I'm bummed, I've just realized Journey has become irrelevant

[Aaron]

I've just come to the realization that Journey has become officially irrelevant.
Here's why:
1. I haven't went to watch them since 2009
2. They've made nothing worthy of seeing in several years
3. They've released 0 relevant music since Arrival in 2001
4. They picked up Steve Smith which is AWESOME! Still not enough to pull a HARD core fan to a show (maybe shame on me?).
5. 0 new music, and 0 new music for hard core fans in 10 years.

Be relevant, do something new, do something cool. When Sammy Hagar can jump on a GD flatbed in Oklahoma and sing a cover of "I Love This Bar" acapella and drive more energy than this whole band you need to have a look.

Night Ranger has a new record out in a couple of weeks and I'm amped! They're new stuff is better than their "classics". Journey would do well to study them. And we know they're too lazy so I'll spell it out:
- great lyrical songs that have grown with their audience
- don't be ashamed of their past, doing an Evolution 2 is not a bad thing
- the vocals are what people expect, they have Blades and Keagy still kick ass
- Present new material better than the old and people will respond (Night Ranger does)

I hate it but my favorite band ever has lost their way. Go get Herbie, get a nut suck, and kick some arse again. It requires MEMORABLE vocals and new good material to make it go forward. If you can't pull it in, call it a day.

I'm a HARD core fan staying home when your 3 hours away. I've been on a plane to watch Night Ranger and Boston in the last couple of years. Have a look at their shows and figure it out.

Let's hope the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame brings Perry back and they do something memorable again!

[tj]

I've just come to the realization that Journey has become officially irrelevant.
Here's why:
1. I haven't went to watch them since 2009
2. They've made nothing worthy of seeing in several years
3. They've released 0 relevant music since Arrival in 2001
4. They picked up Steve Smith which is AWESOME! Still not enough to pull a HARD core fan to a show (maybe shame on me?).
5. 0 new music, and 0 new music for hard core fans in 10 years.

Be relevant, do something new, do something cool. When Sammy Hagar can jump on a GD flatbed in Oklahoma and sing a cover of "I Love This Bar" acapella and drive more energy than this whole band you need to have a look.

Night Ranger has a new record out in a couple of weeks and I'm amped! They're new stuff is better than their "classics". Journey would do well to study them. And we know they're too lazy so I'll spell it out:
- great lyrical songs that have grown with their audience
- don't be ashamed of their past, doing an Evolution 2 is not a bad thing
- the vocals are what people expect, they have Blades and Keagy still kick ass
- Present new material better than the old and people will respond (Night Ranger does)

I hate it but my favorite band ever has lost their way. Go get Herbie, get a nut suck, and kick some arse again. It requires MEMORABLE vocals and new good material to make it go forward. If you can't pull it in, call it a day.

I'm a HARD core fan staying home when your 3 hours away. I've been on a plane to watch Night Ranger and Boston in the last couple of years. Have a look at their shows and figure it out.

Let's hope the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame brings Perry back and they do something memorable again!

I have reached the realization that they don't want to as a group. Neal does, maybe Ross and Arnel, but Jon isn't really interested and Smith is only on board for a little while. They will tour this year, maybe next, because it pays well but after that...

[JourneyHard]

Maybe they are missing Perry more than they want to admit. Maybe Perry had the magic touch to turn the songs into "classics."

Journey needs somebody to reign in both Neal and Jon and get them to focus on making a great album. They have to write the songs and then rewrite the songs and keep doing it until the songs are tight. They have so much going on that they would rather just spit out a Journey album and then get onto their solo stuff. NO! They have to focus like a laser and make the Journey album the best damn thing they ever did!

Just my two cents.

[Eric]

I've just come to the realization that Journey has become officially irrelevant.
Here's why:
5. 0 new music, and 0 new music for hard core fans in 10 years.

Revelation and Eclipse were both within the last 10 years... although at now 6 years since Eclipse it's been far too long.

[YoungJRNYfan]

6 years since Eclipse? Damn does time become a void. But I think I'm done with concerts, atleast for the time being. Kind of outgrew the Journey scene by having such a hardcore run at it for many years in between. That's not to say I don't love them and root for new material, I always do, but as far as the concert scene, the past 2-3 times I've seen them have been meh and an absolute waste of time.

[marco17]

6 years since Eclipse? Damn does time become a void. But I think I'm done with concerts, atleast for the time being. Kind of outgrew the Journey scene by having such a hardcore run at it for many years in between. That's not to say I don't love them and root for new material, I always do, but as far as the concert scene, the past 2-3 times I've seen them have been meh and an absolute waste of time.

Right there with you... Unfortunately, since they can't get it together as a group to make new music and these package tours only allow for the hits, there's just nothing exciting about them. They have become another classic act on the summer shed circuit year after year.

[YoungJRNYfan]

6 years since Eclipse? Damn does time become a void. But I think I'm done with concerts, atleast for the time being. Kind of outgrew the Journey scene by having such a hardcore run at it for many years in between. That's not to say I don't love them and root for new material, I always do, but as far as the concert scene, the past 2-3 times I've seen them have been meh and an absolute waste of time.

Right there with you... Unfortunately, since they can't get it together as a group to make new music and these package tours only allow for the hits, there's just nothing exciting about them. They have become another classic act on the summer shed circuit year after year.

Definitely. I think what happened has just become a product of time, disinterest and mismanagement. With the addition of Arnel and the impeccable timing of the Soprano's use of Don't Stop Believin', Journey was in an aurora of excitement (as you mentioned) and kind of hit a small flash of lighting in the bottle. Even though they put effort into Revelation, THAT was the time period to take advantage of the creative process to keep the fans invested in that excitement over what would have become the next wave of momentum. Unfortunately, by the time Eclipse rolled around, they started losing that mojo on tour and should have used Eclipse as the next stepping stone to tease what was in store for the future of Journey. Instead, they slowly got away from what would have made their tours fresh with focusing on the newer material and basically fell victim to what the Augeri-era succumbed to: nostalgia.

[jrny84]

I agree as well. Haven't seen Journey since 2011 and really have had little interest in going to another concert. Tired of seeing the "greatest hits" show with an opening act that isn't that exciting. I'm still a big fan, but nothing exciting going on, no new music, and not a great package tour. At this point for me its going to have to be new music or Perry reuniting to really get me excited again.

If they toured with maybe Sammy Hagar or somebody really different, I would really think about going and seeing them.

[scarab]

last time I saw Journey was with JSS when they toured with Leppard. 2006?
JSS sure brought life to the dirty dozen, and owned deeper cuts like Message of Love and I'll be allright.
I agree, no interest even seeing Journey for free playing the dirty dozen.

Was actually excited to see a show this year when they announced Steve Smiths return and a Tour with Asia (Only Time will tell is probably in my top 10 songs ever) and playing Frontiers and Escape in entirety. But the two big buzz kills (the most major and sad) the passing of John Wetton and to a lesser degree the deep cuts especially the never played Troubled Child sounded sub-par.

And also finding the Frontiers/Escape show is for very limited dates.

[JourneyHard]

Maybe Sammy Hagar should join Journey. I always thought Van Halen with Sammy Hagar sort of sounded like Journey. Well, not exactly like Journey, but closer to Journey than Van Halen with David Lee Roth.

Sammy Hagar could bring some energy back to Journey and perhaps get them back on the radio. I know it sounds crazy, but that's a Journey album everybody will buy and a Journey tour everybody will show up for. Right?

[tj]

Maybe Sammy Hagar should join Journey. I always thought Van Halen with Sammy Hagar sort of sounded like Journey. Well, not exactly like Journey, but closer to Journey than Van Halen with David Lee Roth.

Sammy Hagar could bring some energy back to Journey and perhaps get them back on the radio. I know it sounds crazy, but that's a Journey album everybody will buy and a Journey tour everybody will show up for. Right?

Keep Arnel for the classics, but create new music with Sammy. Play the old stuff, new stuff, some of Sammy's hits, and it keeps the crowd happy and coming back for something new.

[tater1977]

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[jrny84]

Maybe Sammy Hagar should join Journey. I always thought Van Halen with Sammy Hagar sort of sounded like Journey. Well, not exactly like Journey, but closer to Journey than Van Halen with David Lee Roth.

Sammy Hagar could bring some energy back to Journey and perhaps get them back on the radio. I know it sounds crazy, but that's a Journey album everybody will buy and a Journey tour everybody will show up for. Right?

Keep Arnel for the classics, but create new music with Sammy. Play the old stuff, new stuff, some of Sammy's hits, and it keeps the crowd happy and coming back for something new.

I'd be for that. Not sure Sammy would even be interested in being part of another band though.

[JourneyHard]

Just think of the concerts with Sammy Hagar fronting Journey. They could perform A Whiter Shade of Pale. Everybody knows that song, and won't leave for the restroom.

[Tomulator]

Ok...stop...just STOP.

The only thing more ridiculous than replacing Steve Perry with ANYONE, would be replacing him with Hagar!

[Aaron]

I wasn't a fan of either. However, Revelation was ok. Eclipse was a turd!

I've just come to the realization that Journey has become officially irrelevant.
Here's why:
5. 0 new music, and 0 new music for hard core fans in 10 years.

Revelation and Eclipse were both within the last 10 years... although at now 6 years since Eclipse it's been far too long.

[Aaron]

They should have brought Sammy in back in 98. Hagar is KLLER, has a signature voice, can't write, has energy and knows how to rock. It could have been EPIC!

If they toured with maybe Sammy Hagar or somebody really different, I would really think about going and seeing them.

[Aaron]

Maybe Sammy Hagar should join Journey. I always thought Van Halen with Sammy Hagar sort of sounded like Journey. Well, not exactly like Journey, but closer to Journey than Van Halen with David Lee Roth.

Sammy Hagar could bring some energy back to Journey and perhaps get them back on the radio. I know it sounds crazy, but that's a Journey album everybody will buy and a Journey tour everybody will show up for. Right?

^^^^^^^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[The_Noble_Cause]

3. They've released 0 relevant music since Arrival in 2001

Define "relevant", Aaron. Since Arrival, they have released Red 13, Generations, Revelation, and Eclipse. And a few DVDs. Pretty sure Revelation sold better than anything Night Ranger has put out recently. And I'm not even sure Arrival was relevant. By what standard? It didn't sell. Only die-hards (like me) gave a shit.

Be relevant, do something new, do something cool. When Sammy Hagar can jump on a GD flatbed in Oklahoma and sing a cover of "I Love This Bar" acapella and drive more energy than this whole band you need to have a look.

That sounds quite lame actually. And recently, Sammy has been struggling to cover some of his own material.

[The_Noble_Cause]

They should have brought Sammy in back in 98. Hagar is KLLER, has a signature voice, can't write, has energy and knows how to rock. It could have been EPIC!

If they toured with maybe Sammy Hagar or somebody really different, I would really think about going and seeing them.

As if Hagar could cover Open Arms or Faithfully or other ballads in the catalog? You guys need to put down the bong.

[The_Noble_Cause]

They have so much going on that they would rather just spit out a Journey album and then get onto their solo stuff. NO! They have to focus like a laser and make the Journey album the best damn thing they ever did!

The majority of the post-Perry stuff, like Arrival or Eclipse, was not rushed. They spent alot of time in the studio. In the case of the Arrival, they went back and recorded/added songs for the US release. In the case of Eclipse, Neal said it was "more work than I have ever done on any record, ever in my life."

[YoungJRNYfan]

Agreed that Journey hasn't been irrelevant with their material, especially with like TNC said with releases like a few packaged LIVE DVD's with Arnel. I think Journey went for it in a small fraction of a time period to where their latest resurgence would survive and I think they hit that mark. Things were going to die down eventually and that hit around 2010 or so. Once they took that year off, they hit a cold period. If they want to get hot again, they're going to have to do something worthy of a head turn and I'm not sure guys like Jonathan have it in them anymore. If not, then I'm okay with them doing their thing until packing it in.

[Aaron]

Naw, it's not replacing Perry. It's moving forward with someone capable of delivering memorable vocals and writing new memorable songs. It's a lot different than plugging in someone that sounds like Jesus on the original songs singing the same ole shite since 1983.

Ok...stop...just STOP.

The only thing more ridiculous than replacing Steve Perry with ANYONE, would be replacing him with Hagar!

[Aaron]

By my standards anything since 2001 has not been meaningful. We agree and I'm like you, a hard core fan that gave a shite.

You can say Sammy is lame but I don't think so. Sammy is doing what he wants to do, when he wants to do it. The only thing I've noticed with Sammy is he's run a half step down on occasion. The dude is about 70 and is singing his own material. I can live with that.

Say what you want about Night Ranger. If you're not a fan you're not a fan. Their new music is as good as their classic records and their live shows have energy and keep the crowd amped up. Lastly, they sounds like I expect them to sound vocally. For what I'm looking for they are leading their field. But opinions are like AH"s, every body has one.

3. They've released 0 relevant music since Arrival in 2001

Define "relevant", Aaron. Since Arrival, they have released Red 13, Generations, Revelation, and Eclipse. And a few DVDs. Pretty sure Revelation sold better than anything Night Ranger has put out recently. And I'm not even sure Arrival was relevant. By what standard? It didn't sell. Only die-hards (like me) gave a shit.

Be relevant, do something new, do something cool. When Sammy Hagar can jump on a GD flatbed in Oklahoma and sing a cover of "I Love This Bar" acapella and drive more energy than this whole band you need to have a look.

That sounds quite lame actually. And recently, Sammy has been struggling to cover some of his own material.

[The_Noble_Cause]

By my standards anything since 2001 has not been meaningful.

If an album is meaningful and relevant to ONE person, is it really? By any other standard of success, Arrival was NOT either.

We agree and I'm like you, a hard core fan that gave a shite.

Yes, I like Arrival alot. But I would never say it was a relevant album. At large, nobody cared and it set the band on a trajectory of steady but quiet touring business.

The only thing I've noticed with Sammy is he's run a half step down on occasion. The dude is about 70 and is singing his own material. I can live with that.

As previously discussed on these forums, the band has lowered some of the songs in concert to help Arnel (and tried the same for JSS). Why would we trade Arnel for Sammy - an aging septuagenarian who can't sing his own material in it's original key.

Say what you want about Night Ranger. If you're not a fan you're not a fan.

I didn't say whether I'm a fan or not. You are holding NR and Sammy up as examples of being relevant, when Journey is actually more successful than both acts.

But opinions are like AH"s, every body has one.

Yes, but some assholes are bigger than others.