51 - Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey

    A documentary about the recruitment and first tour of Arnel Pineda, who became the lead singer of Journey.
    I don’t care much about Journey.  Now and then, I find myself liking Open Arms or Lights, but I don’t pay much attention to them.  In fact, after watching the movie, I realized that I feel about the same way about The Eagles.  Most people passively like the bands, but I’ve never met anyone who actually was a fan.
    Arnel is a strange subject for a documentary, because he seems unusually normal.  He’s got a remarkable voice, and not just because of his ability to sing Journey’s songs convincingly, but because he’s a skilled imitator.  We see bits of him singing like Steven Tyler.  At one point, he runs into the singer for Chicago, and starts singing with him.  Their voices are nearly identical.  Outside of his role as singer, and his remarkable stage performance, he comes across as a very humble guy.  He’s appreciative of his situation.  Even when he grumbles about the annoyance of having to travel, he still looks at the bright side - he still loves getting to perform on stage with the band.
    There’s no conflict in this documentary, and it’s easy to keep waiting for something to happen to derail things.  You expect him to get caught up with drugs and women.  He eventually addresses that; he already went through that well before signing on with Journey.
    Beyond his shy charisma, I found myself appreciating Journey much more than I expected.  The songs are skillfully written.  The band performs them perfectly, and it doesn’t just sound accurate; it sounds passionate as well.  I never get the impression that the band is cocky or that they have the petty intra-band conflicts.  They don’t seem especially close to one another, but they all seem very professional.
    I also came out of this with a greater appreciation for the support crew that sets up for shows.  The amount of behind-the-scenes work that people were doing is remarkable.  I knew there was a lot of work, but there’s even more than I expected.
    This is a pleasing watch, but there isn’t much depth there.  But there’s still a value to a documentary that is pleasing, rather than confrontational or conflicted.  If anything, this left me with a sense of hope for musicians working together.