First and foremost, let me say upfront that I consider Neal Schon to be a great guitar player. I love Journey and have for almost 40 years.
But when I go to see a Journey concert, I go to see them play their beautiful songs and to listen to these masterful musicians play them.
But there's a caveat.
Neal Schon, who, as much as I think he's a fantastic guitar player, has become the absolute king of overplaying. He needs to tone it down a bit. His solos are now longer than the rest of the songs. He's constantly overplaying every single song they perform. Sorry, Neal, but it's gotten tiresome and played out. I wish the other members of the band, especially Jonathan Cain, would ask him to tone it down a bit.
Take Steve Lukather from Toto. The guy is an absolute master guitar player, but he's so tasty it's crazy. He does not overplay. The contrast between the two couldn't be starker. Schon is just out of control as opposed to Lukather who is totally in control and masterful at it. Ten years ago I loved Schon's playing. Now I'm just bored by it. It's sad because he's so amazingly talented. But instead of giving us little examples of that talent that wants us coming back for more, he just smashes it in our faces, continuously. He's, very sadly, become boring.
It's time to tone it down, Neal. I still am awed by your talent and skill, but you've allowed yourself to become tedious. Take a step backward and reassess what you're doing.
