RocknRoll wrote:Gideon wrote:I agree wholeheartedly
Personally, I'm tired of hearing all the old shit. I realize that in order to appeal to the casual fan that they must hook the biggest singles -- DSB, OA, Faithfully -- but Neal and company fumbled the ball by pulling relatively obscure songs out, running the gamut from "La Do Da" to even (which, while popular, isn't one of their biggest hits).
Why not wrap up six or seven of the biggest hits and then the rest be new material? They're too old and too experienced to think they'll have a second coming.
Hey, these are 2 of my favorite songs. I was in heaven when La Do Da was played with JSS and Arnel.
Today, people come to concerts to hear the music they're familiar with, a lot of fans know Infinity on while some others only recognize from Escape on. It's been said over and over again, Classic Rock fans (the majority of Journey concert goers) come to hear the songs they remember and accept a few new songs thrown in and please don't bore me with accoustics in concert. Save those for the TV appearance.
Perhaps that is the case, but I think we set too much stock in categorizing music; there was a time when Journey was but a generic rock band playing songs that no one had been familiar with. It took time and effort and energy for those songs to become hits and then staples and then, lastly, anthems for our lives and enjoyment.
Journey is a rock band. One that, yes, peaked out in terms of public awareness years ago, but one that continues to command nigh-peerless skill and work ethic. Should we stop caring about new material because Journey is a "classic" rock band?
I don't.
I like seeing what my favorite bands can do next, not simply reliving the past. You're limited that way. Which is why I would love nothing more for them to put out an album at least every two years and give great attention to those new songs at concerts.
They clearly want new hits and new songs to be well received, otherwise they wouldn't be putting out anything new at all. This is a band who's been on top of the world once. Why should they give a shit about what the casual fan wants? Or, should I say, why should they give a shit about what a casual fan wants relative to the desires of fans who have actually stuck with them and pay attention to the Arrivals, Generations, and Revelations of their catalogue?
Sure they may lose some (or a lot) of fans. But they might gain a couple more in the trade off.
Just my two cents.
I simply don't see where the fun is anymore with Journey? I thinks it's been reduced to a corporate machine, witch the replies from Arnel after the Super Bowl, implies as well. He's just a hired mic meant to keep the Journey corporation rolling. Jonathan Cain looks like he's having as much fun as he would getting a bikini wax from Rosie O'Donnell while he's playing live. Toto is clearly better than Journey in some ways. Jeff Porcaro, now Simon Phillips, are both much more talented drummers than Castronovo, and Valory can't play a funky bassline to save his life. But then again, Journey has sold a lot more records, almost the double of Toto I think. What are you guys take on this? 
