The Return of JTT?

[danielb]

The problem with Freedom isn't the mix or the length of the album but Arnel singing shallow lyrics with an accent. There has to be a conviction in a lead singer's delivery in order for the thing to float. Arnel sounds lost, singing lyrics he has no connection with. This dilutes Journey's impact in a big way and reduces them to sounding like a tribute band of their own.

In a way, I kind of wish they would just proceed with Deen singing lead on all songs.

[Onestepper]

The problem with Freedom isn't the mix or the length of the album but Arnel singing shallow lyrics with an accent. There has to be a conviction in a lead singer's delivery in order for the thing to float. Arnel sounds lost, singing lyrics he has no connection with. This dilutes Journey's impact in a big way and reduces them to sounding like a tribute band of their own.

In a way, I kind of wish they would just proceed with Deen singing lead on all songs.

Strongly disagree. Arnel had some tremendous moments on Freedom, and he was hampered by poor production and a lack of discipline, around all the reasons previously mentioned in this thread. Arnel has his issues. He was not the problem with Freedom. Not even close.

[jestor92]

The new Extreme album is fantastic, but I don’t like the production work on some of the albums. It sounds like there is a serious lack of treble on some of the tracks.

Really? Which songs? I'd have to listen to them again. On headphones I have only listened to YouTube and in the car I have it on USB and MP3's taken directly from the CD. I have only listened to the CD once with headphones after I first got it. But, I have not had any issues with the production. Some songs have some audio and vocal effects and such, but I haven't had any issues with that either. And, I have not heard the extra Japan songs...love to dub those off YouTube, if they exist.

But, my point is that I just can not see how Journey can release an album of songs at that level. Extreme seems to have a lot of musical kinship and genuine friendship that goes back decades. Neither Gary nor Nuno seem to look at Extreme as "their" band and none of them seem to have an ego that tries to push themselves as more important than anybody else. And, Pat Badger is no slouch on bass either...he sounds really good here, too. In Journey you have Neal going about saying he IS the reason Journey is what it is and it is HIS band. Jonathan kind of ignoring as much of the drama as he can and treating Journey as a business venture and not a team musical outlet for a "band". At this point Arnel seems to do it for the fans. Deen is Neal's buddy and sidekick. Don't know about Todd....guess he's the invisible man who is not on any studio Journey recording and is there to get his paycheck for touring. And, this is a COMPLETELY different band than what recorded Freedom. It's just a fucked up situation that CAN'T produce the quality of product that they should be able to. It's just not what I ever wanted Journey to be...guess I've beat that horse too often over the past 15yrs or so.

Start with the first song Rise. It’s killer, but the lack of treble really hurts it. When I first listened to it in the car I had to turn the treble all the way up for that song and #Rebel, the rest of the album it isn’t as noticeable on the slower songs.

[The_Noble_Cause]

The problem with Freedom isn't the mix or the length of the album but Arnel singing shallow lyrics with an accent. There has to be a conviction in a lead singer's delivery in order for the thing to float. Arnel sounds lost, singing lyrics he has no connection with. This dilutes Journey's impact in a big way and reduces them to sounding like a tribute band of their own.

In a way, I kind of wish they would just proceed with Deen singing lead on all songs.

Strongly disagree. Arnel had some tremendous moments on Freedom, and he was hampered by poor production and a lack of discipline, around all the reasons previously mentioned in this thread. Arnel has his issues. He was not the problem with Freedom. Not even close.

Arnel is a tremendous talent and his contributions to Journey's revival should not be underestimated. That said, when it comes to just the basics of soulful emoting/interpretation/expression, Perry (and to a lesser extent Augeri) reign supreme. When Arnel tries to do a Sam Cooke-inspired tune like LTS, it just doesn't really work for me. He can hit the highs, but the motown-infused soulfulness needs a little work. This isn't a hater post. Arnel's great!

[The_Noble_Cause]

In Journey you have Neal going about saying he IS the reason Journey is what it is and it is HIS band. Jonathan kind of ignoring as much of the drama as he can and treating Journey as a business venture and not a team musical outlet for a "band". At this point Arnel seems to do it for the fans. Deen is Neal's buddy and sidekick. Don't know about Todd....guess he's the invisible man who is not on any studio Journey recording and is there to get his paycheck for touring. And, this is a COMPLETELY different band than what recorded Freedom. It's just a fucked up situation that CAN'T produce the quality of product that they should be able to. It's just not what I ever wanted Journey to be...guess I've beat that horse too often over the past 15yrs or so.

Spot on and everyone knows it.

[Journey/Survivor]

The problem with Freedom isn't the mix or the length of the album but Arnel singing shallow lyrics with an accent. There has to be a conviction in a lead singer's delivery in order for the thing to float. Arnel sounds lost, singing lyrics he has no connection with. This dilutes Journey's impact in a big way and reduces them to sounding like a tribute band of their own.

In a way, I kind of wish they would just proceed with Deen singing lead on all songs.

I just don't hear an accent when Arnel sings.

[ebake02]

In the case of the production of Freedom, the main problem is that Schon pushed Bob Clearmountain to mix the album in a way that it would sound like it was being performed in a concert hall. Unfortunately, they succeeded to "well" in that regard.

A friend of mine talked to Bob about Freedom back in June 2022. Bob was frustrated with the process and called it "extremely difficult." He cited the unusual way Neal's parts were recorded and the volume on Narada's drums.

It's obvious Bob did the best with what he was given, but he isn't a miracle worker. You can only do so much. The idea that Freedom sounds the way it does because of Neal pushing for perfection is just laughable spin.

The only modern Journey album with the symphonics of a concert hall is Trial By Fire - thanks to a big budget and the masterful Kev Caveman at the helm. Much of Freedom sounds like it was recorded in an outhouse.

This is just my opinion but the sound of an album starts with the producer and that's where Freedom went off the rails. Neal and Narada are fantastic musicians but they shouldn't have produced the album themselves with no input from anyone else. They should've hired a producer who knows what they're doing but I'm guessing Neal has either burned all of his bridges in that area or he's too much of narcissistic control freak to let someone else tell him what to do.

[jestor92]

The problem with Freedom isn't the mix or the length of the album but Arnel singing shallow lyrics with an accent. There has to be a conviction in a lead singer's delivery in order for the thing to float. Arnel sounds lost, singing lyrics he has no connection with. This dilutes Journey's impact in a big way and reduces them to sounding like a tribute band of their own.

In a way, I kind of wish they would just proceed with Deen singing lead on all songs.

I just don't hear an accent when Arnel sings.

I hear less of an accent now than when he started. I think Arnel has a very good voice. My biggest complaint is that to my ears he seems to over sing to hit the high notes. When he sings the lower stuff like She’s a Mystery he sounds damn good. In the live setting singing the Perry higher stuff not really.

[Monker]

In the case of the production of Freedom, the main problem is that Schon pushed Bob Clearmountain to mix the album in a way that it would sound like it was being performed in a concert hall. Unfortunately, they succeeded to "well" in that regard.

A friend of mine talked to Bob about Freedom back in June 2022. Bob was frustrated with the process and called it "extremely difficult." He cited the unusual way Neal's parts were recorded and the volume on Narada's drums.

It's obvious Bob did the best with what he was given, but he isn't a miracle worker. You can only do so much. The idea that Freedom sounds the way it does because of Neal pushing for perfection is just laughable spin.

The only modern Journey album with the symphonics of a concert hall is Trial By Fire - thanks to a big budget and the masterful Kev Caveman at the helm. Much of Freedom sounds like it was recorded in an outhouse.

This is just my opinion but the sound of an album starts with the producer and that's where Freedom went off the rails. Neal and Narada are fantastic musicians but they shouldn't have produced the album themselves with no input from anyone else. They should've hired a producer who knows what they're doing but I'm guessing Neal has either burned all of his bridges in that area or he's too much of narcissistic control freak to let someone else tell him what to do.

Well, Neal produced Hardline's "Double Eclipse" and I thought that album sounded great. That was more than 30yrs ago so I'm sure things have changed. But, Neal should know what he's doing.

The thing is, this isn't a normal recording setting. You have everybody using their own recording equipment and sending MP3's around. So, there are all these sources that all have been recorded separately in whatever way each individual had available. Normally, they are all using the same studio with the same recording equipment. So, it must be a pain to get all those sources to equalize out and sound cohesive. I think that is a huge part of why it sounds bad.

This is the same issue I have with Generations and Augeri's vocals. His voice sounds fantastic...but the recording has actual hiss in it...like a cassette that has been dubbed and dubbed and is 10 generations old. The "ssss" sounds like "shhhh" because of it. I think that is the same issue...Augeri recording vocals separate from everybody and sending an MP3. If that's not what happened, I'd like to know why it sounds so bad...not his voice, the recording of his voice.

[jestor92]

My cd finally arrived after being ordered in June (about time Amazon). I haven’t had the chance to listen to the entire thing yet, but a few thoughts.

1. It’s awesome to hear some of the old stuff they don’t play much if at all in a live setting.

2. If Deen is your vocalist in future tours. Hire a drummer. Some of the songs the drumming sounds off I’m guessing because he’s focusing on singing.

3. They should’ve practiced more or did different songs. Daydream sounded off. Line of Fire was a bit off. Some of the starts sounded off.

4. What’s up with the mix? Sometimes it was hard to hear Deen singing. Separate Ways sounded like it was recorded right in front of Marco and it really seemed to rise in the mix.

[Eric]

Well, Neal produced Hardline's "Double Eclipse" and I thought that album sounded great. That was more than 30yrs ago so I'm sure things have changed. But, Neal should know what he's doing..

Just revisited this after many years. Truly a great effort all around and yes it does sound really good.