Rolie or Cain?

[mikemarrs]

i like rollie better.i like cain on escape and some of frontiers and thats it......

[slucero]

Rollie.... my fav vocals are Perry/Rollie... soooo smooth

[RSParker]

Rolie , hands down.

[ScarabGator]

Rolie is the man!!! BUT-the Cain songwriting is too much to deny.

[EightyRock]

Cain's songwriting cred has come to a screeching halt, so at this point I don't think he is contributing much to Journey, other than keyboards. Lots of players out there to cover that.

Rolie's voice wouldn't have improved over the years, live, since it was never great before, just adequate. He'd have to lose that Hammond before I would want him back. The sound is too dated.
Conclusion: Both Rolie and Cain together would peak my interest for about one CD. Rolie might bring a renewed level of interest for some fans, just because he is a former Journey member and might give them some spark for new material.

I don't really think anybody can help them out now. Their well of creativity has run dry.

[geminix]

Plus, even though Cain does a good job with La Raza Del Sol, you gotta miss Gregg on that one. That's his kind of playing.

How can you miss Gregg on a song he had nothing to do with?

[Gordon from Edinburgh]

Yeah Dave, right, but guess what.? They said that Higher Place was a "room clearer" and they like some others, but .........

Oh yes, they do slip in a special. "Oh Sherrie."

Wow.
So a Journey tribute band plays alot of older Journey songs.
And Journey with Augeri has yet to have a hit single.
And Neal is Satan.
blah blah blah

Shit or get off the pot already.

Even if all of Journey's succes did come about because of Steve Perry (which it didnt), what does it matter?
The guy has moved on with his life and doesn't want to sing anymore. He is not chomping at the bit trying to get back into Journey.
So what is your point on this board? What are you fighting for? Are you fighting for his side? Well, his side of things is that he is retired and wants to be left alone.

You guys are the greatest practioneers of tautology. Every post is a thinly disguised version of the same damned theme; "the current lineup sucks and hence I must bash it".

I don't care what anyone says. You are not here to express an intelligent opinion or to engage in a civilized debate.
You are here to criticize the band and give a hard time to those who enjoy it.
It's nothing more than trolling.

No, he makes a valid point - nobody goes to a Journey tribute show to hear material from the Augeri years -they go to hear the Perry songs.

[mistiejourney]

Jonathan Cain brought the POP success to Journey. His songwriting and piano playing fueled Journey's biggest hits. And on ROR he was the perfect songwriting partner for Perry because they both wanted "radio" songs.

But I pick Gregg Rolie. While he was with the band JOurney was much more adventurous. They were a little less structured although they had already begun to move toward songs more than jams. I love the warmth of the Hammond B3 and I miss the more blues-influenced sound of Journey's rock. Gregg's vocals were not spectacular but they were appropriate. His voice also gave the perfect room for Perry. Perry's voice sounded that much more 'angelic' next to Gregg's more earthy sound. It was the best of both (or all) worlds when Gregg was in the band.

The idea that Journey had reformed with Gregg AND Jon in the band seemed like another melding of the best of all worlds to me. To have Jon's piano and songwriting, with Gregg's feel and organ, with Smitty on drums and Neal on guitar seems like heaven to me.

Great post - nothing to add, you covered it all!!!

[mistiejourney]

I would have to agree with what you both have said. Nothing more to add, you have covered it all.

Yikes, I should read all the replies before I post! : ) I said the same thing.

[knox]

Rollie.

He and Smith seem to be the only ones with any back bone and respectability in the band.

Rollie, because he quit rather than put up with Perry's crap. Rollie was the only one, in my opinion, that Perry couldn't push around.

Smith, because he knew Journey would be nothing without Perry. I don't see him as standing up to Perry, but rather being the quiet one who was just along for the ride. And he knew when Perry was out, it was over.

And Departure is my favorite Album.

[Matthew]

Jonathan Cain brought the POP success to Journey. His songwriting and piano playing fueled Journey's biggest hits. And on ROR he was the perfect songwriting partner for Perry because they both wanted "radio" songs.

But I pick Gregg Rolie. While he was with the band JOurney was much more adventurous.

Great post - nothing to add, you covered it all!!!

Except Journey already had a 'pop' or 'radio' sensibility from 1978-1980. Anyway You Want It and LTS are possibly Journey's most poppy and lightweight hits.

Also - album tracks recorded after Rolie left - like Mother and Father and Troubled Child - are just as "adventurous" as anything on Infinity, Evolution or Departure.

I'd say the real change was the huge leap in the quality of the song-writing after Cain joined. Journey simply became a better group with better songs in 1981...

[hoagiepete]

I preferred the Rolie/Smith line up best. When Rolie and Perry traded off lead vocals and Neal's guitar kicked in, Journey was at its finest (IMO). AWYWI concerned me...too pop'ish. That was until I heard it on Caddyshack. If Rodney liked it...I guess it was good with me.

Why not have Cain go back to the Babys and Rolie come back to Journey, have Neal grow out his fro & mustache and mix it all up for a tour, having a Babys, Bad English, Journey concert line up. Bring Cain up for his notables at the end.

I liked the Babys in their day. Bad English served its purpose until the psuedo-Journey reunion.