Journey releases new CD Eclipse

There were only a few but admittedly, there were still some rough spots in the last Journey CD Revelation. It was a very good effort but there were times when it felt like the band was still feeling its way around lead singer Arnel Pineda. In turn, the new guy was trying hard to be the perfect Steve Perry. What proved that they made the right decision in choosing the Pinoy rocker to be Journey’s new lead singer was the album’s second disc.

Made up of the group’s biggest hits, it showed Pineda in excellent form vocally. He was totally at home with songs like Faithfully and Open Arms that he had been doing with various bands throughout his career. I thought then that it was quite clever of them to rerecord those hits with Arnel singing lead and the gimmick did pay off. It earned him the acceptance of fans from all over the world and made him officially the sound of Journey. Okay, he sang like Steve Perry but what else could he be when singing Journey.

Journey released a new CD this week. It is titled Eclipse and it has all the right notes in place. Whatever kinks there were in the past have all been ironed out. Journey as a band today, is almost perfection. Neal Schon on all guitars and backing vocals; Jonathan Cain on keyboards and backing vocals; Ross Valory on bass and backing vocals; Deen Castronovo on drums, percussion and backing vocals; and Arnel on lead vocals have come up with what may well be the band’s best work and most commercially appealing album ever. I say that he did give Journey its most enduring hits, but Perry’s era has now ended and Pineda’s has began. He is so good as himself in Eclipse, that you want to scream, hey, he is Filipino, from all the housetops.

Eclipse rocks harder than anything Journey has done in a long time. The 35-year-old Journey has gone daring. And while they are taking a big risk with this move, there is no doubt that every bit of the album shows superior musicianship. Doubtless, these guys just wanted to create a good rock album but because they all gave their best, Eclipse is an arena masterpiece. I know, I can already hear some complaints. Where are the ballads? Where is the new Separate Ways? Well, I believe that while the playing might be vicious, a well-written song will still turn out to be a ballad that can move listeners.

Eclipse has plenty of those. Also probably buoyed up by this generation’s response to the Journey classic, Don’t Stop Believing, which is even bigger today than when it first came out, the new CD boasts of strong melodies and positive, inspiring messages. The music is the feel-good sort that can bring crowds to their feet and with Arnel’s wonderful tenor soulfully singing the lyrics, I can already imagine how many stadiums Journey will rock when they go out to tour Eclipse.

I’m also happy that Arnel gets songwriting credits in the album. He has really arrived. He co-wrote She’s A Mystery and To Whom It May Concern with Schon and Cain. The duo did all the other songs, Edge Of The Moment, Chain Of Love, Tantra, Anything Is Possible, Resonate, Human Feel, Ritual, Someone, Venus and the lead single, the hook-laden City Of Hope. Watch this one become the anthem of the moment.

Don’t miss out on this one. Every Filipino must have a copy of Eclipse.

 From the mail: Got this note from discobiscuit about Paul Simpson, leader and founding member of the Wild Swans. Paul used to be the vocalist of another New Wave band, The Care, whose song Chandeliers was supposed to be the “blueprint” for local band Orange and Lemons’ massive hit Pinoy Ako. After The Care disbanded, Paul fronted The Wild Swans, while Ian Brodie formed another brilliant group, The Lightning Seeds. So between Paul and Ian, we have three of the greatest ’80s New Wave bands of all time, namely The Care, Wild Swans and Lightning Seeds. Lucky are those in Pinas who’ll get to see The Wild Swans perform on Oct. 1.