Unofficial Re-Issues?

[DavidWT]

Okay…here we go:

1. “Who knows why anyone would re-release a recording and not have anyone
from the band participate in it.”
I mean really? No one from the band? JP was not a part of the band? JJ was not? What did he want McAuley’s take on Vital Signs? Passive aggressive slap number one.

Yeah, totally agree with you on this one. I don't understand how FS could think the current line-up of Survivor is somehow more relevant to the recording of past albums than the old line-up.

3. “The only other person in the room to see it all and know was yours truly. Ron had no patience
for crap so he would say what was on his mind, not always in the kindest of words, and get on with the task at hand. And when the guys were done cutting he wanted to send as many of them as possible home to have the studio and his energies left alone. To disturb Ron's energy was never a good thing. So it was the old less is more thing as far as the band members were concerned. Before I knew it he would whittle it down to just he and I.” (Can you guy really tell me this is not a slap to JP?????)

I read this more as "I'm the most important person EVER involved with Survivor!" which, I guess, is kind of a slap in the face to JP, though I took it more as FS just giving himself a big pat on the back and saying, "Aren't I wonderful?" But now that I think about it, it was probably intended as both: "I'm wonderful, AND the other guys who were formerly in my band don't know anything, so don't listen to them."

4. Or this! (“When I sent the first mix out of "I Can't Hold Back" everyone said there
wasn't enough bass. I walked into work that day and the first question
I ran into was so? I said "so what!" Ron looked at me and asked me
what the guys thought and I told him, not enough bass. Then he looked
me straight in the eye and said no more tapes go out. You figure out
what you're going to tell the guys but no more tapes. I wore out the
old "It must of got lost in the mail" excuse.” (In other words, JP was not a part of that and we wasn’t even allowed to hear the tapes.)

Again, my first take on this was Frankie patting himself on the back (again) and saying, "See?! The producer likes me the best! Yay! I'm the MAN!" Which is indirectly a slap at the other guys, of course, but I thought the emphasis was more self-aggrandizing. But who knows.

Either way, it's kind of sad that the only entertainment to be had from Survivor these days is analyzing (and laughing at) what Frankie writes in his blogs.

[Slander]

Either way, it's kind of sad that the only entertainment to be had from Survivor these days is analyzing (and laughing at) what Frankie writes in his blogs.

Agreed. I find the parsing of FS blog post a little insane. Seriously. I don't understand the obsession with FS. I guess it keeps the board alive. It's at least serving that purpose. By the way, no one is answering this question. Did JP leave Survivor and give up the rights to the name? If that was the case, can it be argued that he gave up on Survivor? Just asking, so don't jump down my throat. I'm not as familiar with the history as some of you.

[Mikele]

Hey guys,
even if Frankie is RIGHT on everything he's saying in that blog post, what difference would that make? We are talking about a remastered series for which liner notes should just present the album and the songs and should give a glimpse of the time-period to both fans and casual listeners. I can't see the point of the whole FS rant about that, what does he want to see written in there, that he was the most important member? I don't see him coming out as useless in those liner notes, actually he's really highlighted so I don't see the point. The average fan does not care about many of the facts that he's presenting as critically important. Those might as well be just things that are emotionally relevant to him only. The only thing i get out of these is that he undoubtely had and still has a strong personality.

[Slander]

The average fan does not care about many of the facts that he's presenting as critically important. Those might as well be just things that are emotionally relevant to him only. Th

I totally disagree with the above. I think the fans that are interested in liner notes are "not" the average fan. If I'm taking the time to read the liner notes, I want the whole story! I want it done right. Makes the listening far more enjoyable know the complete picture of what is truly "Behind The Music."

[Eyeof]

Well now you know! It was all God..ah, I mean Frankie!

Everyone else was just there...well until they were 'sent home one by one..."

Please...

[axecrew]

Wow....can't believe I'm actually agreeing with slander but do......When I look at an album/cd's booklet I want to read the notes...who'd they thank, how did it come about, the album, one of my favorite stories is the one Jim told about how Can't Hold Back was written. Said frankie was tooling around on guitar in the studio and Jim ask him what it was he was playing, frankie told him that it was just something he was messing with....jim had them record it, he took it home and wrote Can't Hold Back that night. The part he was tooling around with.....the guitar intro that we all know.



As for jim and his departure from survivor....while I can't tell all(been sworn to secrecy) I can say that there was a disgreement between Jim, Frankie and Dave...jim wanted to go in one direction and frankie and dave another, so it ended with jim deciding to leave the band and go back to his original band the Ides of March, he sold his portion of the band to frankie and that's where everyone is to this day.

[Journey/Survivor]

Well now you know! It was all God..ah, I mean Frankie!

Everyone else was just there...well until they were 'sent home one by one..."

Please...

Eyeof, have you seen the PM's that I've sent you?

[Mikele]

The average fan does not care about many of the facts that he's presenting as critically important. Those might as well be just things that are emotionally relevant to him only. Th

I totally disagree with the above. I think the fans that are interested in liner notes are "not" the average fan. If I'm taking the time to read the liner notes, I want the whole story! I want it done right. Makes the listening far more enjoyable know the complete picture of what is truly "Behind The Music."

I can agree with you Slander that those re-releases are made especially for the true fans, not the average. And it's true, I too want to read cool and interesting facts. The general point that FS is bringing up is that only he and Ron were making the decisions for the band, without which nothing would've been that cool. I take that, it might be the truth. But I still don't see how, withholding these "facts" (or as I think, "emotional facts") from liner notes is making them inaccurate or less true. I mean, no one is taking anything from anyone, I bought the cd and I've read what's in there.

[DavidWT]

I don't understand the obsession with FS.

It's all we've got, unfortunately. If Frankie stopped blogging and went back to recording music, I think most of us would be VERY happy to start talking about the songs again. Until then, though, Frankie's blogs are really the only Survivor activity out there... and that's a shame.

[Journey/Survivor]

I don't understand the obsession with FS.

It's all we've got, unfortunately. If Frankie stopped blogging and went back to recording music, I think most of us would be VERY happy to start talking about the songs again. Until then, though, Frankie's blogs are really the only Survivor activity out there... and that's a shame.

This post reminded me of my appeal to Jim Peterik to start up a "Survivor" like project.

[Mikele]

Don't get me wrong, I stilldmire Frankie and think he was and is the driving force in Survivor, and I like his blog. Is just that when the fans matters, we Are always the last. We want to have the opportunity to' buy the cds and hear the music, so why so much anger.. I must understand it hurts for him, but then why not giving something to' the fans then?

[Journey/Survivor]

Don't get me wrong, I stilldmire Frankie and think he was and is the driving force in Survivor, and I like his blog. Is just that when the fans matters, we Are always the last. We want to have the opportunity to' buy the cds and hear the music, so why so much anger.. I must understand it hurts for him, but then why not giving something to' the fans then?

I mostly feel the same way you do. I would have to say that Peterik was equally as important to the band because of his second-to-none songwriting.

But I probably most enjoy listening to Frankie play guitar.

I have a world of respect for Frankie as a musician!

I'm just sick of his lack of drive to release new music, and how much he lies to the fans.

[DavidWT]

Don't get me wrong, I stilldmire Frankie and think he was and is the driving force in Survivor

If he's the driving force, I wish he would step on the gas already.

[axecrew]

ya gotta get in the car first

[DavidWT]

ya gotta get in the car first

It's too bad JP sold him the car in the first place if Frankie's just going to leave it parked in the garage.

[Journey/Survivor]

ya gotta get in the car first

It's too bad JP sold him the car in the first place if Frankie's just going to leave it parked in the garage.

Not only is it in the garage. It's also on blocks.

[jaxmanjoe]

I think the car analogies have been ...driven... into the ground...

[Eyeof]

Nah...it's not on blocks..more like off the axle, on the ground, turning to rust...(speaking of in the ground)

[DavidWT]

Nah...it's not on blocks..more like off the axle, on the ground, turning to rust...(speaking of in the ground)

Great... so now Survivor has become the equivalent of an eyesore in a white-trash neighborhood. Somebody fix that thing up, or have it towed already, dammit!

[MarcelJordan]

Frankie said he didn't want to mention the name of a singer that auditioned when they finally went with JJ to replace Dave. If I remember correctly there was an interview from 1999 right here on Melodicrock that mentioned who it was.

MJ

[Idiosyncrasy]

Kevin Chalfant was in the running at one point wasn't he? Although I think he was veto'd because the band thought they'd sound too much like Journey!

[Journey/Survivor]

Frankie said he didn't want to mention the name of a singer that auditioned when they finally went with JJ to replace Dave. If I remember correctly there was an interview from 1999 right here on Melodicrock that mentioned who it was.

MJ

It's almost definite that he was talking about Kevin Chalfant.

I may be wrong about this, but I believe that I've heard it said that originally Peterik wanted to hire Chalfant fot Vital Signs, and that the rest of them wanted to hire Jamison?

[MarcelJordan]

Frankie said he didn't want to mention the name of a singer that auditioned when they finally went with JJ to replace Dave. If I remember correctly there was an interview from 1999 right here on Melodicrock that mentioned who it was.

MJ

It's almost definite that he was talking about Kevin Chalfant

Bingo! I'm very sure the rest were some younger singers without much experience under their belt.JP once mentioned several were trying to be Robert Plant.

MJ

[Journey/Survivor]

Those of you who have the Rock Candy remaster of "When Seconds Count." Have you noticed the difference between the very end of the title-track on the earlier releases of the album, and the very end of it now on the Rock Candy remaster?