Steve's Heart


I watched this film yesterday and thought about it last night and all day today. It's taken me awhile to work out my feelings about Arnel and the "new" Journey. btw, I gave this documentary 9 stars because it was beautifully done, and it really affected me. Anyway, my thoughts are this, for what it's worth.

To see Arnel perform with the band, it takes my breath away, because when I close my eyes, I am literally hearing Steve's voice SUPERNATURALLY come out of Arnel. I'm transported to early/mid-80s. And it looks like the older band members feel the same way and truly cannot believe their luck--they miraculously get to relive their heydey all over again(!). It's almost paranormal. HOW does Arnel copy Steve to literally each micro-intonation? It gives me goosebumps from head to toe. As Deen jokes to Arnel, "You scare the *beep* outta me, man."

On the other hand, I suddenly feel deeply empty, and here's why. Steve Perry's gift is not just the voice, power, and incredible range God gave him; it's the gift Steve gives to listeners. What always struck me about Steve, more than any other artist, is the generosity with which he sings. He is an artist who seems to singularly unzip protective emotional layers and expose his deepest heart and soul when he sings. What a profoundly personal piece of himself he gives. And what mad respect that deserves.

No wonder Steve is so private otherwise; he pours so much of himself out when he sings. Just search YouTube for any performance of him singing. Look at his face. You'll find him looking like he's singing for the last time in his life, for a very dear loved-one. He puts that much of himself into each song, every time. What an incredible gift -- to his audience.

I can not imagine how any human can do that, to that degree, and still be able to get through the day emotionally. When I read a recent interview where Steve displays some ambivalence about coming out with his new songs, I think I can understand why. (I would so love to hear his new songs, but I hope more so that he ultimately chooses whichever is right for him at this point in his life. I imagine there must be a steep emotional price for him to pay, either way.)

Ok so, all that to say, in the context of what Steve has laid bare with his voice/heart/soul, I can't help but feel a terrible loss when I see Arnel essentially plagiarizing his every intonation. They belong to Steve. The lyrics and tunes may be owned by the record company, but the Voice belongs to Steve. HIS Voice/Heart/Soul should be his to choose to share anew OR to put a boundary up and choose not to share anew.

It's not illegal, of course. Yet it feels like Arnel sort of (un)ethically snatches that choice out of Steve's hands when he imitates him to the vast degree that he does, and it's creepy. I truly do appreciate Arnel and his story, but it actually hurts me to hear him singing and to not be able to tell if it is Steve Perry. On the surface, it's a novelty; in reality, Arnel's faux-Steve fools me, and I don't like it. God bless him, but it feels counterfeit and as though he, and the band, are making off with something quite sacred that isn't theirs to exploit--The songs, yes. Steve's "Voice," no.

Why can't Arnel sing with this own voice? What does Arnel's own voice even sound like?

Of course, one can argue that no one would show up to listen if it was Arnel's voice instead of his Steve-parroting. And, though it may be legal... how is it right? (I suppose when it comes to Profit, there is no "right.") As someone who respects Steve's generosity of heart in his performances, it just feels wrong to me. So when I'm feeling nostalgic, I will purchase/listen to the old records with the actual Steve Perry. As for Arnel, I'd really love to hear HIS Voice someday.


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This was a very well written post. They show Arnel singing some other songs on youtube at the beginning of the documentary (Rush, Bon Jovi, etc.) and he seems to be able to mimic those guys very well also. As for his own voice, they do show him singing one of his own songs about 1/2 way through the doc. I appreciate your intelligent take on this and the fact that a pure Steve Perry fan as yourself can generously accept what Arnel is doing without lambasting him for just being a (really good) mimic of Perry.

I grew up listening to Perry's velvet voice and honestly cannot tell the difference between him and Arnel when I close my eyes, but I think I would definitely rather hear the Journey classics done by Perry or someone that sounds exactly like him (Arnel) rather than someone with a totally different voice.

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DId you even watch and comprehend the documentary at all? You do realize that it's at the band's request that Arnel sings like Steve don't you? They're not trying to turn a new page of Journey. They're trying to recapture the essence of the classic top ten Journey of the 80s and in order to do that, the most important piece of the puzzle is the vocals. Since Perry can no longer carry on but the band still wants to, they have to have someone else singing. Arnel does a great job. He's about as close to Perry's voice as you can get. But as far as his own vocal style, he probably won't get the chance to do that with Journey unless they decide to record new original material and move away from the 80s style. The only reason they reunited was to capitalize on their Sopranos fame.

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