Moderator: Andrew
Pelata wrote:Chain Of Love - Too long (seeing a pattern?). Not only is it too long, it's not as good as the 2 songs before it. This sounds more like a B-side or a song that would have benefitted from a little more tooling. The chorus is anti-climactic, IMO. Bits of it are cool, but the first truly weak moment for me.
Pelata wrote:She's A Mystery - This I like. I like the vibe, the strumming acoustic groove, Arnel's melodies...but it should have ended at 4:50 before that heavy part at the end kicks in. That part was just unnecessary and smacks of Neal wanting to just solo some more.
Pelata wrote:I like "Butterfly" and I don't like the chorus on "COL"...
The part at the end of "She's A Mystery" is a cool part...but it seems tacked on the end randomly and doesn't fit, IMO.
I'd give it a C...everyone plays well...but the album needs a lot of work.
Deb wrote:Pelata wrote:I like "Butterfly" and I don't like the chorus on "COL"...
The part at the end of "She's A Mystery" is a cool part...but it seems tacked on the end randomly and doesn't fit, IMO.
I'd give it a C...everyone plays well...but the album needs a lot of work.
I'm curious....what would you grade 'What If...'? Good, bad, indifferent...be honest?
Pelata wrote:Deb wrote:Pelata wrote:I like "Butterfly" and I don't like the chorus on "COL"...
The part at the end of "She's A Mystery" is a cool part...but it seems tacked on the end randomly and doesn't fit, IMO.
I'd give it a C...everyone plays well...but the album needs a lot of work.
I'm curious....what would you grade 'What If...'? Good, bad, indifferent...be honest?
68%
Pelata wrote:She's A Mystery - This I like. I like the vibe, the strumming acoustic groove, Arnel's melodies...but it should have ended at 4:50 before that heavy part at the end kicks in. That part was just unnecessary and smacks of Neal wanting to just solo some more.
FamilyMan wrote:Pelata wrote:She's A Mystery - This I like. I like the vibe, the strumming acoustic groove, Arnel's melodies...but it should have ended at 4:50 before that heavy part at the end kicks in. That part was just unnecessary and smacks of Neal wanting to just solo some more.
You've lost me. The rocked-out ending makes the song. Without it, you have another meandering pointless "Butterfly" on your hands.
AMEN
Really, Kev, I haven't noticed ...and hope I don't now!!kgdjpubs wrote:FamilyMan wrote:Pelata wrote:She's A Mystery - This I like. I like the vibe, the strumming acoustic groove, Arnel's melodies...but it should have ended at 4:50 before that heavy part at the end kicks in. That part was just unnecessary and smacks of Neal wanting to just solo some more.
You've lost me. The rocked-out ending makes the song. Without it, you have another meandering pointless "Butterfly" on your hands.
AMEN
I dunno. I love the idea of rocking it out. Just don't particularly care for the execution. Arnel sounds pretty strained and either flat or almost off key at one point.
Michigan Girl wrote:I'm lol'ing at Shawn's Tantra review ^^^^the descriptions just keep getting better.
I guess it's one of those, love it or hate it type songs ...
Pelata wrote:Cool. Yeah, all of the songs are just entirely too long...most of those outro's are pointless other than Neal getting off.
SF-Dano wrote:To each his own. I like the record alot. I am absolutely glad that Neal "bumped" heads with Shirley to get what he wanted. The length of the songs bothers me not at all. The end of SAM is great. It is Rock and Roll, it shouldn't have to be perfect. Not everything should have to have a reason.
Gideon wrote:SF-Dano wrote:To each his own. I like the record alot. I am absolutely glad that Neal "bumped" heads with Shirley to get what he wanted. The length of the songs bothers me not at all. The end of SAM is great. It is Rock and Roll, it shouldn't have to be perfect. Not everything should have to have a reason.
+1. This is the one Journey album I can listen to entirely without the urge to skip.
portland wrote:Gideon wrote:SF-Dano wrote:To each his own. I like the record alot. I am absolutely glad that Neal "bumped" heads with Shirley to get what he wanted. The length of the songs bothers me not at all. The end of SAM is great. It is Rock and Roll, it shouldn't have to be perfect. Not everything should have to have a reason.
+1. This is the one Journey album I can listen to entirely without the urge to skip.
Giddy that comes with growing up...skipping is for the preschool set!![]()
Andrew wrote:Too long?
Bah...pussies!!!!
Should have been even longer. More gratuitous solos.
Andrew wrote:Too long?
Bah...pussies!!!!
Should have been even longer. More gratuitous solos.
Ehwmatt wrote:Andrew wrote:Too long?
Bah...pussies!!!!
Should have been even longer. More gratuitous solos.
I'm a documented progressive fan (indeed, Dream Theater is definitely top 5 for me), so I'm no stranger to long songs and indulgent solos. I just can't get over how pointless some of the solos and instrumental breaks seem to be on the album. Do you really think the solo jam at the end of Anything Is Possible makes it a better song?
Ehwmatt wrote:Andrew wrote:Too long?
Bah...pussies!!!!
Should have been even longer. More gratuitous solos.
I'm a documented progressive fan (indeed, Dream Theater is definitely top 5 for me), so I'm no stranger to long songs and indulgent solos. I just can't get over how pointless some of the solos and instrumental breaks seem to be on the album. Do you really think the solo jam at the end of Anything Is Possible makes it a better song?
Ehwmatt wrote:You're a songwriter. I'm just a bedroom guitar player. But do some of the chord changes just sound totally bizarre to you in terms of being catchy/soaring/powerful? Someone comes to mind... the first few chords of the chorus start out so catchy, then it goes into that G chord and eventually descends into utter shitdom with the "Someoneeee lovessss you" chants. Anything Is Possible too... "If you can see" starts out nice with Neal doing the little high riff in the background. Then, the "how you imagine your life" change just saps the chorus of the energy it quickly built up.
Ehwmatt wrote:Pelata wrote:Cool. Yeah, all of the songs are just entirely too long...most of those outro's are pointless other than Neal getting off.
You're a songwriter. I'm just a bedroom guitar player. But do some of the chord changes just sound totally bizarre to you in terms of being catchy/soaring/powerful? Someone comes to mind... the first few chords of the chorus start out so catchy, then it goes into that G chord and eventually descends into utter shitdom with the "Someoneeee lovessss you" chants. Anything Is Possible too... "If you can see" starts out nice with Neal doing the little high riff in the background. Then, the "how you imagine your life" change just saps the chorus of the energy it quickly built up.
The_Noble_Cause wrote:The "Someone loves you" BG chorus sounds like typical Journey to me. John's ghost vocal is evident on almost every song, with him singing in a lower key. I've always figured it's a leftover from the original demo, before they have Arnel (or SA or whoever) add vocals to it.
Pelata wrote:OK, I have played the album 10-12 more times since my last post in this thread.
- it's growing on me, for sure...I find myself singing along much more
- the song lengths are no longer a distraction (mainly because the music and singing is so good), but I still would have chopped them down if I were producer...just personal preference
- I still don't really care for "Tantra"...but it's very well executed
- Arnel, as I stated before, sounds way more comfortable and loose on this album...he sings very, very well
- Neal's playing is stellar, if a bit long-winded
- I get why Neal compares it to Frontiers
- I have increased it's grade from a C to a low BIt'll never be my favorite Journey record, but I can actually say I kinda like it now
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