New Album

[The_Noble_Cause]

Ross is a bass player. For what Journey is, he's fine.

I agree with this. He is more than adequate for Journey. Actually, his playing may have regressed a bit from the pre-Perry years. But for the style of music they play now, he is fine. But it would be interesting to see what a player like an Entwistle, La Rue, or even Lee would sound like in this band.

Saint John said that Neal writes the bass lines for Ross. If that's true (and I have no reason to doubt him) that's fucking pathetic.

[Saint John]

Ross is a bass player. For what Journey is, he's fine.

I agree with this. He is more than adequate for Journey. Actually, his playing may have regressed a bit from the pre-Perry years. But for the style of music they play now, he is fine. But it would be interesting to see what a player like an Entwistle, La Rue, or even Lee would sound like in this band.

Saint John said that Neal writes the bass lines for Ross. If that's true (and I have no reason to doubt him) that's fucking pathetic.

Quote from Neal:

It's wild when you go into record a new record like we did. There was no rehearsal. We wrote the songs, Jon [Cain, the keyboardist] and I demo’d them up, but it really wasn't the whole band playing. We used a rhythm machine, I played bass or whatever on it, or he did, and we demo'd up the songs like that for everyone to learn before we went into the studio.

[Ehwmatt]

Ross is a bass player. For what Journey is, he's fine.

I agree with this. He is more than adequate for Journey. Actually, his playing may have regressed a bit from the pre-Perry years. But for the style of music they play now, he is fine. But it would be interesting to see what a player like an Entwistle, La Rue, or even Lee would sound like in this band.

Saint John said that Neal writes the bass lines for Ross. If that's true (and I have no reason to doubt him) that's fucking pathetic.

Quote from Neal:

It's wild when you go into record a new record like we did. There was no rehearsal. We wrote the songs, Jon [Cain, the keyboardist] and I demo’d them up, but it really wasn't the whole band playing. We used a rhythm machine, I played bass or whatever on it, or he did, and we demo'd up the songs like that for everyone to learn before we went into the studio.

That is indeed sad, but that quote does leave open the possibility that Neal puts down the "basic" bass line and Ross takes it and embellishes it. Somehow, knowing Journey's typical basslines, I doubt it.

[Arkansas]

Bernie Taupin writes words & music for Elton John.
Is that sad and pathetic too?



later~

[Saint John]

More from the Neal interview ... the man sounds like a prophet:

But I think in the future, definitely I'm going to push to have 8 rockers and maybe 2 ballads.

[The_Noble_Cause]

Bernie Taupin writes words & music for Elton John.
Is that sad and pathetic too?

later~

Actually, Taupin is mainly a lyricist. John writes his own music, and still does. And even if your false comparison were true, I fail to see why that let's Journey off the hook.

[Arkansas]

Bernie Taupin writes words & music for Elton John.
Is that sad and pathetic too?

later~

Actually, Taupin is mainly a lyricist. John writes his own music, and still does. And even if your false comparison were true, I fail to see why that let's Journey off the hook.

Nothing false about it. The simple question is, are those that don't do all their own work, sad & pathetic?


later~

[Art Vandelay]

Bernie Taupin writes words & music for Elton John.
Is that sad and pathetic too?

later~

Actually, Taupin is mainly a lyricist. John writes his own music, and still does. And even if your false comparison were true, I fail to see why that let's Journey off the hook.

Nothing false about it. The simple question is, are those that don't do all their own work, sad & pathetic?


later~

Valid point. How many songs did Elvis and Sinatra write? And for the record, Elton writes all the music after Bernie writes the lyrics. 50/50.

[steveo777]

Ross is a bass player. For what Journey is, he's fine.

I agree with this. He is more than adequate for Journey. Actually, his playing may have regressed a bit from the pre-Perry years. But for the style of music they play now, he is fine. But it would be interesting to see what a player like an Entwistle, La Rue, or even Lee would sound like in this band.

Saint John said that Neal writes the bass lines for Ross. If that's true (and I have no reason to doubt him) that's fucking pathetic.

Who gives a fuck as long as the delivery is there. I understand there is nothing going on in Journey land, hence the need to latch onto
any little tidbit and run with it.

[The_Noble_Cause]

Nothing false about it.

Let's go over this again. You said, quote: "Bernie Taupin writes words & music for Elton John." With the exception of maybe a few songs, that is a bold-faced lie. John writes his own music.

"The simple question is, are those that don't do all their own work, sad & pathetic?
later~

Your comparison is embarassingly bad. Bernie and Elton are the core songwriters, much like Neal and Jon. Elton's band DOES have a bassist, and as far as I'm aware, he actually does his job.

[steveo777]

Fine....lets bring out some dude in spandex, playing a pink polka-dot bass guitar.

[The_Noble_Cause]

Who gives a fuck as long as the delivery is there.

Having Neal write the bass lines is only a few notches of deceit below lipping. Ross has one job in the band. If he can't cut it, he can't cut it.

I understand there is nothing going on in Journey land, hence the need to latch onto
any little tidbit and run with it.

Finding out that a bandmember is essentially a glorified meat puppet is not a "any little tidbit." Have some self-respect.

[The_Noble_Cause]

Fine....lets bring out some dude in spandex, playing a pink polka-dot bass guitar.

Gladly. I've talked to many Journey fans about this. Randy is a far superior bassist to Ross.

[steveo777]

Fine....lets bring out some dude in spandex, playing a pink polka-dot bass guitar.

Gladly. I've talked to many Journey fans about this. Randy is a far superior bassist to Ross.

Either Neal is extremely loyal to Ross, or Ross is not bad enough to get the axe. Which is it?

[The_Noble_Cause]

Fine....lets bring out some dude in spandex, playing a pink polka-dot bass guitar.

Gladly. I've talked to many Journey fans about this. Randy is a far superior bassist to Ross.

Either Neal is extremely loyal to Ross, or Ross is not bad enough to get the axe. Which is it?

None of the above. In order to move-on and legitimately call themselves Journey, they needed as many original members as they possibly could get. I wouldn’t have axed Ross either. As it is, the reformed band received endless flack for being Unjourney or little more than a Band English spinoff.

[steveo777]

Speaking of BE, I think it would be cool if Journey would cover some of those songs. It might spice up the shows a bit.

If AP can impersonate Bryan Adams, he can certainly do Waite.

Arnel covering Bad English....no pun intended.

[Arkansas]

Nothing false about it.

Let's go over this again. You said, quote: "Bernie Taupin writes words & music for Elton John." With the exception of maybe a few songs, that is a bold-faced lie. John writes his own music.

You contradict yourself. If BT wrote one single note for EJ, then my saying that he writes 'words & music' is completely true. No bold-faced lie about it.

"The simple question is, are those that don't do all their own work, sad & pathetic?
later~

Your comparison is embarassingly bad.

Maybe weak, but certainly not false.



later~

[G.I.Jim]

Fine....lets bring out some dude in spandex, playing a pink polka-dot bass guitar.

Gladly. I've talked to many Journey fans about this. Randy is a far superior bassist to Ross.

That is merely your opinion. Can he snap and pop the baas lines with more soul than Ross? Yeah, but it doesn't make him better. Do you think Randy had anything to do with the writing of those songs? If so, you're sadly mistaken. ROR was written by Cain, Perry and Schon, and that's it.

Most bands write songs with the main instruments (piano, guitars or keyboards), then just fill in the drums and bass. I'm not saying they aren't as important, but they help move along the vocals and the rest of the instruments.

Take Cold Heart for example... I write the lyric and keyboard parts. I then record basic vocals, drums and bass lines and give them to the other musicians to re-record. Did I write the parts? Yes, but better drummers, bass players and singers take my basic ideas and make them better. It's been the same with every project I've been in, and it's how probably 90% of bands and musicians write and record music!

To knock Ross, because he's not sitting there writing the songs is retarded. I get sick of all of the bashing over Ross's playing... he can play the hell out of the bass, and (back in the day) could sing with the rest of the band. He's no lead singer, but did a good job on backing vocals. Give it a rest already!

[steveo777]

The great and powerful G.I.Jim has spoken.

[Abitaman]

Ross' VTR cd is good. So if did not write the bass their, who did? He did

[Peartree12249]

Am I missing something here? If Ross was such a crappy bass player how'd he get the gig in the first place and why is he still part of the group? After all replacing a bass player is a lot easier than replacing your frontman.

[steveo777]

Am I missing something here? If Ross was such a crappy bass player how'd he get the gig in the first place and why is he still part of the group? After all replacing a bass player is a lot easier than replacing your frontman.

People are overestimating his incompetence.

[Rick]

Fine....lets bring out some dude in spandex, playing a pink polka-dot bass guitar.

Gladly. I've talked to many Journey fans about this. Randy is a far superior bassist to Ross.

That is merely your opinion. Can he snap and pop the baas lines with more soul than Ross? Yeah, but it doesn't make him better. Do you think Randy had anything to do with the writing of those songs? If so, you're sadly mistaken. ROR was written by Cain, Perry and Schon, and that's it.

Most bands write songs with the main instruments (piano, guitars or keyboards), then just fill in the drums and bass. I'm not saying they aren't as important, but they help move along the vocals and the rest of the instruments.

Take Cold Heart for example... I write the lyric and keyboard parts. I then record basic vocals, drums and bass lines and give them to the other musicians to re-record. Did I write the parts? Yes, but better drummers, bass players and singers take my basic ideas and make them better. It's been the same with every project I've been in, and it's how probably 90% of bands and musicians write and record music!

To knock Ross, because he's not sitting there writing the songs is retarded. I get sick of all of the bashing over Ross's playing... he can play the hell out of the bass, and (back in the day) could sing with the rest of the band. He's no lead singer, but did a good job on backing vocals. Give it a rest already!

Amen. Ross rocks.

[G.I.Jim]

The great and powerful G.I.Jim has spoken.

Blow me!

[steveo777]

The great and powerful G.I.Jim has spoken.

Blow me!

No thanks......I just had a bar of soap.

[The_Noble_Cause]

Maybe weak, but certainly not false.

later~

For the last time, Elton John writes his own music. What you said is false a.k.a. a lie. Having established that you'll say ANYTHING to defend your "J boys", why would I want to engage in conversation with you any further? The bottom line is this - those of you defending Ross have no shame. Neal writing his bass lines is no different than Perry firing Smitty and Ross during ROR and replacing them with a rhythm machine. An act that both Neal and Smitty have criticized, and Neal has even apologised for. The fact that this sort of behavior is now not only accepted but encouraged by the fanbase just shows how far the mighty have fallen.

[The_Noble_Cause]

That is merely your opinion.

No shit. That's what message boards are for.

Do you think Randy had anything to do with the writing of those songs? If so, you're sadly mistaken. ROR was written by Cain, Perry and Schon, and that's it.

Who cares? Jackson isn't just the ebonics spouting judge on American Idol. His session work is the stuff of legend. Again, I'd take his career over Ross any day.

Most bands write songs with the main instruments (piano, guitars or keyboards), then just fill in the drums and bass. I'm not saying they aren't as important, but they help move along the vocals and the rest of the instruments.

As I said above, fans like you are pretty much giving the OK to what Perry did during ROR. Fire the rhythm section and do their jobs for them. It was lame then. It is equally lame now.

To knock Ross, because he's not sitting there writing the songs is retarded.

Expecting a band to be a real band is not an unrealistic expectation.

[Rick]

That is merely your opinion.

No shit. That's what message boards are for.

Do you think Randy had anything to do with the writing of those songs? If so, you're sadly mistaken. ROR was written by Cain, Perry and Schon, and that's it.

Who cares? Jackson isn't just the ebonics spouting judge on American Idol. His session work is the stuff of legend. Again, I'd take his career over Ross any day.

Most bands write songs with the main instruments (piano, guitars or keyboards), then just fill in the drums and bass. I'm not saying they aren't as important, but they help move along the vocals and the rest of the instruments.

As I said above, fans like you are pretty much giving the OK to what Perry did during ROR. Fire the rhythm section and do their jobs for them. It was lame then. It is equally lame now.

To knock Ross, because he's not sitting there writing the songs is retarded.

Expecting a band to be a real band is not an unrealistic expectation.

Randy Jackson is a legendary bass player? Where is this written? I'm no bass player, and this is just a guess, but I'll bet my toothbrush that he's not on anyone's top ten, twentyfive or one hundred list. Although you might not find Ross there, either. While I love Randy's bass lines on the Journey tracks he contributed to, I'll take Ross, every day.

[StyxCollector]

As a bass player, I've been on different sides of the fence when it comes to both recording and playing live. I've played with artists/bands who wanted it the exact way it was written. I've also been given guidelines and told to "do something like <x>" or "figure out something" to allow me to be creative. The pre-Perry albums were certainly more adventurous bass-wise, but a big ability of a good bass player - not necessarily a great one - is to do what is required for the song, even if it's just chunking along playing eighth notes. You don't need histrionics in every song.

While it may seem Ross' playing has atrophied, it may not have. When you're playing hits and not involved in the creative writing process AND you basically know you want to keep your job, I'm not sure how much of a say he actually gets. Put another way: he could be a Stanley Clarke (doubtful), but you'd never know it because he's either hiding it to serve the song, keep his paycheck, or some combination thereof. Marco is arguably a better bass player than Ross, and I'm sure that Neal prefers him to Ross, but in Journey, whether it's Ross, Randy, or Bass Player Unknown, most compentent folks could fit the bill. Heck, I could lol

[YoungJRNY]

Can't wait for anything new of Journey. Seriously waiting patiently. You KNOW Neal can't just sit around, atleast ALL year. They'll travel a few, book it AND we ALL should be there for it....