Journey's Silver Bullet

[jrnyman28]

It's interesting that Jon has been credited with being the success of the band in previous threads, then condemned in this one for the same reason.

I thought of that when I was writing it!

[ohsherrie]

It's interesting that Jon has been credited with being the success of the band in previous threads, then condemned in this one for the same reason.

I thought of that when I was writing it!

I guess that's just proof that we can interpret the information that we have in whatever way we wish. There's a saying among IEs that goes something like "I can make anything look like a cost savings on paper". On this board we can make anything look good or bad.

[r@y]

It was Open Arms, followed by Faithfully, that made Journey the creators of the "rock ballad".

ohsherrie, you might wanna consider adding the words 'one of' before creators of the rock ballad....

Remember Chicago, Toto & Reo Speedwagon, just to name a few...?

By definition 'power ballads' are slow songs with the inclusion of electric guitars. The electric guitars HAS to be there. No electric guitars, then the song will not classify as a 'power' ballad.

With regards to your post, yes, I completely agree with you..!

P.S. I apologise if my remarks were an insult to your intelligence. That was truly not my intention.

Cheers.

Ray.

[ohsherrie]

[
P.S. I apologise if my remarks were an insult to your intelligence. That was truly not my intention.

Cheers.

Ray.

No offense taken.

I had no idea what the definition of rock ballad was. I've heard and read various references to Journey being the creators of the rock(or maybe it was power)ballad. Whether they truly invented them or not, no one else sang them like Perry. Those other bands had rock ballads, but none of them were performed with the power that Steve's voice brought to Journey's songs.

I honestly don't think Escape or Frontiers would have done as well as they did for Journey without Open Arms and Faithfully.

[NoMoreTails]

I should mention that the Jonathan Cain/Steve Perry era of the band led to the most brilliant songs of the band's career. Give me one Open Arms, a tolerable if sugary ballad, in exchange for an Escape, Mother Father, Don't Stop Believin', the list goes on and on.....

Good point. Schon is co-writer on most of my favorite tracks from the era including Escape,MF,&DSB. Not to beat the song writing thing to death but to point out that Neal's rock vibe complimented Jon's pop tendencies and vice versa and they kept a balance between the two as long as the band remained a democracy, and does again. Open Arms deserved to be heard but its unfortunate that the general public is more aware of it than they are other material that is far superior. There was always a balance, until ROR, its just unfortunate that people recognize them most for something that was only a fraction of what the band really was.

[heardonthestreet]

It's interesting that Jon has been credited with being the success of the band in previous threads, then condemned in this one for the same reason.

I thought of that when I was writing it!

...........................................

Real cute, Dave but I didn't buy into it. Like you and Jeremey kept implying that Jon brought Journey the success it use to enjoy and then saying that with the good came the bad, in order to validate your first point.

Jon or Gregg! Either would have served the purpose in getting Journey to the people but Perry was the necessary element for them to work with. His voice! With Gregg and Perry, the ball was already rolling and I feel that Journey might have gone ballistic, down the road if Gregg has stayed. We'll never know. It was a win, win situation as long as one or the other had Perry doing the vocals. I do feel that Perry would never have done a duet with Jon tho, as he did with Gregg. Imo, Jon has no range.

[NealIsGod]

The duets between Perry and Rolie were magic. I will admit that.

[heardonthestreet]

The duets between Perry and Rolie were magic. I will admit that.

.................................................

Gregg had a great voice for duets as with his voice he is bound to contract, imo. Although on "IN The Morning Day", he and Valory sound simular. Damn, I'm sure Valory sings the second half of the vocals and I like that song a lot. I wish it had had more vocals tho instead of the wild band practice. It just didn't match up.

[jrnyman28]

It's interesting that Jon has been credited with being the success of the band in previous threads, then condemned in this one for the same reason.

I thought of that when I was writing it!

...........................................

Real cute, Dave but I didn't buy into it. Like you and Jeremey kept implying that Jon brought Journey the success it use to enjoy and then saying that with the good came the bad, in order to validate your first point.

Jon or Gregg! Either would have served the purpose in getting Journey to the people but Perry was the necessary element for them to work with. His voice! With Gregg and Perry, the ball was already rolling and I feel that Journey might have gone ballistic, down the road if Gregg has stayed. We'll never know. It was a win, win situation as long as one or the other had Perry doing the vocals. I do feel that Perry would never have done a duet with Jon tho, as he did with Gregg. Imo, Jon has no range.

I ahve always said that I felt Jon was more responsible for the "commercial" succes of Journey than Perry was. Commercial success is a double-edged sword. With that commercial success, Journey became pigeon-holed.

I firmly believe Journey would have continued to be successful with Gregg in the band. I do not believe they would have been AS huge, and I definately believe ROR would NEVER have happened. I prefer the Rolie era in general. I think their music was more sincere. But I am grateful for Jon as well. He can write like nobody's business. I am also grateful to Perry. He was an amazing singer who definately got the ball rolling for the band. I can praise all and still criticize because they are all human and they all have faults. (Well, I haven't really found any faults with Smitty yet....) Journey are like the facts of life: "You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have" Journey!

[NealIsGod]

Well, I haven't really found any faults with Smitty yet....

Smitty's a smoker!! That's his only fault!