MR

Steve Augerie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4_LC5ss ... re=related

JSS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McZWDXwZ ... re=related

Steve Perry
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOhoYMkHsGk

Arnel Pineda
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cQEYpry ... re=related

I really love this song and in my opinion, the best live version is the 2009 with Arnel on vox.

Love this song. But Arnel's version is the best? Please step away from the crackpipe.

Arnel does a really good job of covering this. But the calrity of his voice isn't even close.

And I know it's been hashed and re-hashed, but I can't tell what the hell Arnel is saying more than half of the time, if I didn't already know the lyrics.

It just doesn't sit well with me. That's my opinion and if you don't like my opinion, you can suck my opinion.

I have to go with the Nostrildamus version. Pineda's is hard to rate because of the sound quality, but even through the sketchy audio it does sound like he nailed it pretty good. Augeri's sounds really good (but is it "live"?) and Soto's is good as well.

Out of these clips, I give the nod to Jeff.
Tho at times it feels he's doing something of a Perry homage, I like the swagger and the "whoa-oh-whoa" Sam Cooke-isms.

The_Noble_Cause wrote:Out of these clips, I give the nod to Jeff.
Tho at times it feels he's doing something of a Perry homage, I like the swagger and the "whoa-oh-whoa" Sam Cooke-isms.

Out of these clips, though Jeff is my least favorite Journey singer, even with the bad audio I give it to him also. Really loved his performance. But all sound great. And I'm happy EOTB is in the set b/c I think Arnel really brings it on this song and Chain Reaction.

Soto kicks ass on this song. I still give the nod to Perry though. AP does it very well also, I love his energy. It's a very close call for me out of those three. I didn't hear enough of Augeri to have an opinion.

I gotta say...any song SP did originally is the better version when you wanna play the comparison game...

1. Perry
2. Augeri
3. Pineda
4. Soto

Maui Tom wrote:I gotta say...any song SP did originally is the better version when you wanna play the comparison game...

Why? Just b/c he helped originate it? I love Perry's WITS version but Arnel's just as much b/c they're both so different. And when I used to play Journey and it hit Perry's WITS, everyone, for the most part, would say skip that song. Many don't like his more effeminate version (I love it), and since hearing Arnel now like the song b/c of his vocals on the song.

Jana wrote:

Maui Tom wrote:I gotta say...any song SP did originally is the better version when you wanna play the comparison game...

Why? Just b/c he helped originate it? I love Perry's WITS version but Arnel's just as much b/c they're both so different. And when I used to play Journey and it hit Perry's WITS, everyone, for the most part, would say skip that song. Many don't like his more effeminate version (I love it), and since hearing Arnel now like the song b/c of his vocals on the song.

because I think he does em better....

Rick wrote:Soto kicks ass on this song. I still give the nod to Perry though. AP does it very well also, I love his energy. It's a very close call for me out of those three. I didn't hear enough of Augeri to have an opinion.

Perry by miles....JSS does kick ass and is my #2 choice!!

ps~Augeri and Soto both had 1 min!!!!

Version with Perry sucks. Tempo is too fast to feel a groove. Vocals are rushed, fast, stacto, etc. Don't like it.
JSS's version is awesome. He really does SP justice in this one.
Steve A's version sounds good too but nothing like the others.
Arnels and co's version is the best musically, but the "a" after alot of words is putting me off agian.

they all sound good... i love all those guys... jss tho... he nails it! }:C))

Saint John wrote:I have to go with the Nostrildamus version. Pineda's is hard to rate because of the sound quality, but even through the sketchy audio it does sound like he nailed it pretty good. Augeri's sounds really good (but is it "live"?) and Soto's is good as well.

I'm going to go with 'no,' based on the placement of the oversized microphone in relation to his mouth. It must be one of the songs they laid down in the studio when he joined the band (which I would love to hear in their entirety, by the way.)

eotb with jss on vocals...

http://www.myspace.com/marceljacobkingofbass

Well, actually, silly to try to compare one full version of Perry with excellent sound quality and vocals in the forefront with rough short audios of the other three with sound not as good and voices deeper in the mix b/c of bad sound quality. But, like I said b/f, all did a great job, to me.

And for non-Journey comparison purposes, here is Jorn Lande's cover of Edge of the Blade, from Starfire:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkTvRlsIFsw

RisingForce73 wrote:And for non-Journey comparison purposes, here is Jorn Lande's cover of Edge of the Blade, from Starfire:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkTvRlsIFsw

that rocked. }:C)

Pineda should never sing this again. that was hard to listen to.

Perry is #1 because its Perry, but he only wins because it's a radio broadcast.

Jeff kicked this song in the nuts. Perfect.

Augeri, well, Augeried he way through, but..

Pineda was downright shit.

texafana wrote:Version with Perry sucks. Tempo is too fast to feel a groove. Vocals are rushed, fast, stacto, etc. Don't like it.(

I agree.

I like JSS version better than SP.

So it's

Arnel
JSS
Augerie - granting it's live.
SP

But I still love the song whether it's Arnel, SP, JSS or SA.

RisingForce73 wrote:And for non-Journey comparison purposes, here is Jorn Lande's cover of Edge of the Blade, from Starfire:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkTvRlsIFsw

checking out their myspace... very dio'ish. }:C)

Perry
Arnel
Augeri
Soto

Maui Tom wrote:

Jana wrote:

Maui Tom wrote:I gotta say...any song SP did originally is the better version when you wanna play the comparison game...

Why? Just b/c he helped originate it? I love Perry's WITS version but Arnel's just as much b/c they're both so different. And when I used to play Journey and it hit Perry's WITS, everyone, for the most part, would say skip that song. Many don't like his more effeminate version(I love it), and since hearing Arnel now like the song b/c of his vocals on the song.

because I think he does em better....

Comparisons to the original only make sense if its done differently. These aren't. When Perry sings WITS, He' not emulating Fleischman, he's fitting the song around his vocal style. That' not the case with JSS, Augeri or Pineda. They have to copy his version. It's not like Mariah covering OA where the melody and music is tweaked, these guys are having to sing straight up covers. The songs are not being put to acoustics settings or being slowed down or emphasizing different areas of the song over the original. They are copying Perry to the best of their ability as he is the gold standard.
As far as people having problems with Perry's effeminate voice, the numbers say more people are fine with it or than not, WITS gets played every day on classic rock station and the DJ's sem to always give praise to SPs soaring tenor. The song was also on the Hot 100 chart so it seems to have gone over quite well. The many who don't like Perry's version are obviously out numbered 100 fold in real life beyond this forum.
To add to that, all pre Escape albums are multiplatinum and Captured is continiouslly ranked as one of the best live albums ever released despite all these albums featuring Perry using his his high head voice on almost every tune.
I'm not deriding the other singers as they are doing what they are paid to do, present those songs as they originally sounded when they became hits. Journey is not paying them to mess with the formula that makes up the band's legacy sound. They are not going to "own these songs" as people say. Create something unique to yourself, then you can "own it" otherwise you're just providing a cleaned up counterfiet at best.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion but fortunately, I have sales numbers, Continued radio spins of the classics despite alternate versions being available and the continious crowd sizes at their live shows, no matter if it be SA, AP or JSS singing the songs in the same manner as the originals.

Maui Tom wrote:

Jana wrote:

Maui Tom wrote:I gotta say...any song SP did originally is the better version when you wanna play the comparison game...

Why? Just b/c he helped originate it? I love Perry's WITS version but Arnel's just as much b/c they're both so different. And when I used to play Journey and it hit Perry's WITS, everyone, for the most part, would say skip that song. Many don't like his more effeminate version (I love it), and since hearing Arnel now like the song b/c of his vocals on the song.

because I think he does em better....

Me too....there is no compairison for me

hmm some audio problems in some vids...but well..

First place; the best one of all who did this version: JSS!! great energy and voice, the song fit perfect for him bravo!!

Second come Steve Perry & Arnel Pineda, i didn't like the way SP sing in this particular performance, and arnel the sound quality in the vid wasn't good either
and the last one S. Augeri, i think his voice seem powerless in this song

JSS

I can't hear Arnel over the plaid in his trousers ...

I enjoyed them all ... this is one of my very favorite Journey songs ... I hope, hope, hope they play it Tues night ... I love standing up and singing along at the top of my lungs (esp. when almost nobody else knows the words!).

Gunbot wrote:

Maui Tom wrote:

Jana wrote:

Maui Tom wrote:I gotta say...any song SP did originally is the better version when you wanna play the comparison game...

Why? Just b/c he helped originate it? I love Perry's WITS version but Arnel's just as much b/c they're both so different. And when I used to play Journey and it hit Perry's WITS, everyone, for the most part, would say skip that song. Many don't like his more effeminate version(I love it), and since hearing Arnel now like the song b/c of his vocals on the song.

because I think he does em better....

Comparisons to the original only make sense if its done differently. These aren't. When Perry sings WITS, He' not emulating Fleischman, he's fitting the song around his vocal style. That' not the case with JSS, Augeri or Pineda. They have to copy his version. It's not like Mariah covering OA where the melody and music is tweaked, these guys are having to sing straight up covers. The songs are not being put to acoustics settings or being slowed down or emphasizing different areas of the song over the original. They are copying Perry to the best of their ability as he is the gold standard.
As far as people having problems with Perry's effeminate voice, the numbers say more people are fine with it or than not, WITS gets played every day on classic rock station and the DJ's sem to always give praise to SPs soaring tenor. The song was also on the Hot 100 chart so it seems to have gone over quite well. The many who don't like Perry's version are obviously out numbered 100 fold in real life beyond this forum.
To add to that, all pre Escape albums are multiplatinum and Captured is continiouslly ranked as one of the best live albums ever released despite all these albums featuring Perry using his his high head voice on almost every tune.
I'm not deriding the other singers as they are doing what they are paid to do, present those songs as they originally sounded when they became hits. Journey is not paying them to mess with the formula that makes up the band's legacy sound. They are not going to "own these songs" as people say. Create something unique to yourself, then you can "own it" otherwise you're just providing a cleaned up counterfiet at best.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion but fortunately, I have sales numbers, Continued radio spins of the classics despite alternate versions being available and the continious crowd sizes at their live shows, no matter if it be SA, AP or JSS singing the songs in the same manner as the originals.

I was responding to Maui Tom's statement any song Perry does is better and asking did he feel that way about this song b/c of this particular rendition or across the board, and he answered me any song.

Quite a few of us think JSS did the best job, even with the crappy sound. No big deal. Just the way we feel. No slight against Perry.

My point was to my friends that don't like Perry's version of WITS even though he originated it. Believe me, they're Journey/'Perry fanatics, just not on a few songs. And so have really enjoyed the song in concert with Arnel now, which surprised them b/c they didn't think they liked the song. I'm not saying there is huge numbers that feel that way. I'm not trying to make some big point, just that everybody is different. Myself I love Perry's take on the song.

I'm a huge Bowie fan, but have heard a few singers do a couple of his songs exactly the way he did that I like better. No big deal just b/c I don't love every single thing he did. I still consider his music catalogue with him singing across the board amazing.

In the end, legacy wins out over who sounds better it seems. Neal had mentioned how the re-records would give them a chance to use the songs for promotional items, perhaps at a better royalty rate, yet Commercials and movie soundtracks are sticking to the originals, or using covers that are separate from Journey. I think not getting on Itunes really sank them on this endeavor. Movie Soundtracks and such are not in a rush to be pigeon holed into only being avaible through Wal-Mart because of the exclusivity agreement the re-records are under.

JSS