Neal Schon rig rundown

[stephen sawall]

Yikes.....

 

[Gainzilla]

Saw him live last two tours, wasn't real impressed. Neil Geraldo w/Pat Benetar owned him like a rented mule recently, and Brad from Night Ranger did the same in 2010. Not only was his tone pretty generic, but he did the Schon Formula Solo each time - really fast picked flurries alternated with soulful melodic passages. NOTHING in between. It was like listening to someone alternately possessed by Yngwie and then Leslie West of Mountain. very boring after awhile.

Really Pete? I saw Giraldo and Benatar back in March and was pretty underwhelmed which surprises me because Ive always been a huge NG fan. He wasnt nearly as drenched as Schon in recent years but there was no owning going on or anything near it. I dont know if I agree with the YJM/ Leslie West Comparo but I have to tell ya, I wouldnt mind being able to be one part Malmsteen, one part West. Ill take that any day..

As much of a Neal Schon Fanboi as I am, I havent seen Journey in years. I just missed seeing them at the Bradley center in Brooklyn on the Eve of Sandy. The last time I saw him was when he toured with Soul Sirkus and there was so much delay and chorus going on, the venue should have provided personal flotation devices underneath the seats...

Theres no doubt that Schon still has it but I think that relentless touring is a bad thing. I cant imagine being able to sustain that for all of these years and not have it affect your performances. I think that hes been on autopilot , phoning it all in and looking for a paycheck. At the very least, he gets his act together in the studio and never fails to deliver solid playing ( for the most part) especially his solo stuff...

Kage

 

[memberzonly]

For me, he lost his tonal 'way' after Hardline.