Okay for those of you who don't know it I am a big Journey fan. And although I am one of their biggest fans, I am also a realist.

I was over at a Journey chat site and someone is trying to compare Journey with the Beatles. Now as I said I am a fan, and I love their music, but to compare Journey with The Beatles is insane.:crazy: :eek:

Now don't get me wrong, I could listen to both bands without a problem, but I don't think Journey ever had the world wide recognition, the catalouge, or the timeless music that The Beatles have. The Beatles never cease to be played on the radio, The Beatles music has been played and celebrated by so many different people from Sinatra, Sarah Vaughn, Ray Charles to the London Symphony. I have never heard any singer record any version of a Journey song or any Symphony to record a album of their songs. The Beatles were ever evolving in the way they played music, The Beatles were always seeking the next challange in their music, experimenting with new and different things in their music, listen to Yellow Submarine. I have never heard a Journey song that used anything unusual or different for anyone to take notice. This fan also wanted to give Journey credit for inventing the power ballard. Sorry but Journey didn't invent the power ballard, there have been so many power ballards before Journey, it just wasn't given a name until the 70's rock groups started including love songs into their albums.

Like I said I love Journey, and would defend their music (Journey) in any other way, but to compare them to be as great as or as good as The Beatles is just insane.
:crazy: :crazy: :confused: :confused:

The Beatles were at this very opportune time in music and culture where they were able to make a big splash in America at the time they were needed the most. The country was reeling and despondent from the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and The Beatles were given a major push on the American airwaves late 1963/early 1964 by their manager Brian Epstein. The American public, which initially passed on these foreigners with the funny voices, took to them like crazy that winter. They had managed to resurrect rock and roll from its hibernation several years after the first Big Bang from the 50's had dissipated (Elvis was in the army, Chuck Berry was in jail, Buddy Holly died in a plane crash, Jerry Lee Lewis was disgraced, Little Richard was in Bible college). They initiated the British Invasion in America, and forever changed music in this country, bringing with it the Rolling Stones, the Who, the Kinks,
the Yardbirds (which would feature guitarists such as Jimmy Page, later of Led Zeppelin, Jeff Beck, and Eric Clapton), and it was their teaming with Bob Dylan that they began their greatest impact: Dylan convinced the Beatles to touch on social commentary and use their fame as a mouthpiece for opposing war.

Journey was a very good band, but the 70's were not quite the revolutionary time as the 60's were. Many of the ideals and musical trends of the 60's were co-opted by the music industry to put out radio-friendly music for the masses. The turbulent 60's had trickled into a more complacent 70's that did not want a repeat of the social upheaval of the previous decade.

It's like when I met Kip Winger several years ago, someone told him that he was up there with The Beatles and Bob Dylan as greatness goes. :confused:
Kip Winger is actually a very decent songwriter and musician, but I wouldn't put him on THAT level!! :lol:

The Beatles were at this very opportune time in music and culture where they were able to make a big splash in America at the time they were needed the most. The country was reeling and despondent from the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and The Beatles were given a major push on the American airwaves late 1963/early 1964 by their manager Brian Epstein. The American public, which initially passed on these foreigners with the funny voices, took to them like crazy that winter. They had managed to resurrect rock and roll from its hibernation several years after the first Big Bang from the 50's had dissipated (Elvis was in the army, Chuck Berry was in jail, Buddy Holly died in a plane crash, Jerry Lee Lewis was disgraced, Little Richard was in Bible college). They initiated the British Invasion in America, and forever changed music in this country, bringing with it the Rolling Stones, the Who, the Kinks,
the Yardbirds (which would feature guitarists such as Jimmy Page, later of Led Zeppelin, Jeff Beck, and Eric Clapton), and it was their teaming with Bob Dylan that they began their greatest impact: Dylan convinced the Beatles to touch on social commentary and use their fame as a mouthpiece for opposing war.

Journey was a very good band, but the 70's were not quite the revolutionary time as the 60's were. Many of the ideals and musical trends of the 60's were co-opted by the music industry to put out radio-friendly music for the masses. The turbulent 60's had trickled into a more complacent 70's that did not want a repeat of the social upheaval of the previous decade.

It's like when I met Kip Winger several years ago, someone told him that he was up there with The Beatles and Bob Dylan as greatness goes. :confused:
Kip Winger is actually a very decent songwriter and musician, but I wouldn't put him on THAT level!! :lol:

I agree. I don't think any band will ever get to the level that The Beatles achieved. They were definitely a phenomenon that will never be repeated.

I'm not familiar with the band Journey. But I am a huge Beatles fan (have been
since the sixties). Other bands have always been compared to The Beatles --
from The Rolling Stones to The Monkees to The Bee Gees to even The New Kids
on the Block. The Beatles is the standard to be measured against, and that
level will never be reached by any group. But it is true that a lot of their initial
appeal had to do with the timing. They were right for that time in history. That
they have endured to this day, though, is due to the timeless quality of their
music.

I think there are much better candidates for the American Beatles than Journey. Bands like The Beach Boys, Chicago, and the Eagles I think are all better candidates. Journey was a cool band, Infact, I even bought there best hits cd recently, but I agree with you all. They don't even come close to being what the Beatles were from a popularity standpoint. I was only born in 1981, so my opinion probably doesn't mean much, but I doubt any band will ever be as big as the Beatles were. The Beatles are bigger today then most of our current popular bands are, and that really says something. The only band I ever saw who even came close to approaching the Beatles in popularity, was The Beach Boys, but even they were a long way off.

Various bands called the "American Beatles"

the Byrds (called that by George Harrison)
the Eagles (for their reputation as pop tunesmiths)
Steely Dan (for their innovation)
Kenny Rogers and the First Edition (I'm not kidding!!! :eek: )

Kenny Rogers and the First Edition (I'm not kidding!!! :eek: )

For their psychedelic tape loops on "Just Dropped In To See What Condition My Condition Was In."

I think there are much better candidates for the American Beatles than Journey. Bands like The Beach Boys, Chicago, and the Eagles I think are all better candidates. Journey was a cool band, Infact, I even bought there best hits cd recently, but I agree with you all. They don't even come close to being what the Beatles were from a popularity standpoint. I was only born in 1981, so my opinion probably doesn't mean much, but I doubt any band will ever be as big as the Beatles were. The Beatles are bigger today then most of our current popular bands are, and that really says something. The only band I ever saw who even came close to approaching the Beatles in popularity, was The Beach Boys, but even they were a long way off.

Little Mel, I appreciate your opinion, and your right Journey is a cool band, and Steve Perry's voice and Neal Schon's guitar are a great combo, along with all the other memebers that made up the band. May I recommend to you listening to their live CD "Captured" really good live playing.

TV Star made my point. He doesn't know who Journey is, but I can bet you 50 years from now everyone will still be talking about The Beatles.

Steve M, I thought the comparison of Journey was far reaching, but Kenny Rogers and the First Edition?????:lol: :lol: :lol: :crazy: :crazy:

Little Mel, I appreciate your opinion, and your right Journey is a cool band, and Steve Perry's voice and Neal Schon's guitar are a great combo, along with all the other memebers that made up the band. May I recommend to you listening to their live CD "Captured" really good live playing.

Thanks for the recommendation Jrnygrl!! :) My dad has virtually every record, and cd of Journey's, so the next time I see him, I'll definitely borrow it. I do have a live Journey cd as well, but it's not the one you mentioned. You're right though, they are amazing live!! From listening to the live album I have, it's obvious that they have very good, and passionate fans too, who really get into the music. You probably know this, but one of Journey's big hits played in the Academy Award winning movie Monster, and I literally get chills everytime I hear it. Steve Perry does have an amazing, and unique voice for sure.

By the way, what do you think of the Journey song "When You Love A Woman". I ask, because I know alot of Journey fans don't like this song, and I don't understand it. I know it came out in the mid 90's, and I think it was done without Steve Perry, but I thought it was a beautiful song, and is actually one of my top three favorite Journey songs. I'm just kind of curious what you think of it??

Thanks for the recommendation Jrnygrl!! :) My dad has virtually every record, and cd of Journey's, so the next time I see him, I'll definitely borrow it. I do have a live Journey cd as well, but it's not the one you mentioned. You're right though, they are amazing live!! From listening to the live album I have, it's obvious that they have very good, and passionate fans too, who really get into the music. You probably know this, but one of Journey's big hits played in the Academy Award winning movie Monster, and I literally get chills everytime I hear it. Steve Perry does have an amazing, and unique voice for sure.

By the way, what do you think of the Journey song "When You Love A Woman". I ask, because I know alot of Journey fans don't like this song, and I don't understand it. I know it came out in the mid 90's, and I think it was done without Steve Perry, but I thought it was a beautiful song, and is actually one of my top three favorite Journey songs. I'm just kind of curious what you think of it??


I saw Monster, and to hear Steve's voice on the theater audio system was incredible. I stayed for the credits just to hear the entire song.;)

I really like WYLAW. It is one of my favorites. I think its much better than Open Arms. It shows their maturity. In fact this is Journey's only Grammy nominated song, and I think they would have won if it weren't for the fact that they were nominated against The Beatles, who won for Free As A Bird.

:rock: :rockon: :drummer: :guitar:

Steve M, I thought the comparison of Journey was far reaching, but Kenny Rogers and the First Edition?????:lol: :lol: :lol: :crazy: :crazy:


Jrnygrl, that's what Kenny Rogers himself insisted when he was asked about that particular song. I kid you not. But it's probably a better comparison than, say, to the Knack. The were actually compared to the Beatles for a few minutes in 1979. :eek:

I thought REO Speedwagon were the American Beatles.

;)

I agree. I don't think any band will ever get to the level that The Beatles achieved. They were definitely a phenomenon that will never be repeated.
:yeahthat - and I'm a hard-core Steve Perry/Journey fan!!

I wish Journey and Perry would set aside the differences. No matter how many "he sounds just like Steve Perry" singers they hire, nobody will ever take Perry's place. It says a lot that they hire people who sound just like Perry instead of doing the Van Halen/Queen thing and hiring a new singer who is completely unlike him.

Not totally on topic with this, but I don't understand why critics STILL hate Journey so much.

I know in the early 80's, the arena rock groups were the bane of the critics, but I think time was Journey's friend. While groups like Survivor and REO Speedwagon fell by the wayside, people continued to still listen to Journey. Yet some critics still think they look so cool by bashing them. I remember last year when The Sopranos used "Don't Stop Believin'" for it's infamous anti-climatic finale, this local indie paper did a write-up and bashed the choice for the usage of that song. These are the type of snobs who salivate over Arcade Fire and My Morning Jacket, but the mere mention of Journey churns their stomach. IMO, it's time to come around and accept that they were a good band, at least during Escape. If they were so terrible, then why do they continue to draw in new fans 25 years later while groups like REO Speedwagon, Styx and Survivor have to do package tours to get people to see them at this point in time? I know, I'm not saying album sales make an artist good or bad, but it's time for critics to reassess their opinion about Journey, because there's gotta be a reason why people are still listening to them and buying their albums in bulk (Greatest Hits has sold 14 million) while their rival artists have all faded from view. Come on, "Don't Stop Believin'" was a PERFECT song to use on that show, and people still love the song 27 years later, so I don't get where the critics are coming from bashing the usage of it, because it if was really that godawful a song, it wouldn't still be picking up new fans every year.

Not totally on topic with this, but I don't understand why critics STILL hate Journey so much.

I know in the early 80's, the arena rock groups were the bane of the critics, but I think time was Journey's friend. While groups like Survivor and REO Speedwagon fell by the wayside, people continued to still listen to Journey. Yet some critics still think they look so cool by bashing them. I remember last year when The Sopranos used "Don't Stop Believin'" for it's infamous anti-climatic finale, this local indie paper did a write-up and bashed the choice for the usage of that song. These are the type of snobs who salivate over Arcade Fire and My Morning Jacket, but the mere mention of Journey churns their stomach. IMO, it's time to come around and accept that they were a good band, at least during Escape. If they were so terrible, then why do they continue to draw in new fans 25 years later while groups like REO Speedwagon, Styx and Survivor have to do package tours to get people to see them at this point in time? I know, I'm not saying album sales make an artist good or bad, but it's time for critics to reassess their opinion about Journey, because there's gotta be a reason why people are still listening to them and buying their albums in bulk (Greatest Hits has sold 14 million) while their rival artists have all faded from view. Come on, "Don't Stop Believin'" was a PERFECT song to use on that show, and people still love the song 27 years later, so I don't get where the critics are coming from bashing the usage of it, because it if was really that godawful a song, it wouldn't still be picking up new fans every year.

Dave Marsh hated them for what he calls their "Stepford Wives rock" cynically designed to fir into FM rock playlists. Marsh is on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame board, so don't ever except Jounrey to be inducted.

Dave Marsh hated them for what he calls their "Stepford Wives rock" cynically designed to fir into FM rock playlists. Marsh is on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame board, so don't ever except Jounrey to be inducted.
yea, I know as long as Jann Werner is alive, we'll never see Rush or Chicago in there either, even tho I think both bands earned their place in the HOF. I'm not so sure Journey is HOF worthy, they released a lot of great songs, but they never really did anything groundbreaking that anyone before or after didn't, but the songs were so good that people are still buying that Greatest Hits album twenty years later.

Journey was an AWESOME band, and I still love their music (although I haven't heard any of their newer stuff-I heard they recorded some post-80's stuff). Still, I wouldn't compare them to the Beatles at all. Not even close. Although, in high school they were definitely "The Band"! Well, them and Foreigner!

Andrea

I wish Journey and Perry would set aside the differences. No matter how many "he sounds just like Steve Perry" singers they hire, nobody will ever take Perry's place. It says a lot that they hire people who sound just like Perry instead of doing the Van Halen/Queen thing and hiring a new singer who is completely unlike him.
:yeahthat :yourock: :clap