MR

Steve Perry excluded - who would you prefer to see lead Journey over the next few years? All of us have had the opportunity to listen and/or see the three of them in person.

Personally, I prefer Augeri. Before his voice problems, he was the ideal person to step in to replace Perry. No ego, good voice that captured the Journey sound and strong presence on stage. The crowd took to him and believed the Journey tradition continued even though Perry was gone.

Soto unfortunately never had the opportunity to record new music which could have taken the band in a new, exciting direction. I was skeptical of him performing the Journey classics live - but he was very impressive and gave the band a rock infusion.

Pineda obviously has a great voice. However, I am not sure the casual fan has taken to him. I enjoyed his new music on Revelation a great deal. I am not crazy about his version of the classics.

I am curious on your favorite?

Pineda.
Augeri if his voice was as it was would be cool, but I think Arnel outsings him.

Jss, I just never got it for Journey.

Augeri when on form. Sadly that didn't last long.

Love Pineda most of the time and I really dig his enthusiasm but I've felt let down by him lately - not on a personal level, just don't like the way business has been conducted outside of the group and it has become glaringly obvious that he is just a hired hand.

Didn't initially like JSS with Journey at all but in hindsight I feel he would have been the best candidate going forward,even if it meant playing with the range.

However, for the legacy era/Perry sound Pineda is as of today the best choice of the three candidates by a long way. I'm happy enough with the way things are but that Super Bowl outing was a real stinker.

I loved SA. He was a genuinely good guy and to be honest, the songs that came out of his era are far superior to the AP era so far. Arrival BLOWS Revelation away any day of the week. Generations would be a competitor if you scratch Gone Crazy and make it halfway decent as far as production goes.

I'm an AP supporter, but he's gotta find a way to kick the accent/diction/delivery problems that are plaguing him once and for all. I wish we could have seen Jeremey get a shot, especially since he's proven that he can write, through NWA and the great songs he's been posting on his own on the net. Arnel has yet to do that, as far as I can see. Jeremey's Can't You See He's Gone would be the best track on Revelation if he had joined the band and gotten that one included.

finalfight wrote:just don't like the way business has been conducted outside of the group and it has become glaringly obvious that he is just a hired hand.

how so? (serious question)

Steve Augeri

This thread should be interesting.....

If Journey were one of those older bands that recorded albums, but didn't tour often..... Hands down Augeri. SA could probably do a tour every couple years if he could rest the vocal chords.

Since they are a touring band, constantly on the road...for the most part... Arnel because he hasn't been impacted yet by the catalog and has some pipes. However, I think to some degree his impact on the band might be overrated with the Revelation release due to how it was packaged, not that Revelation was any type of great record, and WalMart's power with marketing was more promotion then Journey has seen from any record company in years. Bottom line though, the dude can sing.

Jeff, great singer, great stage presense, and he has a lot of fans, but I think the casual fan wants to hear a Perry-sound-alike and he wasn't.

brywool wrote:

finalfight wrote:just don't like the way business has been conducted outside of the group and it has become glaringly obvious that he is just a hired hand.

how so? (serious question)

Two different management teams pulling in different directions.

The way he seems like an outsider when dealing with band especially since the tour ended prematurely. The post Super Bowl public apology being the latest example. As gracious as it was it become obvious when reading it that Arnel was no more than a singer hired to do a job and not part of a cohesive whole. It's a job he obviously loves and excels in but it's work none the less and this is all too apparent at the moment. I'd rather have the smoke and mirrors back.

Lots of love for Augeri here. Good to see.

I'm going to step outside of the three choices and say Jason Kelty. Hands down a no-brainer for me. That guy is scary good.

Pineda, provided he is in reigned in and puts his all into Journey. If Journey uses him as a recycle bin for any more of the older songs though, I'll be done with this lineup.

I wish they'd have stayed with JSS. However, diction issues aside, Arnel has the best voice for the classic stuff.

KenTheDude wrote:I'm going to step outside of the three choices and say Jason Kelty. Hands down a no-brainer for me. That guy is scary good.

We never did get to hear any update bootlegs from him did we. That thread seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth after the reunited band had one gig. I wonder how they are getting on.

JeremyP wrote:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxiSXWjACxo

Arnel has more power than Augeri. His voice resonates more and a better fit for legacy Journey sound. JSS would be a better fit - had they moved on to a different direction.

finalfight wrote:

KenTheDude wrote:I'm going to step outside of the three choices and say Jason Kelty. Hands down a no-brainer for me. That guy is scary good.

We never did get to hear any update bootlegs from him did we. That thread seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth after the one gig.

Dan (St John) and I were there. Jason was incredible on some of the songs, especially Feeling That Way/Anytime. To be honest, it was almost TOO MUCH like SP. On other Journey songs that night, Jason seemed a bit tentative when it came to hitting some of the highs (but you shoulda heard the Whoaaaas at the end of Runaway by Bon Jovi... UNREAL). As far as tone/pronunciation/phrasing go, Jason was pretty ridiculously SP-like.

finalfight wrote:Lots of love for Augeri here. Good to see.

Not for me.

Lot of revisionist history.

The man was drawn and quartered online.

Soto was never the right voice for Journey and Augeri couldn't sing the catalog to save his life, so Pineda wins this one by default!

Soto. He wasn't trying to recreate Perry on stage. He was his own man (still is), and that's what was great about it. Van Halen worked with Sammy... Journey would have worked with Soto.

Red13JoePa wrote:

finalfight wrote:Lots of love for Augeri here. Good to see.

Not for me.

Lot of revisionist history.

The man was drawn and quartered online.

Not by me. Some of the songs he recorded rank up there among the elite songs from the 70s and 80s for me. Great, great stuff came out of his era.

finalfight wrote:

KenTheDude wrote:I'm going to step outside of the three choices and say Jason Kelty. Hands down a no-brainer for me. That guy is scary good.

We never did get to hear any update bootlegs from him did we. That thread seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth after the reunited band had one gig. I wonder how they are getting on.

You're right. I'm curious to hear what the latest is. Just imagine Jason doing the re-recorded classics. Im sure on several songs I wouldn't be able to tell the difference between those and the originals.

Playitloudforme wrote:Soto. He wasn't trying to recreate Perry on stage. He was his own man (still is), and that's what was great about it. Van Halen worked with Sammy... Journey would have worked with Soto.

I've seen this analogy before and frankly, it's an apples to oranges thing. VH took the world by storm because of Eddie's guitar acrobatics, the likes of which people had never heard. Even seasoned guitar players, like Neal himself, couldn't figure out what the fuck was going on in Eruption at first. Journey, at least the commercially successful brand of it, was first and foremost about SP's vocals (high tenor, strong head voice etc). And I say all of this as a huge fan of the pre and post-SP shit, because I listen to Journey for Neal as much as I do for the vocals or anything else.

Gunbot wrote:Pineda, provided he is in reigned in and puts his all into Journey. If Journey uses him as a recycle bin for any more of the older songs though, I'll be done with this lineup.

Journey needs to create Arnel's own legacy with the band. Hit the talk show circuit, play songs from Revelation and get the casual listener interested to what this new lineup has to offer. People can't help but compare AP w/ The Voice everytime they hear him sing legacy stuff. It's a losing battle.

Arnel. Love the mixture of powerful delivery with a tenor voice and like his chemistry with Neal on stage.

Of the three, Soto was the only one who was an accomplished songwriter. Revelation had some good rock tunes on it, but I can only imagine how good an album with Soto's creative input would have been. He had the energy and spirit of Perry without sounding like a clone. And no one else currently active comes close to the stage presence that JSS has as a rock frontman.

Dammit, what about Fleischman, aint he rested , tanned and ready to go?

If I had to vote seriously, it would be Soto as I liked the harder darker interpretation of Journey. But then Im quite happy with getting to hear what hes doing right now. Liked Augeri, with Journey even I think his voice actually sounds better with Tall Stories, and I'm enjoying what Im hearing with Skyscraper.

That leaves Arnel. I like him, but when it comes down to him , I have no strong feelings either way.

Actually that does leave us with Fleischam, get him back, why he get the hook anyway?

PowerChords wrote:

Gunbot wrote:Pineda, provided he is in reigned in and puts his all into Journey. If Journey uses him as a recycle bin for any more of the older songs though, I'll be done with this lineup.

Journey needs to create Arnel's own legacy with the band. Hit the talk show circuit, play songs from Revelation and get the casual listener interested to what this new lineup has to offer. People can't help but compare AP w/ The Voice everytime they hear him sing legacy stuff. It's a losing battle.

spot on.

All great singers, different styles, i prefer Augeri and JSS with their own personal projects...so for me Arnel Pineda for Journey, he seem to have the best of SA and JSS, his voice is raspy and more deep, he can sing the songs in a melodic and also rocker way at the same time, that's why i prefer him...altough now i wait for better performances

Gin and Tonic Sky wrote:Dammit, what about Fleischman, aint he rested , tanned and ready to go?

If I had to vote seriously, it would be Soto as I liked the harder darker interpretation of Journey. But then Im quite happy with getting to hear what hes doing right now. Liked Augeri, with Journey even I think his voice actually sounds better with Tall Stories, and I'm enjoying what Im hearing with Skyscraper.

That leaves Arnel. I like him, but when it comes down to him , I have no strong feelings either way.

Actually that does leave us with Fleischam, get him back, why he get the hook anyway?

Two words: Steve Perry (destroyer of worlds)

Jana wrote:Arnel. Love the mixture of powerful delivery with a tenor voice and like his chemistry with Neal on stage.

Good point here. Schon pretty much ignored Augeri on stage from the beginning.