Freedom was number 7 in first week, in a chart with many rock bands...

[JourneyHard]

I love every track on Freedom. I don't know why people hate Let It Rain. To me, it sounds like Bad English. But it is just a rocking tune. Another great song.

If this double album came out in 1985, five of these songs would be classic rock mainstays.

[Monker]

I love every track on Freedom. I don't know why people hate Let It Rain. To me, it sounds like Bad English. But it is just a rocking tune. Another great song.

If this double album came out in 1985, five of these songs would be classic rock mainstays.

If this album came out in 1985, it would not be mixed and sound like this. It would need to be listenable on CD, but also on cassette and even vinyl was still around then. Remember, ROR came out on cassette...I think I have a copy somewhere. I remember it was on a Chrome cassette and sounded pretty good. If it came out sounding like this, IMO, there would be even more outrage than there is today...because there were a LOT more fans waiting in anticipation for a follow up to Frontiers, including me. i'm sure it would debut top 10 and then fall quickly. Whatever single they chose may have been a hit, but I think it would be hard to follow up if the album tanked...but if they followed ROR, they could have released live videos, which would have helped.

[Journey/Survivor]

I love every track on Freedom. I don't know why people hate Let It Rain. To me, it sounds like Bad English. But it is just a rocking tune. Another great song.

If this double album came out in 1985, five of these songs would be classic rock mainstays.

I just mentioned in the thread about Let It Rain that it's one of my favorite songs on the album.

I also mentioned that it's a song that I could hear Schon and Rolie having performed together.

I could also hear some Bad English in it too.

[jestor92]

Didn’t see Freedom listed in the Billboard Top 200 this week. This has to be a major disappointment for the band.

[Eric]

Not surprised that it didn’t chart well except that it’s confusing it could be #1 on rock charts and iTunes the first weekend but do so badly on the billboard?

[Monker]

Not surprised that it didn’t chart well except that it’s confusing it could be #1 on rock charts and iTunes the first weekend but do so badly on the billboard?

Because iTunes only counts iTunes, just as Amazon only counts Amazon. Billboard counts everything, including streaming like Spotify. So, obviously, youngsters are listening to a lot of other things besides Journey.

[Monker]

Not surprised that it didn’t chart well except that it’s confusing it could be #1 on rock charts and iTunes the first weekend but do so badly on the billboard?

The bottom line is this album did HORRIBLE, in context of other Journey albums. I doubt it goes past 50,000 units. Eclipse did 80,000. Revelation did 800,000...before the doubling to make it platinum.

[Journey/Survivor]

Not surprised that it didn’t chart well except that it’s confusing it could be #1 on rock charts and iTunes the first weekend but do so badly on the billboard?

The bottom line is this album did HORRIBLE, in context of other Journey albums. I doubt it goes past 50,000 units. Eclipse did 80,000. Revelation did 800,000...before the doubling to make it platinum.

These days 50,000 isn't that bad.

Does anyone know how many copies Def Leppard's new album has sold?

Plus, everyone should keep in mind that Freedom was posted on YouTube which is probably costing the band some sales of Freedom.

Off topic: Why in the hell are Foreigner opening for Kid Rock? That's disgraceful! Mick Jones should be ashamed having Foreigner open for Kid Rock!

[jestor92]

Not surprised that it didn’t chart well except that it’s confusing it could be #1 on rock charts and iTunes the first weekend but do so badly on the billboard?

The bottom line is this album did HORRIBLE, in context of other Journey albums. I doubt it goes past 50,000 units. Eclipse did 80,000. Revelation did 800,000...before the doubling to make it platinum.

These days 50,000 isn't that bad.

Does anyone know how many copies Def Leppard's new album has sold?

Plus, everyone should keep in mind that Freedom was posted on YouTube which is probably costing the band some sales of Freedom.

Off topic: Why in the hell are Foreigner opening for Kid Rock? That's disgraceful! Mick Jones should be ashamed having Foreigner open for Kid Rock!

I don’t know how many copies Def Leppard sold with their new album but it debuted at #10 on the Billboard Top 200. Freedom bombed. It’s not the music business that caused it to bomb because their contemporaries just debuted at #10.

[youkeepmewaiting]

I don't care how well the album did or not, I just know that I'm really enjoying 70% of it

[Monker]

Not surprised that it didn’t chart well except that it’s confusing it could be #1 on rock charts and iTunes the first weekend but do so badly on the billboard?

The bottom line is this album did HORRIBLE, in context of other Journey albums. I doubt it goes past 50,000 units. Eclipse did 80,000. Revelation did 800,000...before the doubling to make it platinum.

These days 50,000 isn't that bad.

True, and I was being EXTREMELY generous and thinking total lifetime sales, not one week. Debuting at 80 and falling off the charts means it has probably sold less than 10,000 units or so. I wish someone could post the real numbers.

Plus, everyone should keep in mind that Freedom was posted on YouTube which is probably costing the band some sales of Freedom.

Irrelevant. First week would include presales which is probably most of what Journey sold.

[Eric]

Not surprised that it didn’t chart well except that it’s confusing it could be #1 on rock charts and iTunes the first weekend but do so badly on the billboard?

Because iTunes only counts iTunes, just as Amazon only counts Amazon. Billboard counts everything, including streaming like Spotify. So, obviously, youngsters are listening to a lot of other things besides Journey.

Understood. Was just assuming a higher correlation between them.

[Eric]

[

I don’t know how many copies Def Leppard sold with their new album but it debuted at #10 on the Billboard Top 200.

I think Leppard released better singles. Not the sole difference between 88 and 10 but just an observation.

[youkeepmewaiting]

I love Schon but Journey is managed terribly and has been for a long time, there's little to no organisation, the album launch and promo has been pretty shit, so I'm not surprised. Good album though

[Eric]

https://twitter.com/NealSchonMusic/stat ... O1NzW3ERtA

[Journey/Survivor]

https://twitter.com/NealSchonMusic/status/1554566979452674048?s=20&t=Tw0E6TYxTUGhO1NzW3ERtA

Can anyone tell me what it says?

I can't open tweets.

[19td73]

https://twitter.com/NealSchonMusic/status/1554566979452674048?s=20&t=Tw0E6TYxTUGhO1NzW3ERtA

Can anyone tell me what it says?

I can't open tweets.

Its just a listing of the chart positions for "Freedom" worldwide by Neal

[Journey/Survivor]

https://twitter.com/NealSchonMusic/status/1554566979452674048?s=20&t=Tw0E6TYxTUGhO1NzW3ERtA

Can anyone tell me what it says?

I can't open tweets.

Its just a listing of the chart positions for "Freedom" worldwide by Neal

Thanks!