MR

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/07/29/204551.php

Interesting retro on Steve Smith.

i think Perry wanted to be surrounded by YES men at that time.. Anyway should have been named Steve Smith..

"Perry did Steve Smith a favor in firing him"

Agreed.

Too bad he didn't fire Neal, as well..

NoMoJo wrote:"Perry did Steve Smith a favor in firing him"

Agreed.

Too bad he didn't fire Neal, as well..

Bravo! Interesting thought. Where would the band be today if he did that?

JR (Susie) wrote:

NoMoJo wrote:"Perry did Steve Smith a favor in firing him"

Agreed.

Too bad he didn't fire Neal, as well..

Bravo! Interesting thought. Where would the band be today if he did that?

I don't know.. I also don't know where Neal would be, either. Probably at this point much happier though! Think about it..

I don't think he had any business firing anybody, and someone should have stood up to him.

larocque6689 wrote:I don't think he had any business firing anybody, and someone should have stood up to him.

In all honesty, Smitty says he quit. He may have been pushed on that but I do believe he quit.

Ross was fired yeah. But was his playing the only reason? (Sorry Stu).

Ross was replaceable and I don't know what factored in that. If he was still knee-deep in what Herbie called his "investments", well that certainly could have contributed, but who knows?

I always felt and still feel that Steve Smith was integral to the Journey sound. The article says Perry fired him because he wanted "a more soulful drummer"? I don't believe Perry felt that. I think he was looking to make a change to the Journey sound out of artistic desire (or boredom/frustration with the idea of making another Escape or Frontiers sounding record).

In fact, Smith, to me, is the only drummer they've had who knew how to infuse soul into a song. Dean is good, but he's a one trick pony. A pounder who has the same solution for every song. Don't get me wrong, he's better than Dunbar, but he's no Steve Smith. You should have seen Smith wipe the floor with him and Dunbar both at the house of blues concert following the walk of fame induction. Dean himself literally fell over backwards in awe of what Smith did on Dean's own drum kit. It was a sight to behold. The guy has actually gotten better over the years.

As much as I like the ROR album, the song that to this day stands out to me is "Why Can't This Night Go On Forever" and it's because of Smith's drumming. There's emotion in those beats. As good as the other tracks are, I can only imagine what the rest of the album would have sounded like had Smith been the drummer on the whole album.

Check out this clip of Party is Over and pay special attention to the jam at the end of the song and you can see the magic that is Steve Smith. He's artistic and inventive, soulful and can rock. Every band should have a Steve Smith on the pads.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftBqKk_Bv5U

STORY_TELLER wrote:Dean is good, but he's a one trick pony. A pounder who has the same solution for every song.

Out the shadows I come

You're right to an extent - in Journey he is a one trick pony, but Deen is (was?) an awesome drummer and terribly wasted in Journey. His playing on Marty Friedmans album (Dragons Kiss) or Geezer Butlers album shows that he had the technical ability and versatility to have been up there with the likes of say, Mike Portnoy. Not so sure about nowadays though.

Steve Smith on the other hand - that guys abilities are scary, but would he have evolved into how good he is now if he had stayed in Journey?

STORY_TELLER wrote:I always felt and still feel that Steve Smith was integral to the Journey sound. The article says Perry fired him because he wanted "a more soulful drummer"? I don't believe Perry felt that. I think he was looking to make a change to the Journey sound out of artistic desire (or boredom/frustration with the idea of making another Escape or Frontiers sounding record).

In fact, Smith, to me, is the only drummer they've had who knew how to infuse soul into a song. Dean is good, but he's a one trick pony. A pounder who has the same solution for every song. Don't get me wrong, he's better than Dunbar, but he's no Steve Smith. You should have seen Smith wipe the floor with him and Dunbar both at the house of blues concert following the walk of fame induction. Dean himself literally fell over backwards in awe of what Smith did on Dean's own drum kit. It was a sight to behold. The guy has actually gotten better over the years.

As much as I like the ROR album, the song that to this day stands out to me is "Why Can't This Night Go On Forever" and it's because of Smith's drumming. There's emotion in those beats. As good as the other tracks are, I can only imagine what the rest of the album would have sounded like had Smith been the drummer on the whole album.

Check out this clip of Party is Over and pay special attention to the jam at the end of the song and you can see the magic that is Steve Smith. He's artistic and inventive, soulful and can rock. Every band should have a Steve Smith on the pads.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftBqKk_Bv5U

Once again, did anyone record this show?!?! Damn...Here here on Smitty!

Smith is one of the greatest jazz drummers around and he brought that element to Journey. Check out "Homemade Love" for example. Deen is an amazing Metal drummer but I agree that with Journey it looks and sounds like he's just pounding those skins without the feel that Steve Smith had. Smitty will always be the quinessential Journey drummer as far as I'm concerned.

BTW, I'd much rather hear Steve Smith circa 1975 - 1990, and particularly his playing in Journey...I know he's a drum scholar and all...

brandonpfn wrote:BTW, I'd much rather hear Steve Smith circa 1975 - 1990, and particularly his playing in Journey...I know he's a drum scholar and all...

some of that Vital Info stuff is tough for me to appreciate,, my mind says its great,, everyone in that band is top of the line.. but it does nothing for me,, im more of a 3 chord rock guy..

NoMoJo wrote:"Perry did Steve Smith a favor in firing him"



Too bad he didn't fire Neal, as well..

For multiple reasons,
You gotta be kidding me.

bladezuk wrote:Steve Smith on the other hand - that guys abilities are scary, but would he have evolved into how good he is now if he had stayed in Journey?

I think he was always that good. He just didn't have the opportunity to show it in Journey because Perry subdued his drum choices. Even live Perry would turn to smith and "bite his fist" as a sign for Smith to pull back on his beats. (read that in an interview with Perry somewhere)

As for Dean? Well, I don't think he's being subdued (except on the Arrival album where he was told to follow the drum tracks Neal and Jon laid down prior to his joining). If you listen to Red13 and Generations, drum wise, each song sounds the pretty much the same. He's good, he's just no Steve Smith.

STORY_TELLER wrote:

bladezuk wrote:Steve Smith on the other hand - that guys abilities are scary, but would he have evolved into how good he is now if he had stayed in Journey?

I think he was always that good. He just didn't have the opportunity to show it in Journey because Perry subdued his drum choices. Even live Perry would turn to smith and "bite his fist" as a sign for Smith to pull back on his beats. (read that in an interview with Perry somewhere)

As for Dean? Well, I don't think he's being subdued (except on the Arrival album where he was told to follow the drum tracks Neal and Jon laid down prior to his joining). If you listen to Red13 and Generations, drum wise, each song sounds the pretty much the same. He's good, he's just no Steve Smith.

One need only listen to the "Enigmatic Ocean" album by Jean-Luc Ponty. Smith was 17 at the time of recording that album. Absolutely brilliant drumming throughout...

brandonpfn wrote:
One need only listen to the "Enigmatic Ocean" album by Jean-Luc Ponty. Smith was 17 at the time of recording that album. Absolutely brilliant drumming throughout...

Actually, he was 23 when the album was released. But his work on it is indeed phenomenal. Great album all around.

It was that album and Ponty's 1978 release, Cosmic Messenger, that sparked my initial interest in jazz/rock fusion..

;^)

brandonpfn wrote:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftBqKk_Bv5U

Once again, did anyone record this show?!?! Damn...Here here on Smitty!

I seem to recall someone else on another board saying this wasn't from a concert but rather a showcase for music execs or something. Don't know how many other songs were performed at this showcase, if any. I love the raw quality of the music here. Sounds like it was just a (really fucking talented) garage band jamming out a tune. Love it, love it, love it.

That being said, I second the motion. If anyone has any other video and/or audio from this performance, PLEASE share!

johnroxx wrote:

brandonpfn wrote:
One need only listen to the "Enigmatic Ocean" album by Jean-Luc Ponty. Smith was 17 at the time of recording that album. Absolutely brilliant drumming throughout...

Actually, he was 23 when the album was released. But his work on it is indeed phenomenal. Great album all around.

It was that album and Ponty's 1978 release, Cosmic Messenger, that sparked my initial interest in jazz/rock fusion..

;^)

Huh...good to know....Btw, I am listening to the new Vital Information CD, it is interesting.

look at the journey albums with steve smith that went multiplatinum,quadruple platinum,triple,double,etc. and also look at the sales of those albums.now look at the albums steve smith wasn't on.infinity is the only one that went platinum without steve smith.

STORY_TELLER wrote:I always felt and still feel that Steve Smith was integral to the Journey sound. The article says Perry fired him because he wanted "a more soulful drummer"? I don't believe Perry felt that. I think he was looking to make a change to the Journey sound out of artistic desire (or boredom/frustration with the idea of making another Escape or Frontiers sounding record).

In fact, Smith, to me, is the only drummer they've had who knew how to infuse soul into a song. Dean is good, but he's a one trick pony. A pounder who has the same solution for every song. Don't get me wrong, he's better than Dunbar, but he's no Steve Smith. You should have seen Smith wipe the floor with him and Dunbar both at the house of blues concert following the walk of fame induction. Dean himself literally fell over backwards in awe of what Smith did on Dean's own drum kit. It was a sight to behold. The guy has actually gotten better over the years.

As much as I like the ROR album, the song that to this day stands out to me is "Why Can't This Night Go On Forever" and it's because of Smith's drumming. There's emotion in those beats. As good as the other tracks are, I can only imagine what the rest of the album would have sounded like had Smith been the drummer on the whole album.

Check out this clip of Party is Over and pay special attention to the jam at the end of the song and you can see the magic that is Steve Smith. He's artistic and inventive, soulful and can rock. Every band should have a Steve Smith on the pads.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftBqKk_Bv5U

I read sometime back Smith saying that he had spent time listening to Perry's influences (Sam Cooke, etc.) to try to get a better feel for Perry's style prior to TBF. Perhaps if he didn't have the "soulfoul sound" Perry wanted, he tried to find it for TBF.

Also, who is playing keyboard in this clip? Maybe I missed it, but I can't tell. Is it Rolie, Cain, or someone else?

looks like cain playing the keys.

mikemarrs wrote:looks like cain playing the keys.

Saw it this time. THanks.

Steve Smith was willing to tour for TBF. That either means he didn't have a problem with Perry or knew that was where the money would be and then left when Perry couldn't tour.

squirt1 wrote:Steve Smith was willing to tour for TBF. That either means he didn't have a problem with Perry or knew that was where the money would be and then left when Perry couldn't tour.

I don't think I've ever read anything but positive comments from Steve (Smith), about Steve (Perry)

STORY_TELLER wrote:

brandonpfn wrote:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftBqKk_Bv5U

Once again, did anyone record this show?!?! Damn...Here here on Smitty!

I seem to recall someone else on another board saying this wasn't from a concert but rather a showcase for music execs or something. Don't know how many other songs were performed at this showcase, if any. I love the raw quality of the music here. Sounds like it was just a (really fucking talented) garage band jamming out a tune. Love it, love it, love it.

That being said, I second the motion. If anyone has any other video and/or audio from this performance, PLEASE share!

This vid is from the Bammies in San Francisco. I think there are two out there from different angles, and this particular one was broadcasted in Japan. And if memory serves me........ this was Frack's first appearance with Journey.

For the record - Anyone know of (or have heard about) a recording of the House of Blues gig that Steve Smith and Ansley Dunbar showed up to? (right after Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony)

brandonpfn wrote:For the record - Anyone know of (or have heard about) a recording of the House of Blues gig that Steve Smith and Ansley Dunbar showed up to? (right after Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony)

Nope, I haven't seen anything on that. And I scour the bootleg sites almost everyday.

brandonpfn wrote:For the record - Anyone know of (or have heard about) a recording of the House of Blues gig that Steve Smith and Ansley Dunbar showed up to? (right after Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony)

I was at that gig. Very small venue so if there is a recording of it, it's probably audio only. I was standing toward the back of the room, about 3/4 of the way and I swear I could spit and hit Augeri in the eye. It was that small. I was really hoping that when Smith sat down on Chain Reaction that Dean would come out front and sing the song. In the absence of Perry, that would have been killer. Dean, however, was having too much fun watching Smith rip on his kit. He was sitting right behind smith, just over smith's left shoulder. Dean literally fell over backwards in awe of what Smith did. I'm not kidding, he fell backwards and almost landed on his back. Caught himself at the last minute.

I never got to see the Smith/Schon/Cain/Valory/Perry lineup in concert, but I was damn glad to watch Smitty jam with the rest of the group that night. The looks on the faces of Neal Ross and Jon as they heard themselves playing with Smitty again, you could tell they knew how powerful a quintet they were with him on the pads. When Dean took over on the followup song, the beats were simple in comparison. It was a night and day instrumental.