MR

I came across this on Youtube and wasn't sure if anybody here has seen it. I'm sure we've all seen the photo once it was shared. I thought this was very cool and shows the humility of both men. I loved Augeri's advice to Arnel and he talks about not taking care of himself. A cool face to face interaction:

Arnel Pineda meets Steve Augeri
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4onQQHGjZo

Thanks for sharing this! I've never seen it before!

Arnel meets Augeri. Sounds like a damn monster movie.

Wish someone would post a better version of this 1998 Augeri concert. Augeri at his best. High tenor with a warm soulful range.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_4yrcOlYUo

The_Noble_Cause wrote:Wish someone would post a better version of this 1998 Augeri concert. Augeri at his best. High tenor with a warm soulful range.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_4yrcOlYUo

Thanks for sharing that, TNC. I try to look for video's all the time of Augeri in his prime because I really don't want to see him struggling within' his last years with the band.. it's depressing so it's great to see Steve A nail the material. You can see why they chose him at the time so this is how I want to remember him. "I'll Be Alright Without You" man...he sings that phenomenally here.

Hey, did anyone understand my "Sounds like a damn monster movie" line?

Journey/Survivor wrote:Hey, did anyone understand my "Sounds like a damn monster movie" line?

-Apollo Creed

Journey/Survivor wrote:Hey, did anyone understand my "Sounds like a damn monster movie" line?

"THEE Ital-ian Stal-lian. Heh..."

This video popped up on the side scroll list. Steve A still sounds good here to me; showing some power vocals but looks to be struggling to hit some high notes, especially on Separate Ways. This was the year he started to experience some problems, wasn't it? No auto-tune here, or so it doesn't seem so. Man, only if they took care of the guy. Steve A could bring it, he just burnt out.

JOURNEY - Live at Fresno, CA 2003
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3yehFTfVsA

Too bad he went out of Journey like this. And fortunately, he got some of it back.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7pdgctX2l0

Man that catalog is murder on the cords.

The_Noble_Cause wrote:Wish someone would post a better version of this 1998 Augeri concert. Augeri at his best. High tenor with a warm soulful range.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_4yrcOlYUo

Yep, with both at their best, I much prefer Augeri over Arnel. Just like his voice better...when it was right.

YoungJRNYfan wrote:This video popped up on the side scroll list. Steve A still sounds good here to me; showing some power vocals but looks to be struggling to hit some high notes, especially on Separate Ways. This was the year he started to experience some problems, wasn't it? No auto-tune here, or so it doesn't seem so. Man, only if they took care of the guy. Steve A could bring it, he just burnt out.

JOURNEY - Live at Fresno, CA 2003
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3yehFTfVsA

This whole show is auto-tuned.

The_Noble_Cause wrote:

YoungJRNYfan wrote:This video popped up on the side scroll list. Steve A still sounds good here to me; showing some power vocals but looks to be struggling to hit some high notes, especially on Separate Ways. This was the year he started to experience some problems, wasn't it? No auto-tune here, or so it doesn't seem so. Man, only if they took care of the guy. Steve A could bring it, he just burnt out.

JOURNEY - Live at Fresno, CA 2003
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3yehFTfVsA

This whole show is auto-tuned.

Listening more and more to it, I suspected that it was compared to the first viewing.

YoungJRNYfan wrote:This video popped up on the side scroll list. Steve A still sounds good here to me; showing some power vocals but looks to be struggling to hit some high notes, especially on Separate Ways. This was the year he started to experience some problems, wasn't it? No auto-tune here, or so it doesn't seem so. Man, only if they took care of the guy. Steve A could bring it, he just burnt out.

JOURNEY - Live at Fresno, CA 2003
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3yehFTfVsA

This show has an Augeri version of La Do Da. I don't think I have ever heard him sing that one before now.

Listening to Arrival today. Such a great album. Wish Neal was allowed to sequence it instead of Sony/Kalodner. Soo many good songs (Higher Place, Signs of Life, I Got a Reason, World Gone Wild, To Be Alive Again) bogged down with syrupy ballads. It hurts the momentum. I would have included "I Can Breathe" and "Remember Me" on there also.

The_Noble_Cause wrote:Listening to Arrival today. Such a great album. Wish Neal was allowed to sequence it instead of Sony/Kalodner. Soo many good songs (Higher Place, Signs of Life, I Got a Reason, World Gone Wild, To Be Alive Again) bogged down with syrupy ballads. It hurts the momentum. I would have included "I Can Breathe" and "Remember Me" on there also.

Agreed. Arrival was more than am ample follow up to Trial By Fire which sounded nothing like classic Journey. What killed the record was Napster and the lack of Sony support.

it also didn't help that one of the worst journey ballads (save Butterfly) ever "all the way" was released as the lead off single.
Arrival had 7 song that were neither mid tempo or rockers. Although Livin to Do and Kiss me Softly are classics.

Steve Augeri

https://www.periscope.tv/w/1mrxmDmOzpkJy

FamilyMan wrote:

The_Noble_Cause wrote:Listening to Arrival today. Such a great album. Wish Neal was allowed to sequence it instead of Sony/Kalodner. Soo many good songs (Higher Place, Signs of Life, I Got a Reason, World Gone Wild, To Be Alive Again) bogged down with syrupy ballads. It hurts the momentum. I would have included "I Can Breathe" and "Remember Me" on there also.

Agreed. Arrival was more than am ample follow up to Trial By Fire which sounded nothing like classic Journey. What killed the record was Napster and the lack of Sony support.

The fact that Augeri didn't bring strong performances or the vocal power Journey needed and that the music was of a dead genre also didn't help.

YoungJRNYfan wrote:

The_Noble_Cause wrote:Wish someone would post a better version of this 1998 Augeri concert. Augeri at his best. High tenor with a warm soulful range.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_4yrcOlYUo

Thanks for sharing that, TNC. I try to look for video's all the time of Augeri in his prime because I really don't want to see him struggling within' his last years with the band.. it's depressing so it's great to see Steve A nail the material. You can see why they chose him at the time so this is how I want to remember him. "I'll Be Alright Without You" man...he sings that phenomenally here.

Cool Cain medley in this show too. Starts with "Of A Lifetime" and then becomes "Trial By Fire."

The_Noble_Cause wrote:

YoungJRNYfan wrote:This video popped up on the side scroll list. Steve A still sounds good here to me; showing some power vocals but looks to be struggling to hit some high notes, especially on Separate Ways. This was the year he started to experience some problems, wasn't it? No auto-tune here, or so it doesn't seem so. Man, only if they took care of the guy. Steve A could bring it, he just burnt out.

JOURNEY - Live at Fresno, CA 2003
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3yehFTfVsA

This whole show is auto-tuned.

Really? How can you tell? I don't hear any of that classic, metallic autotune sound. (I don't mean to sound combative. I'm looking for enlightenment.)

RumTumJM wrote:

The_Noble_Cause wrote:

YoungJRNYfan wrote:This video popped up on the side scroll list. Steve A still sounds good here to me; showing some power vocals but looks to be struggling to hit some high notes, especially on Separate Ways. This was the year he started to experience some problems, wasn't it? No auto-tune here, or so it doesn't seem so. Man, only if they took care of the guy. Steve A could bring it, he just burnt out.

JOURNEY - Live at Fresno, CA 2003
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3yehFTfVsA

This whole show is auto-tuned.

Really? How can you tell? I don't hear any of that classic, metallic autotune sound. (I don't mean to sound combative. I'm looking for enlightenment.)

I hear pitch correction all over this. Vocals sound compressed and processed. To me its especially obvious when compared to the 1998 show or earlier shows. Or go watch the one 2004 show on YouTube. No autotune there (except SHML being from 2001 DVD and some piped in highs on SW). Quite often Augeri's live voice was so imprecise and off-key that it's plainly obvious when they were using effects. Arnel can sing and sound nearly studio perfect. Rarely the case with Augeri.

I hear pitch correction all over this. Vocals sound compressed and processed. To me its especially obvious when compared to the 1998 show or earlier shows. Or go watch the one 2004 show on YouTube. No autotune there (except SHML being from 2001 DVD and some piped in highs on SW). Quite often Augeri's live voice was so imprecise and off-key that it's plainly obvious when they were using effects. Arnel can sing and sound nearly studio perfect. Rarely the case with Augeri.

Man, what the hell does that do to a singer? Wonder how Steve A felt when the band went to him on live shows to tell him that he's so pitch-awul that he needs auto-tuned. As a pro, that has to be a nightmare, especially for a legendary band like Journey.

And the vocals are def compressed and processed like you said. It sticks out like a sore thumb in the beginning of Be Good To Yourself. Good ear.

YoungJRNYfan wrote:

I hear pitch correction all over this. Vocals sound compressed and processed. To me its especially obvious when compared to the 1998 show or earlier shows. Or go watch the one 2004 show on YouTube. No autotune there (except SHML being from 2001 DVD and some piped in highs on SW). Quite often Augeri's live voice was so imprecise and off-key that it's plainly obvious when they were using effects. Arnel can sing and sound nearly studio perfect. Rarely the case with Augeri.

Man, what the hell does that do to a singer? Wonder how Steve A felt when the band went to him on live shows to tell him that he's so pitch-awul that he needs auto-tuned. As a pro, that has to be a nightmare, especially for a legendary band like Journey.

And the vocals are def compressed and processed like you said. It sticks out like a sore thumb in the beginning of Be Good To Yourself. Good ear.

I don't hear "auto tune" here, but I'm no expert. Some of his pitches are still pretty off, and usually when you hear auto tune it is recognizable because it doesn't just fix pitches but has a distinctive robotic quality to the vocal that many artists use not because they can't sing on pitch (although maybe some can't) but because they like auto tune for the effect. This sounds like real but flawed vocal. Perhaps some vocals were piped in to get him through the roughest spots and the rest is live? We may never know.

Majestic wrote:

YoungJRNYfan wrote:

I hear pitch correction all over this. Vocals sound compressed and processed. To me its especially obvious when compared to the 1998 show or earlier shows. Or go watch the one 2004 show on YouTube. No autotune there (except SHML being from 2001 DVD and some piped in highs on SW). Quite often Augeri's live voice was so imprecise and off-key that it's plainly obvious when they were using effects. Arnel can sing and sound nearly studio perfect. Rarely the case with Augeri.

Man, what the hell does that do to a singer? Wonder how Steve A felt when the band went to him on live shows to tell him that he's so pitch-awul that he needs auto-tuned. As a pro, that has to be a nightmare, especially for a legendary band like Journey.

And the vocals are def compressed and processed like you said. It sticks out like a sore thumb in the beginning of Be Good To Yourself. Good ear.

I don't hear "auto tune" here, but I'm no expert. Some of his pitches are still pretty off, and usually when you hear auto tune it is recognizable because it doesn't just fix pitches but has a distinctive robotic quality to the vocal that many artists use not because they can't sing on pitch (although maybe some can't) but because they like auto tune for the effect. This sounds like real but flawed vocal. Perhaps some vocals were piped in to get him through the roughest spots and the rest is live? We may never know.

Autotune sounds robotic in extreme cases like that crappy Cher "Believe" song or Bobby Kimball on the TOTO FIB DVD. But this is not always the case. Augeri is also auto-tuned on the 2001 Vegas DVD, which is more subtle. If you want an example of vocals being piped-in for a mostly live concert, I present to you this clip from 2004:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxCIz7-_qqE

Here, Augeri is live but at 2:22 -2:24, Elson cues up vocals from the 2001 dvd for the lyrics "in vain, in vain." The difference between Augeri live and the pitch-corrected Vegas 2001 dvd is like night and day. It is what it is.

Augeri is definitely shot by that time of the 2004 performance TNC posted above. He seems drained and in need of help. Every note seems like it's getting more painful and painful.

He even completely stops singing from 1:33-140 to play to the crowd. He's in total pain, but they threw him out there anyways, damn.

It's really awful and sad what happened with his voice especially in 2006. I was at the second to last show and Augeri's voice sounded really rough.
Some of the clips are painful to watch. Saw one from 80's rewind festival on V.H. 1 classic of don't stop believin' really painful. We saw him 2 years ago and the vocals were not good. Haven't been since.
Arnel was awesome at Mohegan Sun.so worth the money