Should've Been JSS

[conversationpc]

Maybe Neal should've just stayed with Soul Sirkus than all of this would be mute.

Yes, it might better for all of us if Journey were "mute".

haha. I don't know. This new guy sounds pretty friggin' good to me. His pitch and tone are there and he seems to have a lot of range to spare. As much as I don't like Journey at this point, I am excited to hear the guy sing these tunes with this band.

Hopefully, Arnel will not be "mute" but his being in the band, at this point, is certainly "moot".

[Little Lenny]

OH dear I must be living in a parrallel universe where the JSS there did not struggle with notes, songs, or anything.... ...cause he sounded Great t me

No, he definitely struggled those first few shows. I remember hearing a really bad note on, if I remember correctly, "Only the Young" from the Atlanta show. What it was that came out of his mouth was one of the worst things I ever remember hearing from a vocalist. He certainly pulled it together, though.

, here in the UK there were no problems at all with his vocals

[StevePerryHair]

OH dear I must be living in a parrallel universe where the JSS there did not struggle with notes, songs, or anything.... ...cause he sounded Great t me

No, he definitely struggled those first few shows. I remember hearing a really bad note on, if I remember correctly, "Only the Young" from the Atlanta show. What it was that came out of his mouth was one of the worst things I ever remember hearing from a vocalist. He certainly pulled it together, though.

, here in the UK there were no problems at all with his vocals

Yep!! I believe you too, because they went to you right after Florida and he had NO STRUGGLES in Florida.

[brywool]

I'm going to respectfully disagree here even though I think very highly of JSS for what he did for Journey and how he was so accessible to many of us fans. But, Jeff was a big departure from their signature sound. Some think that's actually refreshing but the band obviously didn't. Good or bad, he was far from a Perry clone and definitely fought to hit notes now and then. Some songs like 'only the young' and 'be good to yourself' were taken out of the setlist and I think it was because Jeff was struggling with them. I heard clips and saw them live 3 times that tour and there were obviously times when he was stretching his vocal limit.

I love the music of Journey and SP's voice was one of the instruments in the band. Like it or not, I think it's smart to replace that instrument with one that is very similair to please the masses that grew up on the music. If Neal had left the band in '98, you can bet that the guitar player that replaced him would be playing the exact same solos that Neal played. Why? Because that is what people want to hear.

Jeff would have taken the band in a different direction soundwise (which I think would have been exciting to follow) but the Journey machine needs to stay true to its legacy to find its greatest success which is live shows and signature sound.

I respectfully disagree!
If thats the fuckin case, and they WERE lookin for a fuckin Perry clone, then why didnt they hire Jeremey!?

Also,,,, Jeff was never ever stretching his vocal limits. He was doing what he is best at,,,, adding his touch to the song. He thought maybe, just maybe , the band wanted to freshen up the sounds. If you want them to sound EXACTLY like they did 20 years ago, then play the damn CD!

I don't agree....
Jeremy turned down the gig after getting bad vibes from the Journey camp. Jeff WAS stretching his vocal limits. As great a singer as he is, he struggled on a lot of that material, especially early on. Also, from ALL accounts Cain was never on board with JSS. They have a guy now in place that LOOKS like he can cover everything. That's a better situation for "Journey" and the "Journey sound". Maybe Neal should've just stayed with Soul Sirkus than all of this would be mute.

OH dear I must be living in a parrallel universe where the JSS there did not struggle with notes, songs, or anything.... ...cause he sounded Great t me

Look up some of the earlier bootlegs. Terrible. Granted, the guy joined mid stream and was already burned out from previous work.
Look, I don't want to get on an anti Jss rant because I like him a lot. I just don't think he's right for the band. I listened to all the shows I could get my hands on and he's not the singer for Journey. Live, he is a great showman (miles above Augeri, and like him a lot) but vocally, he's a different type of singer.

[Behshad]

What Brywool is saying that JSS, a singer of many bands and projects of the last 20 years had a more difficult time singing the Journey songs as good as coupld of tribute band singers.
Which is true,,,, but he eventually overcame that and got it down too. Dont you think any singer who approaches Perry's material would need more than 10 shows to get it down? Considering Jeff's situation, I say he mastered those song pretty good song.
You think Arnel just started singin Journey a month ago!???

[brywool]

What Brywool is saying that JSS, a singer of many bands and projects of the last 20 years had a more difficult time singing the Journey songs as good as coupld of tribute band singers.
Which is true,,,, but he eventually overcame that and got it down too. Dont you think any singer who approaches Perry's material would need more than 10 shows to get it down? Considering Jeff's situation, I say he mastered those song pretty good song.
You think Arnel just started singin Journey a month ago!???

Jss had been singing and listening to Journey for a long time.
By the end, he sounded pretty good. But he was not doing some of the signature tracks like Faithfully, Open Arms, Only the Young...

I would bet that in THIS version of Journey, the drummer won't be covering the higher stuff.
Sorry, Arnel's a better singer for Journey from what I've heard.

[Little Lenny]

I'm going to respectfully disagree here even though I think very highly of JSS for what he did for Journey and how he was so accessible to many of us fans. But, Jeff was a big departure from their signature sound. Some think that's actually refreshing but the band obviously didn't. Good or bad, he was far from a Perry clone and definitely fought to hit notes now and then. Some songs like 'only the young' and 'be good to yourself' were taken out of the setlist and I think it was because Jeff was struggling with them. I heard clips and saw them live 3 times that tour and there were obviously times when he was stretching his vocal limit.

I love the music of Journey and SP's voice was one of the instruments in the band. Like it or not, I think it's smart to replace that instrument with one that is very similair to please the masses that grew up on the music. If Neal had left the band in '98, you can bet that the guitar player that replaced him would be playing the exact same solos that Neal played. Why? Because that is what people want to hear.

Jeff would have taken the band in a different direction soundwise (which I think would have been exciting to follow) but the Journey machine needs to stay true to its legacy to find its greatest success which is live shows and signature sound.

I respectfully disagree!
If thats the fuckin case, and they WERE lookin for a fuckin Perry clone, then why didnt they hire Jeremey!?

Also,,,, Jeff was never ever stretching his vocal limits. He was doing what he is best at,,,, adding his touch to the song. He thought maybe, just maybe , the band wanted to freshen up the sounds. If you want them to sound EXACTLY like they did 20 years ago, then play the damn CD!

I don't agree....
Jeremy turned down the gig after getting bad vibes from the Journey camp. Jeff WAS stretching his vocal limits. As great a singer as he is, he struggled on a lot of that material, especially early on. Also, from ALL accounts Cain was never on board with JSS. They have a guy now in place that LOOKS like he can cover everything. That's a better situation for "Journey" and the "Journey sound". Maybe Neal should've just stayed with Soul Sirkus than all of this would be mute.

OH dear I must be living in a parrallel universe where the JSS there did not struggle with notes, songs, or anything.... ...cause he sounded Great t me

Look up some of the earlier bootlegs. Terrible. Granted, the guy joined mid stream and was already burned out from previous work.
Look, I don't want to get on an anti Jss rant because I like him a lot. I just don't think he's right for the band. I listened to all the shows I could get my hands on and he's not the singer for Journey. Live, he is a great showman (miles above Augeri, and like him a lot) but vocally, he's a different type of singer.

oooooh don't worry about that I'm not a ranter, everyone has a view ...anyway, I try to remain mellow and even tempered in my dotage

[Behshad]

What Brywool is saying that JSS, a singer of many bands and projects of the last 20 years had a more difficult time singing the Journey songs as good as coupld of tribute band singers.
Which is true,,,, but he eventually overcame that and got it down too. Dont you think any singer who approaches Perry's material would need more than 10 shows to get it down? Considering Jeff's situation, I say he mastered those song pretty good song.
You think Arnel just started singin Journey a month ago!???

Jss had been singing and listening to Journey for a long time.
By the end, he sounded pretty good. But he was not doing some of the signature tracks like Faithfully, Open Arms, Only the Young...

I would bet that in THIS version of Journey, the drummer won't be covering the higher stuff.
Sorry, Arnel's a better singer for Journey from what I've heard.

listening to, YES
singing? unless youre counting his singing in the car with the stereo on, NO

[StevePerryHair]

What Brywool is saying that JSS, a singer of many bands and projects of the last 20 years had a more difficult time singing the Journey songs as good as coupld of tribute band singers.
Which is true,,,, but he eventually overcame that and got it down too. Dont you think any singer who approaches Perry's material would need more than 10 shows to get it down? Considering Jeff's situation, I say he mastered those song pretty good song.
You think Arnel just started singin Journey a month ago!???

Jss had been singing and listening to Journey for a long time.
By the end, he sounded pretty good. But he was not doing some of the signature tracks like Faithfully, Open Arms, Only the Young...

I would bet that in THIS version of Journey, the drummer won't be covering the higher stuff.
Sorry, Arnel's a better singer for Journey from what I've heard.

Singing a couple of Journey songs in his career is NOT the same as singing their catalog.

[brywool]

Maybe Neal should've just stayed with Soul Sirkus than all of this would be mute.

Yes, it might better for all of us if Journey were "mute".

haha. I don't know. This new guy sounds pretty friggin' good to me. His pitch and tone are there and he seems to have a lot of range to spare. As much as I don't like Journey at this point, I am excited to hear the guy sing these tunes with this band.

Hopefully, Arnel will not be "mute" but his being in the band, at this point, is certainly "moot".

oops, totally missed my grammar. Sorry about that! (You'd think I was Froy or some'in!)

[*Laura]

They cut 1 tune w/ JSS that didn't even get released yet, but now they have 12 new rerecordings in the can and 7 new tunes already laid down that Shirley is working on?

This is the question that may be the very answer to why isn't Jeff in Journey anymore.
Since Jeff was let go,I've been trying to figure out the real reason why the band thought he wasn't good enough.It just didn't made sense.
Jeff has awesome vocal skills,his stage presence is mesmerizing,he's 100% into what he does,he's fan friendly..The whole package was there.
Then why?How could they let go of such an asset?

Well...My take (keep in mind that this is my opinion based on my own logic) is that Jon Cain and JSS were not on the same wavelenght.
The songwriting chemistry just didn't happen. It's not Jeff's fault,it's not even Cain's fault.I guess they are different as songwriters and they don't mesh.
With that being said,I'm not surprised that during Jeff's tenure,there was only one song cut and the rest was maybe some unfinished material never to be recorded.

Putting aside the morals and the decisions of the band,we have to admit that Cain was/is Journey's songwriter since 1981.Him and Perry made a perfect brilliant team.
You should all remember Cain's own words...He always needed a certain kind of voice to inspire him.It was so easy with Perry,he wrote hit after hit with him.
Then,when his muse (Perry) was gone,Cain's inspiration heavily decreased.(which might be an explanation as to why the post-Perry albums were not as good as the Perry era ones).

Fast-forward to 2007...I guess Cain didn't find in Jeff that "IT" factor that he was looking for.
The fact that Journey already have so much new material in such a short time,makes me believe that Cain and Pineda are prolific together.
Even if Pineda doesn't contribute to the writing process like Perry did,I guess that his voice is enough to inspire Cain to write faster and better than he did in the last 10 years.

The new album will be the best proof,I guess.I'm waiting to hear it.

[Wally_Hatchet]

The first few shows were indeed rough for JSS. BGTY was simply awful, I think it was at one of the shows in the Carolinas. I dont remember seeing BGTY in the set anymore after that show.

As the tour went on, and after some needed vocal rest, he got better and better. But I did worry that his voice would end up toasted like SA'a if he stayed with them as I felt he was pushing it singing the journey catalogue.

[conversationpc]

Maybe Neal should've just stayed with Soul Sirkus than all of this would be mute.

Yes, it might better for all of us if Journey were "mute".

haha. I don't know. This new guy sounds pretty friggin' good to me. His pitch and tone are there and he seems to have a lot of range to spare. As much as I don't like Journey at this point, I am excited to hear the guy sing these tunes with this band.

Hopefully, Arnel will not be "mute" but his being in the band, at this point, is certainly "moot".

oops, totally missed my grammar. Sorry about that! (You'd think I was Froy or some'in!)

No need to apologize. Just having fun with you.

[Deb]

Jeff would have taken the band in a different direction soundwise (which I think would have been exciting to follow) but the Journey machine needs to stay true to its legacy to find its greatest success which is live shows and signature sound.

But to truly do that, would take all 5 original players. In my eyes, they have just become a Perry-era tribute band. Albeit, probably a pretty damn good one, but tribute/cover band all the same.

At least we agree on something JoePa. I'm sure I'll take a listen to the new Journey material, but the anticipation and excitement is long gone.

[brywool]

What Brywool is saying that JSS, a singer of many bands and projects of the last 20 years had a more difficult time singing the Journey songs as good as coupld of tribute band singers.
Which is true,,,, but he eventually overcame that and got it down too. Dont you think any singer who approaches Perry's material would need more than 10 shows to get it down? Considering Jeff's situation, I say he mastered those song pretty good song.
You think Arnel just started singin Journey a month ago!???

Jss had been singing and listening to Journey for a long time.
By the end, he sounded pretty good. But he was not doing some of the signature tracks like Faithfully, Open Arms, Only the Young...

I would bet that in THIS version of Journey, the drummer won't be covering the higher stuff.
Sorry, Arnel's a better singer for Journey from what I've heard.

Singing a couple of Journey songs in his career is NOT the same as singing their catalog.

Whatever... I had the same conversations back when everyone was singing JSS's praises as Journey's singer. People beat me up over it, etc. I know what I heard and I know that if I paid to see Journey and heard the stuff I heard on those recordings I would've been mighty pissed. Look back... even the pictures of Cain show him an unhappy dude. THIS WAS AT THE BEGINNING. By the end, JSS sounded pretty freakin' good. When he was booted, I was pissed because even though it didn't sound like Perry, it had a lot of promise to be more rocking than they had been and I was ready. Anyway, I have my opinions and ya'll have yers.

[brywool]

The first few shows were indeed rough for JSS. BGTY was simply awful, I think it was at one of the shows in the Carolinas. I dont remember seeing BGTY in the set anymore after that show.

As the tour went on, and after some needed vocal rest, he got better and better. But I did worry that his voice would end up toasted like SA'a if he stayed with them as I felt he was pushing it singing the journey catalogue.

YES YES YES! EXACTLY.
My point is that Arnel sounds like his voice will stand up better to THESE TRACKS than JSS.

[Deb]

They cut 1 tune w/ JSS that didn't even get released yet, but now they have 12 new rerecordings in the can and 7 new tunes already laid down that Shirley is working on?

This is the question that may be the very answer to why isn't Jeff in Journey anymore.
Since Jeff was let go,I've been trying to figure out the real reason why the band thought he wasn't good enough.It just didn't made sense.
Jeff has awesome vocal skills,his stage presence is mesmerizing,he's 100% into what he does,he's fan friendly..The whole package was there.
Then why?How could they let go of such an asset?

Well...My take (keep in mind that this is my opinion based on my own logic) is that Jon Cain and JSS were not on the same wavelenght.
The songwriting chemistry just didn't happen. It's not Jeff's fault,it's not even Cain's fault.I guess they are different as songwriters and they don't mesh.
With that being said,I'm not surprised that during Jeff's tenure,there was only one song cut and the rest was maybe some unfinished material never to be recorded.

Putting aside the morals and the decisions of the band,we have to admit that Cain was/is Journey's songwriter since 1981.Him and Perry made a perfect brilliant team.
You should all remember Cain's own words...He always needed a certain kind of voice to inspire him.It was so easy with Perry,he wrote hit after hit with him.
Then,when his muse (Perry) was gone,Cain's inspiration heavily decreased.(which might be an explanation as to why the post-Perry albums were not as good as the Perry era ones).

Fast-forward to 2007...I guess Cain didn't find in Jeff that "IT" factor that he was looking for.
The fact that Journey already have so much new material in such a short time,makes me believe that Cain and Pineda are prolific together.
Even if Pineda doesn't contribute to the writing process like Perry did,I guess that his voice is enough to inspire Cain to write faster and better than he did in the last 10 years.

The new album will be the best proof,I guess.I'm waiting to hear it.

Great thought provoking post there Laura. Things that make you go hmmmmm.

[StevePerryHair]

What Brywool is saying that JSS, a singer of many bands and projects of the last 20 years had a more difficult time singing the Journey songs as good as coupld of tribute band singers.
Which is true,,,, but he eventually overcame that and got it down too. Dont you think any singer who approaches Perry's material would need more than 10 shows to get it down? Considering Jeff's situation, I say he mastered those song pretty good song.
You think Arnel just started singin Journey a month ago!???

Jss had been singing and listening to Journey for a long time.
By the end, he sounded pretty good. But he was not doing some of the signature tracks like Faithfully, Open Arms, Only the Young...

I would bet that in THIS version of Journey, the drummer won't be covering the higher stuff.
Sorry, Arnel's a better singer for Journey from what I've heard.

Singing a couple of Journey songs in his career is NOT the same as singing their catalog.

Whatever... I had the same conversations back when everyone was singing JSS's praises as Journey's singer. People beat me up over it, etc. I know what I heard and I know that if I paid to see Journey and heard the stuff I heard on those recordings I would've been mighty pissed. Look back... even the pictures of Cain show him an unhappy dude. THIS WAS AT THE BEGINNING. By the end, JSS sounded pretty freakin' good. When he was booted, I was pissed because even though it didn't sound like Perry, it had a lot of promise to be more rocking than they had been and I was ready. Anyway, I have my opinions and ya'll have yers.

Well I saw his 3rd or 4th concert with them in Tampa. When you are in a venue like that, you do not notice a struggle. The boots that people post and put on youtube are less forgiving than actually hearing it live in concert is. Really, I only knew by the boots he was struggling in the beginning. But that being said, I did notice over time it was a different show. He definitely had to grown.

[RedWingFan]

Whatever... I had the same conversations back when everyone was singing JSS's praises as Journey's singer. People beat me up over it, etc. I know what I heard and I know that if I paid to see Journey and heard the stuff I heard on those recordings I would've been mighty pissed. Look back... even the pictures of Cain show him an unhappy dude. THIS WAS AT THE BEGINNING. By the end, JSS sounded pretty freakin' good. When he was booted, I was pissed because even though it didn't sound like Perry, it had a lot of promise to be more rocking than they had been and I was ready. Anyway, I have my opinions and ya'll have yers.

I agree with you bry. What I paid for in July of that tour was far from stellar, but knowing the situation that Jeff stepped into helping out. I wasn't "pissed", I gave them a pass. He had improved when I saw them later in the tour.

[brywool]

What Brywool is saying that JSS, a singer of many bands and projects of the last 20 years had a more difficult time singing the Journey songs as good as coupld of tribute band singers.
Which is true,,,, but he eventually overcame that and got it down too. Dont you think any singer who approaches Perry's material would need more than 10 shows to get it down? Considering Jeff's situation, I say he mastered those song pretty good song.
You think Arnel just started singin Journey a month ago!???

Jss had been singing and listening to Journey for a long time.
By the end, he sounded pretty good. But he was not doing some of the signature tracks like Faithfully, Open Arms, Only the Young...

I would bet that in THIS version of Journey, the drummer won't be covering the higher stuff.
Sorry, Arnel's a better singer for Journey from what I've heard.

Singing a couple of Journey songs in his career is NOT the same as singing their catalog.

Whatever... I had the same conversations back when everyone was singing JSS's praises as Journey's singer. People beat me up over it, etc. I know what I heard and I know that if I paid to see Journey and heard the stuff I heard on those recordings I would've been mighty pissed. Look back... even the pictures of Cain show him an unhappy dude. THIS WAS AT THE BEGINNING. By the end, JSS sounded pretty freakin' good. When he was booted, I was pissed because even though it didn't sound like Perry, it had a lot of promise to be more rocking than they had been and I was ready. Anyway, I have my opinions and ya'll have yers.

Well I saw his 3rd or 4th concert with them in Tampa. When you are in a venue like that, you do not notice a struggle. The boots that people post and put on youtube are less forgiving than actually hearing it live in concert is. Really, I only knew by the boots he was struggling in the beginning. But that being said, I did notice over time it was a different show. He definitely had to grown.

Right. The boots were unforgiving. If I was auditioning a singer, I'd want to REALLY hear what he was doing. This can only get worse. I'll stop now.

[RedWingFan]

Right. The boots were unforgiving. If I was auditioning a singer, I'd want to REALLY hear what he was doing. This can only get worse. I'll stop now.

C'mon dude, you can't always believe what you hear.

[Behshad]

What Brywool is saying that JSS, a singer of many bands and projects of the last 20 years had a more difficult time singing the Journey songs as good as coupld of tribute band singers.
Which is true,,,, but he eventually overcame that and got it down too. Dont you think any singer who approaches Perry's material would need more than 10 shows to get it down? Considering Jeff's situation, I say he mastered those song pretty good song.
You think Arnel just started singin Journey a month ago!???

Jss had been singing and listening to Journey for a long time.
By the end, he sounded pretty good. But he was not doing some of the signature tracks like Faithfully, Open Arms, Only the Young...

I would bet that in THIS version of Journey, the drummer won't be covering the higher stuff.
Sorry, Arnel's a better singer for Journey from what I've heard.

Singing a couple of Journey songs in his career is NOT the same as singing their catalog.

Whatever... I had the same conversations back when everyone was singing JSS's praises as Journey's singer. People beat me up over it, etc. I know what I heard and I know that if I paid to see Journey and heard the stuff I heard on those recordings I would've been mighty pissed. Look back... even the pictures of Cain show him an unhappy dude. THIS WAS AT THE BEGINNING. By the end, JSS sounded pretty freakin' good. When he was booted, I was pissed because even though it didn't sound like Perry, it had a lot of promise to be more rocking than they had been and I was ready. Anyway, I have my opinions and ya'll have yers.

Well I saw his 3rd or 4th concert with them in Tampa. When you are in a venue like that, you do not notice a struggle. The boots that people post and put on youtube are less forgiving than actually hearing it live in concert is. Really, I only knew by the boots he was struggling in the beginning. But that being said, I did notice over time it was a different show. He definitely had to grown.

Right. The boots were unforgiving. If I was auditioning a singer, I'd want to REALLY hear what he was doing. This can only get worse. I'll stop now.

Makes sense. At least you wouldnt go on youtube and click and search and search and search.

[Deb]

What Brywool is saying that JSS, a singer of many bands and projects of the last 20 years had a more difficult time singing the Journey songs as good as coupld of tribute band singers.
Which is true,,,, but he eventually overcame that and got it down too. Dont you think any singer who approaches Perry's material would need more than 10 shows to get it down? Considering Jeff's situation, I say he mastered those song pretty good song.
You think Arnel just started singin Journey a month ago!???

Jss had been singing and listening to Journey for a long time.
By the end, he sounded pretty good. But he was not doing some of the signature tracks like Faithfully, Open Arms, Only the Young...

I would bet that in THIS version of Journey, the drummer won't be covering the higher stuff.
Sorry, Arnel's a better singer for Journey from what I've heard.

Singing a couple of Journey songs in his career is NOT the same as singing their catalog.

Whatever... I had the same conversations back when everyone was singing JSS's praises as Journey's singer. People beat me up over it, etc. I know what I heard and I know that if I paid to see Journey and heard the stuff I heard on those recordings I would've been mighty pissed. Look back... even the pictures of Cain show him an unhappy dude. THIS WAS AT THE BEGINNING. By the end, JSS sounded pretty freakin' good. When he was booted, I was pissed because even though it didn't sound like Perry, it had a lot of promise to be more rocking than they had been and I was ready. Anyway, I have my opinions and ya'll have yers.

Well I saw his 3rd or 4th concert with them in Tampa. When you are in a venue like that, you do not notice a struggle. The boots that people post and put on youtube are less forgiving than actually hearing it live in concert is. Really, I only knew by the boots he was struggling in the beginning. But that being said, I did notice over time it was a different show. He definitely had to grown.

Right. The boots were unforgiving. If I was auditioning a singer, I'd want to REALLY hear what he was doing. This can only get worse. I'll stop now.

Makes sense. At least you wouldnt go on youtube and click and search and search and search.

Does give hope to all those amateur singers out there in the world though. Youtube new slogan: Get those demo clips up, keep them coming, because now, you too........can front a once great legendary Rock Band.

[StevePerryHair]

What Brywool is saying that JSS, a singer of many bands and projects of the last 20 years had a more difficult time singing the Journey songs as good as coupld of tribute band singers.
Which is true,,,, but he eventually overcame that and got it down too. Dont you think any singer who approaches Perry's material would need more than 10 shows to get it down? Considering Jeff's situation, I say he mastered those song pretty good song.
You think Arnel just started singin Journey a month ago!???

Jss had been singing and listening to Journey for a long time.
By the end, he sounded pretty good. But he was not doing some of the signature tracks like Faithfully, Open Arms, Only the Young...

I would bet that in THIS version of Journey, the drummer won't be covering the higher stuff.
Sorry, Arnel's a better singer for Journey from what I've heard.

Singing a couple of Journey songs in his career is NOT the same as singing their catalog.

Whatever... I had the same conversations back when everyone was singing JSS's praises as Journey's singer. People beat me up over it, etc. I know what I heard and I know that if I paid to see Journey and heard the stuff I heard on those recordings I would've been mighty pissed. Look back... even the pictures of Cain show him an unhappy dude. THIS WAS AT THE BEGINNING. By the end, JSS sounded pretty freakin' good. When he was booted, I was pissed because even though it didn't sound like Perry, it had a lot of promise to be more rocking than they had been and I was ready. Anyway, I have my opinions and ya'll have yers.

Well I saw his 3rd or 4th concert with them in Tampa. When you are in a venue like that, you do not notice a struggle. The boots that people post and put on youtube are less forgiving than actually hearing it live in concert is. Really, I only knew by the boots he was struggling in the beginning. But that being said, I did notice over time it was a different show. He definitely had to grown.

Right. The boots were unforgiving. If I was auditioning a singer, I'd want to REALLY hear what he was doing. This can only get worse. I'll stop now.

Makes sense. At least you wouldnt go on youtube and click and search and search and search.

[brywool]

At least you wouldnt go on youtube and click and search and search and search.

I think I would if I was out of ideas...

I had better get my videos on youtube!

[texafana]

It should have been JSS only if they wanted to change their sound and their musical direction. They decided not to, so they let JSS go. It's probably as simple as this "Jeff, we decided we're going back to our signature sound for one last go round, if we were moving in a different direction you would be the man, but we decided we need someone who can represent the past and future legacy sound of Journey." That seems very likely to me at this point.

[StevePerryHair]

It should have been JSS only if they wanted to change their sound and their musical direction. They decided not to, so they let JSS go. It's probably as simple as this "Jeff, we decided we're going back to our signature sound for one last go round, if we were moving in a different direction you would be the man, but we decided we need someone who can represent the past and future legacy sound of Journey." That seems very likely to me at this point.

Probably not that simple.

[Journey69]

I'm going to respectfully disagree here even though I think very highly of JSS for what he did for Journey and how he was so accessible to many of us fans. But, Jeff was a big departure from their signature sound. Some think that's actually refreshing but the band obviously didn't. Good or bad, he was far from a Perry clone and definitely fought to hit notes now and then. Some songs like 'only the young' and 'be good to yourself' were taken out of the setlist and I think it was because Jeff was struggling with them. I heard clips and saw them live 3 times that tour and there were obviously times when he was stretching his vocal limit.

I love the music of Journey and SP's voice was one of the instruments in the band. Like it or not, I think it's smart to replace that instrument with one that is very similair to please the masses that grew up on the music. If Neal had left the band in '98, you can bet that the guitar player that replaced him would be playing the exact same solos that Neal played. Why? Because that is what people want to hear.

Jeff would have taken the band in a different direction soundwise (which I think would have been exciting to follow) but the Journey machine needs to stay true to its legacy to find its greatest success which is live shows and signature sound.

I respectfully disagree!
If thats the fuckin case, and they WERE lookin for a fuckin Perry clone, then why didnt they hire Jeremey!?

Also,,,, Jeff was never ever stretching his vocal limits. He was doing what he is best at,,,, adding his touch to the song. He thought maybe, just maybe , the band wanted to freshen up the sounds. If you want them to sound EXACTLY like they did 20 years ago, then play the damn CD!

OMG here we go again.. Everyone is concerned about Journey burning out someone's vocals,but I guess you don't care about Jeff's..or I guess his will last forever.. I like the guy,but damn,give it a rest.. I don't care if the guy is a clone,I would rather have a clone singing Journey songs than someone who is 3 keys lower.. I Don't want them to go in a different direction.. Only people that are Jeff lovers do! Like I said,I like Jeff,his songs are great..But when I listen to Believe in me..I hear Journey with a different guy..I want to hear Arnel sing that song.. Like I said before..If they retired the Journey name and started a new name with Jeff I'm all for it.. The only band ever successful doing that was Toto.. OK,I know I'm gonna get it now..

[Liz22562]

Nice thread Red,

And as for my 2 cents worth: (and I quote Arnel Pineda from the front page):
"hardcore Journey fans expect me to sound exactly like the voice (Steve Perry)....etc."

Sorry Arnel. I have and always will be (in my opinion) a hardcore Journey fan, and the last thing I want is for you or anyone else to sound like Steve Perry. I loved the sound Steve Augeri gave to the band and JSS made a difference also.

If Journey is going to re-record the classics and have someone try and sound like Steve perry - I think I'll take a pass.

The last 2 years have been the oddest turn of events that I think I've seen from any band out there.

As a side note:

Dear Neal, Jon, Ross & Deen: What the h$% are you guys thinking?????

Peace to all~

[swataz]

What Brywool is saying that JSS, a singer of many bands and projects of the last 20 years had a more difficult time singing the Journey songs as good as coupld of tribute band singers.
Which is true,,,, but he eventually overcame that and got it down too. Dont you think any singer who approaches Perry's material would need more than 10 shows to get it down? Considering Jeff's situation, I say he mastered those song pretty good song.
You think Arnel just started singin Journey a month ago!???

I don't think anyone is taking anything away from JSS when they say he could have struggled with certain pitches in certain songs. Even with proper preparation, vocal exercise and practice, his voice is SIMPLY in a DIFFERENT OCTAVE range than Perry or his "clone" successors.

The argument I keep hearing in this thread is never going to be reconciled. JSS is an excellent showman and in his own right a TOP NOTCH performer and vocalist. It is not disrespectful to say he couldn't handle the entire journey catalog with equal aplomb. He is just a different singer.