There's a big rumor going around Journeyland that they have found a new singer-Phillipine singer Arnel Pineda! The rumors range from an audition to a contract signing for the youthful looking 40 year old and there are pictures going around of him posing with the band. The reaction on the net has been mixed, ranging from positive support to slightly negative to flat out racist hatred (though the racists have downplayed it as they don't hate Asians, they just don't like when Asians sing with Journey). I guess the racism shouldn't be too surprising, some Journey fans mocked Randy Jackson when he was the bassist for the band in the mid '80's. I heard jokes and racist comments about Jackson when I attended two concerts during the Raised on Radio tour. There just wasn't an internet at the time where they could post their feelings publicly.
That's not to say all Journey fans are racist as I haven't run into any obvious trouble in the five Journey concerts that I've been to. I would like to think the majority of the fans, or the public in general, isn't racist. At least not to the point they feel they need to actively do something about it. And all of the hoopla over Pineda's nationality has detracted from what should be the main point: does he have talent?
Having never heard of him before tonight, I couldn't say offhand. So, I looked him up on You Tube. Overall, I would have to say what I saw was impressive-Pineda performed with energy and had a strong, soaring voice (sound familiar? Those were Steve Perry hallmarks). The only negatives I saw where he tended to push his voice hard to reach higher notes and he would sort of mimic the original singer of whatever song he covered. Not just copy the melody but the individual tics of the original singers. When he sang Journey he became soulful, when he sang Styx he went Broadway like Dennis DeYoung, when he sang Survivor he became heroic like both Dave Bickler and Jimi Jamison. Lack of an original approach can hurt a singer once they hit the big leagues (just ask Johnny Edwards. Who? The guy who temporarily replaced Lou Gramm in Foreigner for just one album in 1991). Then again, Journey made it clear they wanted someone who could copy Perry-um, I mean "perform their songs the way the fans remember them."
So hopefully the party's not over for Arnel Pineda and he'll be able to survive the backlash should he be selected as the new lead singer. I like what I saw of his performances on You Tube and think he can deliver what the band wants-a Steve Perry with limited say on anything other than singing. Sort of like when Van Halen chose Gary Cherone and forced him to sing like Sammy Hagar. I'm a little disappointed Kevin Chalfant wasn't selected, the guy just released a CD of Journey covers that sound great. But like the song goes, the Wheel in the Sky keeps on turnin...
Arnel Pineda (The Zoo) performing Survivor's "Ever Since The World Began"
6 comments:
Oh Mr. Mike should have asked me about Arnel Pineda. Ah well.
I think he's an awesome choice, but don't ask the jerk off's at The Bash Journey Forums. They obviously haven't heard Mr. Pineda singing Don't Stop Believin'.
You think it as a drawback. But for me a singers ability to copy other singer's styles only shows how talented he is. I don't think the journey is looking for some Perry sound-a-like. For Mr. Shirley, made it clear that if their new project was just going to be another Tribute/Nostalgic band - he would not want to be involved in it.
When Arnel sings "Faithfully," I heard Arnel not Perry. A richer voice with more depth and not too sharp. And is actually more beautiful to hear from a rock singer.
If you're a musician/vocalists yourself you'll know this: A singers ability to copy other styles/artists way of singing only proves that he is versatile. His voice is so pliant that he could almost sing anything. It doesn't necessarily mean that he is not original. In fact this could only mean that he is very much capable of making a song his own.
Even the Journey being artists themselves and Mr. Shirley recognized what tremendous talent this guy has.
Joy
The Beatles, Stones etc. covered other acts before they eventually developed their own style and became famous. Only time will tell whether he'll blend in with Journey's style and future projects. Anyways, here's a cover of a Bryan Adams and a Guns n'Roses song. All I can say is uneffincanny. Enjoy.:P
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTMK-vesLWU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1NoFk5sVVE
Thanks for the links to the You Tube songs. After hearing those, I believe he could replace Axl in Guns N Roses or Bryan Adams as...well, Bryan Adams. I actually thought he sounded better on "Heaven" than Adams himself. I've seen Adams live twice and his vocal didn't stand out as much as what I heard on this link.
I don't think there's a doubt Pineda has an amazing voice, I can't think of another singer I've ever heard who can adapt to such a broad spectrum of singing styles. And I have to agree that it is a talent in itself to be able to do that. He also can project feeling into his vocals and likes to work the audience which are big pluses in itself.
What I was hoping for as a fan was for Journey to take a step forward and try to come up with something inspired. I saw a little bit of that with Augeri, his singing style was more blues rock than R&B. Journey was able to rock harder than before as a result. But after seeing Jeff Scott Soto and Deen Castronovo copy the Perry singing style in the same concert it felt more like karaoke night than a show. I began to wonder how many people they could dig up who sound like early 80's Steve Perry?
It's entirely possible Pineda will have a distinct vocal style when Journey hits the road-I just don't think that's what he was hired for. The band's talk about "sounding the way people remember them" or "returning to their heritage sound" makes it seem like they deliberately want to take a step backwards.
As the last comment said, only time will tell if Pineda will blend in. Hopefully I'm wrong about the mimicking thing and Pineda takes the band to the next level, as I can only benefit from hearing a great sounding band if I am. After all, I am a big fan of this band even without Steve Perry and would really like to hear them shine again.
Given the fact that he has this uncanny ability to sound so close to the originals yet with a slightly different twist, It would be interesting to speculate whether he can combine all the strengths of the artists he regularly covers and develop his own distinct style and If the other Journeyld members will allow him to grow into it in a creative sense.
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