One of My Pre-Journey Fav's By Knell

[JRNYMAN]

From his self-titled album the song is titled, "It's Over".
The guitar work in this song is masterful. Listen especially to the end of the guitar solo when the solo segues back to the chorus right before Knell starts singing again. The guitarist does a spiraling, lightning-fast run up the neck of the guitar. You have to listen carefully to really appreciate it but it's good stuff!  Very reminiscent of Eddie VH meets Eric Johnson meets Yngwie.... if that's even possible. LOL!
And one for the "then and now" files, listen to his diction on this song vs. his diction on some of the same words now. And before anyone even thinks about flaming me because I brought up the "d" word (diction) STOP! I'm not criticizing the way he pronounced the words then vs. now. I'm merely pointing out a noticeable difference in the way he sings now vs. back then. Besides.... everyone knows I love the hyperactive dude! LOL!

Anyway, enjoy.

It's Over.mp3

[Cat A.]

Thanks for posting/sharing this Steve. This is the first time I've heard this and I like it..
Don't you worry, I do know that you're not criticizing but merely pointing out.....
And of course, everyone knows that you're a true friend/fan of Arnel, so even if you do criticize him, someday, they know it will be a constructive one...

Cat

[budokan]

Thanks for sharing this. Yes, a lot of noticeable difference. He sounds really good!!!

LOL, I know you're not criticizing. It's a fact, anyway. I mean, the diction. Go Arnel!

[JRNYMAN]

budokan said:

Thanks for sharing this. Yes, a lot of noticeable difference. He sounds really good!!!
LOL, I know you're not criticizing. It's a fact, anyway. I mean, the diction. Go Arnel!

I'm fairly sure no-one would think that I was but having been present and lived to tell about the near-riot days when he was being criticized for his diction by loyal fans as well as ' not-so-much' fans, I took a few notes and learned a few things about my adopted Pinoy brothers and sisters....
Note 1. They are about as passionate and protective of a nationality as they come.
Note 2. Never, and I mean N E V E R criticize their most famous native son because if you do you will quickly be educated as to the truth of Note 1. LOL!
And to tell you the God's honest truth, I was just not hearing what the naysayers had their respective knickers in a twist about. I mean, the diction thing was the furthest thing from my mind at that point.... I was more concerned with him singing the ACTUAL CORRECT words to all of the songs for God's sake!!! LMAO!!
He and I were talking one night about the Chile show and the discussion was on the lyrics prompter which was mainstay at center stage for all of the first tour. He said that he really only needed it when they were doing a song which was not one of the Dirty Dozen - to which I laughingly coughed and blurted out, "Bullshit!" He laughed and said, "Okay maybe there's a few words here and there that I may have messed up...." Staying with that topic, I asked him if there was a part of the Chile show that stood out as his more forgettable moment and he said, "Of course there was. It was when I went out on the catwalk during Wheel and I was running around, slapping hands and I forgot that there was a break in the music near the end of the song where the music actually stops and then starts again. When I heard the break I thought I had missed the ending and should have been back with them on the stage. I panicked!" And he did too. If you watch that part of the show fortunately the camera is trained clearly and tightly on him when that happens and he has a look of sheer terror on his face for a brier moment.
"Diction, shmiction.... Sing the right damn lyrics first then we'll work on pronouncing them correctly!" I told him. That's another giant area where his humility shines through like a beacon. He can laugh at himself because he doesn't take the fact that to everyone in the free world he's A R N E L P I N E D A, the lead singer of Journey but to himself he's just.... well... he's just him.

[budokan]

Your Arnel encounter puts a smile on my face. Didn't doubt for a minute his innate humility and his ability to laugh at himself, he's got that happy disposition. Hey, everytime he comes to mind, it's his beaming happy smile I see LOL. With the kind of pressure and stress that comes with touring, I'm sure that comes handy.

Thanks again for sharing your encounter with Arnel, I hope to meet him myself...soon.

Next ... I'm going to watch that Chile show again!!!!

[maristela]

arnel pineda is not even born here neither he is an american!!! so, why the diction??? we filipinos understand and speak english but diction wise not to good.we know how to use past and present tense and a perfectionist in terms of spelling and grammar but diction wise we are not unless we were born here or grew up here from an early years.period and thank you!!.

[JRNYMAN]

maristela said:

arnel pineda is not even born here neither he is an american!!! so, why the diction??? we filipinos understand and speak english but diction wise not to good.we know how to use past and present tense and a perfectionist in terms of spelling and grammar but diction wise we are not unless we were born here or grew up here from an early years.period and thank you!!.

Whoa maristela.... you're reading my response to the "diction ' issue completely backwards. I'm poking fun at the idiots who brought up the issue (or non-issue as I see it). For the record, once again, I never for a second participated in the brutal discussions which took place at the beginning of Arnel's job with Journey. And again, as I stated, the ONLY point I was making in my original post in this thread is that his diction has changed somewhat when you compare his pronunciation of some of the words in this song with those same words as he pronounces them now. Period. The rest of the conversation about his diction was tidbits of conversations Arnel and I had long after the diction issue had been put to rest. We, (Arnel and I) were making fun of the morons who criticized him for what they felt was a flaw.
And you're absolutely right my dear. He was not born here or raised from early childhood here. American English was not his primary language. He is not expected to be without an accent, dialect, etc.

Remember..... I'm on your side. I'm one of the good guys!

Steve

[JRNYMAN]

budokan said:

Your Arnel encounter puts a smile on my face. Didn't doubt for a minute his innate humility and his ability to laugh at himself, he's got that happy disposition. Hey, everytime he comes to mind, it's his beaming happy smile I see LOL. With the kind of pressure and stress that comes with touring, I'm sure that comes handy.

Thanks again for sharing your encounter with Arnel, I hope to meet him myself...soon.

Next ... I'm going to watch that Chile show again!!!!

A thousand apologies for sending you on a wild goose chase. The song Knell was talking about was LTS and not Wheel. That's what happens when I have Journey music playing while trying to type. DOH!! It's at the very end of LTS.
The scary part is that I've done this very thing many times before.... you'd think I'd learn! LOL!
Note to self: When attempting to discuss Journey songs by name, turn off any music currently playing!!!

Steve

[rellie manley]

Hi Steve,
I always enjoy reading your posts. I must agree with you on Arnel's "Then & Now" we have witnessed his amazing growth, and how he accepts criticism on the "D" word. I was born and raised in the Philippines and have lived in the U.S more than half of my life now and still have the accent. My daughter always playfully mock me and ends it with "Because you are a filipina" of which I will respond "Do not forget you are half".
I discovered it's not the play book on diction that counts, anyone can read & learn it. It's all about execution of a stellar performance. I stand in awe how Arnel had accomplished so far. My wish for him is continued success.

[JRNYMAN]

Hi rellie,
Thanks thanks for the kind words.

rellie manley said:

I discovered it's not the play book on diction that counts, anyone can read & learn it. It's all about execution of a stellar performance. I stand in awe how Arnel had accomplished so far. My wish for him is continued success.

Perfectly stated and I couldn't agree with you more.
Thanks for the reply and it's nice to see you back here. It's been nice over the past couple of weeks rekindling with old friends as they slowly make their way back when they learn the site is back up.

Steve