Book review: Electric World – A Casual Guide to the Music of Neal Schon by Neil Daniels

February 1st, 2014 by jason

Available as an EBook or book on Amazon

Neal Schon if you needed reminding is the guitarist with melodic rock giants Journey, although this book by Neil Daniels (the Ginger Wildheart of rock writing as he always seems to have a new book on the go!) focuses more on his solo work and bands outside Journey.

If you’re after rock ‘n’ roll tales this is not the purpose of the book, rather it has a brief overview of his solo albums plus the bands he’s been in. The bands he’s been in aside of Journey have released some classic albums, be they the two Bad English albums, the debut album by Hardline or the more recent Soul SirkUS.

For the collector’s and avid fans there is discography of his work with Journey, solo and the many albums he has appeared as a guest on (a varied bunch including Michael Bolton and the rock charity band Hear ‘N’ Aid).

Of interest to the more general reader are the Journey and Neal Schon trivia and the author’s interviews including Journey bassist Ross Valroy, interviewed shortly after Jeff Scott Soto had left the band, and current vocalist Arnel Pineda. This is a guide to the music of Neal Schon so there is no input directly from the talented guitarist; however there are selected quotes from him from interviews he has given through the years and some very flattering praise from fellow musicians.

There is a Journey discography too of their studio, live and compilation albums along with the line-ups of the band. The band has featured nineteen different musicians in either the studio or live shows.

It is a collection of pieces about Neal Schon and certainly for the avid Journey fan this book is a fascinating read and resource.

Review by Jason Ritchie

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Power Plays w/c 28 October 2024

THE RASMUS Rest In Pieces (Better Noise Music)
THE PLAGUE What Else Can I Do (FiXT)
STAR CIRCUS Turn The Tide (indie)
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09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
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