This
is a fun time to be a fan of classic melodic rock. Artists from back in
the 1970s and '80s are releasing new music. Most notably, Styx released
a new album, Crash Of The Crown. Dennis DeYoung released 26 East Volume
2. There are some really good moments on both of those albums that will
have you remembering the music industry the way it used to be when
record labels let good bands develop.
Journey
just released a song called The Way We Used To be. I totally understand
Neal Schon wanting to get back to creating new music. Neal is a very
creative musician, and it has to be difficult to just go out on tour
playing "The Dirty Dozen" at the Journey shows.
It
isn't a question of not liking those songs. It's just that most
musicians want to keep creating new stuff that they can put alongside of
their big hits. I know that Neal is probably the driving force of the
band at this point in getting into the studio and recording. More music
will be forthcoming.
Like many fans of the
band, I love the underdog story of Arnel Pineda being brought from the
Philippines into this band. We've seen a few stories over the last 15
years or so of singers and musicians being discovered based on YouTube
videos they created. Arnel was belting out songs by Journey and other
great bands and doing a remarkable job of emulating the original
vocalists. He could reach for those highs. I think he may be the best
singer in Journey since Steve Perry.
Arnel is
so humble. You get the feeling that he is thanking God everyday for the
opportunity he's had to tour with this band and record new music through
the years. I think anybody cheering against this guy might be taking it
too far. There's also the comparisons between he and the guy who
originated the vocals as done on the classic Journey songs, Steve
Perry.
Steve has said repeatedly he has no
intentions of ever returning to this band and even gave Pineda his
blessing. Being the humble guy that he is, Arnel has even suggested he
would get out of the way if Steve wanted to come back to this band.
In
listening to this new Journey song, I get a distinct 1980s vibe from
it. Musically speaking, it stacks up against the music created back in
those days. Neal and the guys crafted a good song, plain and simple.
Arnel lays down the vocal tracks, and it's not like they are bad. He
does a solid job of singing and doesn't ruin the song. I do have a
criticism, but it comes from a place of not disliking Arnel and actually
wanting to see him succeed. I'm not trying to compare him to Perry or
any other vocalist.
Let me just say that Steve
Perry raised the bar so high with his vocals while he was in Journey
that most who try to fill his shoes will fail. Or, they'll blow out
their voices. Steve's voice doesn't even sound the way it did back in
those days, and he came to a realization that he needed to sing and
record differently after a while. When you listen to his newer music off
of the album Traces, you hear a good vocalist, and it's still Steve. I
like those songs and how they represent who he is now. Steve would
obviously have a difficult time ever trying to come back and recreate
what once was.
What Arnel did when he joined
the band was give them an opportunity to keep playing those songs with
vocals that are pretty darn close to what Steve offered. Plus, you had a
very energetic singer on stage trying to put on a show for the fans.
When it comes to getting into the studio and recording new music, I
can't really talk about most of the stuff Pineda has done with Journey. I
haven't heard a lot of it, so what I'm going to say here only
represents the song The Way We Used To Be.
Back
in the days when vocalists like Steve Walsh, Steve Perry, Freddie
Mercury and Lou Gramm were making a name for themselves, they were
interpreting those lyrics. Sometimes they wrote the lyrics, and other
times they were singing somebody else's words. However, the vocals that
they laid down on those songs were their interpretations.
These
legendary singers made those songs their own. They didn't merely sing
the words that were written. It was about vocal phrasing, when to take
it up a notch and really pack a punch with the vocals. They knew when to
turn it up and when to tone it down, and that's what made them
legends.
When it comes to any classic song
that Arnel may sing, be it from Journey, Chicago, Styx or what have you,
he knows how to sing them. The singers who originally recorded those
songs showed him the path and where to really show off his vocals. I
don't get the feeling that Pineda knew what to do with this song. He
didn't really reach for any big moments that would be tied to him and
put him on the level of a great vocalist. I hear adequate singing here,
but it's nothing that jumps out at me.
I don't
think it's fair to compare this guy to Steve Perry for many reasons,
and I would never do that. When I'm making this comparison with great
vocalists, all I'm saying is I want to hear Pineda take a song and make
it his own. I want to see him make a song that vocalists 20 years later
will hear and try to emulate what he did.
This
song vocally did not impress me, but it's only one song. It's not about
him being a bad vocalist. I think he's good, but I don't think he
reached for the moment and made it his. I look forward to hearing what
he and the band do next and if he reaches for a truly amazing vocal
moment. I hope he does
