Addicted To Vinyl

The past couple of years have been turbulent ones for Journey. They released a new CD Generations that came out shortly before Sanctuary, the record company that released it, went belly up. Vocalist Steve Augeri ran into problems on the road that saw the band resort to taped vocals initially, and several days before starting a co-headlining tour with Def Leppard, they pulled the plug on Augeri, and powerhouse vocalist Jeff Scott Soto picked up the lead singer microphone admirably with such short notice, and proceeded to spend the summer helping Journey blow Def Leppard off the stage.

Not surprisingly, Journey subsequently rewarded Soto by tapping him as the permanent replacement vocalist for Augeri, but baffled and angered many by parting ways with Soto a short time later, citing a wish to “sound like their records.”

“We just wanted to move in a different direction sonically. We’re interested in our legacy right now. We want to sound like our records and we want to sound like the 65 million units that are out there.”
- Jonathan Cain interview with Showbiz

Now here’s where things get weird: Guitarist Neal Schon ultimately finds the vocalist that he deems to be the “chosen one,” via Youtube video performances of Journey songs, performed by a cover band. The vocalist in question, Filipino-born Arnel Pineda is flown in for an audition with the band, and nails the gig down, astonishing many, and causing even more debate and discussion (to put it lightly) amongst the Journey fanbase.

Admittedly, I had finally decided to throw in the towel as a Journey fan - I would continue to dig the old albums, sure - but I officially had no interest in hearing new music from the band. Those feelings began to change after Pineda and Journey performed a couple of the new tracks live in a concert that was broadcast in TV in Chile. The buzz about the new material was inescapable, and upon checking it out, I had to admit a slight bit of intrigue.

When I got an email in my inbox last night alerting me to a full download from “azoffmusic” of the 11 new studio tracks, I got excited.

Listen to Revelation via Imeem

As I heard the opening moments of “Never Walk Away,” I realized a couple of things. First, I think that statistically, Schon and Cain go out of their way not to put their name on records that are crap. By the numbers, the recorded material that we have gotten from Journey over the years has been good stuff. It might not always be THE album that we want from Journey - i.e. perhaps there are about 2 rockers for the 12 that we actually wanted (see: Arrival,) but performance wise, and vocally, the albums are usually solid.

I’ve generally been supportive of post-Perry Journey, with only Red 13 registering as a slight misfire in my opinion. I get what they were going for, but it didn’t really hit the mark, a lot of which had to do with the production, which was surprisingly sub-standard compared to the usual of what you expect from Journey. Generations was good, but perhaps a bit unfocused with the “everybody gets to sing at least one” clause that found Schon, Cain, drummer Deen Castronovo, and even bassist Ross Valory, stepping up to the microphone for a lead vocal.

I realize that was a long first point. Forgive me. Now, second - as much as Arnel Pineda might have the goods vocally, there is NO doubt in my mind that Cain and Schon kicked his ASS in the studio to get the results they wanted to hear on the album, and you can hear it. “Never Walk Away” sounds a bit by-the-numbers to me personally, but Journey by-the-numbers is kick ass stuff.

It’s a great way to start off an album that finally finds Journey turning in an album that is all about the rock! Sure, there are some ballads on here, but overall, this album kicks. By the time I got to “Change for the Better,” the third track on Revelation, I was grinning from ear to ear at the sounds that were coming out of my speakers. The track is vintage Journey, yet still very much planted in the now.

“Faith in the Heartland” is resurrected from the Generations album, and I’m glad that they chose to give it new life within an album, where it will finally be heard by more people - it was one of the standout highlights on Generations, and is a definite highlight for this album. I also wonder if they might have included it, to throw a bone to former singer Steve Augeri, who shares major writing credit on the track?

Overall, I’m very energized and stoked with the album that Journey have made with Revelation. This is another good chapter in the ongoing Journey saga that began with the addition of Steve Augeri, and was further strengthened in my opinion with Deen Castronovo assuming the Journey drum stool in that same time period. I would compare the addition of Castronovo to the Styx addition of drummer Todd Sucherman. I think that both drummers have revitalized and added SO much to the ongoing history of Journey and Styx.

Post-Perry, I was excited when I first heard “Remember Me” from the Armageddon soundtrack, and when I heard tracks like “Higher Place,” and “To Be Alive Again,” from Arrival. With Revelation, Journey have made a full album’s worth of great tracks that are worthy of the Journey name.

Well done.

P.S. A post-review update:

I wrote the above based on the advance download provided by the record company. On Tuesday afternoon, I went to Wal-Mart to buy my copy of the album. While I was looking at the CD artwork, another customer came walking up smiling with a copy of the album, and said “it’s a great album, isn’t it?” It might be the first time that I’ve been together, consumer-to-consumer in the store, as two people who had already heard the album, and it was SO good, that they were in the record store after the fact (or in this case Wal-Mart) to buy the physical copy. Proof positive to record company execs - it does happen!

Now that I have the actual CD - I can reflect additionally on the CD of re-recorded hits, and also the live DVD. The CD of re-records - not really my thing, because I already have the original albums. The live DVD is pretty great - well shot, and a good hour long / 14 track live show from Journey w/ Arnel on lead vocals. It features several tracks from the new album as well, which sound just as good live as they do on the album.

How much fix-up work they did on the live DVD is the question here - regardless, it’s a good watch. The packaging is a beautiful multi-panel digipak that features artwork that is typically awesome by Journey standards, and then some. Overall, you can’t beat the price of the 3 disc package - it’s a win-win situation all around!

Relevant Links:

Official website

Idolator collects some of the better fan commentary on the album from Melodicrock.com.

A great interview with Revelation producer Kevin Shirley about the new album, and his work with Journey, past and present.

Review of Revelation in the New York Times via Kevin Shirley’s website.

Listen to Revelation via Imeem: