Customer Reviews

Eye of the Storm

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Storm's first cd, was great ( 4 1/2 stars), and their second, is even better. This group does Journey better than Journey does Journey. Kevin voice has more soul than either Steve in Journey. Greg, Journey's orginal keyboardist, has only gotten better with age. And guitarist Jose, plays with the same passion as Neal of Journey. Maybe Journey needs to listen to the Storm, to remember how to play and to put fun back into their music, something than been missing since Frontiers.
The cd starts out rockin with Don't Give Up, and never really lets up. I Want to be the One, has a familiar ring to it, like sitting down and listening to an old friend. A lot of the songs are this way, leaving you feeling pumped up and ready to go. Waiting for the World to Change, To Have and to Hold, What ya Doing Tonight, and Long Time Coming, are as beautiful as any Journey song. With Long Time Coming, being the first song in years to give me goosebumps, the song really has power and soul behind it. Livin' it UP, and Give Me Tonight, are Gregg's finest, better than any thing he has done with Sanatana, Journey, solo, or with the Storm.
This cd is really worth checking out, it's a shame they only had two cds. And both cds, were awesome. I can't wait to check out their new project TWO FIRES.

A pleasant surprise was to find this "Journey-ish" CD shopping on-line at Amazon.com. This group has a good sound, nice lyrics and strong vocals. Their songs, Don't Give Up, Waiting for the World to Change, I Want to Be the One plus The Soul of a Man and Love Isn't Easy are very good tunes. To Have and To Hold is a very, very strong power ballad. The remaining songs on the album are all pretty good, too. There are just not any poor tracks on the entire CD.

The Storm's lead singer is Kevin Chalfant who has some definite vocal parallels with Steve Perry. Former Journey greats keyboard man Gregg Rolie (vocals on "Just the Same Way" and "Feelin' That Way") and bass player Ross Valory are a big part of this new band, the Storm. Lead singer Kevin Chalfant can belt out the tunes and power ballads and is nicely complemented by Gregg Rolie's vocals in several tunes, especially in I Want To Be the One and in The Soul of a Man. Josh Ramos on guitar delivers a good, solid performance although his rifts are not quite as strong as Journey's Neal Schon (but then again, not many are). If you like Journey's songs Faithfully, Open Arms and Don't Stop Believin' you'll like the CD for sure.

The Storm's first album is truly excellent and this album is even better. An excellent, solid rock album with great guitar licks and soaring ballads. If you're a fan of bands like Giant, Steelheart, Hardline etc. I wholeheartedly recommend this and The Storm's other (first) album. Get it while you still can, it will most definitely not disappoint, nor will any Gregg Rolie album.

I'm an old dude, old enough to remember being blown away by discovering The Who on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour on CBS-TV, The Doors on The Ed Sullivan Show and hearing Cream play "Sunshine of Your Love" for the first time on AM radio in 1967. I've heard a lot of music over a lot of years, and I'm here to tell you that THIS is one of the best records ever made.

The first time I heard this, I was stunned. The first two songs, "Don't Give Up" and "Waiting for the World to Change," will amaze you, and you WILL be toggling back and forth from the Volume to Replay controls, which is actually a pity because this will delay your hearing "To Have and to Hold," "In the Soul of a Man" and "Long Time Coming." These guys "out-Journeyed" Journey and underline the fact that even though Jonathan Cain is a fantastic songwriter and fabulous keyboard player, Journey was never the same after Gregg Rolie's departure.

Speaking of Gregg Rolie brings to mind my only quibble with this album: there isn't enough of him! Yeah, he provides great vocals, songwriting and gorgeous synthesizer pads, but no solos. As a keyboard player myself, I can testify that Gregg Rolie is one of the greatest and most influential musicians in rock and I would love to hear him PLAY more, but the format of this album (like all Journey albums) is guitar-dominated, so c'est la vie.

In conclusion, BUY THIS ALBUM! It's a travesty that this is out of print and the current asking prices I've seen here are high, but IT'S WORTH IT! Wonderful vocals, great songwriting and stellar musicianship: this album has it all. I'd give it SIX stars if I could.

The Storm is one of those rare rock albums that comes along every few years with absolutely no filler. From huge driving rockers which explode with melody to soaring, heartfelt ballads, this one's guaranteed to put a smile on your face. There's the obvious comparisons to Journey, but this is sooo much better than "Trial by Fire" - more like Journey on steroids and with superior songwriting. Having Gregg Rollie and Ross Valory in the group naturally helps.....the production from Nigel Green (Mutt Lange's apprentice, who was very much involved in albums like Hysteria) is very well handled and delivers the songs sharply. I promise you - from the first strands of larger-than-life opener "Don't Give Up", you'll know the purchase was well worth the money.

Straight in the tradition of power ballads in the style of Journey comes the "Eye of the Storm" by The Storm. The reason it sounds a lot like Journey, is that has two of the original Journey members, keyboard player / singer Gregg Rolie (he opens with vocals on Just The Same Way and Feelin' That Way / Anytime) and bassist Ross Valory. Lead singer Kevin Chalfant sounds a lot like Steve Perry and the two bands have similar stylings. Josh Ramos on guitar does some respectable work, too.

This album is full of great songs. The major power ballad, To Have And To Hold, is great plus Don't Give Up, Waiting For The World To Change, I Want To Be The One, Love Isn't Easy and Soul Of A Man are all awesome hookish, tunes. Excluding Livin' It Up, the rest of the songs are really good.

This release is better than their self-titled debut album from 1991. The 1991 release also featured drummer Steve Smith from Journey but only had about half of the songs recorded being really good. The group really turned it up a notch for this 1997 album. If you like Journey, but you're not stuck having to hear Steve Perry, then you will like this album. Also check out Hardline's Double Eclipse which features Neal Schon from Journey or try great unknown David Victor's Proof Through The Night CD.

I really enjoyed their first album. I found this CD to be completely uninspired, un-original and very forgettable.

This album is the same as this one: Eye of the Storm (For reference. The one listed to the left is cheaper or at least was when I bought it).

Kevin Chalfant's voice is really close to that of Steve Perry formerly of Journey. This album features the lineup that their self-titled debut had except for one person; Steve Smith is not drumming on this one (That lowered my expectations just a bit because Smith is my all-time favorite drummer!). But Ron Wikso does a pretty good job I'll admit. The music of this album is pretty strong and is IMO arguably better than their debut. Sadly this was released silently both times (the original and this reissue listed above) so not many of the fans of the first album know of their second album.

Now here's the music:

This album has a similar sound to their last album which is in the style of Journey.

1. "Don't Give Up"- Great song. I like this better than all the songs on their debut! It's a great way to start an album and very upbeat!

2. "Waiting for the World to Change"- Nice power ballad but I don't think it's a good idea to put a slow song in the 1st 3 tracks of an album. Just my opinion but here it's actually effective.

3. "I Want to Be the One"- A catchy little song that makes you wanna sing along. I like this song a lot as well.

4. "To Have and to Hold"- VERY powerful ballad. This hits deep. This is THE deepest and most sincere power ballad I've ever heard. With lyrics like: "So I give you my heart, and all the feelings inside, with a love that will last for the rest of our lives..." VERY Emotional!

5. "Livin' It Up"- A catchy little song similar to "In the Raw from the 1st album. Greg sings lead on this one and his voice is always getting better! Nice song.

6. "Love Isn't Easy"- A nice song like "I Want to Be the One" except catchier and better. I will say that this and "Don't Give Up" are my favorites on the album.

7. "Fight for the Right"- A nice song similar to "Don't Give Up" but with a little edge. I like this one as well.

8. "Give Me Tonight"- A mellower song but not a slow song. I like this one a lot too.

9. "Soul of a Man"- A good song but this is the 1st of 2 songs on this album I don't like that much. This one is just weaker than the preceding songs.

10. "What Ya Doing Tonight?"- A nice ballad and catchy too. I love their ballads.

11. "Come in out of the Rain"- A cool little tune with a nice beat and I like the chorus

12. "Long Time Coming"- I'm not a fan of this song. It's ok but I just don't like it.

Verdict: If you like Journey but already have everything by them, then this is a great buy. Kevin Chalfant was gonna replace Steve Perry but Steve decided to come back and the result was 1996's Trial by Fire which also amazing! If you like Two Fires (Kevin Chalfant and Josh Ramos' project after this) then get it. I like Two Fires but The Storm is much better IMO. And if you like the AOR genre or 80's rock then this album is for you as well.

This is a great album if you are a Journey or Storm fan. They sound very similar. Some of the songs on this album sound alike but its still good. This is on par or better than their first album. Obviously they are not around anymore..thus the asking price for this album. FYI.. you can get this album on iTunes for less than ten bucks! Download it if you can.

this album is awesome from start to finish. i think this album is way better than the new Journey- Arival record. awesome vocals and guitars galore. i havent heard anything this good in many years. though this is some years old, it cant be any better.
Hopefully this will become in print again with all the [...] and angry music out today.