MR

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Separate Ways
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nIXDjtpcqE

Lights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fipgr6utJX8

DSB
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8i0ptwvsl4

Sounded good to me.

Acceptance speech

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ab9eoa6qP2U

Would have been nice to see Perry sing "Lights". We know that is a song he can still do very well, although a step or two lower...which, "who cares?" It's not Arnel's fault but he doesn't have the emotional attachment to those songs.

The other issue I have isn't with Arnel as much as it is with the band. He is nearly 50 years old and he's been singing these songs virtually every night since 2007, or so...in their original keys mostly. They need to tune down the live shows and help him out. If they insist on continuing to tour like they have been he desperately needs some help from the band or he'll be done very soon. I never understood why they insist on the original keys for these songs. Everyone gets older and no one expects them to perform the way they did back in '81. The fans would not care at all if they tuned down a bit.

LazzMan wrote:Would have been nice to see Perry sing "Lights". We know that is a song he can still do very well, although a step or two lower...which, "who cares?" It's not Arnel's fault but he doesn't have the emotional attachment to those songs.

The other issue I have isn't with Arnel as much as it is with the band. He is nearly 50 years old and he's been singing these songs virtually every night since 2007, or so...in their original keys mostly. They need to tune down the live shows and help him out. If they insist on continuing to tour like they have been he desperately needs some help from the band or he'll be done very soon. I never understood why they insist on the original keys for these songs. Everyone gets older and no one expects them to perform the way they did back in '81. The fans would not care at all if they tuned down a bit.

They have detuned for Arnel. They actually started doing that very early on in his tenure. Did it for JSS too, who said it made songs more dificult (or something to that effect).

Yep, tuned down half a step.

Steve Perry should have sang "Born and raised in South Detroit." If he just sang that one line, everybody would be going crazy. Then Perry could have just smiled and cheered on Arnel.

If Steve Perry is inducted into the Hall of Fame as a solo artist, will he get Arnel sing his songs for him? Just kidding!

The_Noble_Cause wrote:They have detuned for Arnel. They actually started doing that very early on in his tenure. Did it for JSS too, who said it made songs more dificult (or something to that effect).

1/2 step isn't enough anymore it would appear. Arnel is really straining on these. Not his fault. Those songs are where great voices go to die.

Yep, that was rough. Arnel was kind of masked in those videos. The one on the live stream was from the side and avoided the "blast" of the instruments, and you could hear him a lot better. His voice is fried. Need to tune down some more or give him more time between shows. Just too demanding a set list to sing that often, and he's 49 now.

I don't think Arnel is fried. He can still give the set-list justice. Though he isn't fried quite yet, he's close to it. I hope he manages himself well and takes Steve A's advice to heart. Arnel always seemed like the type that understood what it takes to be a professional, including taking care of his voice but he's nowhere near the powerhouse type voice he was, but that's expected at this stage of the game.

I agree. I don't think he is fried. But what once came effortlessly, he is now having to really push through.

I was at the ceremony and talked with the guys after the show. Arnel had problems with his inner ear monitors and couldn't hear himself in the mix. Let's cut him a break. Think about the pressure of going out and performing with the whole arena wishing it was Perry - seconds after Perry himself stood on that stage. I'm not sure anyone had a right to ask him to do that, but just as Jon said he would, Arnel represented well. That man has a brass set of balls.

Yeah, I checked while watching it live and thought they were in standard tuning. Nope, down a 1/2. That's what I get for checking on an out of tune piano. Could you IMAGINE how nervous he'd be singing in front of Steve? Oh man....
The live feed I heard had the crowd singing so much (it was from the audience) that it was tough to tell if it was Arnel or the audience. I've heard him kick ass a ton over the years. Stuff happens and he still brings it. If he was 'fried' you'd hear rasp in the voice or it just wouldn't work. I don't hear that at all. I think the voice is totally intact. Of course it is. What I hear is that he's not hearing pitch correctly for some reason. His in ears coulda been screwy, he coulda been sick, he coulda been nervous. LOTS of things can affect a singer's voice. There have been other guys who've had terrible live pitch. Arnel's usually 'on' and shit happens. He's still worthy of the gig. He still brings it every night. One more thing, being a singer like that is a 24 hour job. There's a lot of saying no to things, there's a lot of avoidance of things, there's just so much crap that can affect the voice. Nerves is no small part of that.

Sure, there was some added stress because everyone wanted Perry to sing, but the amount of pressure may never have been greater, because he was actually in the building. It's just my opinion, but the fact is that Arnel still does reasonably well but it's becoming more evident year after year that things aren't as effortless as they were. But, the guy's 10 years older than he was, so I think most of us cut him some slack, or just recognize the fact because we all watched what happened to Augeri (and illness) take it's toll on him vocally. Neal and Co. know this is their last rodeo with Arnel and if they lost him, J would likely be done, so they pace their tours out more, and are willing to do more to keep him healthier than maybe they did in the past.

I'm amazed that nobody has mentioned Ross yet.


?!?!?!?

Arnel is definitely struggling, but for the most part he sounds damn good. He sounds better than most people probably would singing this catalog at 50 years old for 9 years.

Effortful is the word I'd use now, whereas effortless was how it used to be for him. I'd say he probably did a lot of the damage himself. When I saw from 08 thru '12, Arnel just straight powered through the songs. He sang harder, louder, and higher than what he probably needed to. It was epic as hell, but I imagine it didn't do him any favors in the long run.

That's why, after much deliberation, I decided to see them this year when they come to my city of Louisville in June. Smitty's back and this tour might very well be the one to tip Arnel over the side.

I expect this will be the last time I attend a show of theirs, so it's a big one.

FamilyMan wrote:I was at the ceremony and talked with the guys after the show. Arnel had problems with his inner ear monitors and couldn't hear himself in the mix. Let's cut him a break.

What I saw at the HOF show was pretty indicative of Arnel's live performances lately. Not buying the monitor excuse. Sorry. His range is diminished right now. Just a fact. Still good, but he's come down a bit.

FamilyMan wrote:Think about the pressure of going out and performing with the whole arena wishing it was Perry - seconds after Perry himself stood on that stage. I'm not sure anyone had a right to ask him to do that, but just as Jon said he would, Arnel represented well. That man has a brass set of balls.

Oh please. First off, this is what Augeri had to do EVERY night. Initially, many fans were clueless to the fact that Perry was gone and expected to see SP. Secondly, Arnel is a professional and this is not his first rodeo. If Foreigner had been inducted, would anybody be making similar excuses for Kelly? No. Because he owns the stage and is a real frontman.

I like their song choices, but they should have done Any Way You Want It (because it is short and would leave time for later), and then Don't Stop Believin', and then end with a long jam version of Lovin, Touchin, Squeezin with Gregg Rolie on keys and maybe Jon on harmonica. I love Lights, but I think it wasted the talent of Gregg Rolie.

marco17 wrote: Neal and Co. know this is their last rodeo with Arnel and if they lost him, J would likely be done, so they pace their tours out more, and are willing to do more to keep him healthier than maybe they did in the past.

Not sure about this. Arnel has raised their profile considerably. No denying that. However, as Baruck has said in a recent interview "People came to hear the songs....They didn’t care who was singing lead."

The_Noble_Cause wrote:

FamilyMan wrote:I was at the ceremony and talked with the guys after the show. Arnel had problems with his inner ear monitors and couldn't hear himself in the mix. Let's cut him a break.

What I saw at the HOF show was pretty indicative of Arnel's live performances lately. Not buying the monitor excuse. Sorry. His range is diminished right now. Just a fact. Still good, but he's come down a bit.

FamilyMan wrote:Think about the pressure of going out and performing with the whole arena wishing it was Perry - seconds after Perry himself stood on that stage. I'm not sure anyone had a right to ask him to do that, but just as Jon said he would, Arnel represented well. That man has a brass set of balls.

Oh please. First off, this is what Augeri had to do EVERY night. Initially, many fans were clueless to the fact that Perry was gone and expected to see SP. Secondly, Arnel is a professional and this is not his first rodeo. If Foreigner had been inducted, would anybody be making similar excuses for Kelly? No. Because he owns the stage and is a real frontman.

Are you really equating the Perry reunion with that of Foreigner? I don't think all that many people are pining away for the return of Lou Gramm.

There were almost a few really great picts of the older/pre-Cain era lineup there, sadly he could be seen. Would love a pict of just Neal, Greg, Aynsley, & Ross. Then one of Perry, Greg, Neal, Ross, & Smith. If anyone has or can find these from that event, please post them.

FamilyMan wrote:

The_Noble_Cause wrote:

FamilyMan wrote:I was at the ceremony and talked with the guys after the show. Arnel had problems with his inner ear monitors and couldn't hear himself in the mix. Let's cut him a break.

What I saw at the HOF show was pretty indicative of Arnel's live performances lately. Not buying the monitor excuse. Sorry. His range is diminished right now. Just a fact. Still good, but he's come down a bit.

FamilyMan wrote:Think about the pressure of going out and performing with the whole arena wishing it was Perry - seconds after Perry himself stood on that stage. I'm not sure anyone had a right to ask him to do that, but just as Jon said he would, Arnel represented well. That man has a brass set of balls.

Oh please. First off, this is what Augeri had to do EVERY night. Initially, many fans were clueless to the fact that Perry was gone and expected to see SP. Secondly, Arnel is a professional and this is not his first rodeo. If Foreigner had been inducted, would anybody be making similar excuses for Kelly? No. Because he owns the stage and is a real frontman.

Are you really equating the Perry reunion with that of Foreigner? I don't think all that many people are pining away for the return of Lou Gramm.

What does that have to do with anything? When Steve Perry showed up at the Walk of Fame and SA struggled later that night performing, did anybody blame ear monitors or the sniffles? Arnel's hof performance is what it is. This is how he has been performing lately.

MysteryMountain wrote:There were almost a few really great picts of the older/pre-Cain era lineup there, sadly he could be seen. Would love a pict of just Neal, Greg, Aynsley, & Ross. Then one of Perry, Greg, Neal, Ross, & Smith. If anyone has or can find these from that event, please post them.

The original 4 piece - with a sub par photo editing program:

The_Noble_Cause wrote:

marco17 wrote: Neal and Co. know this is their last rodeo with Arnel and if they lost him, J would likely be done, so they pace their tours out more, and are willing to do more to keep him healthier than maybe they did in the past.

Not sure about this. Arnel has raised their profile considerably. No denying that. However, as Baruck has said in a recent interview "People came to hear the songs....They didn’t care who was singing lead."

True...I'm looking at it from the how much effort are they going to want to put into finding someone new, to replace yet another singer angle?.. Arnel has helped their image some over the years, but he/the band also walked into the perfect PR storm at the time when DSB was everywhere and they were able to take advantage of that when he joined.

Think there's a big difference between an audience at the House of Blues and Barclays Center, for one thing -- not to mention the millions more watching on HBO... plus the reality that Perry had just been on that same stage only seconds earlier. The classiest thing Perry did that night was acknowledge Arnel. It literally gave the band license to put Arnel out there that night - which I still think was a questionable call. Perry defused it - saying to everybody, "this guy is Journey now." Very generous. And the band noted it.

FamilyMan wrote:Think there's a big difference between an audience at the House of Blues and Barclays Center, for one thing -- not to mention the millions more watching on HBO...

In other words, depending on the venue size and if the audience is comprised of rich celebrities, a performer should either do their best or just simply not give a shit? I'm not sure what you are saying and I don't think you know either. But here's the truth. Anybody who is a fan of this band and has been watching live performances through the years knows that Arnel has been diminished by this catalog.

marco17 wrote:

The_Noble_Cause wrote:

marco17 wrote: Neal and Co. know this is their last rodeo with Arnel and if they lost him, J would likely be done, so they pace their tours out more, and are willing to do more to keep him healthier than maybe they did in the past.

Not sure about this. Arnel has raised their profile considerably. No denying that. However, as Baruck has said in a recent interview "People came to hear the songs....They didn’t care who was singing lead."

True...I'm looking at it from the how much effort are they going to want to put into finding someone new, to replace yet another singer angle?.. Arnel has helped their image some over the years, but he/the band also walked into the perfect PR storm at the time when DSB was everywhere and they were able to take advantage of that when he joined.

I think Neal would justify that it is his band and want to keep it going not sure if Cain would. But as always, follow the money.

The_Noble_Cause wrote:

FamilyMan wrote:Think there's a big difference between an audience at the House of Blues and Barclays Center, for one thing -- not to mention the millions more watching on HBO...

In other words, depending on the venue size and if the audience is comprised of rich celebrities, a performer should either do their best or just simply not give a shit? I'm not sure what you are saying and I don't think you know either. But here's the truth. Anybody who is a fan of this band and has been watching live performances through the years knows that Arnel has been diminished by this catalog.

And for my next question... "So what?"

FamilyMan wrote:And for my next question... "So what?"

Funny. I think that was Azoff's reply when the last Journey singer started to decline. Keep spinning and making excuses. Wouldn't expect anything less from a hard-hitting CBS "journalist."

The_Noble_Cause wrote:

FamilyMan wrote:And for my next question... "So what?"

Funny. I think that was Azoff's reply when the last Journey singer started to decline. Keep spinning and making excuses. Wouldn't expect anything less from a hard-hitting CBS "journalist."

To endlessly compare Augeri's demise with Arnel is a waste of everyone's time. He's proven his worth to the band time and time again. No better proof than the seal of approval from Perry, who to my knowledge, never spoke out in support of Augeri.