Journey 180g Vinyl remaster reviews?

[singhcr]

I'm a really big Journey fan and I have all of their albums aside from Raised on Radio, which I have yet to get on LP.

I found out that many of their albums have been remastered from the original reel to reel tapes and pressed onto 180g vinyl.

I've been particularly looking at Escape: http://www.musicdirect.com/p-11622-j...n-180g-lp.aspx

However, I know that a re-master isn't always the best thing, especially considering that many people will just turn up the overall volume and run excessive noise reduction to remove tape hiss, but will severely lessen the dynamic range of the recording. I like the idea of 180g vinyl, but maybe I should just buy a better copy of the original LP to replace the one that I have.

Does anyone have any experience with this album or the remastering team?

[Troy73]

Slightly off/on topic, have you checked out "Eclipse" yet? I was very impressed with this one compared to "Revelation" the last release. As far as your question goes, I would take a chance given the price point. You may be impressed and personal hearing is a better deciding factor than someone else's opinion. From my experience re-masters, as far as cds go, are hit and miss. Sometimes it's the best thing that ever happened to an album and others....In regards to vinyl, I have no idea how much better or worse the outcome maybe. But, again, I would be curious and try it to see.

[singhcr]

I listened to a bit of the new album and wasn't very impressed. Frankly, I find it annoying that they are using a Steve Perry impressionist as the lead singer instead of finding a new sound. Steve has one of the most distinct voices ever and to try and copy it is insulting. Journey is coming to Saint Paul, MN in a few weeks and while I was tempted to go, I don't really want to hear Pineda covering a bunch of songs that were sung by Perry. Every time I heard him sing, I just thought how Perry would be better.

I really wish the band would get back together with Steve, as "Trial by Fire" retained the Journey sound but was a unique style as the lyrics reflected how the members of the band had changed as they had become older. However, Perry's voice was as silky as ever, and it was a treat to hear him again. Now, this is coming from a 27 year old male who hadn't heard much Journey until a year ago. I could only imagine the joy of those who had waited for Journey to start recording for 12 years or so after Raised on Radio. If Journey thinks they are doing well with Pineda, just imagine how popular they'd be if they brought back Steve Perry!

A similar situation happened with Creed some years ago. Scott Stapp had a very distinct vocal style and it would be foolish to replace him with someone who was trying to sound like him, as fans would keep thinking of Stapp. Instead, they went with Miles Kennedy, who has a very different style and range. It took a while to get used to it, but I really like Alter Bridge now and I can still listen to Creed if I want to hear Stapp.

[Troy73]

The problem is, Journey without a "Steve Perry type" lead vocalist doesn't work. Jeff Scott Soto, who is an awesome vocalist, sang for the band on tour and he tore it up. However, his overall fan reception was underwhelming at best. He's the only of the 3 singers since Perry left that didn't try to imitate his style. The reality of it is, unless Journey wants to go into a different musical direction, they need to have a front man that at least sounds somewhat like Perry because that's their trademark sound.

[dwr]

Hi guys, while I am not a big Journey fan, I will comment on the re-master part of the discussion. Re-masters of LPs aren't really any different than the cds when it comes to the quality of the re-master, some are great and others just leave you scratching your head. I have also found that the ones that are done well like King Crimson - In The Court Of The Crimson King are good on either cd or vinyl. Also if you are looking for a good source for original LPs search Records By Mail (recordsbymail.com) they have real good selections and I have found their grading sytem is very accurate and can be trusted. I have purchased some real good copies of older LPs from them.

Dan

[Steelmaker]

Originally Posted by Troy73

The problem is, Journey without a "Steve Perry type" lead vocalist doesn't work. Jeff Scott Soto, who is an awesome vocalist, sang for the band on tour and he tore it up. However, his overall fan reception was underwhelming at best. He's the only of the 3 singers since Perry left that didn't try to imitate his style. The reality of it is, unless Journey wants to go into a different musical direction, they need to have a front man that at least sounds somewhat like Perry because that's their trademark sound.

I would agree with this. I think Journey at this stage of their career cannot afford to go looking for a new sound. They are all either approaching 60 or already there. Their "sound" is well established in the minds of their fans and at this point it would be stupid to deviate from that. They know what works and finding Arnel Pineda to take over as lead singer was nothing short of a God-given miracle. Yes Arnel does sound a lot like Perry but have you seen any of their dvd concerts with Arnel? He is a VERY energetic and entertaining frontman and wins the crowd over every time with his humble attitude. Plus as much as Perry fans don't want to hear this, the truth is Perry could not cut it in Journey today. His voice is NOT what it used to be and frankly he couldn't handle the songs. They would seriously have to create new arrangments to every song because he cannot hit those notes anymore. Personally I LOVE this version of Journey and am grateful they are still around, making music. What's Perry doing these days?

[singhcr]

Well, the idea that Journey shouldn't change their sound as they're well-established with the sound that they have makes a lot of sense, but it's still hard for me to shake the idea that I'm listening to an impersenation of Steve Perry.

I guess I'll give the new album another listen to and see if I can get used to it, as I am really tempted to go to that concert in St. Paul!

[seangodschild]

Saw them live last year (even got to meet them), and i gotta say, as much as I absolutely place Perry on a pop/rock pedestal, Arnel Pineda is exactly that-- a Godsend. For the band AND for the fans. He's the real deal, and yet he has all the respect (adoration) in the world for Steve, and he stays humble. WIN!

[singhcr]

I decided to give it a shot and listen to "Eclipse" again. Despite being a huge Steve Perry fan, I'm won over. Arnel Pineda has a great voice, and to me it no longer sounds like he's trying to impersonate Perry's. I must admit that as a whole I prefer the overall sound of the earlier Journey albums like "Infinity", "Evolution", and "Frontiers" in particular, Pineda has a wonderful range and I think he has a bright future ahead of him. While I now regret missing that Journey concert, I don't think I would have been able to enjoy it at the time.

I would give anything to have Perry come back on tour to hear my favorite songs live, but that's unlikely to happen. This is Journey for my generation now, and now that I think about it I can't really think of a person better suited to take over than Pineda.

The only downside with this release is that it is on CD. There is an LP import floating around but I suspect it's just a copy of the CD master (go "modern" technology, huzzah! ). Does anyone have the LP copy of "Eclipse"?

[singhcr]

The Greatest Hits albums are out!

http://www.deepdiscount.com/lp/JOURN...TS-180-G-VINYL
http://www.deepdiscount.com/lp/JOURN...S-886979342316

[un4gvn94538]

Originally Posted by singhcr

The Greatest Hits albums are out!

http://www.deepdiscount.com/lp/JOURN...TS-180-G-VINYL
http://www.deepdiscount.com/lp/JOURN...S-886979342316

elusive disc has the same release date as nov. 1. i guess they fixed whatever went wrong. gonna keep an eye on amazons price. amazon is suppose to notify me when they update the product page

[IntelliVolume]

Funny I stumbled on this topic, as I have been contemplating getting Legacy's two-LP release of Journey's Greatest Hits, reissued on 180-gram vinyl and spread over two disks to enhance fidelity (a problem with the original vinyl release of this album, which I own and purchased when it came out circa 1988/1989, as they packed way too many tracks onto each side of the LP, causing horrific inner groove distortion upon playback)...

Does anyone have any information about this Legacy/Sony release of Journey's Greatest Hits on 180-gram vinyl? Does it sound at least as good as the original CD release (which I also own, and which, quite frankly, isn't all that "great" either in terms of dynamics and compression...seems to be a "Journey mastering thing")?

[sa5150]

Hard to say but i have heard lots of reviews that vinyl being called 180gm is a big gimmick . I'm trying to find the perfect Journey albums for SQ and so far I have not had much luck . that last remasters were crap and the 20bit ones are lifeless .

[IntelliVolume]

Originally Posted by sa5150

Hard to say but i have heard lots of reviews that vinyl being called 180gm is a big gimmick . I'm trying to find the perfect Journey albums for SQ and so far I have not had much luck . that last remasters were crap and the 20bit ones are lifeless .

Thanks for the reply to this old topic, sa (funny -- those are my initials). Indeed, the thickness of the vinyl isn't the judging parameter, it comes down to how the tracks were mastered and engineered in the studio...and it seems like there's just no effort anymore, being that most of these "indie house" labels reissuing many of the albums are run by millennials.

With regard to Journey, the Greatest Hits remaster was a major disappointment, as I understand Steve Perry and some other members of the band were personally involved in supervising the transfer of these tracks to vinyl and hi-res; it sure doesn't sound like it, though, as my 180-gram Legacy reissue comes off as harsh, sibilant and downright unlistenable in certain places. What's worse, they spread the album over two LPs for maximum fidelity in the grooves, yet the tracks are still packed tightly on each side and there is still inner groove distortion galore.

I'm tempted to buy the Greatest Hits yet a fourth time (I have Columbia's original vinyl LP plus the original CD, now this remastered vinyl) on the remastered CD, but if you're saying most of them sound like shit, well...

[sa5150]

Originally Posted by IntelliVolume

Thanks for the reply to this old topic, sa (funny -- those are my initials). Indeed, the thickness of the vinyl isn't the judging parameter, it comes down to how the tracks were mastered and engineered in the studio...and it seems like there's just no effort anymore, being that most of these "indie house" labels reissuing many of the albums are run by millennials.

With regard to Journey, the Greatest Hits remaster was a major disappointment, as I understand Steve Perry and some other members of the band were personally involved in supervising the transfer of these tracks to vinyl and hi-res; it sure doesn't sound like it, though, as my 180-gram Legacy reissue comes off as harsh, sibilant and downright unlistenable in certain places. What's worse, they spread the album over two LPs for maximum fidelity in the grooves, yet the tracks are still packed tightly on each side and there is still inner groove distortion galore.

I'm tempted to buy the Greatest Hits yet a fourth time (I have Columbia's original vinyl LP plus the original CD, now this remastered vinyl) on the remastered CD, but if you're saying most of them sound like shit, well...

Wow , I would have thought they should have done a good job on those 2 vinyls . I don't have a record player anymore but I'm thinking about it with cds being made with no dynamics and distorted these days .I'd rather try SACD but as for Journey there are no good ones yet. I guess from a DR point of view the original hits vinyl has the best sound but I can't really get passes the bad quality records were made like back then . Some one need to do these classic albums some justice maybe they can try Blu-ray-pure audio which has potential . What do you think of all the vinyl versions , Is it woth looking into ? Thanks

[IntelliVolume]

Originally Posted by sa5150

Wow , I would have thought they should have done a good job on those 2 vinyls . I don't have a record player anymore but I'm thinking about it with cds being made with no dynamics and distorted these days .I'd rather try SACD but as for Journey there are no good ones yet. I guess from a DR point of view the original hits vinyl has the best sound but I can't really get passes the bad quality records were made like back then . Some one need to do these classic albums some justice maybe they can try Blu-ray-pure audio which has potential . What do you think of all the vinyl versions , Is it woth looking into ? Thanks

The problem with the vinyl back in those late-80's days (when the Greatest Hits was initially released) was that with the popularity of Compact Disc, the labels just weren't putting much quality control into the records -- they were often jam-smashed full of tracks on each side, so the grooves were ridiculously thin and hard to track for a stylus (unless it's a micro-line) and the end songs were riddled with inner groove distortion. This is apparent on the Journey's Greatest Hits original LP release, as well as other albums from this time on vinyl such as Def Leppard's Hysteria and Fleetwood Mac's Tango in the Night...

I don't know about the individual Journey releases on vinyl, if that's what you're asking about, as I have only purchased their Greatest Hits album on vinyl and CD (it collects enough of the tracks I'm a fan of).

[sa5150]

Originally Posted by IntelliVolume

The problem with the vinyl back in those late-80's days (when the Greatest Hits was initially released) was that with the popularity of Compact Disc, the labels just weren't putting much quality control into the records -- they were often jam-smashed full of tracks on each side, so the grooves were ridiculously thin and hard to track for a stylus (unless it's a micro-line) and the end songs were riddled with inner groove distortion. This is apparent on the Journey's Greatest Hits original LP release, as well as other albums from this time on vinyl such as Def Leppard's Hysteria and Fleetwood Mac's Tango in the Night...

I don't know about the individual Journey releases on vinyl, if that's what you're asking about, as I have only purchased their Greatest Hits album on vinyl and CD (it collects enough of the tracks I'm a fan of).

Thats some good info , Do you know what are good labels to be looking for from vinyl ? Trying to find the best Boston Boston and all the remasters are quite poor , Wish they would do a sacd . What do you think of Hd tracks ?