Guitar Gear

To me, Mother Father is the quintessential Journey tune that showcases Steve Perry’s voice and Neal Schon’s composition and phrasing. I remember hearing that song when it first came out, and listened to it over and over – probably wearing out the grooves on my LP (ya, I’m dating myself). 🙂 And like him or not, no one can do that vocal like Steve Perry. Dean and Arnel can come close to Steve’s vocal range, but the soul and dynamics of his voice was truly unique.

If you look at later versions of the song with Dean Castronovo singing, you’ll see Neal playing his customized Les Paul Custom with the sustainer toggles. I actually prefer his Les Paul tone to his original “Schon” guitar tone, which is a bit thinner sounding.

So what inspired me to write this entry? I watched Journey Live in Manila on cable last night, and was in pure awe of Neal’s guitar tone – especially in Mother Father. Plus, that chord progression is classic Neal, who is the master of the rhythm riff.