W.E.T. - the album Journey should have made but couldn't

[Monker]

Sorry, but after I listedned to WET, it proved to me how wrong JSS was to accept the position in Journey. Journey isn't interested in recording new music in any progressive way as is done on WET. You are exactly right about Revelation...but trying to sound like the band they once were is EXPLICITLY what we were told they wanted to do....and JSS does not fit into that.

Listening to this really brings it home just how wrong it was to let go of JSS. He knows Perry inside out, even putting in some For the Love of Strange Medicine-isms here and there on the W.E.T record. In short, he was the right man for the band. W.E.T. beats Revelation all across the board really. The production, the songs, everything. And still, imagine the difference in budgets.

Revelation sounds like Journey trying to sound like the band they once were, but failing. It just sounds too watered down. The cardboard sounding drums, Neal's shredding and sound totally out of control... it just becomes very empty on feeling. Add the fact that Arnel's singing lyrics he has no connection with and it becomes very soulless. Very Walmart and a far cry from the band they were with Perry, where the soul was key.

With JSS they could have moved into a new direction. They would have had a singer with a (soulful) voice of his own and could have created something brand new. Also, let's not forget JSS's stage presence. He looks like a star onstage, whereas Arnel looks like someone who jumped up onstage from the audience. Big difference.

Journey is not so much a band anymore, as a business account and it's a great shame.

And although they got a singer they could control 100%, we lost Journey in the process.

"And when you lose a guy like Steve (Augeri), who was a tremendous team player, and y'know, Jeff Scott steps up and kinda helps us out there. But, y'know, his sound wasn't for us and then later on, I think his personality wasn't for us."

- Jonathan Cain
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbe ... mID=149513

[jestor92]

W.E.T. was a much better album than Revelation. Hell Beautiful Mess was better than both albums.

Since Perry left Journey the quality of their releases has slowly gone south to the point where it's 1-2 good songs and a bunch of crap. Unless Arnie figures out how to pick up an instrument and write all while growing a set the band is going to stay in the path because they live off nostalgia. I mean there are only so many sappy love songs they could put out album after album.

Sadly for all the sappy love songs they put out anymore when they were at the top of their game yes they had the Open Arms, Faithfully, Whose Crying Now, and Send Her My Love's, but they also had the rockers like Stone In Love, Separate Ways, Dead Or Alive, Edge Of The Blade, Keep On Runnin, etc. Since Arrival came out I could count the good rockers they've released on 1 hand. Those Being "Higher Place", "State Of Grace", "Faith In The Heartland", and "Change For The Better".

[kgdjpubs]

Sorry, but after I listedned to WET, it proved to me how wrong JSS was to accept the position in Journey. Journey isn't interested in recording new music in any progressive way as is done on WET.

I think the worst thing you can do with the WET album is use it as a comparison to how Journey with JSS would have sounded. It's a fine melodic rock album, but If I Fall is the only nod towards Journey on the whole album. Melodic rock with a chorus of stacked vocals doesn't necessarily mean you end up with "Journey".

You are exactly right about Revelation...but trying to sound like the band they once were is EXPLICITLY what we were told they wanted to do....and JSS does not fit into that.

My personal thought is that Revelation would have sounded pretty close to what it ended up as, but with JSS on vocals instead of Arnel.

That said, JSS may have worked in 1987, but it wasn't going to work in 2008 with the Perryish tenor vocal firmly planted on the band, so they backed up and punted. The only thing that I find odd is why announce JSS as permanent lead singer only to replace him 6 months later. I find it hard to believe they didn't know what they were going to get after working with him for half a year.

[Eric]

Sad to see that got rid of Augeri cause once again they couldnt wait for someone to heal.

How long were they supposed to wait? Its been 5 years and Augeri still isn't touring regularly. They had no choice.

[Eric]

Shit, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to come to this conclusion. The WET record is heads and and shoulders stronger than Revelation.

How the fuck would you know? You haven't ever listened to Revelation....remember?

For the record, I like both...A LOT. Prefer Revelation though.

[Rockindeano]

Shit, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to come to this conclusion. The WET record is heads and and shoulders stronger than Revelation.

How the fuck would you know? You haven't ever listened to Revelation....remember?

.

I listened to the first minute or so of each song on youtube....it sucks dude.

[kgdjpubs]

Sad to see that got rid of Augeri cause once again they couldnt wait for someone to heal.

How long were they supposed to wait? Its been 5 years and Augeri still isn't touring regularly. They had no choice.

My guess is Augeri would have been touring fairly quickly (year or two break max) if he was with Journey. Hate to break it to ya, but "Steve Augeri, Solo Artist" doesn't fill many clubs, so it's not like he had much choice other than a random one-off show. Guy should be set money-wise, so he was probably using the time to catch up on the family he didn't get to see for 10 years. Can't blame him one bit for that.

[Jana]

Sad to see that got rid of Augeri cause once again they couldnt wait for someone to heal.

How long were they supposed to wait? Its been 5 years and Augeri still isn't touring regularly. They had no choice.

My guess is Augeri would have been touring fairly quickly (year or two break max) if he was with Journey. Hate to break it to ya, but "Steve Augeri, Solo Artist" doesn't fill many clubs, so it's not like he had much choice other than a random one-off show. Guy should be set money-wise, so he was probably using the time to catch up on the family he didn't get to see for 10 years. Can't blame him one bit for that.

I disagree. Augeri's voice can't hold up to a Journey tour anymore. even if they had kept him and waited a year or two. IMO

[Rockindeano]

Sad to see that got rid of Augeri cause once again they couldnt wait for someone to heal.

How long were they supposed to wait? Its been 5 years and Augeri still isn't touring regularly. They had no choice.

My guess is Augeri would have been touring fairly quickly (year or two break max) if he was with Journey. Hate to break it to ya, but "Steve Augeri, Solo Artist" doesn't fill many clubs, so it's not like he had much choice other than a random one-off show. Guy should be set money-wise, so he was probably using the time to catch up on the family he didn't get to see for 10 years. Can't blame him one bit for that.

I disagree. Augeri's voice can't hold up to a Journey tour anymore. even if they had kept him and waited a year or two. IMO

Spot on Jana. He still can't bring it vocally. He ducks all the high notes, and avoids any challenging verbiage. He was done back in 2006. The guy may be a nice fella, but he will always be a fraud who cheated rock n roll.

[kgdjpubs]

Sad to see that got rid of Augeri cause once again they couldnt wait for someone to heal.

How long were they supposed to wait? Its been 5 years and Augeri still isn't touring regularly. They had no choice.

My guess is Augeri would have been touring fairly quickly (year or two break max) if he was with Journey. Hate to break it to ya, but "Steve Augeri, Solo Artist" doesn't fill many clubs, so it's not like he had much choice other than a random one-off show. Guy should be set money-wise, so he was probably using the time to catch up on the family he didn't get to see for 10 years. Can't blame him one bit for that.

I disagree. Augeri's voice can't hold up to a Journey tour anymore. even if they had kept him and waited a year or two. IMO

Spot on Jana. He still can't bring it vocally. He ducks all the high notes, and avoids any challenging verbiage. He was done back in 2006. The guy may be a nice fella, but he will always be a fraud who cheated rock n roll.

It's quite possible his voice wouldn't have held up anyway, but it was the hour-long pre-Perry set, and then having to sing a full show on a cold voice that was the final straw that did him in. It would be a ticking time bomb, but I don't think his voice is as bad as people make it out to be. He might not have lasted 5 years, but given a year and a half break, he would have been ok for a while as long as they didn't try some crazy set again.

[Rockindeano]

Sad to see that got rid of Augeri cause once again they couldnt wait for someone to heal.

How long were they supposed to wait? Its been 5 years and Augeri still isn't touring regularly. They had no choice.

My guess is Augeri would have been touring fairly quickly (year or two break max) if he was with Journey. Hate to break it to ya, but "Steve Augeri, Solo Artist" doesn't fill many clubs, so it's not like he had much choice other than a random one-off show. Guy should be set money-wise, so he was probably using the time to catch up on the family he didn't get to see for 10 years. Can't blame him one bit for that.

I disagree. Augeri's voice can't hold up to a Journey tour anymore. even if they had kept him and waited a year or two. IMO

Spot on Jana. He still can't bring it vocally. He ducks all the high notes, and avoids any challenging verbiage. He was done back in 2006. The guy may be a nice fella, but he will always be a fraud who cheated rock n roll.

It's quite possible his voice wouldn't have held up anyway, but it was the hour-long pre-Perry set, and then having to sing a full show on a cold voice that was the final straw that did him in. It would be a ticking time bomb, but I don't think his voice is as bad as people make it out to be. He might not have lasted 5 years, but given a year and a half break, he would have been ok for a while as long as they didn't try some crazy set again.

Dude, go watch the youtubes of his recent shows. He sucks. he is so soft and weak, and clearly wants no part of anything challenging. Face it folks, he is done. Also, that 30th tour crap was actually saving him...well, for the one week he sang live anyway, LOL..Dude was live for the first four shows and then it was on to tape. Hell, the first hour, he didn't sing a note, and "played" a guitar that wasn't even plugged in...If I rcall correctly, they scrapped the pre Perry stuff the second week in, as nobody was digging the deep cuts.

[Ehwmatt]

Sad to see that got rid of Augeri cause once again they couldnt wait for someone to heal.

How long were they supposed to wait? Its been 5 years and Augeri still isn't touring regularly. They had no choice.

My guess is Augeri would have been touring fairly quickly (year or two break max) if he was with Journey. Hate to break it to ya, but "Steve Augeri, Solo Artist" doesn't fill many clubs, so it's not like he had much choice other than a random one-off show. Guy should be set money-wise, so he was probably using the time to catch up on the family he didn't get to see for 10 years. Can't blame him one bit for that.

I disagree. Augeri's voice can't hold up to a Journey tour anymore. even if they had kept him and waited a year or two. IMO

Spot on Jana. He still can't bring it vocally. He ducks all the high notes, and avoids any challenging verbiage. He was done back in 2006. The guy may be a nice fella, but he will always be a fraud who cheated rock n roll.

It's quite possible his voice wouldn't have held up anyway, but it was the hour-long pre-Perry set, and then having to sing a full show on a cold voice that was the final straw that did him in. It would be a ticking time bomb, but I don't think his voice is as bad as people make it out to be. He might not have lasted 5 years, but given a year and a half break, he would have been ok for a while as long as they didn't try some crazy set again.

Dude, go watch the youtubes of his recent shows. He sucks. he is so soft and weak, and clearly wants no part of anything challenging. Face it folks, he is done. Also, that 30th tour crap was actually saving him...well, for the one week he sang live anyway, LOL..Dude was live for the first four shows and then it was on to tape. Hell, the first hour, he didn't sing a note, and "played" a guitar that wasn't even plugged in...If I rcall correctly, they scrapped the pre Perry stuff the second week in, as nobody was digging the deep cuts.

No they didn't. They played those consistently throughout the tour. I saw it in July, August, and November. The November show was indoors so they only had a 2 hour slot, but even tehre we got Mystery Mountain, Kohoutek, Of a Lifetime, and Nickel and Dime.

[Rockindeano]

Sad to see that got rid of Augeri cause once again they couldnt wait for someone to heal.

How long were they supposed to wait? Its been 5 years and Augeri still isn't touring regularly. They had no choice.

My guess is Augeri would have been touring fairly quickly (year or two break max) if he was with Journey. Hate to break it to ya, but "Steve Augeri, Solo Artist" doesn't fill many clubs, so it's not like he had much choice other than a random one-off show. Guy should be set money-wise, so he was probably using the time to catch up on the family he didn't get to see for 10 years. Can't blame him one bit for that.

I disagree. Augeri's voice can't hold up to a Journey tour anymore. even if they had kept him and waited a year or two. IMO

Spot on Jana. He still can't bring it vocally. He ducks all the high notes, and avoids any challenging verbiage. He was done back in 2006. The guy may be a nice fella, but he will always be a fraud who cheated rock n roll.

It's quite possible his voice wouldn't have held up anyway, but it was the hour-long pre-Perry set, and then having to sing a full show on a cold voice that was the final straw that did him in. It would be a ticking time bomb, but I don't think his voice is as bad as people make it out to be. He might not have lasted 5 years, but given a year and a half break, he would have been ok for a while as long as they didn't try some crazy set again.

Dude, go watch the youtubes of his recent shows. He sucks. he is so soft and weak, and clearly wants no part of anything challenging. Face it folks, he is done. Also, that 30th tour crap was actually saving him...well, for the one week he sang live anyway, LOL..Dude was live for the first four shows and then it was on to tape. Hell, the first hour, he didn't sing a note, and "played" a guitar that wasn't even plugged in...If I rcall correctly, they scrapped the pre Perry stuff the second week in, as nobody was digging the deep cuts.

No they didn't. They played those consistently throughout the tour. I saw it in July, August, and November. The November show was indoors so they only had a 2 hour slot, but even tehre we got Mystery Mountain, Kohoutek, Of a Lifetime, and Nickel and Dime.

My mistake. They did however, take some time away from the pre Perry era. I just looked at the setlists. They did 13 songs the first night in Irvine, CA and by week three, were down to 8. But you're right, they did keep some old school tunes. Still, that time was time Fraudgeri was NOT singing, thus saving his voice, right?

[kgdjpubs]

Dude, go watch the youtubes of his recent shows. He sucks. he is so soft and weak, and clearly wants no part of anything challenging. Face it folks, he is done.

You may well be right, but I learned long ago that youtube is no judge of how well a voice is holding up with all the distortion you get. What sounds awful from one camera and position may sound great from another camera. With all the complaints about bad sound at the show itself, that just adds to the problem. He may have gotten it back, he may not have, but you can't use youtube sound quality to make that determination. WAY too many variables.

[Pelata]

what band wants a singer who just sings?

Journey circa 2010

[Eric]

Shit, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to come to this conclusion. The WET record is heads and and shoulders stronger than Revelation.

How the fuck would you know? You haven't ever listened to Revelation....remember?

.

I listened to the first minute or so of each song on youtube....it sucks dude.

Dammit Dean-O..just listen the album!

[YankeeRose]

I like the W.E.T. CD much more than Journey's last CD. So I guess I can't disagree.

[Red13JoePa]

I like WET better than Journey's last effort with AP

Shit, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to come to this conclusion. The WET record is heads and and shoulders stronger than Revelation.

And I have to disagree with Dan here, WET could pull off those songs live, with either slight rearrangements or piped in backing vocals. many bands do this including Journey. Hell, Journey has been piping in vocals(of all kinds), for years if not decades. To say WET and Jeff couldn't sing those melodies is wrong. They could of definitely pulled it off live.

All this and you've yet to hear Revelation supposedly.
Impressive

[YoungJRNY]

I listen to WET every day practically. Loved Revelation, but WET has that modern age melodic that can't beat my personal tastes. I agree with Monker, even though JSS's voice is SO wrong for Journey, both albums prove why both singer & band are better off without each other with ALL DUE RESPECT to both camps. Quickly topping my list is WET. (That's what she said.)

[Rockindeano]

I like WET better than Journey's last effort with AP

Shit, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to come to this conclusion. The WET record is heads and and shoulders stronger than Revelation.

And I have to disagree with Dan here, WET could pull off those songs live, with either slight rearrangements or piped in backing vocals. many bands do this including Journey. Hell, Journey has been piping in vocals(of all kinds), for years if not decades. To say WET and Jeff couldn't sing those melodies is wrong. They could of definitely pulled it off live.

All this and you've yet to hear Revelation supposedly.
Impressive

When you can't get through the entire song, because it either sucks or sounds exactly like one a few years ago, what's the point? I tried. It's not that great of a listen. It isn't special. It doesn't grab you. It's just...there.