So Dashing Son-in-Law (DSIL) and Gorgeous Daughter (GD) came over for their regular Saturday afternoon/evening. This usually includes dinner and some movies, either rented through NetFlix, or from either of our extensive collections. This week, DSIL, who’s a rabid Journey fan, brought over the DVD from their latest release, Revelation. (Link takes you to the WalMart site, it’s exclusively available there.) His take on their latest singer, “You’re not going to believe the voice on this guy.”
Now I need to fill you in on my take on Journey. Back in the 70s when I went to every concert event I could go to, Journey showed up at just about every multi-artist event in Chicago. A Day in the Park? Journey was there. Summerfest at Navy Pier? Journey was there. WLUP presents…Journey was there too. You get the picture. By the end of 1978, I was so tired of Journey that I would literally start to cringe when the beginning of “Wheel in the Sky” would come on the radio. And watching Steve Perry sing during his solo career? I’m sorry, a singer shouldn’t look like they’re in pain when they’re performing (and it was a couple years later we all found out that he was). So I’ve been sort of avoiding Journey over the past 30 years or so. Okay, not avoiding, I don’t lurch to turn them off when they come on the radio, but they’re just sort of background, not band I turn up and sing loudly off-kee with. I was cynically amused when “Don’t Stop Believin'” started selling big again a couple years ago. But DSIL wanted us to see and hear the latest Steve Perry sound-alike and so we popped it into the Bose and gave it a look and listen.
Oh. My. God. First of all, I completely forgot how freaking good Neil Schon is on guitar. DSIL reminded me that he played with Santana when he was just 16. And it’s been 30 years since I’d seen them live…so I was happily reminded of his guitar riffs and bridges. It’s like Joe Perry from Aerosmith. Good on an album, much better live. I don’t know enough about the rest of the band to fill in their backgrounds, but I seem to remember that drummer Deen Castronovo had been with The Babies and keyboardist Jonathon Cain had been with Schon with Bad English and I think bassist Ross Valory has been with them all along…no, wait, Randy Jackson was the bassist at some point…but no, Valory was there at the beginning…anyway, not important. To say the band was professional and tight? Understatement. Did some of those old songs sound old and tired? Not. One. Bit. The songs sounded fresh as the day they came out.
And then, there’s that voice. Arnel Pineda looks like he might be a tenor rock star in some lounge in Vegas. He’s about five foot nuthin’ and he’s got long black hair, and he’s Philipino. Played with a band in the Philipines called “The Zoo.” Spent most of his life there, doing cover songs and some originals. His bio says he’s 40 but he’s got one of those faces that you just can’t tell how old he is. To call him a Steve Perry sound-alike is insulting. While Arnel Pineda does sound like Steve Perry, Steve Perry never had the tonal clarity that comes out of this man’s mouth. Okay, maybe not never, but none-the-less, great pipes. He’s freakishly good and sounds like Perry before he trashed his vocal chords.
The new songs they’ve recorded with Pineda at the mike? Of course there are ballads, and they’re sweet. And there are some harder rock songs that make me think that they’re going to have some hits on the rock stations this summer as soon as the DJs get past the idea that it’s not Journey without Steve Perry.
Quite honestly, if I have a lil extra money, I’ll be buying the two CD set with the DVD this summer. If you ever liked Journey, but thought, “No Steve Perry, no way.” please think again. With Arnel Pineda handling vocals, they sound better than ever. I even made it through “Wheel in the Sky” with nary a shiver.
On Ellen via YouTube.