MR

http://www.classicrockmagazine.com/feat ... er-guitar/

Overall, a pretty interesting interview and he is asked about previous band relationships, including those with Perry and John Waite.

#1 LSD is a hard drug.

#2 I can't believe how many people always spell Neal the wrong way, and who can't pronounce Schon correctly.

#3 I don't know that Raised On Radio is viewed with as much esteem as Escape and Frontiers? Certainly not by me!

#4 I like Frontiers the best, with Escape an extremely close second.

#5 I sure as hell hope that their next album doesn't wind up sounding like Raised On Radio!

#6 Raised On Radio was NOT a "power guitar" album.

#7 I am glad that Back Talk was on Frontiers as opposed to Only The Young and Ask The Lonely. I'm much happier with the way the songs were released.

#8 My impression of the situation with Perry has always been what Schon's is, that Perry just didn't want to work, and that he thought that Journey should not work without him either.

#9 John Wait's music is far more "white" than Journey's is.

#10 John Wait has always been jealous of Steve Perry and Journey's success.

Why didn't the article mention more about the new album? Arnel gets to sing R&B with power guitar. That sounds like Raised On Radio. And when will it come out?

I agree that John Waite was probably always critical of Jonathan Cain for years- during both The Babys and Bad English. He probably thought he was the STAR and it was his way or the highway. He probably has never gotten over the fact that through his song writing and Journey that Cain has enough money to buy and sell him . The fact that Cain has so many hits and Waite can only count "Missing You" and "When I See You Smile" (and he didn't even want to do the latter) is why he's miserable all the time. It's just as well he turned down "Open Arms", it wouldn't've been the hit it is if he sang it. I remember an old interview on You Tube where Cain said "...that all he needed was to be in the right band with the right voice"- as in not The Babys/John Waite but Journey/Steve Perry. He had the song writing ability. I wonder what Ricky Phillips and Deen think of Jonathan/John.

This goes back to my poll about who Neal & Jonathan would rather work with again. Neal sounds like he'd be happy to hop on stage with JW once in awhile. But reforming Bad English is another thing. Is there even an audience for that?

Final Frontiers wrote:I wonder what Ricky Phillips and Deen think of Jonathan/John.

They probably just went in and played what they were supposed to play. They don't seem like the types who would get tied up in band drama.

Neal is never really good at describing the way an album sounds. For "Eclipse," the most you ever heard him say is "I get to rock." I think we can all be damn sure they won't make a record that sounds anything like "Raised on Radio." For one thing, they can't write the way Perry could... and that sound was ALL Perry. Let's hope we get some classic era bluesy tunes reminiscent of "Walk Like A Lady" and "LTS".

I think that the next album will be a lot more in the direction of Trial By Fire than anything else. Which is an excellent thing.

FamilyMan wrote:Neal is never really good at describing the way an album sounds. For "Eclipse," the most you ever heard him say is "I get to rock." I think we can all be damn sure they won't make a record that sounds anything like "Raised on Radio." For one thing, they can't write the way Perry could... and that sound was ALL Perry. Let's hope we get some classic era bluesy tunes reminiscent of "Walk Like A Lady" and "LTS".

I agree. Neal never does accurately describe what an album is going to sound like.

Back before Bad English released their "Backlash" CD, Neal said that it was going to have more guitar on it than their first album had, and that it would be harder rocking overall. Which was far from the case.

Also, before Journey released their "Generations" CD, Neal described it as sounding a lot like "The Who," which it does NOT.

Archetype wrote:I think that the next album will be a lot more in the direction of Trial By Fire than anything else. Which is an excellent thing.

Except that Trial By Fire has too many ballads as far as I'm concerned. I do love the harder rocking songs on it, though.

FamilyMan wrote:Neal is never really good at describing the way an album sounds. For "Eclipse," the most you ever heard him say is "I get to rock." I think we can all be damn sure they won't make a record that sounds anything like "Raised on Radio." For one thing, they can't write the way Perry could... and that sound was ALL Perry. Let's hope we get some classic era bluesy tunes reminiscent of "Walk Like A Lady" and "LTS".

Well … WLAL and L-T-S, the 2 most bluesy songs in Journey’s back catalog, were solely written by SP, so you’re going to have the same problem of missing “the main ingredient.” True, the musicality was extraordinarily “bluesy” and all members performed commendably. I’m just skeptical as to how this current lineup can create that sound. No doubt, Neal could play anything. Gregg had his Hammond B3 Organ. Ross and Smitty was a formidable rhythm section, had r&b in their background. But can Jon play the organ? Isn’t Deen strictly a rock drummer? More specifically, can Arnel sing the blues even ½ as good as SP? It’s a heck lot easier to cover a song that already had a vocal blueprint than to create a brand new piece.

I think it would be a no-win situation for the band. Save yourselves a lot of grief with the inevitable critiques/comparisons. Stick to the pop/rock sound and leave the fans with their good memories.

Neal sounds like he is in a good head space right now. Quick points...

Back Talk is a fun experimental B-side throwaway. The song, and Troubled Child, are only subpar in comparison to the two other masterpieces left off the album (OTY, ATL).

As for the "motown with power chords" comment, he has made similar statements in the past.

One time specifically naming "Separate Ways" as an example of it. The layered choruses of "Ask the Lonely", to me, is very much inspired by Motown crossed with AOR. If Neal means a return to big hooks, I am all for it. Songs like "Higher Place", "To Be Alive Again", "Signs of Life" "Place in Your Heart", "Change for the Better", "Anything is Possible" and "Someone" are as good as anything Journey has ever done (with Perry or without).

Thanks for posting, Steveo.

Archetype wrote:I think that the next album will be a lot more in the direction of Trial By Fire than anything else. Which is an excellent thing.

Not sure how you derive that from Neal's comments. "Forever in Blue" is somewhat motownish. Anything else on TBF?

Raised on Radio with more guitar... eh, I hope not. I prefer Journey to rock.

A little rock change up would be great...

http://youtu.be/u4_T61gyEXA

Neal's not talking about "bluesy" like "WLAL"-type songs ... he's talking about tunes that are built around the R&B sound from groups like The Four Tops and Temptations, etc. A ton of the Journey hits from "Separate Ways" to "Where Did I Lose Your Love" took that formula and combined it with "power chords" to make a totally unique song.

Cain is just as much a product of that 60s Motown sound as Perry is, but it comes out in his writing in a different way. That songwriting and arrangement was Cain's contribution, along with Perry's R&B melodic influences from guys like Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson, mixed in with Schon's total musical maturity and understanding of how to use his instrument created the basis for Journey's songwriting success.

Today, you still have 2/3rds of that ... the imbalance is where Cain and Perry had musical veto power over Schon to reign him in from an arranging standpoint - now that doesn't exist - and of course Cain is doing his best to replicate the melodies of Perry but it doesn't come naturally to him and it's only being filtered and interpreted out through Arnel, rather than something that springs from him in a spiritual and musical sense.

So IF there is a new Journey album (my guess is there will be one) we can probably expect something more along the lines of those kinds of tunes (a good thing) as long as Cain can keep Schon disciplined during the creative process.

Thanks for explaining it better than any of us could, Jeremey.
ROR's "Suzanne", "Positive Touch", and "I'll be Alright w/out You" are the closest the band has ever come to inter-breeding rock with the Motown sound. Perhaps too much so. They could be Phil Collins tracks.

I'm just happy and relieved to hear they are considering new music.

Thanks Jeremey! I like your perspective!

You bet guys.

You know, what we heard on Raised on Radio was as much a misfire of this formula as the stuff Cain and Schon have produced since Perry's departure from the band ... it was a magic formula and when it worked, we got songs like:

Who's Cryin Now
Lay It Down
Still They Ride
Escape
Separate Ways
After The Fall
Chain Reaction
Ask The Lonely

These songs were essentially re-written R&B tunes that Cain and Perry and Schon each brought something to the table with that made it nearly impossible to identify the R&B genetics of the music because the songwriting clicked and worked so well. It's a shame that as fans we only really got to enjoy that kind of magic during a short 3-5 year window ... that's not to say their other songs aren't great and classic tunes. But - from what I hear, and from the conversations I had with Cain about songwriting - this was when that formula was hitting on all cylinders.

The_Noble_Cause wrote:Thanks for explaining it better than any of us could, Jeremey.
ROR's "Suzanne", "Positive Touch", and "I'll be Alright w/out You" are the closest the band has ever come to inter-breeding rock with the Motown sound. Perhaps too much so. They could be Phil Collins tracks.

I dunno, as Jeremey mentioned "Where Did I Lose Your Love" fits that bill to a T. It's VERY motown.

brywool wrote:

The_Noble_Cause wrote:Thanks for explaining it better than any of us could, Jeremey.
ROR's "Suzanne", "Positive Touch", and "I'll be Alright w/out You" are the closest the band has ever come to inter-breeding rock with the Motown sound. Perhaps too much so. They could be Phil Collins tracks.

I dunno, as Jeremey mentioned "Where Did I Lose Your Love" fits that bill to a T. It's VERY motown.

Compared to ROR, which was an admitted tribute to the Detroit sound Perry and Cain were nurtured on? Sorry. WDILYL is really just standard issue AOR.

The_Noble_Cause wrote:Compared to ROR, which was an admitted tribute to the Detroit sound Perry and Cain were nurtured on? Sorry. WDILYL is really just standard issue AOR.

WDILYL is pretty Motown ... just posted a comparison screen cap video in a new thread, let me know what you think!

"I'll Be Alright Without You" has that bluesy sound with strong Perry vocals. Love that tune. Would like to hear more songs like that .

Sorry guys. Perry could be legitimately called the lost blue eyed Caucasian soul brother of Sam Cooke. Arnel can’t be called the legitimate heir to anything. Both Augeri and JSS had more soul in their voice. And without the Perry “whoa-oh-whoa” inflections, I’m afraid the tip of the hat to Motown is lost on me. WDILYL is a very good song, no argument there. And alot like Generation’s The Place in Your Heart, takes full use of layered vocal harmonies and guitar melodies, which is a trademark of Motown. But there’s also a lot of cheesy overbearing synth work and power drumming going on too. And it's nowhere near as stylistically overt as anything on ROR. But, of course, music is subjective and your mileage may vary.

This could be a Phil Collins tune. Perry, Cain, and Schon could be replaced here by Diana Ross and the Supremes and it would barely make a difference. It epitomizes white bread soul.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eegftbcv9Ug

The_Noble_Cause wrote:

Archetype wrote:I think that the next album will be a lot more in the direction of Trial By Fire than anything else. Which is an excellent thing.

Not sure how you derive that from Neal's comments. "Forever in Blue" is somewhat motownish. Anything else on TBF?

I didn't derive it from his comments. It's just my personal prediction.

The article is gone; did anyone have the diligence to copy it?

Archetype wrote:

The_Noble_Cause wrote:

Archetype wrote:I think that the next album will be a lot more in the direction of Trial By Fire than anything else. Which is an excellent thing.

Not sure how you derive that from Neal's comments. "Forever in Blue" is somewhat motownish. Anything else on TBF?

I didn't derive it from his comments. It's just my personal prediction.

Ah, I see. Well, this thread is discussing Neal's comments describing the next album. Not BS predictions based on nothing. And considering that Neal has described TBF as a cd he plays to put his children to sleep, it doesn't take the amazing kreskin to know ur completely full of shit.

Archetype wrote:

The_Noble_Cause wrote:

Archetype wrote:I think that the next album will be a lot more in the direction of Trial By Fire than anything else. Which is an excellent thing.

I didn't derive it from his comments. It's just my personal prediction.

Ah, I see. Well, this thread is discussing Neal's comments describing the next album. Not BS predictions based on nothing. And considering that Neal has described TBF as a cd he plays to put his children to sleep, it doesn't take the amazing kreskin to know ur completely full of shit.

As others have noted, Neal sucks at telling people what albums will sounds like. You're going to hear a lot of elements of Trial By Fire in this next one. Arnel's voice is at about the same stage that Steve Perry's was when TBF was recorded.

Archetype wrote:As others have noted, Neal sucks at telling people what albums will sounds like. You're going to hear a lot of elements of Trial By Fire in this next one. Arnel's voice is at about the same stage that Steve Perry's was when TBF was recorded.

The rock tunes on TBF actually rocked pretty hard (mol, one more, cttl, icsiiye) there just wasn't enough of them. Arrival was dictated by Kalodner to be very much like TBF. Since leaving Sony, the ballads have been in moderation. That's not likely to change, even if arnel turns into Joe Cocker. Keep dreamin.

The_Noble_Cause wrote:

Archetype wrote:As others have noted, Neal sucks at telling people what albums will sounds like. You're going to hear a lot of elements of Trial By Fire in this next one. Arnel's voice is at about the same stage that Steve Perry's was when TBF was recorded.

The rock tunes on TBF actually rocked pretty hard (mol, one more, cttl, icsiiye) there just wasn't enough of them. Arrival was dictated by Kalodner to be very much like TBF. Since leaving Sony, the ballads have been in moderation. That's not likely to change, even if arnel turns into Joe Cocker. Keep dreamin.

I disagree..

If Wal-Mart or Sony offered Journey a big payout, they would record an album of all slow ballads just to make a buck...if that is what they were asked to do.

The link is gone, so I couldn't read the interview...

But, "motown" flavored Journey, as in a rockier ROR, would completely suck. Yeah, let's hear a rocked up version of "Happy to Give". Joy.

All of this going for a specific sound is bullshit. Just write and record what's in your heart that wants to get out...it's as simple as that. The rest will fall in line.

The best story you can write is the one that is so personal that you don't want to tell it. Those are the type of songs they should be doing...not reworked old Augeri songs, or songs for a specific sound, or songs for a specific concept. Get over all of the over analytical crap.