Wech's review of Eclipse : a biased Filipino's point of view
Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2011 12:09 pmWech's Review of Eclipse : a biased Filipino's point of view
Eclipse is touted as a different musical direction for Journey, and should
be judged as such; alongside its intrinsic merit as a collection of music
by any band.
The tracks:
1. City of Hope
A midtempo rocker, marred in the second part of the chorus by Cain's inexplicably
uninspired and hopelessly-80's keyboard work. The instrumental structure begs
for Valory to impose more bass, to counterbalance the high notes of Pineda's
vox and Schon's guitar, but neither Valory's playing nor the mixing oblige. The
track's doublestep outro plays strong but unfortunately doesn't relate to the
song's message: rather, it suggests what Schon and Castronovo had really
wanted to play, instead of the preceding 4:45. Still, it's a solid tune that
should work well, when adjusted, and played live.
2. Edge of the Moment
Schon's attention-commanding (and non-Journeyish) intro sets up this uptempo
rocker. Pineda's voice is very strong, but unfortunately so is his inclination to fill in
every space with sustained notes, stretching out words to the point of obscurity.
Cain's subdued keyboard work here complements the harder edge supplied by
Schon, Valory and Castronovo.
3. Chain of Love
Cain and Pineda construct a delicate (if overlong) intro, giving way to a
verse which reinvents the golem-like trudge of Led Zep's Kashmir. Regretfully,
the verses' dark tones give way to the conventionally-Journeyish chords of the
bridge and chorus, almost totally at odds with the lyric and mood of what had
preceded them. Granted, the song title should have been ample warning, but
when Pineda is made to sing a line like "Chain, Chain, Chain, Chain of Love..."
to a by-then indifferent instrument track, I can't decide whether to feel sorry
for him or for myself.
4. Tantra.
Cain indulges an inner David Foster, while Pineda essays either Josh Groban
or Charice Pempengco. It's hard to tell. Or care. Schon, Valory and Castronovo
are along for this ride, which seems 6 minutes 29 too long.
5. Anything Is Possible
This is MOR midtempo inspirational rock, which is standard fare for Journey.
The band's level of comfort with the material is obvious. Even newest member
Pineda's delivery is more natural and credibly-paced on this predictable song,
although the mix on this (and almost every other track) leaves his voice a
little thin, the same way that the mix often diminishes Valory's bass.
6. Resonate
I suspect that unprocessed, this midtempo rocker contains some of Pineda's best
vox-work to date. Alas, overproduction has obscured it. He starts out soft for
a change, then carefully leads the listener up to the heights of his incredible
range/power. This song is more consistent in tonal mood than the previous near
(or not so near) misses that the tracks City of Hope and Chain of Love were, but
hasn't the attention-grabbing intro of either. Solid work nonetheless.
7. She's A Mystery
A virtuoso folksong, and arguably the best track on the album.
No one smothers anyone else's performance here, vocally or instrumentally.
Valory's basswork alternates between respectful restraint and confident
assertion at all the right moments. The song's shift to its harder second
phase is almost effortless, with Cain's noodling an appropriate marker before
the plunge. When Pineda keeps pace with the others', expanding the play of
his notes, he loses none of his connection to the song's lyrics.
Bravo, Journey.
8. Human Feel
Castronovo fashions a fantastic intro groove, upon which guitar, bass and keys
build up, to do a fair job of suggesting the drowning cacophony and pace of the
'digital age', but leave Pineda little option but to wail above it all, in order
to be heard. This obviously plays to the song's theme, but gets tiresome. More
to the point, it leaves Pineda's vox thin. He might have saved the wailing
frustration for the chorus, and the band could have reverted to the wonderfully
sparse intro for every first verse: providing the listener audial relief and
allowing Pineda to perhaps express (sotto voce) some fatigue with the digital
age. As it is, Pineda's high-end sustains are as unrelenting as the digital
oppression he sings against. Again, with sparser-played verses, Pineda could
have had room to provide the song with a more "human feel", or maybe not:
the lyrics try too hard at being clever.
9. Ritual
Lyrically and thematically interesting, this uptempo rocker is built on a solid
if conventional framework. Pineda is surefooted here, the right lines and words
receiving correct emphasis. Cain's adlib work on the second chorus onward is as
atrociously lazy as an overexposed meme. Schon fails to rein himself in, when
less would have been far more against the fullness of the backdrop provided by
Valory and Castronovo.
10. To Whom It May Concern.
The song's intro accurately heralds 5-odd minutes of MOR slow-dreck, aimed likely
at what some have called the Metamucil crowd. It's a good platform for Pineda to
show off his voice, which sounds fairly comfortable with the material, but this
track overall comes off as horridly dated, and soft as Metamucil-assisted stool.
11. Someone
More MOR, albeit in a 80's-90's context.
Midtempo inspirational rock, like track #5.
12. Venus
An instrumental featuring a relentless onslaught of guitar and drum superlatives,
to the point of the ridiculous. We get it, guys: you all have serious chops.
I guess this track may expose the heart of Journey's present-day problem. With
members who have superior abilities, what is missing is someone, with both the
authority and the critical remove, to tell Schon and Castronovo when to back off,
to remind Cain to avoid both the Broadway and 80's sound he seems to prefer, to
demand that Valory up his game as he clearly can, to demand more emotion (not
to be simpified as loud, high-pitched 'passion') from Pineda. Schon and Cain are
the chief songsmiths, but prove incapable of policing their own instrumental
input. Valory, despite an elder-statesman cred similar to Schon's, perhaps hasn't
the songwriting past nor the personality to assert any influence. Castronovo and
more clearly Pineda are perhaps too new to the band to really assert themselves.
Eclipse shows us glimpses of where the band could go in terms of musical genre,
and it goes to great lengths to try to present individual musical talent. What it
fails to do, with the exception of a few tracks, is provide great music that is
commensurate to the band's talent and legacy. By common standards, Eclipse is
a pretty good collection of melodic-rock tunes. However, considering who's playing,
what Journey have achieved artistically and commercially in the past, and all the
hype about Eclipse, this album promises rather than provides.
If this half-venture into new territory suggests bolder work in Journey's next
album, we may be in for some very remarkable and remarkably-successful music.
If this was a one-off side trip, before a return to Journey's comfort zone of
familiar chords and beats, there may be no need for another album, as we will
have already heard it all before... and I have a strong bias against timidity,
after so much talk of boldness.
Eclipse gets no more than 3 out of 5 stars from me after repeated listens.
Pare away the out-of-place dreck, and it easily rises to 4.
JM2
Eclipse is touted as a different musical direction for Journey, and should
be judged as such; alongside its intrinsic merit as a collection of music
by any band.
The tracks:
1. City of Hope
A midtempo rocker, marred in the second part of the chorus by Cain's inexplicably
uninspired and hopelessly-80's keyboard work. The instrumental structure begs
for Valory to impose more bass, to counterbalance the high notes of Pineda's
vox and Schon's guitar, but neither Valory's playing nor the mixing oblige. The
track's doublestep outro plays strong but unfortunately doesn't relate to the
song's message: rather, it suggests what Schon and Castronovo had really
wanted to play, instead of the preceding 4:45. Still, it's a solid tune that
should work well, when adjusted, and played live.
2. Edge of the Moment
Schon's attention-commanding (and non-Journeyish) intro sets up this uptempo
rocker. Pineda's voice is very strong, but unfortunately so is his inclination to fill in
every space with sustained notes, stretching out words to the point of obscurity.
Cain's subdued keyboard work here complements the harder edge supplied by
Schon, Valory and Castronovo.
3. Chain of Love
Cain and Pineda construct a delicate (if overlong) intro, giving way to a
verse which reinvents the golem-like trudge of Led Zep's Kashmir. Regretfully,
the verses' dark tones give way to the conventionally-Journeyish chords of the
bridge and chorus, almost totally at odds with the lyric and mood of what had
preceded them. Granted, the song title should have been ample warning, but
when Pineda is made to sing a line like "Chain, Chain, Chain, Chain of Love..."
to a by-then indifferent instrument track, I can't decide whether to feel sorry
for him or for myself.
4. Tantra.
Cain indulges an inner David Foster, while Pineda essays either Josh Groban
or Charice Pempengco. It's hard to tell. Or care. Schon, Valory and Castronovo
are along for this ride, which seems 6 minutes 29 too long.
5. Anything Is Possible
This is MOR midtempo inspirational rock, which is standard fare for Journey.
The band's level of comfort with the material is obvious. Even newest member
Pineda's delivery is more natural and credibly-paced on this predictable song,
although the mix on this (and almost every other track) leaves his voice a
little thin, the same way that the mix often diminishes Valory's bass.
6. Resonate
I suspect that unprocessed, this midtempo rocker contains some of Pineda's best
vox-work to date. Alas, overproduction has obscured it. He starts out soft for
a change, then carefully leads the listener up to the heights of his incredible
range/power. This song is more consistent in tonal mood than the previous near
(or not so near) misses that the tracks City of Hope and Chain of Love were, but
hasn't the attention-grabbing intro of either. Solid work nonetheless.
7. She's A Mystery
A virtuoso folksong, and arguably the best track on the album.
No one smothers anyone else's performance here, vocally or instrumentally.
Valory's basswork alternates between respectful restraint and confident
assertion at all the right moments. The song's shift to its harder second
phase is almost effortless, with Cain's noodling an appropriate marker before
the plunge. When Pineda keeps pace with the others', expanding the play of
his notes, he loses none of his connection to the song's lyrics.
Bravo, Journey.
8. Human Feel
Castronovo fashions a fantastic intro groove, upon which guitar, bass and keys
build up, to do a fair job of suggesting the drowning cacophony and pace of the
'digital age', but leave Pineda little option but to wail above it all, in order
to be heard. This obviously plays to the song's theme, but gets tiresome. More
to the point, it leaves Pineda's vox thin. He might have saved the wailing
frustration for the chorus, and the band could have reverted to the wonderfully
sparse intro for every first verse: providing the listener audial relief and
allowing Pineda to perhaps express (sotto voce) some fatigue with the digital
age. As it is, Pineda's high-end sustains are as unrelenting as the digital
oppression he sings against. Again, with sparser-played verses, Pineda could
have had room to provide the song with a more "human feel", or maybe not:
the lyrics try too hard at being clever.
9. Ritual
Lyrically and thematically interesting, this uptempo rocker is built on a solid
if conventional framework. Pineda is surefooted here, the right lines and words
receiving correct emphasis. Cain's adlib work on the second chorus onward is as
atrociously lazy as an overexposed meme. Schon fails to rein himself in, when
less would have been far more against the fullness of the backdrop provided by
Valory and Castronovo.
10. To Whom It May Concern.
The song's intro accurately heralds 5-odd minutes of MOR slow-dreck, aimed likely
at what some have called the Metamucil crowd. It's a good platform for Pineda to
show off his voice, which sounds fairly comfortable with the material, but this
track overall comes off as horridly dated, and soft as Metamucil-assisted stool.
11. Someone
More MOR, albeit in a 80's-90's context.
Midtempo inspirational rock, like track #5.
12. Venus
An instrumental featuring a relentless onslaught of guitar and drum superlatives,
to the point of the ridiculous. We get it, guys: you all have serious chops.
I guess this track may expose the heart of Journey's present-day problem. With
members who have superior abilities, what is missing is someone, with both the
authority and the critical remove, to tell Schon and Castronovo when to back off,
to remind Cain to avoid both the Broadway and 80's sound he seems to prefer, to
demand that Valory up his game as he clearly can, to demand more emotion (not
to be simpified as loud, high-pitched 'passion') from Pineda. Schon and Cain are
the chief songsmiths, but prove incapable of policing their own instrumental
input. Valory, despite an elder-statesman cred similar to Schon's, perhaps hasn't
the songwriting past nor the personality to assert any influence. Castronovo and
more clearly Pineda are perhaps too new to the band to really assert themselves.
Eclipse shows us glimpses of where the band could go in terms of musical genre,
and it goes to great lengths to try to present individual musical talent. What it
fails to do, with the exception of a few tracks, is provide great music that is
commensurate to the band's talent and legacy. By common standards, Eclipse is
a pretty good collection of melodic-rock tunes. However, considering who's playing,
what Journey have achieved artistically and commercially in the past, and all the
hype about Eclipse, this album promises rather than provides.
If this half-venture into new territory suggests bolder work in Journey's next
album, we may be in for some very remarkable and remarkably-successful music.
If this was a one-off side trip, before a return to Journey's comfort zone of
familiar chords and beats, there may be no need for another album, as we will
have already heard it all before... and I have a strong bias against timidity,
after so much talk of boldness.
Eclipse gets no more than 3 out of 5 stars from me after repeated listens.
Pare away the out-of-place dreck, and it easily rises to 4.
JM2
