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1. Higher Place
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2. All The Way
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3. Signs Of Life
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4. All The Things
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5. Loved By You
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6. Livin' To Do
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7. World Gone Wild
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8. I Got A Reason
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9. With Your Love
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10. Lifetime Of Dreams
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11. Live And Breathe
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12. Nothin' Comes Close
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13. To Be Alive Again
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14. Kiss Me Softly
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15. We Will Meet Again
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Formed in late 1973, the band was fronted by former Santana members Gregg Rolie (keyboards) and Neal Schon (guitar). They were joined by bassist Ross Valory, drummer Aynsley Dunbar and guitarist George Tickner. The band was named in a contest on radio station KSAN-FM and played its first live gig at San Francisco's Winterland on New Year's Eve. The following year, Journey signed a record deal with Columbia and began a long-time association with the label.
At first, Journey fashioned a jazz-rock sound that included long instrumental and improvisational passages, but neither radio, nor rock writers responded well, calling the music "unfocused." As a result, the group's first three albums, Journey (1975), Look Into the Future (1976) and Next (1977) were disappointments, selling only modestly in the Bay Area. During that time, Tickner left the group to attend medical school and the band continued as a foursome.
Seeking a powerful frontman, the band eventually hired vocalist Steve Perry, whose strong tenor became a Journey trademark on subsequent albums. The first Perry-led release, Infinity (1978), broke the band into album-oriented radio airplay, spawning the hit single, "Wheel in the Sky." When Infinity went platinum, the band's fortunes climbed steadily and its next release, Evolution, produced its first Top Ten hit, "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin."
Journey hit its peak in 1981, shortly after Steve Smith replaced Dunbar on drums and Jonathan Cain (formerly of the British band, The Babys) replaced Rolie on keyboards. Cain brought strong songwriting skills to the group and contributed greatly to 1981's Escape, the Journey's most popular album. With a new pop flavoring in its guitar-driven sound, Journey suddenly shot to superstardom, scoring three Top Ten hits: "Who's Cryin' Now," "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Open Arms." Escape reached number one on the Billboard charts, spending a full year in the Top 20. The Album eventually sold more than seven million copies worldwide.
Journey's follow-up album, Frontiers, reached number two on the charts, largely on the success of the hit single, "Separate Ways." But internal disputes had begun the band's unraveling and by 1986, the group was reduced to a trio (Perry, Schon and Cain) who recorded and toured with a variety of session players. Still, the 1986 release, Raised on Radio, reached #4 with the hit single, "Be Good to Yourself."
The band broke up the following year, with Perry concentrating on solo projects while Cain and Schon joined the group Bad English. A full-scale Journey reunion wouldn't occur until 1996, when Perry, Schon, Cain, Smith and Valory entered the charts at number three with the album, Trial By Fire. Since then, vocalist Steve Augeri has become Journey's touring vocalist, due to Perry's ongoing health problems.
Augeri first recorded with Journey in 1998, when he joined the group for "Remember Me," for the Armageddon motion picture soundtrack. Later Schon and Cain decided to re-form Journey and to produce another Journey album. Long time bassist, Ross Valory, drummer Deen Castronovo (Bad English) and Augeri were soon all on board. In 2001, Journey released their 18th U.S. release, Arrival.
Despite the changes, the band remained a popular concert draw into the late '90s. And although the music often sounds dated, Journey has left a strong recorded legacy, an example of hard arena rock at its best: music that could excite the body, while still touching the heart.