Listed below are the highlights relating to Jeff Scott Soto. (Check out the last article relating to future plans for Journey!!!)
ALBUM
OF THE YEAR 3rd PLACE
Talisman
'7'
Heralded
as their swansong release, this was also a very
important release for Jeff Scott Soto and the band.
And they nailed it. Just like Toto, Talisman took
elements of their past records and mixed it all into
one record, with a couple of fresh new twists for
good value. Great songs a fresh vibe and overall, a
really consistent record that runs very smoothly
start to finish.
The
winners of the Top 3 albums Of 2006 (and Andrew!) as
drawn by Michael Ward (Wardy).
BEST
COMPILATION OR LIVE ALBUM:
1.
Honeymoon Suite - Feel It Again (The
Anthology)
2.
Danger Danger - Live And
Nude
3.
Foreigner - Live In
'05
4. Jeff Scott Soto - The Essential
Ballads
5. Scandal - We Are The
80s
6.
Whitesnake - Live In The Shadow
Of The Blues
7.
The Rembrandts - Greatest
Hits
8.
Treat - Weapons Of
Choice
9.
Cinderella - Extended Versions
(Live)
10.
Poison - 25 Years Of Rock
(The Best Of...)
Also
Talisman were listed in the Song Of The Year
category:
4.
Talisman
-
The 1 I'm Living For
23.
Talisman
-
Succumb To My Desire
And in Honorable Mentions:
Talisman
-
Nowhere Fast
Talisman
-
Falling
Jeff
Scott Soto -
Last Mistake
Bassist
of the year:
Marcel
Jacob (Talisman)
Awarded for some truly superb funk and bass slapping
grooves on the Talisman
album.
He is an underrated talent and the album was made
even more special by the fact Marcel also supplied
much of the guitar work.
THE
BIGGEST STORY OF 2006
(by
Andrew McNeice at
www.melodicrock.com)
I
guess I would have to describe 2006 as featuring the
very best experiences I have enjoyed whilst running
this site and also the very worst. And to show just
what a complex world this is, both experiences
revolved around the same band -
Journey.
When the controversy surrounding vocalist
Steve Augeri's
alleged use of backing tapes broke, it was on my
message board. There has been talk of this issue for
some time previous, long before it broke out early in
2006 - but I never wanted my message boards to be the
focal point of the
controversy.
Over the years I have allowed the boards to be known
as a place where free speech is allowed so long as
personal attacks are not made.
But,
being that this was such an emotive and complex
issue, with so many people very passionate about
their respective opinions, it was not long before all
hell broke loose and I was caught very much in the
middle.
I did my best to allow everyone to have their say,
but with two clear and defined points of view being
so far apart, the board quickly turned into a
nightmare to moderate.
Safe to say that I lost a great deal of time out of
my year to that board.
I recall getting messages thanking me for allowing
the debate to be conducted; messages demanding that I
stop the debate and ban those that mention it;
messages that I was being too controlling or not
controlling enough; messages claiming that I was part
of a conspiracy started by the band to oust their
singer (seriously!!); messages claming that I was
supporting a fraud by not speaking out about it more
and still more....you name it.
The reality was far less exciting. The
Journey message board
was running rampant and I was left to deal with the
mess. That was my role in this - cleaner. Cleaning up
the crap left on my board between warring factions of
the
Journey
fanbase.
The whole allegation of tape use was a huge story,
except no one was going to go on record about it. Why
would they? It was a no win
situation.
In
the end I made a fairly broad statement outlining the
issue on my front page. A lot of people understood
where I was coming from. Most did. I was trying to be
diplomatic and I tried to force the issue back on the
band - pleading for them to make a statement to try
and bring the issue and the fanbase to a point where
things could move forward....except I knew they would
not comment. They will deal with it somewhere down
the line, but I expect it will be done so with as few
words as possible.
Like I said, most could see where I was coming from
and could understand that I was trying to straddle a
very thin fence, without falling over into any
particular side.
Yet, still some folks demanded that I take a side.
Demanded - not asked. Demanded.
Basically I wasn't ever about to cover what was one
of the biggest stories I have covered without anyone
from anywhere going on
record!
Eight dates in to the 2006 US tour with Def Leppard,
singer
Steve Augeri
left the tour with throat/vocal problems and was
replaced by
Jeff Scott Soto,
who as we all know, was made permanent just before
the end of the year.
The events of 2006 are well known and have been
covered enough, but the problems among the fan base
only intensified.
I was left with a choice to heavily moderate the
message board or simply do my best to control it and
let people have their say - get it off their chests
so to speak. I think that we are now already on the
path back though. Things since the announcement
of
JSS
as singer, things have been progressively more
peaceful and I expect this year to be a far more
sedate affair for online fans.
Back to the band though. The
Journey
legacy has always been a complex affair as there were
two distinct factions to their fanbase. Now we have a
third. The division caused by the controversies of
the past year will take a long time to heal and I'm
not sure some will ever forgive what happened. But I
also believe that
JSS
is the man to help heal the
divisions.
But for
Journey
and for me, a lot of good has come from this year
also.
Jeff
Scott Soto
clearly did a stand up job for the guys when asked to
join the tour and as his confidence grew, so did the
respect from the crowd and the positive reviews of
the tour performances - from both fans and critics
alike.
Everyone knows
JSS
and I are buds - a friendship grew from my early
coverage of the singer on my site and eventual hook
up to bring him to Australia for a tour and his
ongoing involvement with
Neal Schon
- who I originally gave Jeff's phone numbers
to.
I was sad to see
Steve Augeri
leave
Journey -
yes, I was sad. Why wouldn't I be? I have supported
and championed this band and this line-up since my
earliest days online and have interviewed Steve a few
times and met him in person once. Tremendously nice
guy and someone who I have a lot of respect for. No
one wants to see a situation like this go down and no
one wants to see fans that have devoted their time
and hearts to that line-up, upset and
despondent.
At the same time I was rapt to see
JSS
get his big chance - long over due and just so
fantastic to see him playing to bigger audience sizes
and in turn to see them responding to his stage
persona. I'd be thrilled to see Jeff fronting any
major band, so much better that it is a band that
were already a personal favourite.
That point brings me to the upside of the
Journey
year - as you all know the band had me as their guest
in LA to cover 2 shows and to do interviews with the
guys before one of the shows. To bring everything
back and present it as a big feature - the first for
the new line-up.
To
be in LA with the guys was a huge honor and it was of
course great to spend some time hanging out with Jeff
again.
I put more work into the
Journey
feature than any other special artist feature before
and I was overwhelmed with the response from most
towards it.
It definitely set the bar higher for site features
(aside from the annual
MelRock Awards
I think) and I am hoping that I will get the chance
to do something similar again in the not too distant
future. I also learnt a few things from doing the
feature that I will improve upon next time
around.
Sadly the feature was not without its own
controversies. Obviously dedicated fans of
Steve Augeri
were hurt by the contents of the band interviews -
there was little reference to Steve and some spent
considerable time reading stuff into the interviews
that in reality really wasn't there at
all.
The feature and the interviews was all about moving
forward and that was my focus.
Deen
Castronovo
was the one hit hardest - something which I still
fail to understand. Perhaps the written word can look
more emotion free in the absence of a one on one or
video interview. The fact is that Deen was a great
supporter of Steve and those that attacked him for
not being sympathetic enough have quickly forgotten
that it was Deen that helped Steve though many tough
times.
It
was Deen who would fill in high notes when requested,
it was Deen who took on a few of the ballads to allow
Steve time to rest during the lengthy shows and it
was Deen that reluctantly stood out front for Steve,
when he clearly couldn't go on during that last US
show in June.
The criticism of Deen was unwarranted and I hope
people realize that. At the time I interviewed him,
he had just lost his step father, who he was very
close to and had a very emotional family base on and
off the phone to him constantly. To be able to
concentrate on anything, let alone give a coherent
interview and then hit one out of the park on stage
is a credit to him.
No
one is asking anyone to forget Steve or the events of
2006, but Deen is not the fall
guy.
And for that matter - nor am I. After the positives
of the feature had died down, it was time for some of
the Augeri fan base to have their say and once again
I was caught in the crossfire of an angry mob. I
don't hold that against anyone, but was very
disappointed at some of the comments that came my
way. Again, the product of a divided fan base and a
number of people unhappy with how things were dealt
with by the band and management.
Time heals all wounds and I hope 2007 brings closure
to those upset with the events of 2006. No doubt
a
Steve Augeri
solo record and the unearthed second
Tall Stories
record will go a considerable way to
help.
And
what of the future plans for
Journey?
Andrew
McNeice writes...
Journey...yeah,
let's get straight to the biggie! You all know that
the anticipation and expectation behind a new studio
album is going to be huge. In fact, bigger than huge.
But we'll have to wait for early 2008 for this I
think. First up the band have another idea. This is
not yet set in stone, but there is an idea to get
together before mid-year and re-record some of the
band's classic songs. Yes, you read correctly.
2
new Journey albums in the
pipeline if this idea comes to fruition, although at
this stage it is not yet guaranteed. As with
everything to do with the band's back catalogue of
tunes, Steve
Perry must first sign off
on this idea.
As
stated earlier in this feature, the re-recording
one's hit songs (especially with a new singer) will
trigger debate among fans, but I have heard Jeff
record 4 classic Journey tracks in the studio himself
and he really sounds fantastic and very much at home,
so I have no reason to doubt this record will be
amazing and a fresh and interesting alternative to
the originals (which obviously will never be replaced
or overtaken).
The
on to that all-new studio album - the one everyone is
waiting for. Will it be released this year? Not if
the re-recorded hits album comes together. The new
album should be recorded later this year, but will
likely be held over for an early 2008 release. We'll
know more about this by mid-year.
The fans long for a true classic and the band (with
new frontman Jeff
Scott Soto) knows they must
deliver a classic. I have no doubt this could be the
band's best release since the
80s.
I
don't want to hear any talk of Soul
Sirkus, the guys know what
fans want to hear. It will be a true
Journey
album
without doubt.
The entirety
of this article has been reproduced with kind
permission from Andrew McNeice at
www.melodicrock.com!