Steve Augeri steeped into some very big shoes when he replaced Journey's lead singer Steve Perry. Perry has been called the Voice of Rock, and I would have to agree with that. When the word was out that Perry was out of the band, and the band was looking for a new lead singer, I really didn't know what to expect. Part of me thought the band should call it quits. But then all those years that Journey was inactive, their music was missed in concert, and it was time for something new from the band other than live cds, hits cds, and unreleased songs. My first thought was Kevin Chalfant. Kevin would have been the perfect fit, having song in the Storm, a group composed of Journey members. But that did not come about. Next I here a dude named Steve Augeri had been chosen to replace the voice. I had yet to hear of anything from him, and did not know of his work in Tall Stories or Tyketto.
Remember Me was the first song with Augeri on vocals. I was stunned! I liked this song and the guy singing it. I wanted more. But I had to wait since this was a soundtrack song for the movie Armageddon. Steve would stay with the band for 8 years before leaving due to vocal problems.
Although Journey did not get the sales of the Perry cds, journey released some good cds.
Remember Me was a great song on a great cd. A great way to introduce the new lead singer.
Arrival-2001 (A-)A lot of good things about this cd. From the awesome axe work of Neal Schon, to the vocals of new comer Steve Augeri. The cd harkens back to the glory days of the band. The music is tight and production is stellar. And on top of that, the band has written some of their best songs.
Stand outs are Higher Place (one of the bands best rockers), Loved By You, World Gone Wild(Neal is awesome on this), To Be Alive Again (Augeri is vocally stunning on this track), We Will Meet Again (great way to close the cd), and Kiss Me Softly (a updated feel to a journey love song).
All The Way (a good song) sounds kind of boy bandish, and one or two other songs don't stand up to rest of the material or have the Journey fit to them (could be the outside writers on them), the songs are still good.
A welcome surprise to the bands catalog.
The Japanese version of this cd was released about 6 months earlier, but once it was leaked to Napster and fans complained about all the ballads, the band went in a recorded some more rockers which was an improvement, and did away with the weaker songs.
Arrival {Japan} -2000 (B)
Live 2001 (A-)
A great dvd to showcase the new singer Augeri. He takes on two new songs from the Arrival songs, plus the Journey catalog. Augeri holds his own with Perry songs, although there are a couple signs of struggle on a vocal or two. But you can not fault the man, Perry couldn't do any better today. But from the opening of Separate Ways to the singalong of Faithfully, this is a journey well worth the ride.
Red 13 -2002 (C+)A few things you find different about this cd. The songs are longer, one over 7 minutes two over 6 minutes and the last a little over 4. Another is that this is an EP, only 4 songs. The songs vary from the typical love songs, to a more personal level. But I really can't say this is a good cd since the last thing you will notice about the cd is the production, or lack of. This is in my opinion the worst sounding Journey cd out there. A shame because the songs are good.
Generations-2005 (B+)After the dismal Red 13, Journey has returned with a cd worthy of the Journey name. Generations ROCKS from the get go.Faith In The Heartland is one of my top 10 Journey songs, as is the bass driven Out Of Harms Way, a song about our soldiers overseas. Augeri is in true form here. Not sounding so much like Perry as he did on Arrival, but more his own singer. True there are some Perrism there (this is Journey of course), but Augeri is more natural here and more rocking. Beyond the Clouds is another awesome song on this cd, with its almost gospel feel to it.
Surprising about this cd is how every member of the band has a turn on lead vocals. Schon choose to bring a solo song he performed with Perry year ago called Self Defense. The song has been changed some for this cd, with Dean singing Perry part and the song now called In Self Defense.
Keyboardist Jonathan Cain sings on two songs with the best being Every Generation.
Bassist Ross Valory does a great ZZ Top on Gone Crazy, which is a good song, a really good song, but comes off sounding out of place on this cd. Which really hurts the grade of this cd, because it really hurts the flow of the cd. But I do really like this song, and would buy a solo cd from Ross.
Drummer Dean Castronovo sounds more like Perry than Augeri on this cd, which is fine with me, since Augeri has done a stunning job this time around. But Dean shines on his two songs Never Too Late and A Better Life.
This cd would be a little better if production would have been better. It is way better than Red 13, but not quite on parr with Arrival. Plus track layout could have been better if a couple of songs had been omitted, not because they were bad songs, but do to the fact they either didn't fit in or took away from the vibe the cd had going.
AUGERI / Tall Stories
Besides being in Journey, Augeri fronted Tall Stories, it was their debut cd that got him noticed by Neal Schon.
Tall Stories-1991 (A-)A great debut cd from the band. Back in 91 the band made their only cd (until 2009), a great example of melodic rock. The music had a soul fullness about it and the singer, Augeri, had a eagerness and since of desperation to his voice. All the songs connected to the listener. I found this record in 2001 after reading about Augeri online.
Wild On The Run, Sister Of Mercy, Chain Of Love, Never Enough are stand out tracks.
Skyscraper-2009 (A)Back after some rest of being out Journey Augeri returned with Tall Stories second cd, which most of it was recorded back in the early to mid 90's. The cd is awesome. This cd is also one of my favorites of 2009.
Tomorrow, Stay, and You Shall BE Free are my favorites, and come the closest to sounding like Journey, and while rest of the cd ranges from Zepplin to Whitesnake, Augeri and company deliver a strong, very strong cd.
AUGERI / Tyketto
Tyketto had already released two strong cds with Don't Come Easy (B) and Strength In Numbers (B+) when Danny Vaughn lead singer, left the band, to care for sick wife. He was replaced by Steve Augeri for the next cd.
Shine-1995 (B)
Alot of people I have talked to say this Augeri's best cd. I disagree. The main reason is the production of the cd. It comes across as very cheap 70's sounding at times. But at other times the music does shine thru. Jamie, Rawthigh, High, and I won't Cry are the stand outs. Rest of the songs are good, but muddled in the production.
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