Neal wasn't the first to hire a clone

[steveo777]

This has been one of my chief complaints with SP and the idea that Journey cracked the stone. In reality, it was SP who cracked the stone.

That is what I was trying to emphasize. Well said.

If you listen to Lincoln Brewster playing the lead solo for "I'll Be Alright Without You" in the video I posted, it's obvious that he was trying to play it exactly like Neal - and he did a very impressive job of it. If that isn't equal to "cracking the stone" I don't know what is. If I was Neal and I watched that video, I would have been pissed off and all loyalty to SP would have gone out the window.

I am not ripping on Perry or Schon. I'm just saying it wasn't Schon who first cracked the stone. It's easy for me to see how they both felt invested in the music they created together, and also why they might both be jealous over its control. Imagine if it would have been Perry who re-grouped Journey and found some shredder on YouTube with a Les Paul and a big black afro to replace Neal?

Did Gregg, Ross, and Steve Smith "crack the stone" when they hired a guy who can sing Journey, and a guitarist who also sounds remarkably like Neal for The Storm...and they even perform Journey songs in concert.

All parties can play that game. The whole concept of cracking the stone is bullshit. Everyone is happy except the one who has sand in his crack because others cracked the stone, when he, also with sin, did the same thing. It's really, really childish shit that this ever came up to begin with. So kindergarten....behavior expected of todlers, not grown men. Get over it dudes!

[AR]

I've had a better time since my divorce from Journey as a fan seeing all their ex and near lead singers perform.

[Gideon]

This has been one of my chief complaints with SP and the idea that Journey cracked the stone. In reality, it was SP who cracked the stone.

That is what I was trying to emphasize. Well said.

If you listen to Lincoln Brewster playing the lead solo for "I'll Be Alright Without You" in the video I posted, it's obvious that he was trying to play it exactly like Neal - and he did a very impressive job of it. If that isn't equal to "cracking the stone" I don't know what is. If I was Neal and I watched that video, I would have been pissed off and all loyalty to SP would have gone out the window.

I am not ripping on Perry or Schon. I'm just saying it wasn't Schon who first cracked the stone. It's easy for me to see how they both felt invested in the music they created together, and also why they might both be jealous over its control. Imagine if it would have been Perry who re-grouped Journey and found some shredder on YouTube with a Les Paul and a big black afro to replace Neal?

Did Gregg, Ross, and Steve Smith "crack the stone" when they hired a guy who can sing Journey, and a guitarist who also sounds remarkably like Neal for The Storm...and they even perform Journey songs in concert.

Actually, I would say yes to the extent that it was a very transparent attempt to mimic Journey. I loved the Storm's music and will go to my grave as a Kevin Chalfant fan, but they ripped their songs straight out of Journey's playbook.

[Monker]

This has been one of my chief complaints with SP and the idea that Journey cracked the stone. In reality, it was SP who cracked the stone.

That is what I was trying to emphasize. Well said.

If you listen to Lincoln Brewster playing the lead solo for "I'll Be Alright Without You" in the video I posted, it's obvious that he was trying to play it exactly like Neal - and he did a very impressive job of it. If that isn't equal to "cracking the stone" I don't know what is. If I was Neal and I watched that video, I would have been pissed off and all loyalty to SP would have gone out the window.

I am not ripping on Perry or Schon. I'm just saying it wasn't Schon who first cracked the stone. It's easy for me to see how they both felt invested in the music they created together, and also why they might both be jealous over its control. Imagine if it would have been Perry who re-grouped Journey and found some shredder on YouTube with a Les Paul and a big black afro to replace Neal?

Did Gregg, Ross, and Steve Smith "crack the stone" when they hired a guy who can sing Journey, and a guitarist who also sounds remarkably like Neal for The Storm...and they even perform Journey songs in concert.

All parties can play that game. The whole concept of cracking the stone is bullshit. Everyone is happy except the one who has sand in his crack because others cracked the stone, when he, also with sin, did the same thing. It's really, really childish shit that this ever came up to begin with. So kindergarten....behavior expected of todlers, not grown men. Get over it dudes!

Actually, I think you're right in the sense of all these are examples of bands just getting together to play music.

What truly 'cracked the stone' was Steve Perry taking over the band, firing Ross and Steve Smith, releasing ROR which dove into pop music rather then rock, and finally breaking the band up through the TBF 'reunion'. That cracked the stone and put the band in the position of either not existing or moving on without him.

Neal is no better in the fiasco of how he handled Augeri's exit, JSS hiring/firing, Jeremy and then Arnel. If Perry cracked it back in 1985, Neal re-fractured it with the crazyness of the last few years.

So, Journey has been dysfunctional for decades...there have been some highs and lows since ROR, with and without Perry...But, really, they can't steer a steady course. They can't mend the stone. They can't reforge the key that Perry stole, abused and tossed aside and get the Harley going again. And, it's kinda late in the game to do that anyway.

That's just the way this band is and has been since 1984, at least.

[Eric]

That's just the way this band is and has been since 1984, at least.

You know, I'm reading that Steven King book about the time machine and stopping Kennedy from being killed, and I think about important and unimportant things I would do with time travel...and the first unimportant thing I would do is convince the band to dump Perry after the Frontier tour. Its clear, and even Herbie says it, that was a turning point for them being a first rate band or not. There were several options that could have worked and kept them active and quite successful throughout the 80's and early 90's.