Kev Rowland What with the number of challenges this band have been going through over the years, from line-up changes through to legal battles, I had long given up on expecting a new album from Journey, yet here we are with first new studio release since 2011’s ‘Eclipse’. Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain are of course still there, while singer Arnel Pineda has been in the band for 15 years now. On top of that, ex-drummer Deen Castronovo was invited back to sing lead on one track, bassist Randy Jackson (who played on played on the superb ‘Raised On Radio’) also returned while Narada Michael Walden was invited in on drums. Narada and Randy have both since left, with Deen fully back on drums and bassist Todd Jensen and additional keyboard player Jason Derlatka are now in the band, but neither of them were involved with this.

While Journey are probably always going to be best thought of by many for their ballads, for me it is when Neal is allowed to let rip that this band shines, and in that respect this album is a beaut. It is uncanny at just how much like Steve Perry Arnel is, while Neal and Jonathan have pulled together the songwriting magic which has come to life on so many of their releases, both in Journey and outside. This is Neal’s album in that the guitar shines, while the drums are also a force to be reckoned with, meaning that this has much in similarity with what I think of as their last truly great release, ‘Raised On Radio’. Yes there are ballads, it could not be a modern Journey album without one, but there are also plenty of places where Neal lets his fingers show that even though he is in his late Sixties he has lost none of his speed or musicality. Remember, in many ways Neal was a prodigy in that he joined Santana when he was just 17 years old and formed Journey before he was 20! 2023 sees the 50th Anniversary of the band, and one can only hope for a substantive world tour as music like this deserves to be heard in the live arena and I want to experience it!

The cover art immediately made me think of ‘Evolution’ and ‘Infinity’, the two classic albums from the late Seventies which really set them apart from the pack in terms of melodic rock, and while this can never be viewed in the same manner as the world has changed and we have all got a lot older, in many ways this is fitting as if you love those releases (and who doesn’t?) then this album is very much for you.  

Necrotica Perhaps one of the most polarizing classic rock groups, Bay Area stalwarts Journey were always gradually creeping toward their commercial peak, even during the Gregg Rolie years. Even Next, the last record with Rolie behind the mic, was integrating hints of straightforward AOR into the already-established jazz fusion rock sound. Around that time, it was no surprise that the band would look for a frontman like Steve Perry to kick things up a notch, considering the first three efforts didn't exactly impress the general public.

As with most bands in the whole AOR niche, however, Journey's music got so simplistic compared to the 1975-1977 days that the Rolie-era fans were blown back a little. The following era is exactly what made (and makes) Journey so polarizing, just as the commercial days of Genesis fared. However, whereas Genesis's big hit record Abacab was exceptionally weak (even by 80's pop standards), Journey's smash album Escape from 1981 actually injects a nice dose of instrumental proficiency and solid songwriting into its commercial formula.

To get it out of the way, no write-up of this thing can go without mentioning the lead single "Don't Stop Believin'," which has clearly been played, covered, and parodied to death. The uplifting E Major piano line that begins the tune is practically an iconic piece of classic rock history, as is the harmonized chorus ending the song. Every time I go back to this song, there's always a strong sense of nostalgia in the recording style and flair, a quality that many Journey songs seem to possess; it might be because of the very clear yet almost murky atmosphere underneath the wailing guitar solos and soaring vocals. In short, it essentially feels vintage.

What's unfortunate is that plenty of songs are often overlooked, mainly because of the hits like "Don't Stop Believin'," "Stone in Love," and "Open Arms." While they're all solidly-written pieces of AOR music, many people won't even know or remember other great songs such as the hard-hitting title track, the emotional ballad "Mother, Father," or the slightly progressive "Keep On Runnin'". The other thing to mention in this regard is the aforementioned technical proficiency given the genre these guys are playing in. Ross Valory's fretless (!) bass work is certainly worth a mention for how he can bend his instrument's role between subtly leading the group and providing a solid backbone for Neal Schon's guitar work. Steve Smith's role on the drums shouldn't be underestimated either; Smith is a heavily accomplished jazz fusion drummer, and the way he integrates such a musical background into Escape makes for very smooth dynamic shifts and swift fills weaving in and out of the other instruments. That said, I don't think Neal Schon or Steve Perry need an introduction, being two of the most talented people in classic rock music. Between Neal Schon's fiery guitar leads and Steve Perry's soaring vocals and impressive range, the whole package is very solid all-around.

So what's bad about all this? First off, there's a pretty dull patch in the middle, songs like the droning "Still They Ride" and the rockers "Lay It Down" and "Dead or Alive" aren't exactly impressive and feel more like filler than genuine efforts by the band. Also, the lyrics are pretty cheesy by today's standards, much of the love talk managing to get a good chuckle out of me. Remember that line from "The Girl is Mine" by Michael Jackson that said "because the doggone girl is mine"? That kind of lyricism is thrown about here, many cliches being pulled out instead of full-on emotion. Some ballads like the beautiful "Open Arms" don't fall into this trap, but it is still a pretty annoying hindrance for the album as a whole. Finally, the song structures also start to get pretty old, most songs opting for very similar means of progression to each other when placed side-to-side. This especially happens in the rockers, and all the end-of-song fade-outs out only add to this point (the fade-outs especially get pretty obnoxious after a while).

If you can get past those things, though, the album is a pretty great piece of breezy AOR music. No matter how polarizing Journey are, Escape is surely worth at least one listen. If you enjoy the fun side of rock, expect listening to this album a lot on roadtrips... or any car trip for that matter.

siLLy puPPy After the triumphant trilogy of “Departure,” “Escape” and “Frontiers,” where San Francisco based JOURNEY found huge success after having tamed down their crossover progressive tendencies that went straight for the hard rock and AOR jugular they succeeded in a short time to become one of the biggest bands in the world. And after a several year run and a slew of hit singles and successful tours, the band was on burnout mode and needed some time off. After 1983’s “Frontiers,” both lead singer Steve Perry and guitarist Neil Schon would release their own solo albums with Perry finding yet more success on the pop charts. After three long years in the mid-80s when the music scene was quickly changing the band finally released the followup RAISED ON RADIO in 1986 but not until after Perry got a taste for creative control where he produced his solo release and wanted to quit the band however keyboardist Jonathan Cain had other ideas and wanted Perry back in the limelight to help out on his new music, but it came with a price. Perry’s newfound taste for independence resulted in both bassist Ross Valory and drummer Steve Smith being fired from the band as well as the album cover depicting the radio station that Perry’s parents owned. Perry took the reins in the production department as well and as a result a JOURNEY album was released that sounded unlike anything in their previous catalogue and more like a followup to Perry’s 1984 solo “Street Talk.”

Technically the group was whittled down to a trio but in reality hosted a whole army of guest musicians, associate producers and engineers. The main newbies were session musician and bassist Randy Jackson who appeared on all kinds of albums by Jean-Luc Ponty, Billy Cobham and a million others and drummer Larrie Londin who also appeared on a million and one different artists’ recordings. In addition there were extra bassists and drummers on board as well as Dan Hull contributing a new sound to the band - the saxophone. Despite the new arrangements and style shifts, the band found another top 10 album that would go double platinum as there was enough pop rock and AOR appeal to please the second wave fans of their career. The band would also score four top 40 hits and have yet another successful tour. However this was the end of JOURNEY at least for a while. It was clear that the band no longer functioned in meaningful way and after this album they would split until their reunion ten years later with the album “Trial By Fire.”

RAISED ON RADIO is one of the stubbornly proud incarnations of the mid-80s with all of the cheese and pompous glory associated with that time period, but for what it is, i have to say that there are appealing pop rock tracks to be found on this one. And in that regard is very similar to almost every JOURNEY album i’ve encountered. That meaning there are a handful of extremely strong and well constructed pop rock hooks floating around in a few tracks and then a bunch of AOR filler and wimpy arena rock crap. RAISED ON RADIO is no different than the rest actually. Personally i’m quite partial to three of the singles on this one. The upbeat and catchy “Girl Can’t Help It” displays the band’s pop hook talents as good as anything they had ever concocted. Same with the more energetic “Be Good To Yourself.” The slower ballad “I’ll Be Alright Without You” also captures Perry’s unique crooning abilities to weave magic around an otherwise OK melodic track, however my absolute favorite on the album is the non-single second track “Positive Touch” which is so damn catchy that if you swapped out vocalists could easily fit on Supertramp’s “Breakfast In America” with its cleverly crafted groovilisciousness and sizzling sultry sax solos.

Other than the somewhat mesmerizing ballad “The Eyes Of A Woman,” i find the remaining tracks to be somewhat lackluster as they exemplify the excess AOR tendencies that were aimed at post pubescent mall rats who lusted over Perry’s ridiculous swooning lyrics. Particularly nauseating is the closer “Why Can’t This Night Go On Forever” which just reeks of a slow wedding dance ballad when the booze has run low and the sentiments high and a raw slice of AOR hell that sounds like a reworked production of their previous hit “Faithfully”. The rest of the tracks including the hit single “Suzanne” are just to syrupy and just don’t come close in quality to the strongest tracks on the album. This could have been a very satisfying album overall if they would’ve stuck to the sultry swinging sax type of tracks that work quite well with their songwriting skills. Unfortunately that was not to be and JOURNEY once again released an album that i keep around for a few tracks that i listening to but this is just another album that has too much filler. 3 stars for the strong tracks that makes this a decent listen with some selective skipping.

FMOTP INFINITY is a really fine hard rock record, and was hugely popular back when I was in junior high. Listening to this album for the first time in years has given me a chance to write a more balanced review of it. I would argue that this is Journey at their peak. The band's songwriting had steadily improved since their debut, and there's no denying Steve Perry's voice. My favorite tracks are "Feelin' That Way/Anytime", "Wheel in the Sky", and "Opened the Door". Fortunately, modern technology allows us to easily skip right over "Can Do"; it was harder to do in the late 70's LP era!

The performances throughout the album are excellent, which shouldn't be surprising considering the band's pedigree. Steve Perry can definitely sing, and Aynsley Dunbar is a very skillful drummer. Neal Schon shows what an excellent guitarist he is. I usually don't care about guitar solos, but Neal's work here is one of the best things about INFINITY. His skills seem under used on the band's more recent albums.

I would rather listen to this than Styx's later records or anything by Boston, to name two bands that are often compared to Journey. My final rating is going to be 3 1/2 stars. INFINITY shows a relative lack of "metalness" by the general standards of Metal Music Archives. If that doesn't bother you, you might even give it an extra half star.

Losimba Songwriting-wise, Escape contains eight songs that are somewhere between ok and good, and two classics. Production-wise, it is exactly what one can expect from Journey. Performance-wise, the same is true for Neal Schon, Steve Smith and Ross Valory, while Jonathan Cain gives his debut on this album if I recall correctly. And hey, the man can play the piano! Elton John is no match, and while celebrities like Ivo Pogorelich may interpret Tchaikowsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 more magnificently, I'm not sure whether they are able or even interested to attempt Don't Stop Believin' or the intro to Who's Crying Now. Add Steven Perry's characteristic voice and the album has everything a good rock album needs.

You'd like to know which two songs I rate as classics: Well, the two I mentioned above, with the first having the best lyrics Journey have ever written and the latter made close to immortal by this magical guitar solo at the end. I just don't understand why this song is third instead of last on the playlist.

Rating-wise I'll be going for 3.5 stars. While there are two great songs on the album, they are only two great songs out of ten, so I can't really justify 4 stars, so I had to rate it down to 3 over at progarchives.