http://rocksubculture.com/2012/07/23/jo ... a-7222012/
For me personally, Steve Perry has few peers in the vocal department, but he is not one to have a really unique sense of style, or run all over the stage during a show (and I’m not saying that is good or bad, but everyone takes this all in differently – what entertains and inspires and excites each of us is purely subjective).
I went into this Journey concert with some skepticism (having not seen them live), though also with an open mind about Arnel Pineda as lead vocalist, performing truly iconic songs.
With what I’d seen in concert videos, I felt that Pineda had incredible vocal ability, and sounded a lot like Steve Perry, but I could tell the difference, in that I felt (with these older performances on video) that Pineda maybe “oversang” the vocals (in range and dynamics) maybe a bit too much for my tastes (equivalent to maybe an electric guitar solo that goes a bit too much and over the top), and also I didn’t feel the raw – very raw – emotion that I got from Steve Perry singing these songs.
So jumping ahead to Sunday’s performance… Watching Pineda live – and listening to him – I really feel as though he has grown leaps and bounds into his role with Journey. I didn’t feel with this live show that he “oversang” even one note – he had incredible control, but really his voice is more powerful and persuasive when he is actually holding back a little bit, and more importantly, with this show, with these songs, I felt real emotion. Maybe not quite as “raw” as with Steve Perry, but Pineda is a different person with his own experiences, and it all felt real and genuine, and that is what is most important. And this also made his voice stand out as unique, and while he can sing the songs in a similar manner to how we expect to hear them from the studio recordings, I think he has found – and is comfortable with – his own unique (and incredibly impressive) voice.
Additionally, he brings such energy and joy to the stage, it is just awesome to watch him and come along for the ride, and I think in this regard, he brings something entirely new to Journey that is his own. He brings real youth and excitement and optimism to the band, and I think it comes across as quite contagious to those of us lucky enough to watch these live shows and see the band members having fun and really enjoying each other and themselves, and I think Pineda really helps the band to connect with the audience in a unique and personal way. And maybe becoming part of this band will keep it and it’s music alive longer than it would have otherwise.
So in my own meandering and non-linear way, the point I am getting to is that, in spite of my instincts to the contrary (from an abstract point of view), I actually accept Arnel Pineda as the lead singer of Journey, and I think he is a choice that is so unlikely, it actually makes complete sense as well.
