So, who has the best solo career?

[Matthew]

I'm not sure this one is even close. Out of the people on that list, Perry is the only one who most of America even knows had a "solo career". As I've said in the past, whether you like Perry or not (and I know many here don't), it doesn't change the fact that Perry is the only member of Journey who had mainstream, commercial success without the name Journey attached to it!


John from Boston

John my response on this is quantity AND quality. Perry had one AWESOME solo album and one shitty one.

Soto recorded much more, and I like his material better. He wins hands down IMO.

He certainly wins on quantity....

[Art Vandelay]

On a creative level, Smith blows them all away. He's a world-class musician who's been recognized for efforts that exceeds anything he's ever done in Journey.

[AJ]

I voted for Perry. IMO he had 3 solo albums: ST, FTLOSM, and ROR!!

I love a lot of Neal's stuff. I wish Neal would do a kick ass rock record... a la the great Satch!! Who'd be up for that?

[AR]

I voted for Perry. IMO he had 3 solo albums: ST, FTLOSM, and ROR!!

I love a lot of Neal's stuff. I wish Neal would do a kick ass rock record... a la the great Satch!! Who'd be up for that?

LOL!

ROR - sort of.

[tupchurch]

Perry. No disrespect to JSS. But the commercial success of street talk and the impressive FTLOSM album are the best.

[FormerJrnyFan]

My vote has to go to JSS

[Rockindeano]

I voted Soto. Hell, he career, is mostly solo. Perry did gavy train off the Journey name. Nothing wrong with that, but he did.

[****]

I voted Soto. Hell, he career, is mostly solo. Perry did gavy train off the Journey name. Nothing wrong with that, but he did.

Gotta agree with you on that one - Jeff, although not popular here in the States, has a LOT of success over seas.

[Matthew]

I voted Soto. Hell, he career, is mostly solo. Perry did gavy train off the Journey name. Nothing wrong with that, but he did.

Just like JSS is doing now, of course.

[****]

Just like JSS is doing now, of course.

[Matthew]

I voted Soto. Hell, he career, is mostly solo. Perry did gavy train off the Journey name. Nothing wrong with that, but he did.

Gotta agree with you on that one - Jeff, although not popular here in the States, has a LOT of success over seas.

Not in the UK he hasn't.

Listen I'm not bashing the guy - but it seems to me that people are wildly over-stating the case for him on this site.

Maybe I'll change my mind when I see him live for the first time tomorrow night.

[Rockindeano]

I voted Soto. Hell, he career, is mostly solo. Perry did gavy train off the Journey name. Nothing wrong with that, but he did.

Just like JSS is doing now, of course.

Dude, you are getting more and more refuckingdiculous every day. Soto has only done 20 shows with Journey. He hasn't used the name Journey to hype himself and hype his solo sales. He hasn't made a solo record yet, as a member of Journey.

What the fuck is wrong with Euros?

[Matthew]

I voted Soto. Hell, he career, is mostly solo. Perry did gavy train off the Journey name. Nothing wrong with that, but he did.

Just like JSS is doing now, of course.

Dude, you are getting more and more refuckingdiculous every day. Soto has only done 20 shows with Journey. He hasn't used the name Journey to hype himself and hype his solo sales. He hasn't made a solo record yet, as a member of Journey.

What the fuck is wrong with Euros?

Oh here we go...the moment anyone doesn't suck up to the guy the MR police come thundering over the horizon.

I'm not criticizing JSS. But the fact remains that his solo sales past and present will get a shot in the arm due to the profile he has - and the classic material he sings - in Journey. Good luck to him. He's paid his dues and I don't begrudge him any success that he achieves now.

[*Laura]

Maybe the title of the poll is not quite accurate.

IMO,none of these 5 musicians had a full solo career.They all had solo projects.

If you think about it,all of them were in bands most of their careers,including JSS.As solo singers,both SP and JSS were backed up by bands.
Same with the others as musicians.

For me,solo career means asinger who has a long time activity on his own.Huge household names like Rod Stewart,Tom Jones,Elton John etc - these guys had/have solid solo careers.

But if I'd vote,I'd have to go with Steve Perry. He was brilliant in Journey as well as outside the band.

[Behshad]

Maybe the title of the poll is not quite accurate.

IMO,none of these 5 musicians had a full solo career.They all had solo projects.

If you think about it,all of them were in bands most of their careers,including JSS.As solo singers,both SP and JSS were backed up by bands.
Same with the others as musicians.

For me,solo career means asinger who has a long time activity on his own.Huge household names like Rod Stewart,Tom Jones,Elton John etc - these guys had/have solid solo careers.

But if I'd vote,I'd have to go with Steve Perry. He was brilliant in Journey as well as outside the band.

If you wanna get that technical , all the above solo guys(Stewart,Jones,and Fag) you just mentioned, where all involved in some kind of jamming with bands in their garage or basement before they got famous on their own, so in theory, no one has ever had a solo career!
And your reason for Perry doesnt make sense, cause Jeff was also brilliant in Journey as well as outside the band!

Mathew, you can not tell me Jeff hasnt had any success on his own in the UK prior to Journey.
His huge involvments with the Queen tribute shows and his own band playin different shows in UK back in 02-03 made him successful (in his own level) in UK/Europe. Sure maybe not as famous as your Spice Girls , but still famous enough for people to know he isnt just an Ex-Yngwie singer. Also with overseas I would also include Japan, where Jeff has maintained huge popularity since mid 80s.

[Jeremey]

Can't say that any one of the members of Journey has actually had a solo career, though I think it'd be hard to argue that Perry wasn't the most commercially successful. Neal's solo stuff can be brilliant, and there's some that can be repetitively boring...JSS certainly has had a prolific solo career, though it's been pretty genre specific. He's been a workhorse as far as gigging goes, and more people have probably seen him performing live in one incarnation or another than do know about his solo records.

[*Laura]

If you wanna get that technical , all the above solo guys(Stewart,Jones,and Fag) you just mentioned, where all involved in some kind of jamming with bands in their garage or basement before they got famous on their own, so in theory, no one has ever had a solo career!

I have bolded the part that contradicts your own statement.
They may have jammed in basements,but that's not a career.It's what they did after on their own that led them to having careers.Solo.
People recognize their names without associating them to any bands.

And your reason for Perry doesnt make sense, cause Jeff was also brilliant in Journey as well as outside the band!

There are different levels of brilliance,just like some stars are brighter that the others.
Sure,it also depends on how good your vision is.

Oh yeah,I forgot to add IMO to my reason for Perry.

[Matthew]

Mathew, you can not tell me Jeff hasnt had any success on his own in the UK prior to Journey.
His huge involvments with the Queen tribute shows and his own band playin different shows in UK back in 02-03 made him successful (in his own level) in UK/Europe. Sure maybe not as famous as your Spice Girls , but still famous enough for people to know he isnt just an Ex-Yngwie singer. Also with overseas I would also include Japan, where Jeff has maintained huge popularity since mid 80s.

Behshad - I'm not sure that we can judge his success or lack of it from the Queen tribute shows. No matter how well JSS might have sung the Queen classics the audiences were there due to Queen's reputation and not JSS's.

Yes, Soul Sirkus played the Shepherd's Bush Empire in London recently - and that's a decent-sized venue - although nowhere near as big as the Hammersmith where Journey are playing tomorrow (and Hammersmith is much smaller than Wembley Arena and Earl's Court where all the big names play).

But I'd never heard of JSS until I went to the UK Journey Convention in March 2006. And no - I don't even remember him singing for Yngwie in the 80s either.

Sure, JSS might have been successful "in his own level". But that level is...club gigs.

Again - I'm not trying to knock the guy. I'm just responding to all the myth-building claims about his huge popularity outside the States.

But maybe I'm missing some key information here? If any JSS fans in the UK want to put me straight then please go ahead.

[Behshad]

Mathew, you can not tell me Jeff hasnt had any success on his own in the UK prior to Journey.
His huge involvments with the Queen tribute shows and his own band playin different shows in UK back in 02-03 made him successful (in his own level) in UK/Europe. Sure maybe not as famous as your Spice Girls , but still famous enough for people to know he isnt just an Ex-Yngwie singer. Also with overseas I would also include Japan, where Jeff has maintained huge popularity since mid 80s.

Behshad - I'm not sure that we can judge his success or lack of it from the Queen tribute shows. No matter how well JSS might have sung the Queen classics the audiences were there due to Queen's reputation and not JSS's.

I know that Soul Sirkus played the Shepherd's Bush Empire in London recently - and that's a decent-sized venue - although nowhere near as big as the Hammersmith where Journey are playing tomorrow (and Hammersmith is much smaller than Wembley Arena and Earl's Court where all the big names play).

Other than that...I'd never heard of JSS until I went to the UK Journey Convention in March 2006. And I don't even remember him singing for Yngwie in the 80s either.

Sure, JSS might have been successful "in his own level". But that level is...club gigs.

Again - I'm not trying to knock the guy. I'm just responding to all the myth-building claims about his huge popularity outside the States.

But maybe I'm missing some key information here? If any JSS fans in the UK want to put me straight then please go ahead.

Its not myth-building. Its facts. I lived most my life in Europe and I have known Jeff and about Jeff for 20+ years now.
I think the problem we have here is that you think "outside US" = UK.
He has always been popular in Sweden, Italy and France. His most devoted fans come from these countries.
The fact that you hadnt heard of him since 2006 , doesnt mean that he wasnt famous just cause you didnt know about him. Just cause you chose to live in a cave for majority of your life doesnt mean that the guys hard work were unknown till 2006 !
I just think the main reason you didnt know about him is because you didnt listen to the kind of music he was involved with ? How could you not know Yngwie's first singer!?

[Enigma869]

I voted Soto. Hell, he career, is mostly solo. Perry did gavy train off the Journey name. Nothing wrong with that, but he did.

Dean...

I don't buy this argument, AT ALL!!!!! Schon released solo work, when Journey was the biggest thing on the planet, and he somehow wasn't able to "gravy train off the Journey name"! The only difference was the Perry could sing his ass off, and Schon can't sing to save his life!!!!!! I will NEVER buy into the fact that someone has a successful solo career because of a band they are or were in. I would hazard to guess that even back then, the casual music fan probably had zero idea who Steve Perry even was or that he was the voice of Journey.

I've told this story before....I was driving down the street with my brother in law MANY years ago, when Don Henley's "Heart of the Matter" was a current release. One of Henley's songs came on the radio, and he says to me "Hey, that Henley guy (this was after the DJ announced who the singer was) sounds like one of the guys in The Eagles". Most music fans are not the rabid fans that hang out on sites like this, and simply don't make the connection.

What is my point of all of this....It's quite simple...Perry was successful because of his vocal talents, not because of the Journey name! Schon, Cain, Valory, and Smitty weren't performing on his solo work, and certainly shouldn't get any credit for it!

John from Boston

[Matthew]

I think the problem we have here is that you think "outside US" = UK.

Yes, you're probably right about that.

He has always been popular in Sweden, Italy and France. His most devoted fans come from these countries.

I'll take your word for it...

The fact that you hadnt heard of him since 2006 , doesnt mean that he wasnt famous just cause you didnt know about him. Just cause you chose to live in a cave for majority of your life doesnt mean that the guys hard work were unknown till 2006 !
I just think the main reason you didnt know about him is because you didnt listen to the kind of music he was involved with ? How could you not know Yngwie's first singer!?

By "the kind of music" do you mean heavy metal? If so, I've been a metal fan since 1980...and JSS has never registered on the radar. No, I never took much of an interest in Malmsteen (after that dire first Alcatrazz album) - and it's true that I stopped searching out underground hard rock/metal acts in the 1990s - but still there's no doubt that if JSS had been "famous" here I would have known about it.

But maybe we need some facts here. Does anyone know how many copies of JSS's solo albums have been sold in the UK? And what is the highest-capacity venue he has performed at as a solo artist?

[Jeremey]

Dean...

I don't buy this argument, AT ALL!!!!! Schon released solo work, when Journey was the biggest thing on the planet, and he somehow wasn't able to "gravy train off the Journey name"! The only difference was the Perry could sing his ass off, and Schon can't sing to save his life!!!!!! I will NEVER buy into the fact that someone has a successful solo career because of a band they are or were in. I would hazard to guess that even back then, the casual music fan probably had zero idea who Steve Perry even was or that he was the voice of Journey.

I've told this story before....I was driving down the street with my brother in law MANY years ago, when Don Henley's "Heart of the Matter" was a current release. One of Henley's songs came on the radio, and he says to me "Hey, that Henley guy (this was after the DJ announced who the singer was) sounds like one of the guys in The Eagles". Most music fans are not the rabid fans that hang out on sites like this, and simply don't make the connection.

What is my point of all of this....It's quite simple...Perry was successful because of his vocal talents, not because of the Journey name! Schon, Cain, Valory, and Smitty weren't performing on his solo work, and certainly shouldn't get any credit for it!

John from Boston

One thing to consider re the success of those solo artists in the 80's like Stevie Nicks and Perry and Henley, etc, was that they had 100% of their "team" behind them as well. When you sell millions of records in a band like Journey or The Eagles, you are going to have some pretty powerful people at your disposal. How many spins on your major market radio station do you think an 8 ball could get you back then?

[RossValoryRocks]

that Perry is the only member of Journey who had mainstream, commercial success without the name Journey attached to it!


John from Boston

Really I guess no one has noticed that Faithfully as a duet with Jon Cain and that country chic is crushing the AC charts right now.

AC is mainstream.

Then again...it IS a Journey tune.

[Jeremey]

Really I guess no one has noticed that Faithfully as a duet with Jon Cain and that country chic is crushing the AC charts right now.

AC is mainstream.

Then again...it IS a Journey tune.

Let JC chart with something off of his solo records and I'd concede his success. As you mentioned, remaking a Journey song into a duet isn't necessarily a solo accomplishment, even though he did write the song.

[Enigma869]

Really I guess no one has noticed that Faithfully as a duet with Jon Cain and that country chic is crushing the AC charts right now.

AC is mainstream.

Then again...it IS a Journey tune.

I think you sort of lost your own argument. Again, "Faithfully" was made enormous with Perry's vocals! I've heard the duet of "Faithfully", and don't like it, AT ALL. That said, I say good for Cain. Afterall, he did write that fantastic song!


John from Boston

[RossValoryRocks]

Really I guess no one has noticed that Faithfully as a duet with Jon Cain and that country chic is crushing the AC charts right now.

AC is mainstream.

Then again...it IS a Journey tune.

I think you sort of lost your own argument. Again, "Faithfully" was made enormous with Perry's vocals! I've heard the duet of "Faithfully", and don't like it, AT ALL. That said, I say good for Cain. Afterall, he did write that fantastic song!


John from Boston

Firstly, I wasn't arguing so I didn't lose anything. I was merely pointing out that Jon has a hit right now with Faithfully, which aside from the basic melody has been reworked to the point it doesn't SOUND like Journey anymore.

[Art Vandelay]

On a creative level, Smith blows them all away. He's a world-class musician who's been recognized for efforts that exceeds anything he's ever done in Journey.

I'd like to clarify my answer on this, because all of the musicians mentioned are equally talented, but...

Steve Perry - will ALWAYS be associated with Journey by default. I doubt if many will follow his solo career just because of Oh Sherrie or Foolish Heart.

Cain and Schon - although they've successfully ventured into other areas of music, it seems that they can't escape being tagged as 'Journey's Neal Schon' or 'Jonathan Cain, of Journey.' This even happened when they were in Bad English - the newspaper advertisement when they played the Chestnut Cabaret in Philly said 'featuring a few guys from Journey' and Arsenio Hall mentioned Journey as well when they were on his show. Not a bad thing, but it doesn't seem like they're able to cut the strings. This is the second time that JC has re-recorded 'Faithfully'!!! Again, not a bad thing.

Soto - he was already established as a musician prior to Journey, so I'm not including him on this.

Steve Smith, however, has completely stepped away from the Journey/rock & roll umbrella and has become known as one of the top drummers in the world, and has played with top notch musicians around the world. His years in Journey are hardly reflected in anything he does anymore. He's know and highly respected in countries that have probably never heard of Journey, let alone know that he once played with them. Plus, his discrography doesn't lie.

That sounds pretty successful to me.

http://www.vitalinformation.com/steve/d ... plete.html

[Lilla_Forever]

Steve Perry of course! Why don't we pool together and hire a hypnotist to force him into a recording studio?

[junky]

On a creative level, Smith blows them all away. He's a world-class musician who's been recognized for efforts that exceeds anything he's ever done in Journey.

Steve Smith, however, has completely stepped away from the Journey/rock & roll umbrella and has become known as one of the top drummers in the world, and has played with top notch musicians around the world. His years in Journey are hardly reflected in anything he does anymore. He's know and highly respected in countries that have probably never heard of Journey, let alone know that he once played with them. Plus, his discrography doesn't lie.

That sounds pretty successful to me.

http://www.vitalinformation.com/steve/d ... plete.html

So, why didn't you vote for him?
There's only one vote for him and that was me.

Anyway, I agree with you 100%.
I'm going to see him in a few weeks.