| Journey | 1975 |
| Look Into The Future | 1976 |
| Next | 1977 |
| Infinity | 1978 |
| Evolution | 1979 |
| In The Beginning (compilation) | 1979 |
| Departure | 1980 |
| Captured (live) | 1981 |
| Escape | 1981 |
| Frontiers | 1983 |
| Raised On Radio | 1986 |
| Greatest Hits (compilation) | 1988 |
| Time 3 (boxed set) | 1992 |
| Trial By Fire | 1996 |
| Greatest Hits Live | 1998 |
| Arrival | 2001 |
A proper introduction to these guys might follow if I ever get my hands on enough of their studio albums, but for the record, along with Limp Bizkit (the first two albums, anyway), Journey is probably my biggest 'guilty pleasure' band of all time (i.e. a band that I really dig listening to even though I can just tell I shouldn't). Especially judging by the comments below, they have several things going against them, the utter commerciality and cheese that their material evokes, but this band is the one case where I can almost entirely overlook that aspect and just sing along to their extremely catchy hits. Plus, and I'm ashamed to admit this, I consider Steve Perry to be one of the most addictive vocal presences of the 80's. There's just something about that voice, as over the top as it is, that wins me over.
It's not really a coincidence this band grew out of Santana, either - their early material, though virtually forgotten today, was based primarily on instrumental work, and that probably carried over to the late 70's-early 80's to a lesser extent - certainly still enough to captivate me. And now, let the bashing begin below...
--Nick Karn
Post your comments about Journey
Ok, yeah, I am quite biased against this band from the get go, but with good reason. They define the word "cheesy". There is probably no band that will get you beat up quicker if your caught listening to them than Journey.
Maybe I'm being shallow, but I simply cannot look beyond the sissy boy voice of Steve Perry (or his ridiculous lyrics), or the crappy balads the band put forth. I do have Escape (arguably their most popular album) and i simply cannot listen to the entire CD without laughing.
I do have a couple of good things to say about the band. Neal Schon was an OK guitarist, and as much as i hate to admit it, "Separate Ways" is a kickass song despite its pretty boy ballad lyrics and laughable video. By the way, did anybody else notice the similarities between the riff to Rush's "Subdivisions" (1982) and that song which was released a year later? VERY similar if you ask me.
[email protected] (Rich Bunnell)
Just to clarify, the band actually had a halfway-decent sound on their first few albums (despite what critics would have you think). They weren't amazing, but they weren't the shiny, stupid cheese-fest that they immediately became the second that Steve "Tosser" Perry showed up.
[email protected] (tony souza)
Journey (along with REO Speedwagon, Styx, Boston and Foreigner) defined what was (and still is ) known a AOR rock. Toothless rockers, sappy ballads and wretched songwriting marks Journey's music. Steve Perry is the epitome of what a prima donna is. The musicians are actually first-rate, but you wouldn't know it from the music they put out. This band dominated the late "70's and early '80's in what was a truly wretched era of rock music.
Before Steve Perry joined/ruined the band, my friends and I were serious fans of Journey. They were basically a solo band, their songs long Neil Schon wankfests, but they were great wankfests (Neil can wank with the best of them). Anyway, you should check out the compilation In The Beginning, which includes tracks from the first three Journey albums. I give it a 9.
(reviewed by John Sieber)
This was the first of several albums by Journey that used the successful segue technique rather well. After the opening track, an ode to San Fransisco called "Lights", we get a nice Elton John-sounding number, "Feeling That Way" which ain't a bad number at all. Closing out with just the vocals (which is another Journey trademark), the very next cut, "Anytime", starts without a pause with just the vocals. When "Feeling That Way" began to get airplay, deejays would leave the needle on the record and play "Anytime", thus beginning a trend that would be seen on later albums as well. To this day, "Feeling That Way" is still followed by "Anytime" on most classic-rock stations.
Anyway, back to the album. After "Anytime" we get the rocker "La Do Da" segueing into the ballad "Patiently". Opening up the second side is the hit "Wheel in the Sky", another loud rocker with a catchy chorus. Then a double-whammy of ballads, entitled "Somethin' To Hide" and "Winds Of March", are sewn together with an effective segue. The former is a lighter ballad, the latter is a moody one with an electric guitar-driven fast middle section. "Can Do", a foot-stomping good tune, follows, after which the album closer, "Opened the Door", treats the listener to pretty vocals by Mr. Perry and neat-o synth effects.All in all, not too bad; however we've heard alot of this stuff already in past Styx, Boston, and ELO albums. But the tunes are original enough to redeem the album a bit.
Post your comments / reviews for this album
(reviewed bu John Sieber)
First off, may I be the first to say that these guys have some fucking cool album covers? Anyway, here we go with the album. This time, we get an intro song, entitled "Majestic". At a short 1:16 and lacking any real firepower, one wonders why this thing even exists. However, it worked real good for them as a concert-opener, so I guess it's okay. Next we have the catchy ballad "Too Late", a song that shoulda been a hit but wasn't. Dammit. Well after that, we do get a bona fide Journey hit, "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin". You know, the "Naaaaaaa na na naaaaaaaaaaa na" song. Fucking sweet. In true Journey fashion, it closes out with vocals, and not more than one second later, we get the opening vocals of "City Of The Angels", a song about Los Angeles (I think) and my favorite Journey song to date. These were another two that were played back-to-back on radio stations.
Next we have "When You're Alone (It Ain't Easy)", a rather unimpressive number, but thankfully, it ends before it gets really annoying. Next is "Sweet And Simple", a nice little ballad, with an intro that sounds like "You Look So Good In Love" by George Strait. Flip the record over and we get "Lovin' You is Easy", a teeth-kickin' rocker with nice guitar work, and a neat little piano bridge. Next is "Just the Same Way", a slightly more sublime tune with a piano intro (yay!) and a catchy chorus. "Do You Recall/Daydream" follow, an over-the-top arena rocker and a spacey ballad with wind chimes, and to wrap things up, "Lady Luck", a slow bluesy rocker, is tacked on for good measure. However, I think that this one would have done better preceding "Do You Recall", with "Daydream" ending out the album. All in all, a very listenable album, except for a couple of drags that can be fixed by hitting the Skip button. Hehehe.
Post your comments / reviews for this album
COMMENTS
I was just reading your site and found your section on the Journey album Evolution, which contains the song "Daydream" (released in 1979).
I dont know if your the right person to ask, but is there any sort of hidden message in Daydream?
Any help would be appriciated
(reviewed by John Sieber)
AAAAAAAAAH!!! SCARABS!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry. I fucking love these album covers!!! Anyway, the double-live album Captured ain't half bad. We start out with the familiar "Majestic" and tear through the favorites off the previous three albums, plus one "new" song ("The Party's Over (Hopelessly In Love)"). Some highlights: The "Lights/Stay Awhile" medley, the "Feelin' That Way/Anytime" song pairing, the jam sessions at the end of "La Do Da" and "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'", and the killer live closing version of "Wheel In the Sky/Any Way You Want It". Lowlights: Less-than-impressive sound quality, and warp-speed playing, seen especially on "Feelin' That Way" and "Wheel In The Sky". But these are small gripes, believe me. This release is, for the most part, a must for any Journey fan, showing the whole band in peak form.
Post your comments / reviews for this album
(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: Don't Stop Believin', Escape, Open Arms. LOW POINTS: Stone In Love, Keep On Runnin'.
Yeah, 'escape' indeed - as in to "a land of mindless commercial rock where an overdramatic singer leads you through crappy rockers and sappy AOR ballads, and seven million idiots follow him into the desert where they have their brains sucked out by whatever the hell is on the band's album covers". Nah, Journey's most successful album, despite what the serious critics might tell you, isn't quite that much of an offense to good taste. Sure, it's very much a product of its' time, and all of mankind might have been better off had it been wiped out of existence, but hey, I don't really judge this album as a serious work of art or anything, even if the songs here do have big production, and a self-important vocalist. Instead, it just provides me with 40 minutes of a good time with solid playing (especially guitarist Neal Schon, who gives a top-notch performance, with quite a few great solos and riffs here and there) and highly infectious melodies to boot.
Of course, like most of their studio work, the highlights mostly lie in the huge hit singles. Well, not so much "Who's Crying Now", though that one does have kind of a neat moody atmosphere and haunting guitar parts to go along with its' piano-laden pop ballad tone, but the bookend tracks "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Open Arms" both rank among my favorite Journey cuts. Neither one are among the most substantial things ever written, but who cares? The former is an absolutely fantastic singalong track that, as cheesy as it might be, is still extremely infectious and highly uplifting. And the prom ballad atmosphere of the latter would probably put me to sleep were it not for the fact that this song has way too good of a melody and buildup for me to write off. And I must confess, I love the title track just as much, if not more, than the singles - it attempts to be some huge, serious epic, with big power chords and bombastic singing, and it's so self-consciously over-the-top (borderline laughable, even) that the catchy chorus really, really works for me.
The remainder of the album isn't really all that great, but at least it doesn't make me want to throw up. Well, I am disgusted that several unmentionable hair metal bands had to take a crappy, simplistic and obnoxious rocker "Stone In Love" as inspiration for their entire career (even if the actual song is catchy), and the somewhat generic speed of "Keep On Runnin'" has a bit of a stupid chorus with awful vocal intonations. But both the slightly epic-tinged ballads "Still They Ride" and "Mother Father" have a somewhat panoramic atmosphere to them that I find attractive in spite of how dumb and overblown they are, and both have some terrific Schon passages. Plus, the jankly guitar phrases of the intro to "Lay It Down" coupled with the nice vocal harmonies in the chorus, aren't bad, and the fast barroom rock-styled "Dead Or Alive" is at least good for an energetic burst (and a laugh at the ridiculous verses). All in all, a decent piece of enjoyable cheese, and yes, I can make it most of the way without laughing.
Post your comments / reviews for this album
(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: Don't Stop Believin', Separate Ways, Faithfully, Open Arms, Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin', I'll Be Alright Without You, Girl Can't Help It. LOW POINTS: None.
I really have no idea about the quality of Journey's studio work, but I'm guessing that in their 'prime period' it's probably a bunch of these singles with a lot of filler or maybe even some great album tracks here and there. But that and the backlash against them above are simply not going to change that I really like almost every one of the songs presented here on this compilation. Yes, the band can get embarassingly cheesy at points, but even then, this is one of those rare cases where the band is actually able to get me to join in with them no matter how bad that aspect gets, since most of the time, this material is helped by incredibly catchy, unabashedly fun, melodies and really, really well-crafted and occasionally complex instrumental bits. The end result is one of the most well put together hits collections I've ever heard, and one of the most entertaining hour long samples of music I can think of.
I guess I should probably go chronologically with this one, as Greatest Hits covers the biggest smashes from their 'classic' 1978-1986 period with a couple of soundtrack songs thrown in. Dealing with these numbers first, I have to say that "Only The Young" and "Ask The Lonely" are not as impressive as the others, but aren't bad by any means - they're certainly nice, wonderfully smooth, and quite listenable, just lacking in the sheer hook power department. But once we start dealing with the hits... well, that's where things really get good. From the late 70's albums Infinity and Evolution we get the awesomely groove-based and harmonized "Wheel In The Sky" and the melodically pretty "Lights" from the former, and from the latter album the fantastic loungey "Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'", arguably the most fun song on the entire disc. Hopelessly cheesy. But how can I not sing along to this??
They get even more successful in the 80's. From Departure comes "Any Way You Want It", probably the most directly 'embarassing' song (with awful lyrics), but again, that melody, plus those great 'all night... ' chants... Escape probably boasts the absolute best song of the whole thing - the nostalgic "Don't Stop Believin'" is a simply classic singalong number, with a smashing chorus, great piano line and appropriate guitar breaks. "Who's Crying Now" is a thoroughly pleasurable infectious piano-laden song, and "Open Arms" is probably one of the more well-performed romantic ballads out there - yes, it's sappy, but it has a killer melody and some passionate vocal work. I love it! So shoot me! By 1983's Frontiers they were getting a bit more corporate, but still, "Faithfully" is a great road weary ballad with one really well-constructed guitar solo at the end, plus another fabulous melody, "Separate Ways" is an incredibly addictive, throbbing synth rocker (plus a video where they visit Home Depot!) and "Send Her My Love" almost has a haunting atmosphere.
Finally, in what would be their swan song for the next ten years, we get a nice trio of songs from the dreaded '86 effort Raised On Radio - the exceptional soul-flavored ballad "I'll Be Alright Without You" (with another extremely catchy melody and great backing vocals and harmonies), a full-sounding, majestically produced and arranged rock tune in "Girl Can't Help It", and the fine arena rocker "Be Good To Yourself" that provides a nice close to the whole collection. And there you have it. Everyone needs their musical guilty pleasures in life, and well, this one is definitely my biggest. As far as artistic merit goes, as hollow and corporate as it gets, and this style done badly (Danger Danger, anyone?) is some of the most offensively banal music ever. But the stuff on here? A great representation of the more shallow side of classic rock radio - really friggin' catchy and entertaining. And yes, I'm dead serious about that nine....
Post your comments / reviews for this album
COMMENTS
Good heavens this is fabulous music! As a fan of the "heavier" side I still love to hear this record from time to time, yes it is as corny as hell but so what? "Someday, love will find you, break those chains that bind you", "when the lights go down in the city", "be good to yourself...nobody else will", even the Huey Lewis track "I'll be alright without you", (there'll be somebody else, I keep fooling myyyyyyself").
Living in England in the 80's you had to be "Cool" at school, and like what the in crowd was listening to, this meant Bauhaus, Echo & the Bunnymen, and the early Chicago House sound. I didn't and liked this stuff instead. I bet all those hip kids wished they had listened to Journey really. Who remembers Steve Silk Hurley these days? More like Liz Hurley.
Index | Main band/artist reviews page