MR

I'll go first...

"Wrong" choice.
Kevin Chalfant was def. the obvious way to go.
Stronger singer, better range.
With that being said, I still enjoy the concerts, I think Augeri's a great frontman and I enjoy the new tunes.
However, he wouldn't have been my first pick.


Your turn.

Funny, I am not a big Storm fan. His voice is good, but kind of bland to me. Augeri is a more Perry-like frontman, IMO. To me the songwriting skills are more important, and I don't know enough about Augeri vs. Chalfant to offer an opinion on that. If we are just talking about voice and stage presence, I like Augeri. EAST COAST BABY!

I think Augeri was the right guy because , to me, he doesn't sound like Steve Perry. He can sing in key and hit most of the notes but he has his own timbre that makes him unique. Chalfant would have been a good choice as well but he maybe a little too close to Perry. I like Augeri. He was the right choice.

DEFINATELY right choice for me. Seen the lad 3 times and blown me away each and every time and these days can't think of anyone else in the role, and yes I do include the great man Perry himself in that statement.

The current line-up is definately the way forward for the band and the next album sounds very promising and Augeri getting in on the songwriting...man, I can't wait!!!

I don't think it is a clear cut answer.

NOW Steve Augeri was the right choice...absolutely!

But Journey had many options open to them at the time. I like Kevin and I would have been very happy with the 'original' regrouping of Journey with Kevin and Gregg. But hearing that Kevin has a very strong personality could have resulted in conflicts that could again have sidelined Journey. Then again, the strong personalities could also have created some great music through the tension. I think that is what happened in Journey to begin with.

I definately don't think Hugo would have been good for the band. I respect the guy, but Journey got enough flak for picking a singer that could sound so much like Perry (which I am sure would have happened with KC as well) but to add the "look" of Perry...the audience would have been right to accuse the band of trying to fool them. I thought that was a ridiculous accusation with Steve, but it would have been spot on with Hugo.

Journey certainly could have gone with a vocalist who sounded nothing like Perry. Although I gotta tell ya that JSS could have been perfect because he has qualities similar to Perry when he wants, but he can also rock out AND sound different altogether. But in the end I think it was important that Journey could still present the hits accurately with a new singer. And I think the fans wanted that as well.

So my vote is...ABSOLUTRELY! Steve Augeri IS the right choice!

Come on Noble Cause,

7 years later, you need to bring this shit up again...Unbelievable. You know how humble this guy is, and how classy he is? I don't think you could have found a better guy than Augeri.

My God, can't some of you move on?

There is one song on the new Soul Sirkus where JSS sounds EXACTLY like SP. It is a slow song called Coming Home. Have you all heard it?

Rock'ndeano wrote: Come on Noble Cause,
7 years later, you need to bring this shit up again

Bring up what "shit"?
The fact that I like Augeri, but think there were better choices out there? What's wrong with that?
I am not saying the new lineup is tarnishing the band's reputation or "cracking the stone" or has no right to exist.
This is precisely what band message boards are for, for the fans to discuss such hypothetical "what ifs" and "what-could-have-beens"

Rock'ndeano wrote:You know how humble this guy is, and how classy he is?

Gee, that's really swell and all, but I'm talking about "talent" here. Try to stay focused, ok? When it comes to being the lead singer in a largely vocally-oriented melodic rock band everything else is ancillary. It's great that Augeri is a cool guy and very nice to the fans, but that has NOTHING to do with what I am talking about.

Y'know, the doorman of my apt. complex is really humble, too. Acording to your logic, he likewise should be given the high profile job of fronting one of the most famous rock bands of all time, right?

Rock'ndeano wrote:My God, can't some of you move on?

Umm, I have moved on.
I suport the new lineup, I see their concerts, I buy their products and think Augeri is a tremendous talent.
Part of "moving on" requires acknowledging that their was a lineup change, coming to terms with that, and being able to maturely, calmly and openly talk about it with other fans. That is exactly what was happening here before you chimed in and went on the defensive.
Clearly you are incapable of and uncomfortable with discussing (or acknowledging) the lineup change in even the slightest.
Are you living in denial, Rock'nDeano?
Is that it?
Seems to me, that perhaps you're the one who needs to "move on".

As I said before, I follow the band and will buy any new releases from them. Doesn't mean, I can't hold an opinion differing from your own. Nor does it mean I am not entitled to the right of (maturely) expressing such an opinion.
What's going to happen if I claim Augeri wasn't the cream of the prospective lead singer crop?
Will the band suddenly cease to exist?
Will the sky start falling?
No, of course, not.

[quote="The_Noble_Cause"]
Gee, that's really swell and all, but . It's great that Augeri is a cool guy and very nice to the fans, but that has NOTHING to do with what I am talking about..........

"I'm talking about "talent" here"




My oh my, what have we here?

The lead singer of Europe would have been the best choice. Seriously, Journey should have contacted Perry and asked him if he needs six months, one year, or does he just not want to sing with Journey anymore.

I'd take a 50% Steve Perry over Steve "Gap Boy" Augeri.

Journeytroll

perryfaithful wrote:

The_Noble_Cause wrote:
Gee, that's really swell and all, but . It's great that Augeri is a cool guy and very nice to the fans, but that has NOTHING to do with what I am talking about..........

"I'm talking about "talent" here"




My oh my, what have we here?

Hi Perryfaithful. I'm forever yours...Faithfully!

perryfaithful wrote:

The_Noble_Cause wrote:
Gee, that's really swell and all, but . It's great that Augeri is a cool guy and very nice to the fans, but that has NOTHING to do with what I am talking about..........

"I'm talking about "talent" here"

My oh my, what have we here?

Please don't quote me out of context.
I also said in that very same post that Augeri was a tremendous talent and I think he is a great frontman.
My, how convenient that you left that out.
Manipulative actions such as that will only steer this thread into a heated "Perry vs. Augeri" direction that I don't want it to.
This isn't about Augeri sucking or being devoid of talent. Not hardly. He's a great singer, but I think think there might have been even "greater" singers out there suited for the job (excluding Perry because he is retired).
I am not demanding that Augeri vacates the role.
This is just merely a harmless discussion of "what-could-have-been".

If you can't discuss this maturely or without twisting my words around to further your pro-perry/anti-Augeri agenda, then leave.

Noble cause-

Look, I think its pretty much of a sure thing, that NOT ONE person wanted Steve freaking Perry to go...And if you say you did, you are lying. He is one of the best singers in the world and let's let that be.

I am sure Neal Schon, Jon Cain and others evaluated a bunch of folks. Augeri is humble and you know what, that's a good thing, because if he reads these boards(over the last 7 years), he has to know there are Perry peeps who refuse to let go..Hell, I was one of them for 3 years!! To me Perry's voice is the 8th wonder of the world........


All I am saying is this..I think by continuing to talk about someone who is definately gone...weakens the Band..That is my opinion...


Noble Cause- sorry I blew up at you..see, I am in near suicidal state now that the NHL has been taken away from me..Goddammit, I'm pissed!

Rock'ndeano wrote:Noble cause-

All I am saying is this..I think by continuing to talk about someone who is definately gone...weakens the Band..That is my opinion...

Here is the interesting thing...this thread had NOTHING TO DO WITH "someone who is definately gone"!!!! It was about the choice of "replacements"!

Should Steve Augeri been Perry's replacement, or should someone else have been Perry's replacement?

I would be interested in hearing some of the Perry supporters views on who would have been the best choice to replace Perry. We know that you want Perry. We know that think Journey should have ceased without Perry. But I wonder, if you take those two options away, who would you choose to replace Perry.

NealIsGod wrote:There is one song on the new Soul Sirkus where JSS sounds EXACTLY like SP. It is a slow song called Coming Home. Have you all heard it?

You are right...JSS sounded like Perry from the Frontiers years!
That is part of the reason I say that JSS could have been a great choice if Journey had wanted to go in an entirely different direction.

jrnyman28 wrote:?

I would be interested in hearing some of the Perry supporters views on who would have been the best choice to replace Perry. We know that you want Perry. We know that think Journey should have ceased without Perry. But I wonder, if you take those two options away, who would you choose to replace Perry.

I believe I said long ago that I was for the "guest frontman" concept. Not an easy one for many to picture but I saw it as a Tribute to the classic, legendary years of the band and non binding until they figured out what was happening. Classy, exclusive......a hot ticket with some great names.

Now, Rock Man, I need to see you in my office!!

Rock'ndeano wrote:Noble cause-

Look, I think its pretty much of a sure thing, that NOT ONE person wanted Steve freaking Perry to go...And if you say you did, you are lying. He is one of the best singers in the world and let's let that be.

I wanted him gone. I was saying that online as far back as 1993 or so Steve Perry yanked Journey around enough during ROR...Why give him the opportunity to yank them around again? Besides, he's happier solo. "Let Journey be Journey and let Perry be solo." is what I was saying.

Perry had his second chance and he blew it....Journey should have never let him come back.

I absolutely love Augeri and think the man is doing a grand job, but I do see Perryfaitful's point about appointing a guest vocalist.

When fellow fans of my other fave band Queen heard that the guys were going on tour without the late great Freddie Mercury there was uproar! However, this isn't actually a "Queen Tour" as such, its being billed as "Queen + Paul Rodgers", IE Paul is not actually being blilled as a full time member of the band.

THis was more acceptable to the die hard fans and also gave those younger fans who were too young to witness Queen live the opportunity to hear their favourite songs on the live stage...something they thought could never be possible and it seems to be working. Its if the guys in the band want to release new material a problem may arise in appointing a singer on a more permanent basis.

Paul_UK wrote:I absolutely love Augeri and think the man is doing a grand job, but I do see Perryfaitful's point about appointing a guest vocalist.

When fellow fans of my other fave band Queen heard that the guys were going on tour without the late great Freddie Mercury there was uproar! However, this isn't actually a "Queen Tour" as such, its being billed as "Queen + Paul Rodgers", IE Paul is not actually being blilled as a full time member of the band.

THis was more acceptable to the die hard fands and also gave those younger fans who were too young to witness Queen live the opportunity to hear their favourite songs on the live stage...something they thought could never be possible and it seems to be working. Its if the guys in the band want to release new material a problem may arise in appointing a singer on a more permanent basis.

Thanks for the great example Paul!

Paul_UK wrote:I absolutely love Augeri and think the man is doing a grand job, but I do see Perryfaitful's point about appointing a guest vocalist.

When fellow fans of my other fave band Queen heard that the guys were going on tour without the late great Freddie Mercury there was uproar! However, this isn't actually a "Queen Tour" as such, its being billed as "Queen + Paul Rodgers", IE Paul is not actually being blilled as a full time member of the band.

THis was more acceptable to the die hard fans and also gave those younger fans who were too young to witness Queen live the opportunity to hear their favourite songs on the live stage...something they thought could never be possible and it seems to be working. Its if the guys in the band want to release new material a problem may arise in appointing a singer on a more permanent basis.

Fans can get emotional and possessive. I see how this solution was acceptable for all fans.
I also like your sig and avatar! (i love queen)

Otherwise I am confused why this topic even needs debate, since the issue is already settled (Mr. Augeri is the lead singer and has been for years) and it generally stirs things up rather than settles them. does noble have another cause?

Journeynut wrote:
Otherwise I am confused why this topic even needs debate, since the issue is already settled (Mr. Augeri is the lead singer and has been for years) and it generally stirs things up rather than settles them. does noble have another cause?

For the last frickin time.....
This is precisely what rock message boards (such as this one) are for, for the fans to discuss such hypothetical "what ifs" and "what-could-have-beens". Yes, Augeri IS the lead singer, but Chalfant at one point was gonna get the gig, the guy from Queensryche auditioned, as well.
Where is the harm in disscussing whether or not you feel Augeri was the absolute best replacement out there?
This is not about Steve Perry needing to come back or about Neal & co. being wrong in deciding to replace Perry. This thread is not intended to be about the polarizing decision of Perry being replaced.
It's really just about the choice of replacements.
So, everyone stay neutral.
As long as everyone stays on track, I see nothing incendiary or instigative in talking about who might've been potential candidates for Perry's shoes.
Things only get "stirred up" when people try to make this about Perry and the acrimonious way things ended up between him and the group-which it isn't about.

They should have waited for Perry for as long as it took.

heardonthestreet wrote:They should have waited for Perry for as long as it took.

Ditto!!!

The only other acceptable solution, so that Neal could keep "paying the bills", would have been the scenario that Perryfaithful presented.

heardonthestreet wrote:They should have waited for Perry for as long as it took.

.....and I AM still waiting!!

But that would not have got them into the HOF Ohsherrie. In my opinion, if they had waited for Perry, they would be in the HOF by now. We'll never know because they took a different path.

Don't say that Perry would have made them wait for too much longer. We don't know that. Some of them should have gotten a life as Smitty and Rolie did and waited.JMHO

heardonthestreet wrote:They should have waited for Perry for as long as it took.

They should have replaced Perry with Rolie/Chalfant in 1994-5 and never looked back.

Augeri was the right choice for what they wanted to do after TBF. Chalfant was the right choice in 1995...because of what that band could have been. Perry was the right choice in 1978...but that choice clearly needed to be rethought after ROR.

They would have had to have someone more spectactular than Perry or just as good in his own, I repeat, in his own way, for the people to accept another frontman, regardless of what time in Journey's history your may refer to Monker.

heardonthestreet wrote:They should have waited for Perry for as long as it took.

Leave your agenda at home, please.
How can I make this any more pellucid?
Are you girls just choosing to ignore me when I say......

"This thread is about the possible replacements Neal and Jon had to choose from. This is not about Steve Perry needing to come back or about Neal & co. being wrong in deciding to replace Perry."

If you think there should have been NO replacement made, then go start your own thread on it and allow internet chaos to run rampant.
That is not what we are talking about in this thread.
We are talking about the options of possible replacements.

This thread is not intended to talk about the divisive decision of Perry being replaced or if it was right or wrong -that's been talked about to death.

Can't we just stick to calmly and maturely assessing whether or not Augeri was the best possible pick out of the auditioned bunch? Ok?

As Jrnyman28 so aptly put it....

jrnyman28 wrote:
this thread had NOTHING TO DO WITH "someone who is definately gone"!!!! It was about the choice of "replacements"!

Should Steve Augeri been Perry's replacement, or should someone else have been Perry's replacement?

Saying Perry simply should not have been replaced does not answer my question.

Augeri is the man. He is doing just fine. Give him a chance in the long run.
Sure Perry with his magical voice, will always be remembered as the best singer in Journey. But he is gone. With Augeri, Journey took a chance on the right guy as a replacement . Sure Chalfant and Fleischmann are great voices too. But Augeri brought something fresh, something different to the band. With choosing him, Band moved on instead of staying in the shadows of the past. Augeri passed his first test with flying colours in "Arrival". New album will sure paint a clearer picture and Im confident that Augeri will again prove what he is made of.

If I close my eyes and listen to Seperate Ways or other famous harder rocking Journey songs I cant tell the voice difference between the Steve's. Remember Me eaisly could of been Steve Perry. They went for the clone, and they got him!