It's been a long road for Journey, from their days as a progressive/rock/jazz combo to platinum selling, stadium fillers who delivered "Lights" about their beloved hometown, San Francisco. Well, the guys are still on the trail of classic rock and roll, chasing down hot licks, smoking leads and crashing, soaring, big arena-ready sounds on this Wal-Mart exclusive CD.
This deluxe three-disc package is a showcase for Journey in all of its forms -- from hit-making superstars to revitalized new group and band of old friends. Founding members Neal Schon and Ross Vallory hold down both ends of the stage while Jonathan Cain has been their longtime man on melodic keyboards and guitars. Deen Castronovo has been keeping the beat steady in the band's modern era but the revelation on this album is the introduction of its new singer as Journey welcomes Arnel Pineda into the fold. We hope that it's a very happy and long-lasting addition to their family.
Pineda was plucked from a YouTube video where Schon caught him fronting a Filipino cover band. He is the third in a line of post-Steve Perry singers for the band but as it turns out "third time's the charm" as Pineda is the most charismatic, vocally adept ever frontman for the band and well, he has the best smile this side of Quezon City, his hometown.
Pineda can handle the ballads as well as the rockers as he proves over three discs included here. On disc one he works out on the 11 new songs featured while disc two is his showcase to sing the classics in his own voice. Disc three is a phenomenal concert DVD and audio-visual testament to just how easily Pineda slid into the band's onstage vibe. It's as if he's always been there.
"Never Walk Away" is a brand new song that sounds like it could've been recorded during the band's late '70s and early '80s superpower period -- it's just that kind of pure and timeless rock and roll in all of its colors. Another new one, "Wildest Dream" is a frantic hard rocker built on riffs and Pineda's throaty wail. In the live arena he is a boundless force of energy that keeps the audience involved.
Do we even have to tell you what he does to the emotive "Faithfully" and ever-popular "Don't Stop Believin'?" Yep, he nails them. Pineda rockets all over the vocal scale with extraordinary energetics on "Any Way You Want It" and brings proper intensity to "Separate Ways."
Additionally, it must be noted that Castronovo turns in an astonishing powerhouse vocal performance on "Mother Father" on the DVD, while Schon cuts loose on some emotional guitar.
Pineda and Journey's new life is gong to be among rock and roll biggest stories of this year. You don't want to miss the quite literal revelatory nature of this extraordinary "debut" by a rock solid band and the latest chapter in their evolution. As they say in the Philippines, mabuhay!
