Judge Wapner is Back! 80s Court – Journey

[tater1977]

Judge Wapner is Back! 80s Court – Journey

by Jason Gross on May 21, 2012

http://underscoopfire.com/judge-wapner- ... t-journey/

UnderScoopFire!

For Children of the 80s

After a long recess, the 80s Court is back in session and ready for another case of musical divorce. This time, we’ll take a look back at the “journey” of an American rock band and their “evolution” into arena rock gods.

The “departure” of Journey for almost 10 years between the late 80s and early 90s left fans with questions. Then in 1995, after a reunion, a new record, a top 20 hit, and a highly anticipated world tour, fans with “open arms” were left embracing a different Steve…Steve Augeri.

Longtime lead singer Steve Perry was left between a rock climbing accident and a hard-placed band, eager to satisfy its fans. I’ll admit, as your honorable 80s Court judge, I almost had to recuse myself from this case being an avid fan. But when I asked my bailiff Rusty to preside over the Journey case, his response was “only if Brendon Fraser and The Rock” are on trial. So I guess you are stuck with me and…


“The Case of the Separated Ways”


The Background

San Francisco was the setting for the band originally called the “Golden Gate Rhythm Section.” Guitarist Neal Schon and keyboard player Greg Rolie, previously of the rock band Santana, came together to form a new band with bassist Ross Valory, guitarist George Tickner, and drummer Prairie Prince in 1973. The original concept of the band was to serve as a backing band for established SF bay area recording artists. Prairie Prince, who was also the drummer for the Tubes, rejoined his group shortly after their first public appearance. British drummer Ansley Dunbar was then hired and newly named Journey had a lineup set to record their first album.

Rolie was the initial lead singer of the group. After two unsuccessful albums, Dunbar, Schon, and Valory took singing lessons to put harmony behind Rolie voice. The third album was still not a success. In 1977, Robert Fleischman was hired to share lead vocals with Rolie. Management differences between Fleischman and the band paved the way for the hiring of lead singer Steve Perry and breakthrough success. Perry’s vocals took Journey’s 4th album to #21 and charted two singles, “Wheel in the Sky” and “Lights.”

Their 5th album would peak at #20 and also yield their first top 20 hit, “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’.” Journey would explore new “frontiers” on the charts from 1980-86, which included 5 consecutive albums in the top 10. During the peak of their popularity, the band was filling up NFL stadiums, some with over 80,000 capacities. Budweiser hired them to do radio commercials and two video games were also released using the band’s likeness. But success came with a price. After taking some time off after the ’83 tour, Journey returned to record a new album in 1986, leaving original member Valory and drummer Steve Smith looking for work. Studio musicians Larrie Londin and future American Idol judge Randy Jackson were hired as replacements.

After releasing the “Raised on the Radio” album and the ’87 tour finished up, nine years would pass before fans would hear Journey on Top 40 stations again. “When You Love a Woman” was a breath of fresh air to fans that were choking on compilation albums (3 were released in those 9 years.) With a hit single and top 5 album, Journey planned a world tour in 1997, but a hiking accident in Hawaii left Perry in the hospital contemplating surgery. After struggling with going under the knife and hesitation to even reunite with the band in ’96, Schon and Cain decided they couldn’t wait for Perry any longer. Steve Augeri was hired in 1998 and would record and tour with the band for 10 years. After Augeri developed vocal problems, Arnel Pineda was hired in 2007 in true “Rock Star” style. Schon first saw him on YouTube covering Journey songs and remains the lead singer until this day.


The Evidence

The success of Journey during the Steve Perry years is iconic among American rock bands. Lifetime sales include over 80 million albums and even in the iPod era, “Don’t Stop Believin’” remains the best-selling track in iTunes history (thanks in part to the Sopranos.) Since the band has been without Perry, they’ve done pretty well, which includes two top 15 albums in the past four years.

Perry had a successful solo career while still with Journey. In 1984, he cracked the top 20 twice with “Oh, Sherrie” and “Foolish Heart” and in 1994 “You Better Wait” was a top 30 hit. He appeared with his fellow band mates during their Hollywood Walk of Fame induction ceremony in 2005 and has hinted as recent as 2010 that he’s been writing and interested in releasing another solo project in the future.


The Verdict

It’s hard not to look at this case and think Perry was left in the dust. But where do you draw the line? Journey still obviously has their musical talent and is capable of producing hit records and successful tours. So can you blame them for wanting to continue and play their music? The real question is, did they cross the line moving on and not waiting for Perry? In this court’s opinion, yes.

God bless Journey and what they are doing now with Pineda. He’s got a great voice. But to me, it’s like divorcing your wife for a woman 20 years younger. Now, I don’t know if Perry is collecting alimony royalty checks (which he should), but something just doesn’t sit right with me. When you see a 50-year-old divorced man with a 25-year-old girlfriend, don’t you think “if they are okay with it, that’s cool. Good for him!” But don’t we also have in the back of our minds, “she’s either a gold digger or he wasn’t committed to his first wife.” I mean, what if Aerosmith got together and found a kid on YouTube to replace Steven Tyler. His replacement would most definitely sound better at this point, but wouldn’t you feel like you were cheating on rock-n-roll history?

Finally, “the Voice” of Journey has seemingly been replaced, which many thought was not possible in the 80s. I’m sure with all the people on this planet, you could find someone to hit just about any note and with a little training, could mimic even Elvis or Michael Jackson. But to me, Journey with Pineda is just not original. Yeah, you can put out new albums and write new songs, but at the end of the day, aren’t you just a band that is trying to sound like Journey with Perry? The 80s court rules in favor of Steve Perry….case closed!!

[AJ]

What a douche!! Get all of the evidence before you make a decision! If Perry wanted to be a part of Journey, he would be. That was true in '87, '95, '98, and today! He wanted nothing to do with it!! Grrrr.....don't want to get started again! OUT! Jack off!!

[Eric]

What a douche!! Get all of the evidence before you make a decision! If Perry wanted to be a part of Journey, he would be. That was true in '87, '95, '98, and today! He wanted nothing to do with it!! Grrrr.....don't want to get started again! OUT! Jack off!!

Yep.

After 15 years...the argument about Perry's intentions to tour and record are pretty much over now that he hasn't done either. He's retired, Journey isn't.

[SF-Dano]

Kangaroo Court.