by Arianddu » Tue Aug 26, 2008 1:49 pm
Hmmm. I do and (mostly) don't agree with you.
Hopefully Arnel will continue with Journey, and the combination will be succesful. And I certainly hope that he will be able to make his own mark beyond being 'a bit/a lot like Steve Perry'. But he's never going to remove the very large shadow SP casts. Not because he's not a good singer, but because, quite simply, the most successful Journey has ever been was with Steve Perry. I live in Australia - I'm not able to see the current line up perform. Even in the States, the vast majoriy of people who like Journey's music (but aren't hard core fans) won't see them perform. I'm sure Arnel puts on a mind-blowing performance, and I'd love to hear him record more new stuff with Journey. But the fact is, there are a hell of a lot more people who own a few Journey records or like the Journey songs that they remember from the radio than there will ever be of people who give a shit who is in the line-up.
The bulk of the music I have from Journey has Steve Perry's voice. There are a hell of a lot of women (and I'm sure quite a few guys) who remember teenage crushes on SP, even if they never buy another Journey/SP album in their lives, and Arnel will never mean anything to them. There are a hell of a lot of kids who grew up listening to their parents' Journey albums, who don't give a shit about the current line-up, but who can spot SP's voice in a second. Want to find out more about this band 'Journey' you've just discovered? Go online and search - and I guarantee you'll find far more about Perry than any other band member! It's hard to find a single article on-line that doesn't at least reference SP. It's not that Arnel isn't good, or even brilliant, but the plain fact is for 30 odd years, the majority of people have associated Steve Perry with Journey. 10 years with Augeri didn't change it, two years with Arnel won't change it. It's not about who is the better singer, or performer, it's about who most people remember. Most people remember Steve Perry as the lead singer of Journey, even though it's been well over a decade since he did anything with him. The guy is indelibly linked, and it's not going to go away.
That doesn't detract from what Arnel is doing, or how good he is. But most people aren't Journey fans, they just might like a few songs the band have done. Seriously - ask around, get people to name a Journey song. Bet you get 'Don't Stop Believing' most, then 'Faithfully' or 'Open Arms'. Ask them who the lead singer is, you'll either get a blank look, or 'Steve Perry' (maybe 'didn't it used to be Steve Perry?'). From us fans, no, but from the general public, that's how it is. And Journey is going to have to better their success of the 70s and 80s to make the face, voice and name that people associate Journey with change from Perry to Pineda.
It's got nothing to do with who is the better singer, and everything to do with how the general public remember things.
Oh, and to add fuel to the fire - Steve is never going to go back to Journey and it's got nothing to do with who their singer is, how good he is, how old SP is or what condition his voice is in. It's very simple - you don't go to bed with your ex unless you really want to see things get fucked up. The divorce was pretty final. They might end up friends again one day - unlikely, but who knows - but the decree was definately absolute!
Last edited by
Arianddu on Tue Aug 26, 2008 1:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Why treat life as a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving in an attractive & well-preserved body? Get there by skidding in sideways, a glass of wine in one hand, chocolate in the other, body totally worn out, screaming WOOHOO! What a ride!
Jeff isn't in Journey, because he wasn't the high-tenor they were looking for. I guarantee you that if Jeff could come anywhere near emulating Perry's signature sound, Schon wouldn't have cared if the dude rolled out onto the stage wearing a Depends adult diaper!
