MR

Deen has a good voice, but everyone, including him, that has sung Perry songs SOUNDS like they are singing someone else's songs. Their voices are singing, but their heart isn't.


Soto is the closest to singing them like he means them. He put his soul into those songs, not just his voice when he sang them. He was genuine.

knox wrote:Deen has a good voice, but everyone, including him, that has sung Perry songs SOUNDS like they are singing someone else's songs. Their voices are singing, but their heart isn't.


Soto is the closest to singing them like he means them. He put his soul into those songs, not just his voice when he sang them. He was genuine.

Spot on assessment there Knox! He is the soul reason why so many long time Perry fans came back around again. He came out and made the songs his own without trying to be or vocally sound like Perry. One of the first things I noticed about him., was that he sang with a lot of the passion Perry did. And not just on the Journey stuff.

My top 3 favorite vocalists (Steve Perry, JSS, Eric Martin) all have different vocal tones and sound very different from each other, but all have one thing in common in their delivery..........passion/soul.

knox wrote:Deen has a good voice, but everyone, including him, that has sung Perry songs SOUNDS like they are singing someone else's songs. Their voices are singing, but their heart isn't.

Couldn't disagree more. Augeri may not have sung them well enough for some but he put his heart into it. Early on, he sounded great. The first time I saw Journey in '98, he sounded almost spot on. A year later, he wasn't quite as good as that, still very good, but he had the crowd in his hand because he was doing it with heart.

knox wrote:Deen has a good voice, but everyone, including him, that has sung Perry songs SOUNDS like they are singing someone else's songs. Their voices are singing, but their heart isn't.


Soto is the closest to singing them like he means them. He put his soul into those songs, not just his voice when he sang them. He was genuine.

I disagree. I think Jeff put his heart and soul into trying to sound a certain way. The problem with any Journey cover is that the song is cheapened a bit. Steve Perry set the emotive bar so high, and as Cain said, bled a little bit each time on stage, that I just hear singers trying to replicate the song. Augeri, Soto and Pineda just don't have the vocal talent or the emotive feel that Perry had. I would agree that Jeff comes the closest to making the audience feel the song, but he's still a far cry from Mr. Perry.

conversationpc wrote:

knox wrote:Deen has a good voice, but everyone, including him, that has sung Perry songs SOUNDS like they are singing someone else's songs. Their voices are singing, but their heart isn't.

Couldn't disagree more. Augeri may not have sung them well enough for some but he put his heart into it. Early on, he sounded great. The first time I saw Journey in '98, he sounded almost spot on. A year later, he wasn't quite as good as that, still very good, but he had the crowd in his hand because he was doing it with heart.

Augeri's voice was too thin. It was not robust like JSS and neither were as eloquent as Perry, imo. I always knew what Perry was singing except once when I first heard WYLAW. I thought he was singing, "If my wife asks you where I've been,".......at the beginning of the song.

heardonthestreet wrote:Augeri's voice was too thin. It was not robust like JSS and neither were as eloquent as Perry, imo. I always knew what Perry was singing except once when I first heard WYLAW. I thought he was singing, "If my wife asks you where I've been,".......at the beginning of the song.

Augeri's voice wasn't as thin for the first couple of years. He was good back then. Unfortunately, it went downhill quickly.

heardonthestreet wrote:

conversationpc wrote:

knox wrote:Deen has a good voice, but everyone, including him, that has sung Perry songs SOUNDS like they are singing someone else's songs. Their voices are singing, but their heart isn't.

Couldn't disagree more. Augeri may not have sung them well enough for some but he put his heart into it. Early on, he sounded great. The first time I saw Journey in '98, he sounded almost spot on. A year later, he wasn't quite as good as that, still very good, but he had the crowd in his hand because he was doing it with heart.

Augeri's voice was too thin. It was not robust like JSS and neither were as eloquent as Perry, imo. I always knew what Perry was singing except once when I first heard WYLAW. I thought he was singing, "If my wife asks you where I've been,".......at the beginning of the song.

I lol'd.

i'm so happy jss is no longer with journey. it would have sucked big time to hear him being constantly compared to steve perry.... it was already buggin` the hell out of me. jss is just as talented as sp... and he works his ass off... keeps going when others would have just given up. }:C)

jeff nails it here... makes me cry. }:~C)))))

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDtHpo3I5vc

oh. i best stop watching before i get pissed all over again!! }:CPP

JSS as talented as Steve Perry? Hmm. Technically speaking, I'd have to disagree. Perry's voice was, in its prime, stronger and more capable; he possessed the larger range, the greater control, and as much power. But I agree that Jeff is not only one of the most underrated singers, he's a shotgun of a voice: unnaturally strong and, coupled with his amazing charisma, makes him out to be one of the best frontmen in modern music.

Why he hasn't dominated the charts and popular music is beyond me.

I stand by my post.

treetopovskaya wrote:i'm so happy jss is no longer with journey. it would have sucked big time to hear him being constantly compared to steve perry.... it was already buggin` the hell out of me. jss is just as talented as sp... and he works his ass off... keeps going when others would have just given up. }:C)

jeff nails it here... makes me cry. }:~C)))))

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDtHpo3I5vc

Couldn't agree more, nails that one. LOL, I think JSS should change out Separate Ways on his solo tours for that one........and the message is so very true.

They both have different vocal tones. Steve's voice is one of a kind, and JSS would probably be one of the first to tell ya that. But both performances of this song IMO are sang with the same soul and passion......both are definately feeling the song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8hJ7NCnE54 SP

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDtHpo3I5vc JSS

You're right Wendy, watching just pisses me off too, Journey majorly f*cked up....not only once but twice!

it's beyond a lot of us. }:C)

treetopovskaya wrote:oh. i best stop watching before i get pissed all over again!! }:CPP

oh Wendy. that tour was the best ever. I can watch all those videos with great joy. it was an unbelievable experience to have Jeff and Journey together. I don't want to let anything interfere with those memories. they stand as they were for what they were for me and always will. a dream come true.

thanks for posting that. i love it.

what was the topic? pardon. I got lost in the song. I can still remember how it felt to hear him sing this. It didn't seem real--like I was imagining it. I had never heard it live before and it was an absolutely magical moment that I'll never forget.

knox wrote:Deen has a good voice, but everyone, including him, that has sung Perry songs SOUNDS like they are singing someone else's songs. Their voices are singing, but their heart isn't.


Soto is the closest to singing them like he means them. He put his soul into those songs, not just his voice when he sang them. He was genuine.

I wasn't crazy about Soto's delivery on the GH material. Some songs he knocked out of the park, while others, he cheated notes or dropped them too soon. Not that I blame him, they're hard songs to sing, especially for someone with a lower register than Perry's coupled with a grueling tour schedule. Even still, I thought he was MILES above every Augeri delivery I've ever heard. For me, Augeri was the worst talent choice since Perry dropped Steve Smith for Larrie Londin.

That being said, when I heard the demo of Winds of Freedom, then, and only then, was I interested in JSS as lead singer for Journey. Even though he was handicapped by cheesy lyrics, like you said, he sings from the heart and infused emotion into the song. That was the turning point for me. In that way, he's the closest replacement for Perry that I've been able to accept.

I'm not interested in seeing the greatest hits tour again and again. If there's no new music worthy of the name Journey to be had, I'll stick with my Perry era recordings thank you very much. This coming from a guy who did purchase Arrival, Red13 and Generations, and saw two concerts fronted by Augeri, in the hopes that maybe each time they recorded a new song, I could find something special about them again. NOPE! No such luck. It sucks having high standards sometimes, but those standards are what made me become a Journey fan to begin with.

I'm glad Augeri's gone. Nice guy, I wish him the best, but they shouldn't have hired him in the first place. He was never skilled enough to be the lead singer in Journey. The songs are too big for his chords. They made a mistake dropping Jeff. Like I said, miles above Augeri.

Arnel can sing, but everything I've heard so far tells me he's as soulless as Augeri. Better vocal chords, sure, but still soulless.

I won't go see Arnel fronting Journey until I hear a sample of him with the band first. Not giving a dime to support an error in judgment, but I will support a good musical choice. If I like what I hear, I'll go. But I have to hear it first. They have to prove me wrong if they want my financial support.

THAT being said, I hope Neal puts out another album like Beyond the Thunder and/or I on U again. I love his instrumentals. Soulful, melodic, cinematic, rocking and mood enhancing.

i hope neal breaks his favorite finger. you can take that any way you want it. }:C))

STORY_TELLER wrote:[
THAT being said, I hope Neal puts out another album like Beyond the Thunder and/or I on U again. I love his instrumentals. Soulful, melodic, cinematic, rocking and mood enhancing.

exactly. Isn't he working on one?

Ummm... Pardon the ignorance. Did Jeff ever do Mother/Father? After having seen him, courtesy Crazy Deb, the energy that song requires would just belt him to the stratosphere for me.

knox wrote:Deen has a good voice, but everyone, including him, that has sung Perry songs SOUNDS like they are singing someone else's songs. Their voices are singing, but their heart isn't.


Soto is the closest to singing them like he means them. He put his soul into those songs, not just his voice when he sang them. He was genuine.

Agree! He brought new and incredible energy to the songs.

Saint John wrote:
The problem with any Journey cover is that the song is cheapened a bit.



Steve Perry set the emotive bar so high, and as Cain said, bled a little bit each time on stage, that I just hear singers trying to replicate the song..

Also agree, lol. Excellent point - never thought about it quite that way.

All I can say in response to that post is WOW .....

treetopovskaya wrote:i'm so happy jss is no longer with journey. it would have sucked big time to hear him being constantly compared to steve perry.... it was already buggin` the hell out of me. jss is just as talented as sp... and he works his ass off... keeps going when others would have just given up. }:C)

jeff nails it here... makes me cry. }:~C)))))

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDtHpo3I5vc

treetopovskaya wrote:
jeff nails it here... makes me cry. }:~C)))))

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDtHpo3I5vc

Spot on emoting vocal. Still can't believe he was dropped.