(Pineda Is Simply Completing Again the Band’s Original Sonic Vision)
If your interest includes Rock music history, then you should have known or heard by now the many criticisms that Journey has been getting for having gotten yet a new singer for the band, and this time, someone whose vocal quality is very closely similar with the band’s trademark vocalist, Steve Perry.
I really don’t mind at all that Perry is not the vocalist of Journey anymore and that Pineda’s voice sounded very much like Perry’s. The fact is, both the vocal styles of Perry and Pineda were simply meeting the vocal requirement that Journey’s sound needed based on original member Neil Schon’s musical vision. As original member Neil Schon explained in 2009 during the band’s interview on Oprah Show, “What I was looking for was the ‘legacy’ sound—it’s the tenor voice with soul and emotion….” Therefore, he simply found in Pineda what he found in Perry.
On Steve Perry
No doubt that among the number of vocalists that fronted Journey, Steve Perry left a big mark on the band’s history—despite the fact that he joined the band already in its fourth album—primarily because Perry contributed the distinct voice that befitted the music of Journey—as well as he cowrote and “voiced” some of Journey’s classic hit singles such as “Wheel in the Sky,” “Don’t Stop Believin’,” and “Open Arms.”
I know for a fact too that many music fans and journalists, to this day, regard Journey without Perry as not Journey at all. I don’t blame them. These observers are the typical hits-only listeners. But, what could Journey do but to move on? Perry was the one who quit the band in the first place.
On Neil Schon and Jonathan Cain
While I regard Perry’s voice as very important in the music of Journey for a period of time when he was with the group, I knew very well that the main songwriters in Journey were and remain to be original member Neil Schon and longtime member Jonathan Cain. Being a musician myself, I give significance to that detail. Many music fans see bands only from a distance—they are usually smitten only by the lead vocalists, failing to pay tribute to the real brains of a group—the songwriters. Yes, Perry was a songwriter too and had contributed significantly to the group’s music, but his absence from the group did not deter Schon and Cain from continuing to write. They simply moved on and left off where they started in the first place.
On Arnel Pineda
Obviously because Pineda is a fellow Filipino, I automatically have pride in his having been chosen to sing for the band. In fairness with him, his voice is powerful if not unique, very reminiscent of Perry’s. This should be unsurprising. It’s that kind of voice that made him the chosen one; and he was able to prove this properly with Journey’s first album with him—the double-disc 13th studio album, in which disc 2 consists of re-recordings of Journey’s classic songs; and this time, with Pineda’s vocals. I’ve been comparing his renditions with those of Perry’s and if I don’t really pay attention, I couldn’t notice the difference. And again, that’s basically the point—Pineda’s addition simply retained the trademark Journey’s “legacy sound,” so he’s a right piece to the whole puzzle of Journey’s music.
On Pineda’s Originality
Originality of Pineda’s vocal style is irrelevant. He is simply filling in the vocal position that Journey’s established music needed. If he had a different vocal style, then he would have obviously not gotten the part after all. And if Schon wanted a different style, then he might have formed a new band anyway.
I’m not saying that Pineda is better than Perry nor is he better than the other Journey vocalists—it’s simply that Pineda’s voice met the vocal requirement that Journey music (through Schon’s musical vision) needed…the same way Perry met that same requirement when he joined the band in the 1970s.
A good thing about Schon and Cain—they gave Pineda a chance to contribute to the songwriting process. They did not use Pineda only for his voice. In the latest, 14th album, two songs credited Pineda as a co-songwriter—”She’s a Mystery” and “To Whom It May Concern.”
November 2012 Concert at MTS Centre, in Winnipeg
We enjoyed the concert of Journey at MTS Centre in Downtown Winnipeg last November. Pineda did a great job in fronting the band and engaging the audience to participate with the band’s 19-piece setlist of old and new works—from the classics “Faithfully,” “Open Arms,” and “Don’t Stop Believin’” to the new ones, “Never Walk Away,” “City of Hope,” and “Resonate.” The only downside of the show was Pineda’s voice’s sounding a bit tired and strained already, particularly in the band’s high-note songs. Albeit still impressive, Pineda was obviously not in his best form. That should be unsurprising anyway, considering that the gig was already the 44th show of the almost 80-date international tour that began on July 29, 2012, in Washington, USA; and will end on May 29, 2013, in Wembley, UK. Add to that, he is admittedly busy with energy-draining activities when not on tour with Journey, such as managing the club he put up back home, in the Philippines, and regularly hosting and singing on a TV noontime variety show.
The technical musicianship of Journey’s instrumentalists—Neil Schon (lead guitar, vocals), Jonathan Cain (rhythm guitar, keyboards, piano, vocals), Ross Valory (bass, vocals), and Deen Castronovo (drums, vocals) were highlighted during the concert, which is usual for Progressive Rock bands.
Overall, Journey delivered a well-performed and tightly-played set. By the sound of their cheers and sing-alongs, the majority of the audience undoubtedly left the venue after the show very much contented. Journey simply treated the concertgoers to their long-established brand of soulful, melodious, and progressive Pop Rock music.
Final Note
Journey’s Progressive-Rock-styled music has long been established. It naturally follows a trademark sound of progressive music with that “tenor voice with soul and emotion.” Pineda is simply fulfilling or meeting the vocal requirement of Journey’s music. To get someone whose voice is different from Journey’s “legacy sound” is what should be surprising.
Journey is a Progressive/Pop Rock–styled U.S. band that was formed in the 1970s, peaked in the 1980s, and revitalized in this current decade especially with the addition of what many regard as a soulful, down-to-earth, and charismatic vocalist such as Arnel Pineda. It has 14 studio albums to its credit: Journey (1975), Look into the Future (1976), Next (1977), Infinity (1978), Evolution (1979), Departure (1980), Escape (1981), Frontiers (1983), Raised on Radio (1986), Trial by Fire (1996), Arrival (2001), Generations (2005), Revelation (2008), and Eclipse (2011).
Photos by Ron Cantiveros | Filipino Journal
