EightyRock wrote:Arnel is hitting notes that Augeri and even JSS was not hitting.
Jeff got better as time went on. When Jeff first joined Journey, someone here posted him singing "Separate Ways", and his voice simply fell apart on the high notes at the end of that track, and I said as much here, when I heard it. To be fair to Jeff, I didn't hear that on later performances of "Separate Ways". As for Augeri...Augeri's voice was NEVER cut out to sing Perry's music. It's not a knock on the guy, because I actually liked the guy's voice. He simply had ZERO shot of hitting those notes that the songs were originally recorded in, and that was evident the very first time I heard the guy.
EightyRock wrote:Augeri had no strength to his vocals and no stamina.
I think what we've learned about Journey, over the years, is that NOBODY (including Perry) has the stamina to keep up with the touring schedule that Neal wants to keep. I don't know if Schon is desperate for money, obsessed with making as much as he can, has more bills than he can keep up with, just loves playing guitar non-stop, or all of the above. The one thing I think Schon has NEVER shown enough respect for (and I say this, based upon the non-stop touring) is just how difficult these songs are to sing. Neal doesn't understand that it's not his voice being shredded, trying to hit these impossible to hit notes, night after night, after night! It is FAR easier for a guy playing an instrument to be consistent, nightly, than a guy trying to hit Perry's signature notes!
EightyRock wrote: They only want him to replicate Perry's sound as closely as he can. Nothing else.
It's pretty tough to argue with this. In fact, I think Neal has done everything but directly come out and admit it. As I said before, Neal is a lot of things, but he's not a dope. He understands, just like most Journey fans that the sound of Journey is directly tied to the soaring vocals of Steve Perry, and that if he could only find a guy to sound like Perry, he'd be in a much better place. I would say that there is NO question that Arnel sounds the closest to Perry, out of everyone they've brought in. I think Neal and Jon believe that with some coaching, he can sound VERY close to Perry, and they both believe that is Journey's "legacy" sound, so that's what they're banking on!
John from Boston