Queen without Freddie vs. Journey without Steve

[Matthew]

The Eagles have done alright though, haven't they? And their heyday was in the mid-1970s.

U2...the Rolling Stones...Aerosmith...even KISS...all still going strong...even Def Leppard just hit the album charts...and Bill Joel recently sold out 12 nights at Madison Square Garden...

Those bands still have their "hit" singers.

Yes - I agree - but I was trying not to be all 'PerryLoon' about the obvious reason for Journey's diminished status.

[A Fire Inside]

I don't think it's the WHOLE entire reason for their "diminished status" but it is part... we all know how happy Sony was to promote Arrival...

[Matthew]

Can the loss of 750,000 CD buying Journey fans in a five year period really be blamed on the record company?

Maybe...

[Matthew]

After all...TBF wasn't promoted well either...a late video shoot...limited PR....no tour....but it still sold a million.

[A Fire Inside]

After all...TBF wasn't promoted well either...a late video shoot...limited PR....no tour....but it still sold a million.

I'm not familiar with the stats of either album's sales.

But again, it was a combination... TBF had promo, then the tour was cancelled and label PR dropped away. I would bet their sales took a nosedive around that time, if not before. Has TBF sold a million in 8 years, or how long did it take to get to that status? I know it shipped platinum, but sales... Arrival was released 4 years later with basically no PR at all. I'm not trying to say Arrival was better than TBF but label support AND the lineup were both responsible for the difference.

[Voyager]

Question:

Why do Elvis fans tolerate labelling people who sing and act like Elvis "Elvis impersonators", while many Journey fans cannot tolerate people who sing and act like Steve Perry being labelled "Steve Perry impersonators"? If you called Steve Augeri an "impersonator" on the offcial Journey website forums, the post would immediately get attacked without mercy and deleted in short order.

[tammy]

You don't think so? I reckon "A Better Life" is by far the most soulful and authentic track Journey have recorded since Perry left the band.

Such a mystery - to me, anyway - why Journey didn't use Deen more often on the studio albums....or why they didn't release "A Better Life" as a single.

***********

A mystery to me, too! Out of all the songs on that record, that one I could see being on the radio here...and sounding contemporary. It was a surprise to me to hear Deen singing in a different voice than what I heard in concert when he sounded very much like SP in the early years. At the same time it felt sad because you know I am dedicated to SP & all I could think was SP should be singing this 'cuz it sounded so much like in the Trial by Fire vein.

As for the original question on this thread...circumstances are different for different groups. Mercury & some other lead singers (INXS) died, so there is that. I like Queen with FM singing, but that is my preference & I don't have any desire to go to one of their concerts...and, that has nothing against Paul R., just not enough desire for me to fork out the money & effort for a concert. So, it could be the same for different fans of Journey - some prefer & are content listening to the CDs with SP & don't have the desire for otherwise.

I can definitely understand that nothing is cut & dried...nobody knows EXACTLY the whole story of what went on with each member of the band & SP. From where I am, I can see both sides. I can't imagine Neal ever sitting around as a studio musician, he is like a ball of fire & needs the stage & people (as he once said, he gets off on them getting off on him.) At the same time I can see where SP is coming from ...the times he was feeling completely burned out (and obviously the voice isn't like just getting another guitar when it breaks a string) and having physical medical problems with his hip.

Well, all this has been spun around & around before...the fact is that many people have been blessed/made happy/whatever your term by having this music in their lives, whether it is from the past or the present. Let people have what makes them happy because you will never know what they have personally gone through in their lives or in their psyches.

Sorry, I sound like a sermon.

Anyway, I have to say that as much as I love SP, I love his connection with Journey much more than his solo. There is that magic & perfection that is undeniable. The intertwining of Steve's voice with the band's instruments & the guys as well as with the audience...it just always gives a rush.
And, remember that there are "Perry loons or PHs" that can still be open-minded about what Journey is doing presently...as long as they don't screw with the legacy, that is.

[jrnyman28]

Question:

Why do Elvis fans tolerate labelling people who sing and act like Elvis "Elvis impersonators", while many Journey fans cannot tolerate people who sing and act like Steve Perry being labelled "Steve Perry impersonators"? If you called Steve Augeri an "impersonator" on the offcial Journey website forums, the post would immediately get attacked without mercy and deleted in short order.

Hugo is a Steve Perry impersonator...sound, moves, looks. Steve does not look like Perry, move like Perry, and only resembles Perry when singing. Impersonators are trying to be copies of someone else...Steve is/was not.

[NealIsGod]

Question:

Why do Elvis fans tolerate labelling people who sing and act like Elvis "Elvis impersonators", while many Journey fans cannot tolerate people who sing and act like Steve Perry being labelled "Steve Perry impersonators"? If you called Steve Augeri an "impersonator" on the offcial Journey website forums, the post would immediately get attacked without mercy and deleted in short order.

Hugo is an impersonator. If you can't tell the difference, than I don't know what to say.

[Voyager]

Hugo is a Steve Perry impersonator...sound, moves, looks. Steve does not look like Perry, move like Perry, and only resembles Perry when singing. Impersonators are trying to be copies of someone else...Steve is/was not.

But c'mon... the guy's name is Steve Augeri (which almost sounds like Steve Perry). He has long black hair and wears tight leather pants, just like Perry. He sings Perry's songs, and does his very best to impersonate Perry. When Journey first started touring with Augeri, I remember several of my friends saying that Journey was back with Steve Perry because they heard the radio ads advertising, "Journey with Steve Augeri" because the two sounded so similar.

Is the guy who replaced Dennis DeYoung in Styx an impersonator? I would have to say he is, because he tries to sing and play just like Dennis DeYoung.

What is an "impersonator" anyway?

Impersonator
To imitate the appearance, voice, or manner of.

I would say Steve Augeri qualifies.

[NealIsGod]

Hugo is a Steve Perry impersonator...sound, moves, looks. Steve does not look like Perry, move like Perry, and only resembles Perry when singing. Impersonators are trying to be copies of someone else...Steve is/was not.

But c'mon... the guy's name is Steve Augeri (which almost sounds like Steve Perry). He has long black hair and wears tight leather pants, just like Perry. He sings Perry's songs, and does his very best to impersonate Perry. When Journey first started touring with Augeri, I remember several of my friends saying that Journey was back with Steve Perry because they heard the radio ads advertising, "Journey with Steve Augeri" because the two sounded so similar.

Is the guy who replaced Dennis DeYoung in Styx an impersonator? I would have to say he is, because he tries to sing and play just like Dennis DeYoung.

What is an "impersonator" anyway?

Impersonator
To imitate the appearance, voice, or manner of.

I would say Steve Augeri qualifies.

I woud say you are wrong. The man is himself. He can't fucking help his name sounding similar, or having brown hair. And I have never seen Perry wear leather pants EVER. Your argument has more holes than this guy's face:

[A Fire Inside]

the guy's name is Steve Augeri (which almost sounds like Steve Perry). He has long black hair and wears tight leather pants, just like Perry.

This is quite possibly the most ridiculous thing I have read here.

1. Steve Augeri is his BIRTH NAME! It isn't like he changed it to sound like Steve Perry.
2. He had long dark hair way before Journey! Perhaps he's "impersonating" ROR Perry since his is curly?
3. So now every singer who wears tight leather pants is trying to be Steve Perry? I never saw SP wear red leather pants quite like Augeri's...

[conversationpc]

But c'mon... the guy's name is Steve Augeri (which almost sounds like Steve Perry).

Yeah, the guy's parents must've wanted him to be an SP impersonator.

He has long black hair and wears tight leather pants, just like Perry.

He has long, BROWN, CURLY hair. SP had long, BLACK, STRAIGHT hair. I don't remember ever seeing SP wearing the kind of clothing that Augeri wears. Maybe SA should start dressing in drag instead?

He sings Perry's songs, and does his very best to impersonate Perry.

He doesn't sound like Perry. He doesn't look like Perry. Heck, even his stage presence is in no way reminiscient of Perry's.

[Matthew]

Oh come on...everyone knows why Augeri was hired...why pretend?

[NealIsGod]

Oh come on...everyone knows why Augeri was hired...why pretend?

He was hired because he could do justice to the Journey catalog. Brian Johnson was hired by AC/DC because his vocal style fit the band's songs. Does that make him a Bon Scott impersonator? This whole argument is ridiculous.

[conversationpc]

Oh come on...everyone knows why Augeri was hired...why pretend?

He wasn't hired to be an SP doppelganger, if that's what you mean. If that were the case, they would've hired someone like Hugo and joined the circus.

[Matthew]

Can we agree that Augeri wasn't hired because of his differences to Perry?

[MartyMoffatt]

Can we agree that Augeri wasn't hired because of his differences to Perry?

That attempt at reverse logic is a nonsense argument. You might as well say he wasn't hired because he likes chocolate. Obviously they wouldn't want someone who couldn't sing any of the Journey catalog, but that's not the same as saying he was hired to look and sound 'exactly' like Perry.

Marty

[Matthew]

Can we agree that Augeri wasn't hired because of his differences to Perry?

That attempt at reverse logic is a nonsense argument. You might as well say he wasn't hired because he likes chocolate. Obviously they wouldn't want someone who couldn't sing any of the Journey catalog, but that's not the same as saying he was hired to look and sound 'exactly' like Perry.

Marty

Okay. I'll reverse the logic back again. Augeri was hired because of his similarities to Perry.

[conversationpc]

Okay. I'll reverse the logic back again. Augeri was hired because of his similarities to Perry.

That argument has been destroyed numerous times. He sounded enough like Perry to pull off the old material without being a Perry doppelganger.

[Matthew]

Well....they could have done a Van Halen or a Genesis and tried to reinvent the live renditions of the old catalogue...but that would have taken a lot of balls and imagination.

Good thing JSS is now on the scene to bring his own style to the band.

[conversationpc]

Well....they could have done a Van Halen or a Genesis and tried to reinvent the live renditions of the old catalogue...but that would have taken a lot of balls and imagination.

Good thing JSS is now on the scene to bring his own style to the band.

I kinda cringe whenever I think of what Genesis became in the early 80s. They did some good stuff but, compared to their 70s output, their material in the 80s was just fluff.

[Matthew]

Well....they could have done a Van Halen or a Genesis and tried to reinvent the live renditions of the old catalogue...but that would have taken a lot of balls and imagination.

Good thing JSS is now on the scene to bring his own style to the band.

I kinda cringe whenever I think of what Genesis became in the early 80s. They did some good stuff but, compared to their 70s output, their material in the 80s was just fluff.

Okay - I'll admit they had some fluffy moments - but there are a number of classic Genesis songs from the 80s..."Home By The Sea" especially...plus the live shows had the double-drum solo!

[SusieP]

If we assume that Perry's voice was shot, and Augeri's voice is shot, we have to look at why.

Perry stopped touring - fact.
The reasons for him stopping are conjecture. We do not know why. We can assume, but we don't know.

If Augeri did the Journey catalog justice at the beginning, but had problems after intensive touring - what caused the vocal problem? The intensive touring without sufficient rest periods? Or were the songs making him strain, and the straining is what caused the problem? Or all of these factors?
Did Perry have the same problems (as his voice matured) and realised before it was too late? (i.e. he jacked it in while his reputation was still intact).

Augeri did sound similar to Perry. That is probably why he was hired. But that is probably why he was able to do the songs in the first place.
Dunno about Jeff, I haven't heard him do Journey stuff except on youtube. I'd like to hear him in a CD quality recording on a decent hi fi before I decide. From what I have heard, he's different to Perry and Augeri. More of a rocker.

The songs and their ranges are undoubtedly proving difficult for a man with a mature voice to sing comfortably over long periods of time. Can any older voice sing the classic Journey songs?
What's the solution?
Risk blowing JSS's voice? Singers aren't like speaker horns, they can't keep repairing them!
So do they lower the keys of the classic songs?
Or get a young guy in?
Or keep JSS but not do the songs that involve any straining?
OMG I'm glad I don't have to make these decisions.
It's a bloody nightmare!

I just hope that they don't fold.

[itsjustme]

Both will never be the same, but could still be great again.

Freddie and Perry are in a whole different league, and will never be equalled. But there are plenty of great vocalist/songwriters in the next few tiers.



I Love watching Neal play, no matter who he's with.

[chad]

Freddie and Perry are in a whole different league, and will never be equalled.

so true...

[Moon Beam]

I Love watching Neal play, no matter who he's with.

Neal owns my baskside when he wails man.
I completely agree with you here.

[Rock Fn]

Both will never be the same, but could still be great again.

Freddie and Perry are in a whole different league, and will never be equalled. But there are plenty of great vocalist/songwriters in the next few tiers.



.

Agreed. Two of the best ever!


No comparison. Queen is a monster group. Journey is a pimple on their ass. I caught the Queen tour last year, It was one of the best shows I've seen in years. Paul is a legend, Augeri ?

[Matthew]

Both will never be the same, but could still be great again.

Freddie and Perry are in a whole different league, and will never be equalled. But there are plenty of great vocalist/songwriters in the next few tiers.



.

Agreed. Two of the best ever!


No comparison. Queen is a monster group. Journey is a pimple on their ass. I caught the Queen tour last year, It was one of the best shows I've seen in years. Paul is a legend, Augeri ?

Well, Bad Company were legendary - but Paul Rogers has done bugger all of note since 1974.

[conversationpc]

Queen is a monster group. Journey is a pimple on their ass.

Ummm...This is the wrong group to bringing that stuff into.

Is Queen more popular worldwide? Yes and I love Queen but Journey is nowhere near a "pimple on their ass".