Jana wrote:brywool wrote:ScarabGator wrote:although I didnt see the final tour for him I did see him numerous times in the mid 2000's. I thought he was great on stage. Hell, my entire party thought he sounded great!
I don't want to rag on him because I like him, but honestly, yours and my concert experience differ greatly- I saw him at the Gorge during one of his earliest tours (with Foreigner when Lou was still there). When Augeri went for the high B note in "Don't Stop Believin'" ('somewhere in the niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight'), he did it with this airy falsetto that just did not cut it at all. It had no balls, and the pitch was horrendous. I was really let down by it actually, but I supported Steve until the very end. I still do. Even supported him through TG. I could TOTALLY see how that situation could've happened. I felt sorry as Hell for him during that time. He just wasn't up to it vocally. His sense of live pitch was also not great as I've mentioned a million times. I figured he must've just had a bad night at that Gorge show... Then I heard subsequent boots (of which I have many) and his pitch and power just never improved. The fact is that his voice was not up to touring doing Journey's material and that was proven. It's too bad that it was proven in public with such a humiliating circumstance. As for stage mannerisms, to me he came off too laid back for Journey. Journey needs a front guy that's more engaging. Having said that, the guy is one of the classiest 'stars' to ever come along. A really good guy. It just wasn't a good live gig for him. The albums were great though.
With Arnel (yeah, you knew I'd go there)- I've heard him sing pretty much everything that Augeri had to sing with the exception of some Generations and Arrival tracks. As a vocalist, I'm a lot more impressed by what AP brings to the party. Accent issues aside, (and I think many are exaggerating those things) the guy's voice is flat out huge and it's got balls to match. He's singing THE toughest catalog in rock and doing it much better than either of his predecessors could hope (not talking about Perry here- settle down Portland!). I've also heard him sing other stuff that just is amazing. "Alone" by Heart? Are you kidding me??? The lyrics might've not been translated corectly, but the notes most certainly were. Arnel got my respect the second I heard about him and watched those clips. I KNEW that he'd be good for Journey and Neal Schon was no fool to contact him immediately. That has been proven in spades.
The media LOVES this guy. They love his story. They love that he's taken Journey up a notch from where it had fallen. That is great for Journey- which by the way, is also not bad for Perry or Augeri either. What's good for Journey is good for them.
I'll say it again- Just because Perry ain't here, doesn't mean you can't love what Arnel brings to Journey. Arnel is taking nothing away from Perry (or Augeri). He's good enough to make his own name. Yeah yeah... without Perry there'd be no Arnel. No kidding. That has nothing to do with it. The guy IS a killer singer and he gets my respect just for that.
So right. Arnel's vocals live are really flat-out amazing plus his engaging presence on stage. And before anyone goes on and on how he jumps around too much. , most of those people didn't see him this year. I didn't mind it last year, but he definitely toned it down as he settled into this tour and had a lot more confidence deeper in, and his energy level on stage this year was perfect and always with a great smile.
At times he is, but at other times, he's not. He absolutely sucks at Faithfully...and Augeri's version was awesome. They gained in some areas, and lost in others. As for the stage, Arnel is average at best...unless you are in the first 10 rows or so. You can't understand a damn word the guy speaks...accent or sound set up, I don't know, but it sucks. He runs around like a jack rabbit - so what. At least Augeri and JSS engaged the entire crowd. Over all, I don't think they gained anything vocaly or as a frontman between Augeri, JSS, and Arnel. Different strengths, different weaknesses, and it all evens out.
