Eclipse: a truly unbiased review
Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 5:02 amWay back when it was announced that Journey was moving on with Augeri as front man, I was on record saying the band needed to take the same route as Van Halen did when Hagar replaced Roth. Halen didn't try to be what they were with Roth. They carved out a new identity. They evolved and created different songs with a different sound, yet still felt like Van Halen.
Journey didn't attempt to go this route -- until now -- and Neal in particular should be applauded for the effort. It's been a long time coming. Don't get me wrong, I understand the reasoning behind the decision. Van Halen did this when AOR ruled radio and MTV was a driving force for record sales. Journey did this when Rock was dead and Neal knew their money would come from touring their old catalog. Very different times. Very different situations. I can only go with what I like for myself, but Neal has to consider a broad fanbase, not just my opinion. Tough to navigate and I don't envy the task.
Eclipse (the good stuff):
Neal was right to stretch out creatively. He simply shines on this album and you can really hear the sincere efforts. I love the darker tone of the instrumentals. Very atmospheric. Very cinematic. I love it on all levels. The guitar layers create a wall of sound, especially in the headphones. Still "Journey" but in a more progressive rock manner. Spectacular stuff. I really think he hit a creative stride on this album.
The bad stuff:
The lyrics are too on the nose. JC used to write in a more abstract artful way that blended the lyric with the vocal melody (or maybe that was Perry's contribution, molding the lyrics to work in concert with his melodic delivery choices). Here the lyrics stand out like they're on top of the songs. Some songs run on and on and on and others are very "Broadway". I never felt Journey was cheesy before but the lyrics make me feel this way about too many of these songs. The album lacks musical consistency. Sometimes they sound like the new Neal approach, others they fall into the Bad English sound.
I don't think much of Deen as a drummer and this album hasn't changed my mind. His simplistic pounding doesn't service Neal's layered guitar work. He's not an artful drummer, but he does have a really spectacular voice. Overall, I find this lineup lacks creative chemistry. Deen's drumming dummies down the sound. Cain's contributions feel out of step with Neal's choices, but here's the nail in the coffin (for me). By and large Arnel sounds like a Broadway singer. His vocal character doesn't mix with the hard rock sound of the songs. He has some shining moments where you go, "ahh that's more like it", but on the whole (to my ears) the former is true. IMO, Deen would have been a better choice to sing these songs. It's a shame he's too insecure to front a band.
Now before the zealots start flaming me, let me make this clear:
I take nothing away from Arnel in the technical department. He's got an amazing instrument and he even knows how to convey emotion with it. His voice is technically spectacular. Much stronger singer than Augeri ever was (in Journey IMO). Arnel is a great choice to tour the Perry era catalog. He sounds great on those songs and I can't think of a more deserving human being to achieve the success he now has. He's had a really rough life and he's come out on the other side while maintaining his positivity. He's a truly gracious kind person. Love the guy. We could all learn a thing or two from him.
My issue is with Arnel is subjective. It's about what I like and I'm not here to play politics (like some others do). I'm not trying to convince anyone to fall in line with how I feel. I'm just stating what I think.
That said, IMO, on new music, I find Arnel is not very inventive with melody and to my ears, there's nothing distinct about the sound of his voice. It's very "vanilla" (bland). In short, I find it lacks style. It lacks character. In fact the only character I hear from Arnel conjures imagery of a 16 year old fronting an adult band and to be honest, it turns me off.
By contrast, when you hear singers like Perry, Lou Gramm, Freddy Mercury, Rod Stewart, Stevie Wonder, Eric Martin, Sting, Tina Turner, David Coverdale -- they all have a distinct style and character. That coupled with a unique approach to delivering a song is what makes a singer standout. Arnel doesn't standout for me on original music. I first felt this way when I heard Arnel sing his national anthem at a Manny Pacquiao fight. He sang all the notes perfectly with a sophisticated vibrato -- all the technicals sounded perfect -- but at no point did he make the song "his own". There was nothing unique about it and that's where the art of a "recording artist" is required to be more than "just a singer".
Here's an example to illustrate my point:
If we were talking about Foreigner, I'd bring up Gramm, but we're talking about Journey, so I bring up Perry. This clip is a live combination of two songs not originated by Perry, but the man simply makes it "his own": Seal's "don't cry" and the Everly Brothers "Let it be me" --
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srPnfavydg4&feature=related
Anyone who can take two completely unrelated songs and blend them together to sound like one new song is more than just a singer -- he's an artist -- and that, for me, is what's missing from today's Journey. Journey needed to find a singer who could carve the band a new identity and unfortunately, they don't have that in Arnel.
This sucks for me because I'm not a hater like some others who post here. I want new music from the band. I continue to buy their music. I support Neal's endeavors because I'm a Neal fan. I own everything he's done and will continue to buy his product. Unfortunately I'm just dissatisfied with the product of this lineup and as a result Eclipse will sit in the jewel case along with Revelation, Generations, Arrival and both Bad English albums. (Soul Sirkus grew on me, lol...)
That said, I'm very much looking forward to Neal's two upcoming solo projects. He has amazing chemistry with Smitty and Marco Mendoza and Deen will finally be singing lead on an album's worth of material. These are LP's to look forward to.
All said respectfully, so if you're going to reply, please do so in a respectful manner. I won't respond let alone debate anyone who posts hostility because they're threatened by a differing opinion (cough -- saint john -- cough -- deano -- cough cough -- steveo -- cough cough cough).
Journey didn't attempt to go this route -- until now -- and Neal in particular should be applauded for the effort. It's been a long time coming. Don't get me wrong, I understand the reasoning behind the decision. Van Halen did this when AOR ruled radio and MTV was a driving force for record sales. Journey did this when Rock was dead and Neal knew their money would come from touring their old catalog. Very different times. Very different situations. I can only go with what I like for myself, but Neal has to consider a broad fanbase, not just my opinion. Tough to navigate and I don't envy the task.
Eclipse (the good stuff):
Neal was right to stretch out creatively. He simply shines on this album and you can really hear the sincere efforts. I love the darker tone of the instrumentals. Very atmospheric. Very cinematic. I love it on all levels. The guitar layers create a wall of sound, especially in the headphones. Still "Journey" but in a more progressive rock manner. Spectacular stuff. I really think he hit a creative stride on this album.
The bad stuff:
The lyrics are too on the nose. JC used to write in a more abstract artful way that blended the lyric with the vocal melody (or maybe that was Perry's contribution, molding the lyrics to work in concert with his melodic delivery choices). Here the lyrics stand out like they're on top of the songs. Some songs run on and on and on and others are very "Broadway". I never felt Journey was cheesy before but the lyrics make me feel this way about too many of these songs. The album lacks musical consistency. Sometimes they sound like the new Neal approach, others they fall into the Bad English sound.
I don't think much of Deen as a drummer and this album hasn't changed my mind. His simplistic pounding doesn't service Neal's layered guitar work. He's not an artful drummer, but he does have a really spectacular voice. Overall, I find this lineup lacks creative chemistry. Deen's drumming dummies down the sound. Cain's contributions feel out of step with Neal's choices, but here's the nail in the coffin (for me). By and large Arnel sounds like a Broadway singer. His vocal character doesn't mix with the hard rock sound of the songs. He has some shining moments where you go, "ahh that's more like it", but on the whole (to my ears) the former is true. IMO, Deen would have been a better choice to sing these songs. It's a shame he's too insecure to front a band.
Now before the zealots start flaming me, let me make this clear:
I take nothing away from Arnel in the technical department. He's got an amazing instrument and he even knows how to convey emotion with it. His voice is technically spectacular. Much stronger singer than Augeri ever was (in Journey IMO). Arnel is a great choice to tour the Perry era catalog. He sounds great on those songs and I can't think of a more deserving human being to achieve the success he now has. He's had a really rough life and he's come out on the other side while maintaining his positivity. He's a truly gracious kind person. Love the guy. We could all learn a thing or two from him.
My issue is with Arnel is subjective. It's about what I like and I'm not here to play politics (like some others do). I'm not trying to convince anyone to fall in line with how I feel. I'm just stating what I think.
That said, IMO, on new music, I find Arnel is not very inventive with melody and to my ears, there's nothing distinct about the sound of his voice. It's very "vanilla" (bland). In short, I find it lacks style. It lacks character. In fact the only character I hear from Arnel conjures imagery of a 16 year old fronting an adult band and to be honest, it turns me off.
By contrast, when you hear singers like Perry, Lou Gramm, Freddy Mercury, Rod Stewart, Stevie Wonder, Eric Martin, Sting, Tina Turner, David Coverdale -- they all have a distinct style and character. That coupled with a unique approach to delivering a song is what makes a singer standout. Arnel doesn't standout for me on original music. I first felt this way when I heard Arnel sing his national anthem at a Manny Pacquiao fight. He sang all the notes perfectly with a sophisticated vibrato -- all the technicals sounded perfect -- but at no point did he make the song "his own". There was nothing unique about it and that's where the art of a "recording artist" is required to be more than "just a singer".
Here's an example to illustrate my point:
If we were talking about Foreigner, I'd bring up Gramm, but we're talking about Journey, so I bring up Perry. This clip is a live combination of two songs not originated by Perry, but the man simply makes it "his own": Seal's "don't cry" and the Everly Brothers "Let it be me" --
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srPnfavydg4&feature=related
Anyone who can take two completely unrelated songs and blend them together to sound like one new song is more than just a singer -- he's an artist -- and that, for me, is what's missing from today's Journey. Journey needed to find a singer who could carve the band a new identity and unfortunately, they don't have that in Arnel.
This sucks for me because I'm not a hater like some others who post here. I want new music from the band. I continue to buy their music. I support Neal's endeavors because I'm a Neal fan. I own everything he's done and will continue to buy his product. Unfortunately I'm just dissatisfied with the product of this lineup and as a result Eclipse will sit in the jewel case along with Revelation, Generations, Arrival and both Bad English albums. (Soul Sirkus grew on me, lol...)
That said, I'm very much looking forward to Neal's two upcoming solo projects. He has amazing chemistry with Smitty and Marco Mendoza and Deen will finally be singing lead on an album's worth of material. These are LP's to look forward to.
All said respectfully, so if you're going to reply, please do so in a respectful manner. I won't respond let alone debate anyone who posts hostility because they're threatened by a differing opinion (cough -- saint john -- cough -- deano -- cough cough -- steveo -- cough cough cough).
