Journey (The Band) - a New Generation

Journey, a classic in everyones minds is back. We all remember Steve Smith and Steve Perry back in the old days. Well this time around they have a slightly new cast of singers and drummers that will certainly give you that same feeling you had back when Smith and Perry ran the show. Now you can't replace Smith or Perry and be them, but you can give everyone the same feeling they had once before.

Augeri has an identical sounding voice which is truly amazing, and I can't really tell the difference. I am a huge Journey fan and us Journey buffs aren't going to transfer over to a new lead unless the new cast is superb, so they must be because the newest album is selling a lot.

When I first listened to Arrival I got that classic Journey feel, and from then till now I still listen to it and bop my head to the tunes. The new cast consists of Neal Schon, Jonathon Cain, and Ross Valory which are all part of the original cast with newcomers Steve Augeri and Deen Castronovo replacing Steve "The Machinegun" Smith. They really developed something special with this album. Higher Place which is probably the biggest hit on the album really sounds like a Perry like hit, not to mention that it sounds SO much like him when Augeri hits those high notes.

All the way which is a slower ballad type song is another one of Augeris hits that sounds like a Steve Perry hit. I think Augeri wanted to bring back what it used to be like in this album and he did a great job doing it. In Sign's of Life guitarist Neal Schon brings back an old solo of his while he replays it in this song. It brought a tear to my eye, but we all must move on. It will bring back memories, I promise you. That solo was from the 1981 hit "Who's Crying Now". The fact of the matter is there is no bad song on this album, and Journey is back in full force. Look for more albums to come, and for there songs to start playing on the radio soon. Even though the album is a few years old, people are just starting to notice the popularity of the music now.

To be honest with everyone. I was very sad when Steve Perry left Journey. Steve Perry was a historic icon to Journey simply because of his heart warming lyrics. He performed excellent in concert and lit up the stage. I have yet to see a Steve Augeri concert live, but I will be soon. I saw a few of them on the TV and have to say they are just as electrifying as before, not replacing Perry in any way, but a certain look a like when he performs on stage. Let's face it, Journey will never die out, and will always be a classic in my mind.