Journey, one of the biggest “arena rock” bands of its time, was then fronted unforgettably by Steve Perry.
For those who know the history of the band, Journey started out as a psych-prog band; guitarist Neil Schon was its backbone, looking to create thought-provoking and intelligent melodies. When their debut flopped, the record company insisted they take on Perry.
Why Perry? He had a golden voice, and it needed to be used somewhere. Execs knew they had a moneymaker on their hands with this guy. They saw Journey as a band with talent, but had nothing front and center to capture the audience’s attention. So when the time came that the band needed a vocalist, the record company was all too happy to have some place to put Perry.
Was he a good fit? Listening to the band reminisce, you’d have thought someone put a gun to Schon’s head in taking on Perry. He further laments about the rise of the power ballad and the all-over wussy image Journey took on after “Open Arms” took off. Perry, on the other hand, seemed to think that everything was hunky-dory. Hindsight being what it is, either the band hid their animosity quite well or it wasn’t really as horrible as they made it out to be.
Regardless of how the band got along, the question still hangs: was Perry a good fit? In the original image of Journey, he was definitely a square peg being sledgehammered into a round hole. However, the band did adapt their sound to accommodate Perry’s crooner style and made it work. Perry never had a masculine, punchy voice which one typically equates with rock music, so they popped the tunes up a bit. Still, one could look back at the upbeat songs in Journey’s catalog and frequently see where Perry’s style clashes considerably.
It’s impossible to say who would have made a better frontman for Journey as we certainly were never privy to auditions or talks of alternatives. One could call Perry versatile as far as range goes, but certainly not in tone or emotion. Perry’s voice couldn’t display anger or disgust if it slammed him straight in the throat. Similarly, one would take great effort to find anything sung by Perry which doesn’t sound like Perry. Thus, Perry = Journey. Regardless of whether or not someone else would have fit the Journey mold, would they have been as stand-out? Would Journey have achieved success without the crooner front and center, or could they have done equally well with a gruffer, more road-weathered rocker as a frontman?
Looking a couple decades later, a completely different style of music was cruising the charts. The band Evanescence made its debut, fronted by the distinctive Amy Lee, and copies flew off of the shelves.
But what is Evanescence? Delete Amy Lee’s presence for a moment (and ignore that she’s a writing contributor). The band itself is somewhat of a middle-of-the-road rock band, edging toward metal, but staying safely in Nickelback territory. Compared to everything else on the radio, the music itself blends seamlessly into rotation. Arguably, the lyrics of Evanescence’s music range from being far more poetically credible than their contemporaries to melodramatic and simple. With all of these elements still in place, how would Evanescence have fared with a different vocalist, female or male? One could probably argue that so long as that singer had any amount of substance, he or she wouldn’t have any trouble so long as they had their current material to work with. What’s another Puddle of Nickelsmack band to add to the pile if they’re just as viable as the rest?
There’s another way to look at this angle. Is Evanescence properly fronted with Amy Lee? Again, musically, the band is a blend of all that is current hard rock radio. Amy Lee’s style of vocals are far more American Idol than Headbanger’s Ball. In fact, a glance at any female vocalists in the harder-than-hard-rock realm will show far more versatility and range of emotional output (Cristina Scabbia, Anneke van Giersbergen), if not a different style altogether that compliments the band’s direction (Angela Gossow, Tarja Turunen). In a sense, one could put Kelly Clarkson in Hot Topic gear and shove her in front of the rest of Evanescence with the same effect.
As with most bands, including Journey and Evanescence, the frontman/woman is more than just the “voice” of the group; they tend to define its very existence. Often it takes a successful change for one to ponder the music sans vocals. How talented were the rest of Guns ‘n’ Roses hiding behind Axl Rose? Just ask Scott Weiland and the piles of cash he’s racked up with Velvet Revolver. Rage Against the Machine had much more substance than just Zach de la Rocha brought to the table, as evidenced by Audioslave. Van Halen survived two (questionably three) vocalists intact, and Dave Grohl has long since proven his worth above and beyond drumming for a band which has been deemed legendary.
In the case of Journey, when they did give Steve Perry the boot (you remember, the guy they hated so much), they hired Steve Augeri, who sounds exactly like Perry. For a group of people who has sworn up and down that Perry was not their style and they wanted nothing to do with a crooner, they certainly took the safe route. How would Journey have sounded with someone up front with more of a sound like Sammy Hagar? Steven Tyler? Any true “rock” vocalist instead of someone who doubles as a wedding singer? Would the added ballsiness give them the sound they were seeking, or would it turn their songs indistinguishable?
As for Amy Lee, she certainly rode the train of a style of music that made her stand out. If Evanescence had a male vocalist just like 98% of bands in its vein, their chances of being overlooked would probably be just as high as not. If Amy Lee ventured into pop territory, she would be one of a million chicks trying to profit from the Britney explosion. Hell, considering how thin-bodied her voice actually is, she might not have made it any farther than auditions. But when you combine the two — an unusual pairing, surely — and dress it in some black tulle, you have a unique gimmick. You have instant marketability. Journey learned that as well, as much as they don’t like to admit it.
Is it still easy to enjoy Journey and Evanescence even when one is aware that their success is based on exploiting a (mismatched) quirk in style? Certainly. A quirk in style is a hundred times better than the same recycled mash. Maybe that’s where we’re wrong, giggling at Journey for having a wuss vocalist and Evanescence for having a nasally whiner front and center. One with discerning tastes may recognize the marketing ploys at work, but that doesn’t change the pleasure of hearing an anomaly in the cookie-cutter world of top 40 rock. Perhaps if the bands don’t last, we may be lucky to see the backing members pick up a different vocalist and style to create something a bit less schticky. I hear Scott Stapp has nothing better to do with his time.
Wait, forget I mentioned that. But wouldn’t it be fascinating to hear what the Evanescence guys could come up with if they regrouped with Rob Halford?
Wake me up inside,
–gloomchen
