jwr@ccieng5.UUCP ( James Walter Reid) (05/15/84)
Does anybody else out there think that Neil Schon is a pretty good guitarist? I dislike Journey as much as the next guy, but I credit (blame) their 'music' more to singer Steve Perry than Schon. I've always liked his work with Santana, and he's done some nice solo work with Jan Hammer and more recently Sammy Hagar (they do a terrific version of Procul Harum's 'Whiter Shade of Pale')in HSAS. I realize that I'll probaly get flamed miserably for this, but it's better than getting no reply at all. Amiably yours... JR
abh@ccivax.UUCP (05/16/84)
Journey sucks so bad from their dinosaur beginnings to their cruci-fiction on the top40 airwaves. Not only have they upset many of us sensible rock listeners with their horrible inanely out of tune caterwallings but they have also succeeded in completely alianating thier few demented fans of old. God do they suck! I wish they would follow the Eagles' example. Andrew ccivax!abh "Hatred for hire."
brandx@ihuxa.UUCP (Howard D. Weisberg) (05/17/84)
Yes, I like Neil Schon, although I think he's an asshole for selling out. Did you know that when he was 16, he turned down Eric Clapton's offer to join Derek and the Dominos in order to join Santana? I first saw Neil Schon with Journey on their last good tour (the "Next" album in 1977). At that time, the band was Neil, Gregg Rolie (who was the original vocalist and keyboardist in Santana - remember Evil Ways, Black Magic Woman, Persuasion, Everybody's Everything, etc.), Aynsley Dunbar (the best musician out of the whole bunch) and Ross Valory (he didn't do sh*t except play on a Steve Miller Band album or two). They tore down the Aragon Ballroom (6 standing ovations, 3 encores). At that time, they played an almost fusion-y rock style. Remember, they were loved by the critics at that time, although they only had a cult following. It was all downhill after that. I remember sometime after that reading a concert review in Billboard, where the writer thought that they needed a lead singer. Shortly afterwards, they hired Robert Fleischman to sing. He was nowhere as obnoxious as Steve Perry. He did 1 tour with them. I saw them for $3 at Harper College. They were still pretty good. They did a lot of old stuff and Aynsley did an incredible guitar solo. Unfortunately, they later hired Steve Perry and we all know the story since then. They wanted Aynsley to play the same every night and so he quit. Steve Smith replaced him. Steve played with Focus, Ronnie Montrose and even played on "Enigmatic Ocean" with Jean-Luc Ponty. He is quite good. His solo album (very fusion-y, no wimpy Journey songs) has Mike Stern (of Miles Davis' last group) on guitar. Trivia question (if anyone cares): Who was Journey's original drummer and what was their original name?
rkp@drutx.UUCP (05/17/84)
Aynsley Dunbar doing a guitar solo????? Excuse my ignorance, but I thought he was a drummer (not that he can't play guitar).
brandx@ihuxa.UUCP (Howard D. Weisberg) (05/21/84)
I meant to say "Aynsley played a great DRUM solo", not a guitar solo.