Neil Schon: ‘The door is always open

[Gideon]

I never gave an opinion either way, I just merely stated that I believe Perry can still sing, but that's neither an indictment nor an endorsement of the quality.

No, you did give an opinion by stating your belief that Perry can still sing and your preference to give him the benefit of the doubt. Clumsily couching it as a "belief" in your desperation doesn't make it any less of an "opinion."

Try harder.

There are plenty of singers who have power and range in their vocals that don't interest me in the least; nor interests other Journey fans. So, obviously, there was more to Perry's voice than simply power and range.

Your reading comprehension is as weak as your ability to assemble a cogent argument.

I never denied that there was more to Perry's voice than its technical aspects; I claimed that the technical aspects were what made him so impressive to the public. In other words, how many album or concert reviews can you find that emphasize this mysterious X-factor of Perry's voice over his technical gifts?

The bottom line is, I didn't ask you what you thought Perry's most enduring qualities as a rock vocalist were, nor did I ask what your interests were. I just simply asked you, have you heard Steve Perry sing lately? No was the answer, that's all I needed to know.

Which is why you're still speaking to me on this subject many, many posts after you got your answer?

[Gideon]

So what you're saying is: it's ok for you to believe that Perry's voice doesn't sound like shit but it's not ok for me to think otherwise?

I never gave an opinion either way, I just merely stated that I believe Perry can still sing, but that's neither an indictment nor an endorsement of the quality.

I'm sensitive to the alterations in band chemistry and, to use your example, the effect Smith's drum technique has on a song compared to, say, Deen's. And while I accept that the absence of Perry, Smith, and Rolie did adjust the chemistry to varying degrees (for better or worse), the bottom line is that Perry's primary asset to the band was always his voice. His voice, all that range and power, is what brought and kept him in the hearts of the public.

There are plenty of singers who have power and range in their vocals that don't interest me in the least; nor interests other Journey fans. So, obviously, there was more to Perry's voice than simply power and range.

The bottom line is that whatever Perry may bring to the table in terms of presence, chemistry, gravitas, whatever you want to call it is nothing compared to however many octaves he brought as a vocal god. If he can't replicate it to a respectable, consistent degree, then I'm not interested. As I've said, the sum and total of his worth to me is as an accomplished singer. It is, as I've said, the same situation if Neal climbed onto the stage in his crotch-hugging leathers and went from his melodic blitzing to Eric "Slowhand" Clapton; I'd roll my eyes and leave. They have a talent and bereft of their talent, I have zero interest in seeing them in Journey.

The bottom line is, I didn't ask you what you thought Perry's most enduring qualities as a rock vocalist were, nor did I ask what your interests were. I just simply asked you, have you heard Steve Perry sing lately? No was the answer, that's all I needed to know.

Bottom line is Giddy could never just post a one word answer.

Or that. You know me so well.

[Yoda]

I never gave an opinion either way, I just merely stated that I believe Perry can still sing, but that's neither an indictment nor an endorsement of the quality.

No, you did give an opinion by stating your belief that Perry can still sing and your preference to give him the benefit of the doubt. Clumsily couching it as a "belief" in your desperation doesn't make it any less of an "opinion."

Try harder.

There are plenty of singers who have power and range in their vocals that don't interest me in the least; nor interests other Journey fans. So, obviously, there was more to Perry's voice than simply power and range.

Your reading comprehension is as weak as your ability to assemble a cogent argument.

I never denied that there was more to Perry's voice than its technical aspects; I claimed that the technical aspects were what made him so impressive to the public. In other words, how many album or concert reviews can you find that emphasize this mysterious X-factor of Perry's voice over his technical gifts?

The bottom line is, I didn't ask you what you thought Perry's most enduring qualities as a rock vocalist were, nor did I ask what your interests were. I just simply asked you, have you heard Steve Perry sing lately? No was the answer, that's all I needed to know.

Which is why you're still speaking to me on this subject many, many posts after you got your answer?

What the hell is your fucking problem asshole? Take your fucking insults and shove them up your ass. I don't give a shit for your insults nor did I deserve them.

[Gideon]

What the hell is your fucking problem asshole? Take your fucking insults and shove them up your ass. I don't give a shit for your insults nor did I deserve them.

You were the one who dropped all pretense and raised your hackles in your last post. The one insult was just banter, not [meant to be taken as] personal. If it offended you, I apologize.

I'm just used to members of Melodic Rock slinging abuse at each other during these little debates; sometimes I get a little overzealous.

Anyway, I apologize for offending you and I enjoyed the discussion truly.

[Tomulator]

I think the ideal reunion would include Perry and Smith coming back with Josh Ramos on guitar.

Neil can play Eclipse in it's entirety at the local Buffalo Wild Wings in front of all 4 people who give a damn (his old lady being one of them).

I can see Neil dodging wings from all directions from people trying to watch the game.

Now THAT's funny!!!!!!!

[journeyrock]

I'm hopeful for the band to continue as long as they possibly can - because they're good for the AOR genre.

In a perfect world, if a reunion tour would happen, I would see Steve Perry, Steve Augeri, AND Arnel Pineda all sharing mic time - which means more material that could be covered! I would also see Gregg Rolie and Steve Smith return to the band. Have one big long concert covering a few songs from every decade of Journey. It would work a little better because you wouldn't have one singer having to cover all the songs.

that would be awesome, but Steve would be covering 85% of the songs, so I guess yeah, one guy WOULD have to cover almost all the songs.

[journeyrock]

It's really simply this. Journey is not the same without both a healthy Steve Perry AND Steve Smith. It's just not the same band. That isn't to say that the current line up cannot perform those classics well, because they do! But, it's not the same chemistry. And believe or not, for some people, it goes way beyond being able to hit this or that note clearly, or to play a certain passage exactly the way it is on the record - it's the chemistry. Don't believe me? Well, listen to the sound bytes of Schon's upcoming album. I never realized the extent to how much I miss Steve Smith in Journey until I heard those sound bytes. I heard A LOT of Journey in those sound bytes! Keep in mind though, I'm not knocking the current line up. I have loved and followed Journey almost all of my life, through all the line up changes, and I'm going to see them in October in support. However, I DO know that there would be a completely different feel to the band if the original guys (the early 80's were my favorite) were in the band.

Steve said it in a recent interview regarding the chemistry between him and Neal. Steve said there was some chemistry that happened between them in where Neal's playing took his voice to higher places and vice versa, ie: Neal has also said that his guitar was an extension of Steve's voice. Steve said that neither one of them could find this anywhere else, no matter how hard they tried. He said it will never be the same.

He was responding to a question as to missing singing with Journey.

[Voyager]

"But if we were to do a farewell tour, then I would reach out to him – and some of the earlier members of the band. I’d try to get that family type tour together.”

I foretold of this event several years ago.

[scarygirl]

"But if we were to do a farewell tour, then I would reach out to him – and some of the earlier members of the band. I’d try to get that family type tour together.”

I foretold of this event several years ago.

Come back Elvis!!!