When JOURNEY returned to play UK shores in 2006, it seemed like they'd been away for an eternity. Now it seems like they can't keep away, with this their 3rd UK tour in 3 years, each time with a different singer. With Steve Augeri and Jeff Scott Soto gone but not forgotten, it's now Filipino rookie Arnel Pineda at the helm, greeted tonight by a buzzing, sold out Wolverhampton crowd - a crowd who left the venue 2 hours later, utterly convinced that this was the best JOURNEY line-up since the original.

Pineda's story is one rock 'n' roll dream which really did come true. His awesome talents were spotted by guitarist Neal Schon, who stumbled upon a youtube video of Pineda performing JOURNEY songs with his Filipino tribute band. The excitement of Pineda is there for all to see as he dances around the stage, with a grin almost permanently on his face. He's definitely loving every minute as he lives the dream.

Vocally, Pineda is almost a clone of Steve Perry in his prime. He seemed to breeze through the set without a problem, and he is without doubt the best JOURNEY singer since Perry left the band. The tone and emotion of the vocals were absolutely spot on - and credit has to go to Neal Schon for having the balls to bring an unknown, unproven singer into the band. A gamble that has definitely paid off.

JOURNEY have a brand new album on the shelves at the moment called 'Revelation', and a few of the songs were played tonight, with 'Never Walk Away' working very well as an upbeat set opener, and 'Change for the Better' impressing mid-set. The highlight of the new material though was the beautiful ballad 'After All These Years' - which didn't sound out of it's depth alongside the all-time classic piano ballads 'Open Arms' and 'Faithfully'.

The rest of the set was jam packed with classic after classic - pretty much everything you would expect to hear in a JOURNEY set was in there! The band performance was perfection personified - and you really wouldn't expect anything else from a band with the wealth of talent and experience that JOURNEY have. Do they know how to put a show on? You bet they do! Everything, right down to the backing vocals (thanks to Deen Castronovo's awesome voice on drums), was simply fantastic.

Always worthy of mention is Neal Schon. His solo work was outstanding tonight, and the sound he gets from his guitar is one of the best you will ever hear. It's also great to hear the sound of a real piano, and when you've got a legend like Jonathan Cain on the keys, it can't get much better.

As the final song 'Anyway You Want It' brought the evening to a rousing close, the audience gave the band a thoroughly deserved standing ovation. This was a tremendous show, by a tremendous band - and may the JOURNEY wheels keep rolling for many years to come.

Rating: 5.0/5.0

Review by James Allman

Photography by Alexander Shaw