Hello those of you on a journey today, I hope you are having a nice "Daydream" with "Open Arms" and please, "Don't Stop Believin'".
2008 sees the release of old and new material as well as a recently filmed 2008 concert on CD & DVD by the new era Journey with Arnel Pineda from the Philippines on lead vocals. You might remember Journey with Steve Perry and then Steve Augeri and briefly with Jeff Scott Soto but this new Journey reveals talent abounds favorably with "Revelation" and accompanying tour.
Songs to listen for from the new material include 11 songs, 1 from the Augeri era Journey, "Faith In The Heartland" ("Generations"). The new tour opens with "Revelation" track one, "Never Walk Away" and includes the standouts "Like A Sunshower", "Change For The Better", "What I Needed", "What It Takes To Win" & "Turn Down The World Tonight".
In case you are wondering just how good is Arnel Pineda, 40 from the band "The Zoo" of whom posted "Faithfully" to YouTube.Com. It was that songs performance that convinced founding Journey member Neal Schon to contact Arnel and now, a gem of a 3 disc release for under $13.00 is out and about with a 54 show tour schedule and headliners Journey are.
It was 1995 that Steve Perry bowed out with a hip operation to recover from when Steve Augeri stepped in for what seems a brief period yet successful time with Journey, releasing "Arrival", "Live In Las Vegas 2001", "Red 13" & "Generations" yet with the massive shadow of the most successful line up from the 1980's and briefly during Grammy nominated "Trial By Fire" era looming, a new revelation is heard with the soaring and delicate vocals of Arnel Pineda of whom proves the Perry era Journey is more than reachable with 11 rerecorded Journey classics such as the "The Sopranos" version of "Don't Stop Believin'", "Separate Ways" (Worlds Apart), "Only The Young", "Stone In Love" on both disc 2 and the DVD, appropriately mixed in with new revealing songs from disc one with the current Journey lineup proving that after all these years the Journey can winningly continue.
4 1/2 out of 5 stars, I'd have given more if for some minor post production differences that my naked ears have heard directly from the disc, including the omitted instrumental ending to "The Journey (Revelation)" that closes out disc 1 and the shriek in the final seconds of "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)".
For this current tour, Journey headlines with opening acts Cheap Trick and Heart and are coming to the Comcast Center (formerly The Tweeter Center) next week in Mansfield, MA. USA. For all matters of journeys including the digital downloads of "Revelation", visit link and or your local Walmart world wide.
This Journey makes me want to collaborate :-)
Don't Stop Believin' :-)
W. K. Mahler link link
Hi Bill. Thanks for this. Yes, I too enjoyed this latest release. I must say I was more impressed with the packaging then I was the actual music. I do like the new album, mostly. The ballads are definitely lacking those Perry lyrics and voice. But that opening track lets you know you're getting something good.
I was very upset about the fake Didgeridoo, though, about 15 seconds in. They're not that hard to learn how to play, Neal.
A new album, DVD, and CD of hits for $13? Yes, that is truly the selling point here. And the DVD is not bad at all, once you get used to the guy in the Steve Perry suit. Neal looks and sounds great. Jonathan is still that typical Rock keyboard player (sorry, seeing a keyboardist "rock" is never pretty) and Ross Valory is playing hard. Deen Castronova does a very good vocal rendition of Mother Father, which I believe was Perry's finest hour.
The CD of hits is a bit lacking. They've re-recorded songs like Don't Stop Believin'. Unfortunately, they lost a lot of the soul that was on those tracks... The avid Journey listener will notice this even before the vocal kicks in. Not sure of the reason for re-recording these after giving us the DVD. We know what he sounds and looks like. But that classic Journey lineup had a sound that can't be imitated. I would have stuck in a Greatest Hits Volume II with Perry, Rolie, and Augeri. They even re-recorded a Steve Augeri track, Faith in the Heartland.
Caught the live show in Dallas, thanks to Rick Neilsen. Heart was quite surprising, the Wilsons still sound great, but it was the other two I came to see. Cheap Trick and Journey both gave great shows, but I did have to bust Rick's balls about how he made it thru that 40 minute set!