Sunday, June 08, 2008

New Journey Album, Singer Headed for Top

I have bagged on Journey here and here but lightened up a smidge when hearing about band hitting the road with Cheap Trick and Heart this summer (here).

But I never really explored the story behind how they got their latest singer, Arnel Pineda, until the band recently appeared on CBS News Sunday Morning and a couple of friends said I HAD to check this guy out.

So I YouTubed. And I gotta say - WOW. Not only can this dude sing, he seems to be a very genuine individual with a powerful story.

I will leave the details to CBS News Sunday Morning but the short version is that guitarist Neil Schon stumbled onto Arnel by looking for undiscovered singers on YouTube and found Arnel's cover band The Zoo doing various tunes, including some of the very hard to sing Journey catalog.

One plane ticket from the Philippines later to audition and the band is back in business. And aside from having the pipes, Arnel seems to be a genuine and humble guy as well. Note that in the CBS interview, keyboard player Jon Cain says something to the effect that Arnel is such a good guy that it makes him want to be a better person. Wow - coming from an a-hole like Cain, that is amazing.

Makes me almost WANT Journey to make a comeback and be successful again. And apparently it might be happening. According to an article on Blabbermouth today, the band's Wal-Mart only CD "Revelation" is "poised to sell around 80,000 copies in the United States during its first week of release for a likely Top 10 (possibly Top 5) debut on The Billboard 200 chart."

Revelation is a double disc, with batch of old Journey songs re-done with Arnel on vocals, and a new album's worth of material that producer Kevin Shirley (who also produced the last ten years' worth of Iron Maiden albums) has been raving about for months on his Web site.

Argh - yes, I may have to make a trip to Wal Mart.

Below are two YouTubes - the first is the CBS News piece. The second is one of the videos Neil Schon must have seen. After watching this guy sing his freaking heart out to an empty room (you even see someone wiping down tables in front of the stage at one point), you gotta root for this guy. He's going from literally nothing to the opportunity of a few lifetimes. he is the ultimate underdog, which makes me want to root for him.



6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey, go and buy the album. You won't regret it ;D.

Thanks for being open minded about the whole change of singer thing. Others just won't let go of the past.

M. Milne (Mrs)
England

Anonymous said...

I've never been excited on anything, much less a CD of a band from the 80's. I got my package the day it came out and I thought they misprinted the price! Then I thought, maybe the content is really not worth that much. But I was wrong. The classics and the new songs, plus the DVD was worth waiting for and really lived up to all the hype. Arnel is really talented and genuinely humble. I hope he'll be around for many years to come. I can't wait for the band to be in Michigan in September....yes I already have a ticket!!! Greger from Detroit, MI

Anonymous said...

Yeah, some live in the past, but I choose to open my mind to the present. His voice is phenomenoal and very soulful and deep emotion. That's what I like about him...his sincerity shines through his voice...may he stay with Journey for the rest of their career.

Anonymous said...

Just type Arnel Pineda Zoology and watch his former gigs in the Philippines; it will give you goosebumps. He is a chameleon - he can sing anything you ask him to sing.

Anonymous said...

I've been reading alot about journey lately, I must say that I've been with their music since SP era and to hear AP gives his rendetion of the classics its so refreshing considering that now a days we don't get same music that we had back in the 80s. And AP's life story just gives an additional factor but it's the talent he has that makes you really want to support and listen to the music.

Anonymous said...

...for $11.88 CD Journey/Revelation Album..."The Best Bargain Of All Time"...you'll end up buying more for gifts...

medz1111
USA