Customer Reviews

Neal Schon & Jan Hammer Collection: No More Lies

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

 

 

I love great guitar riffs, and Neal Schon is my favorite guitarist because of this. Clearly, this is a CD for serious fans of music, that has been stated before, of the "Old Journey" before Perry. However, it may appeal to just more. "Untold Passion" is fueled with Schon guitar, and is quite "synthesized" by Hammer, but I love it. Joe Satriani is awesome, and by all means one of the best...keeping this in mind, I then think of Neal Schon...the most underrated guitarist I know. Neal is my inspiration to learn to play the guitar, and his playing in this CD is an example of my awe of his brilliance. If you're looking for Don't Stop Believin', you're looking at the wrong CD, if you're looking for a man who actually makes you feel the guitar with every note, Schon makes it happen. -Favorite tracks: Untold Passion, No More Lies, Arc...shoot, I love it all! --Just A Guy Who Loves Guitars--

Both of these albums are excellent. Great playing from Schon and Hammer. If your a fan of the orginal Journey (before Steve Perry)they had three albums which are all great.You will love this. Great obsure albums from the early 80's at a good price. Enjoy

Cross late 70's Journey and the Fusion talants of Jan Hammer. For Hammer fans, you can hear the developing style that later was to become the foundation of Jan's film score work ("Secret Admirer", "A Night in Heaven") and Miami Vice. The instrumental pieces are first rate for the era. When "Here to Stay" and "Untold Passion" where released on vinal in '81 and '82, I wore the groves on the albums. This is a "must have" for Hammer fans

Schon is one the most talented and versatile guitar players out there. How he did not make the Rolling Stone top 100 is beyond me. And Hammer does his thing like no other with his synthesizers. Gregg Rolie on the B3 Organ with Neal made those first 3 Journey Albums really great and some of that same type of fusion can be heard here, but make no mistake that these tunes are more structured Rock songs. Just great. I scored this much cheaper on an familiar auction site when everyone else must have been sleeping, glad to have it in my collection.

As a fan of Neal Schon since his start with Santana, I purchased his first collaboration with Jan Hammer, entitled "Untold Passion" sound unheard when it came out in the early 1980s, right around the time of the ultra-pop Journey release, "Escape." Having heard the previously released Jan Hammer/Jeff Beck live recording, I anticipated a killer album and wasn't disappointed. I lost possession of that vinyl many years ago, but I never forgot about it, and I purchased this CD since it packages UP with other efforts. In it, Jan Hammer does a good job balancing Neal Schon's guitar, but is otherwise generally unremarkable. Schon, on the other hand, proves two things. Number one, his vocal skills are not half bad. Number two, he deserves a place on the short list of all-time best electric guitar players, ever. In particular, the cuts "Hooked on Love" and "Untold Passion" are good examples of his technical brilliance, but the tune "I'm Down" is utterly astounding. His extended lead solo here is THE gold standard. An amazing performance that showcases what an accomplished ELECTRIC rock guitar player he is. It still sends shivers down my spine from time to time, and I never tire of listening to it. In my humble opinion, this cut contains what must be among the top three all-time best lead guitar solos ever recorded. Too many of the other songs in this collection are ho-hum, so I give only 4 out of 5 stars. But that song, Oh my God, you must hear it! Totally worth the price of the album all by itself. True, rare electric guitar virtuosity.

I'm sure Neal Schon and Jan Hammer would be annoyed that I use the J-word so much in this review, but let's face it: Most people who hear about and buy this disc will be Journey fans. However, it's not exclusively for them. In fact, if you're a fan of the "Faithfully", "Open Arms" Journey you may be disappointed. But for those who dig "Chain Reaction", "Escape", and "Rubicon", this will tide you over nicely.
I first heard (saw) the track "No More Lies" on MTV back in the summer of '83, and was impressed not only with such a hard-charging riff, but also Neal's very capable lead vocal. Sure, his voice is better suited for backing vocals, but on all the songs that he sings on this compilation, he more than fits the bill. I have to wonder how many of these songs he brought to Journey only to be rejected by Mr. Perry. This disc is chock full of classic Schon riffs, such as "Wasting Time", "I'm Down", "I'm Talking to You", "Turnaround", "Self Defense" and the aforementioned "No More Lies".
But although it's mostly Neal's album, you can't discount Jan Hammer's contribution. His synthesizers may sound dated (not that it matters to me), but they are never out of place or gregarious. Check out his flourishes on "Arc", "On the Beach", or "Time Again". Hammer does most (if not all) of the drumming too, and his playing is very instinctual, and never too polished.
But then towards the end, emerging from all this hard guitar wankery, comes the beautiful "Peace of Mind". Here, Neal plays a few delicate chords over and over (not long enough in fact) while Jan plays harmonica-sounding synth lines on top. It's the aural equivalent of watching a sunset in the middle of an open field.
I give this album 4 stars (I would give it 4.5 if I could) because the "perfect" 5-star album is something that is handed out too easily on Amazon, and this does have a couple of "duds" ("So Hot" and "Hooked on Love"). But 17 out of 19 excellent tracks is more than a bargain. So for Journey fans who want a little "edge" and for folks who want that 80's AOR sound but are sick of what they hear on "classic rock" radio, buy this before the summer ends and crank it up.

THIS IS A EXCELLENT CD ONCE YOU GET TO NO MORE LIES (TRACK 9)TO THE LAST TRACK. THE BEST SONG IS TIME AGAIN AND SOME OF NEAL'S JOURNEY BAND MATES ARE ON A COUPLE OF SONGS. THIS CD WOULD BE 4 1/2 STARS IF IT STARTED ON TRACK 9,