Neal Addresses Jeff Scott Soto Firing

[Monker]

With the Freedom tour scheduled to kick off in less than one month, there's not much time left to get the album out before the tour starts. Hopefully a release date is imminent.

All of this (tour start and album release) should have been announced all at once, instead of pieces, one bit at a time, from Neal. They should have released a new single, announced the tour, announced the album release date - all at once. This is just make it up as you go...very unprofessional.

[danielb]

Absolutely. But right now, my biggest concern is that the album won't be out before the tour carrying the same name starts. And that would be a first

[Monker]

Absolutely. But right now, my biggest concern is that the album won't be out before the tour carrying the same name starts. And that would be a first

The Eclipse tour started a few months before the album was released.

[JourneyHard]

Absolutely. But right now, my biggest concern is that the album won't be out before the tour carrying the same name starts. And that would be a first

The Eclipse tour started a few months before the album was released.

They probably want to tease us with a few more new songs played during the tour before releasing the album. Plus with a double album, this Freedom Tour could go on for years with them playing different new songs each year.

[Monker]

Absolutely. But right now, my biggest concern is that the album won't be out before the tour carrying the same name starts. And that would be a first

The Eclipse tour started a few months before the album was released.

They probably want to tease us with a few more new songs played during the tour before releasing the album. Plus with a double album, this Freedom Tour could go on for years with them playing different new songs each year.

Or, they do not have a label to release the album on and are just making up excuses as Neal courts BMG.

What would be 'bad' is if the "Freedom" tour ENDS before the "Freedom" album is even released.

[danielb]

It would have been interesting to hear JSS do a full album with them. If Soul Sirkus was anything to go by, it could have been a belter.

Not to mention, JSS brought showmanship in spades and a rock vibe to the show which has been missing ever since.

Neal recently hinted at personality clashes and it's likely JSS would have been too much his own man in order for it to last in the long run.

Instead, they got Arnel and went down a more karaoke inspired path. Good move for the wallet, not so much for the creative side.

[Monker]

It would have been interesting to hear JSS do a full album with them. If Soul Sirkus was anything to go by, it could have been a belter.

Not to mention, JSS brought showmanship in spades and a rock vibe to the show which has been missing ever since.

I think this has been way over estimated by JSS fans. In the DL/Journey show I saw, DL was CLEARLY the headliner and completely blew Journey off the stage. The entire production of the show was better. They presented the music better. They showcased the band better. DL was clearly the better band. Journey came across as a struggling band, trying their best but still not quite good enough to claim a headliner spot. JSS was NOT this shot in the arm answer to all of Journey's problems.

Neal recently hinted at personality clashes and it's likely JSS would have been too much his own man in order for it to last in the long run.

Neal says a lot of things, some of which I clearly do not believe any longer. Neal had months, or even years, experience working with JSS prior to him joining Journey. If there were personality conflicts, he would have known about them before he even joined the band.

Instead, they got Arnel and went down a more karaoke inspired path. Good move for the wallet, not so much for the creative side.

Journey has a history of doing this...dating back to the ROR days. They clearly had a path to move on without Perry. Instead they gave him everything he wanted to get back into the band for ROR...pushing Herbie to the side, allowing him to produce the album, decide on the artwork, fire members, hiring members, dictating the musical direction. Then they repeated it in the early 90's, despite Herbie's warning. They could have moved on with Chalfant and Gregg. Instead, at Sony's encouragement, they traded Chalfant, Rolie, and Herbie to get Steve Perry on board...and a reunion contract from Sony ($). So, it does not surprise me at all that they gave Wal-Mart what they wanted with a Perry sound-a-like and a rerecorded GH album as part of the Revolution package...even though Neal had been saying he wanted the EXACT OPPOSITE for years prior.

[danielb]

My point was that the hiring of JSS could have allowed them to do a Van Hagar. Ie, get a new singer with a sound of his own allowing them to build a new identity of their own. Would have been much more interesting than the karaoke direction, especially since Arnel doesn't sound a lot like Perry. To the casual fans he probably does.

Having Cain write the lyrics and letting someone without English as his native language sing them is an equation that leaves me cold, personally. It took away the soul of the band. Or at least, changed it very much. But then again, Arrival is heads above any album they've put out since then. Augeri didn't sound very much like Perry on that album, yet it worked. Hence, my point.

[jestor92]

My point was that the hiring of JSS could have allowed them to do a Van Hagar. Ie, get a new singer with a sound of his own allowing them to build a new identity of their own. Would have been much more interesting than the karaoke direction, especially since Arnel doesn't sound a lot like Perry. To the casual fans he probably does.

Having Cain write the lyrics and letting someone without English as his native language sing them is an equation that leaves me cold, personally. It took away the soul of the band. Or at least, changed it very much. But then again, Arrival is heads above any album they've put out since then. Augeri didn't sound very much like Perry on that album, yet it worked. Hence, my point.

Big difference going from DLR to Sammy Hagar compared to going from Steve Augeri to JSS. Van Halen was coming off arguably their biggest album at the time and Hagar off his biggest solo hit. While Journey was sputtering along with a lip syncing singer who got busted (thanks Deano) and replaced him with a relative unknown singer who didn’t have any success stateside since Malmsteen’s second album.

I wish they would’ve released an album with JSS, I remember rumors they were going to record an album of half re-recorded hits and half new songs. That said I prefer the way things turned out because JSS has been a lot busier than Journey and has released a lot better music than Journey has.

[jrnyman28]

Neal reporting Freedom coming out Mid-summer, 15 track double vinyl "double album".

[Monker]

Neal reporting Freedom coming out Mid-summer, 15 track double vinyl "double album".

LOL...15 songs does not make it a "double album". TBF had 15 songs, 16 if you count the bonus song,...is that a "double album"? Just because it has two vinyl's does not make it a double album. I thought there were over 20 songs ready? LOL

If this thing has two CD's and costs $15 - 20 a package, for 15 songs, that's just crazy. In fact, splitting it up into two CD's is kinda lame. Captured is on one CD and it has 17 songs - two vinyls, one CD. "In the beginning" is also two vinyls on one CD.

And, yes, I know you can have a "double album" released on one CD. For example, Extreme's "III Sides to Every Story" could essentially be split up into three "albums" (sets of songs) but they are all on one, long, CD.


And, yes, releasing it around July 4 is a good idea....if everything is ready by then.

[Monker]

My point was that the hiring of JSS could have allowed them to do a Van Hagar. Ie, get a new singer with a sound of his own allowing them to build a new identity of their own. Would have been much more interesting than the karaoke direction, especially since Arnel doesn't sound a lot like Perry. To the casual fans he probably does.

Having Cain write the lyrics and letting someone without English as his native language sing them is an equation that leaves me cold, personally. It took away the soul of the band. Or at least, changed it very much. But then again, Arrival is heads above any album they've put out since then. Augeri didn't sound very much like Perry on that album, yet it worked. Hence, my point.

Big difference going from DLR to Sammy Hagar compared to going from Steve Augeri to JSS. Van Halen was coming off arguably their biggest album at the time and Hagar off his biggest solo hit. While Journey was sputtering along with a lip syncing singer who got busted (thanks Deano) and replaced him with a relative unknown singer who didn’t have any success stateside since Malmsteen’s second album.

Sorry, but putting all the blame on Augeri is just wrong. It was wrong then, and it is wrong today. Journey as an organization did this...no matter how much Neal wants to deny it. They all are to blame. And, I'm sure Journey is/was thankful to Dean for being their patsy and allowing himself to be used to force Augeri out of the band. In the end, even Dean admitted they used him...suddenly, he was a liability and they wouldn't even speak to him. Of course, that was after they got what they wanted.

That said I prefer the way things turned out because JSS has been a lot busier than Journey and has released a lot better music than Journey has.

It's pretty obvious to me that Journey cares most about the money. If they can get a bigger contract by bring back Perry instead of using Chalfant/Rolie/Herbie, they'll do it. If they need to constantly tour even though their lead singer needs to rest his voice, they'll play background vocals and allow Kevin Elson to turn his mic off if the lead is struggling. If they think the lead singer is a liability for future tours, they'll get some guy online to bring down the lead singer as a fake so they have to remove the supporting backing vocals and force him out of the band. If they feel constantly touring makes them more money than recording an album, they'll not reservice any time to record. If they feel a replacement singer hampers their ability to get a big contract with Wal-Mart, they'll fire him for Perry sound-a-like. If they feel the drummer and bassist are looking forward to retiring rather than touring, they'll sue them and fire them rather than working with them for a way to more forward.

THAT is how Journey operates. Very cut-throat and full of greed. It has been that way for AT LEAST 25yrs.

[jrnyman28]

Neal reporting Freedom coming out Mid-summer, 15 track double vinyl "double album".

LOL...15 songs does not make it a "double album". TBF had 15 songs, 16 if you count the bonus song,...is that a "double album"? Just because it has two vinyl's does not make it a double album. I thought there were over 20 songs ready? LOL

If this thing has two CD's and costs $15 - 20 a package, for 15 songs, that's just crazy. In fact, splitting it up into two CD's is kinda lame. Captured is on one CD and it has 17 songs - two vinyls, one CD. "In the beginning" is also two vinyls on one CD.

And, yes, I know you can have a "double album" released on one CD. For example, Extreme's "III Sides to Every Story" could essentially be split up into three "albums" (sets of songs) but they are all on one, long, CD.


And, yes, releasing it around July 4 is a good idea....if everything is ready by then.

I thought the same thing. Neal kept saying double album and then in one post he said 15 song double vinyl and I knew that meant one CD. But then I started thinking....maybe they don't even bother releasing a CD. Maybe Journey just goes digital and offers vinyl. Would also explain the delay in release because vinyl manufacturing is super backed up and delayed.

[danielb]

This means that the first leg of the Freedom tour won't have much Freedom Someone dropped the ball here.

[Monker]

[
I thought the same thing. Neal kept saying double album and then in one post he said 15 song double vinyl and I knew that meant one CD. But then I started thinking....maybe they don't even bother releasing a CD. Maybe Journey just goes digital and offers vinyl. Would also explain the delay in release because vinyl manufacturing is super backed up and delayed.

I was thinking he may be pushing for the double album thing to do something like Revelation and have it double counted and more likely to be a gold album. I suppose they could do the same thing and release the audio from one of the recent concerts...maybe the symphony concert...and add that to the CD so it could be double counted, and a DVD released separately.

For a band like Journey, I don't know what the point is of releasing it only on digital download is. Younger people are not so into Journey they are going to be downloading it...Spotify would be enough. The 40+ age fans I would think are still looking for the CD. If they release it only on digital, I'm sure many people will just wait for it to be on YouTube and use an app to grab the audio.

[Monker]

This means that the first leg of the Freedom tour won't have much Freedom Someone dropped the ball here.

They do such random things, who really knows? This also means that the "first single" was released an entire year early...with a video that has Narada and Randy in it, who are no longer members of the band....and Randy never did play a live show - as shown in the video. That lineup never played live.

[Journey/Survivor]

[
I thought the same thing. Neal kept saying double album and then in one post he said 15 song double vinyl and I knew that meant one CD. But then I started thinking....maybe they don't even bother releasing a CD. Maybe Journey just goes digital and offers vinyl. Would also explain the delay in release because vinyl manufacturing is super backed up and delayed.

I was thinking he may be pushing for the double album thing to do something like Revelation and have it double counted and more likely to be a gold album. I suppose they could do the same thing and release the audio from one of the recent concerts...maybe the symphony concert...and add that to the CD so it could be double counted, and a DVD released separately.

For a band like Journey, I don't know what the point is of releasing it only on digital download is. Younger people are not so into Journey they are going to be downloading it...Spotify would be enough. The 40+ age fans I would think are still looking for the CD. If they release it only on digital, I'm sure many people will just wait for it to be on YouTube and use an app to grab the audio.

If they release the album on CD, I will buy it. If they only do vinyl or digital download, I will get a free copy instead.

[Journey/Survivor]

A true double album is at minimum 18 songs in total, if not more.

[Archetype]

Neal reporting Freedom coming out Mid-summer, 15 track double vinyl "double album".

Just gonna go ahead and get ahead of this and say that “Freedom” is never coming out. They’ve been “sequencing” it basically for months at this point. It was originally supposed to be out what, last September? The Way We Used To Be flopped way worse than even the harshest Journey critics expected. No one wants to touch this. It’ll make Eclipse look successful.

[ChicagoSTYX]

I think the Covid thing has played into this to some extent. No point in releasing an album if you can't tour. If you have restrictions on capacity on venues, might as well postpone everything until things get somewhat back to normal. That means getting places as disparate in policy as California and the deep south on the same page. In the long run, delaying isn't going to change much for sales figures, but you certainly want the album available when the tour happens...but not so far ahead that you've already killed whatever momentum you had from releasing the album. That means scheduling promo stuff and the tour simultaneously, so it gets quite complicated.

It didn't stop Styx from successfully releasing a new album and a tour to support it.

[Monker]

It didn't stop Styx from successfully releasing a new album and a tour to support it.

Exactly what I have said.

IMO, I think BMG balked because of how bad the Journey single was received and they refused to release the album last summer. So, they had to scramble to get an acceptable CD. Then that messed up their plans for Narada and Randy Jackson being on tour. Journey's album was supposed to be released last July...and there has been nothing but delays and excuses since.

But, you are correct. Styx released their single and plans for an album/tour all at once. You didn't have JY/Tommy out doing interviews and tweets saying there would an album in a couple months. In fact, in 2020, you had Tommy performing songs live in the studio to give a preview. We knew the album was coming, it was done - in the can, so to speak. What Journey has been doing is throwing up random things, some completely untrue, just to keep themselves in the news. Journey's album was supposed to be released last July....and it's not COVID's fault that it hasn't been.

[jestor92]

My point was that the hiring of JSS could have allowed them to do a Van Hagar. Ie, get a new singer with a sound of his own allowing them to build a new identity of their own. Would have been much more interesting than the karaoke direction, especially since Arnel doesn't sound a lot like Perry. To the casual fans he probably does.

Having Cain write the lyrics and letting someone without English as his native language sing them is an equation that leaves me cold, personally. It took away the soul of the band. Or at least, changed it very much. But then again, Arrival is heads above any album they've put out since then. Augeri didn't sound very much like Perry on that album, yet it worked. Hence, my point.

Big difference going from DLR to Sammy Hagar compared to going from Steve Augeri to JSS. Van Halen was coming off arguably their biggest album at the time and Hagar off his biggest solo hit. While Journey was sputtering along with a lip syncing singer who got busted (thanks Deano) and replaced him with a relative unknown singer who didn’t have any success stateside since Malmsteen’s second album.

Sorry, but putting all the blame on Augeri is just wrong. It was wrong then, and it is wrong today. Journey as an organization did this...no matter how much Neal wants to deny it. They all are to blame. And, I'm sure Journey is/was thankful to Dean for being their patsy and allowing himself to be used to force Augeri out of the band. In the end, even Dean admitted they used him...suddenly, he was a liability and they wouldn't even speak to him. Of course, that was after they got what they wanted.

That said I prefer the way things turned out because JSS has been a lot busier than Journey and has released a lot better music than Journey has.

It's pretty obvious to me that Journey cares most about the money. If they can get a bigger contract by bring back Perry instead of using Chalfant/Rolie/Herbie, they'll do it. If they need to constantly tour even though their lead singer needs to rest his voice, they'll play background vocals and allow Kevin Elson to turn his mic off if the lead is struggling. If they think the lead singer is a liability for future tours, they'll get some guy online to bring down the lead singer as a fake so they have to remove the supporting backing vocals and force him out of the band. If they feel constantly touring makes them more money than recording an album, they'll not reservice any time to record. If they feel a replacement singer hampers their ability to get a big contract with Wal-Mart, they'll fire him for Perry sound-a-like. If they feel the drummer and bassist are looking forward to retiring rather than touring, they'll sue them and fire them rather than working with them for a way to more forward.

THAT is how Journey operates. Very cut-throat and full of greed. It has been that way for AT LEAST 25yrs.

Never blamed the Augeri lip syncing completely on him because they were continuing with or without him. I will blame him for going along with it and not having the sack to say hey guys I need a break.

I also haven’t seen Journey since Augeri’s last stand. I almost felt bad for him because I remember he needed Castronovo to sing large parts of the songs because he couldn’t. They should’ve replaced him before the tour but instead trotted him out there embarrassing him and themselves.



Anyone know what’s going on with their upcoming tour? Schon posted on Facebook that Toto is coming for the entire tour and no mention of Billy Idol.

[jrnyman28]

Anyone know what’s going on with their upcoming tour? Schon posted on Facebook that Toto is coming for the entire tour and no mention of Billy Idol.

Billy released a statement about a sinus infection that won't go away, leading to a "procedure"

[Monker]

There is an article on UCR that confirms that Toto is replacing Billy Idol for the first part of the tour.