Raised on Radio, My Adolescent Journey

My experiences with the band Journey were spotty at best, but I can safely say that I've always had a respect for their musicality. My earliest memory of Journey was when I randomly picked out and bought - a blind purchase, I might add - the 45rpm vinyl single containing the song The Party's Over (Hopelessly In Love) in 1981. I'm still not positive what the B-side was, but a little research on the web leads me to believe it was a live version of Wheel In the Sky. For some reason, though, I keep thinking the flip-side was Any Way You Want It. 

Anyway, I loved that song The Party's Over, playing it endlessly on my hand-me-down stereo turntable in my basement bedroom. I didn't know a thing about the band back then... just that single and maybe the odd song off the radio.

Somewhere around this time, when the animated movie Heavy Metal hit theatres and later home video, my friends and I became aware of Journey again, this time through their monster hit ballad Open Arms, which appeared on the film soundtrack. Back then, we weren't very impressed with that sort of sappy stuff, preferring heavier music like Blue Oyster Cult, Cheap Trick, and Black Sabbath, who were also represented in the animated flick. The soundtrack for that movie was so impressive, other than Open Arms, of course, that I bought the audio tape. That cassette got a heavy workout on a nearly daily basis, but I usually skipped the Journey ballad. Yuck.

For many years, I listened to rock radio that leaned toward the heavier end of the spectrum, more like Iron Maiden, Rush, and Metallica. I don't think I ever heard Journey on my stations of choice. Into the 90's, though, I finally picked up Escape, the band's most successful studio album ever. It hit number one on the U.S. Billboard chart in '81 and spawned four hit singles, including that l'il ol' thing called Don't Stop Believin'... maybe you've heard of it?

Listening to Escape, I began to realize that Journey at its best was pretty amazing. A very high level of musicianship and creativity in songwriting. Their music stood apart from a lot of other hard rock of that era (at their peak, 1978-87), with  a more positive image and uplifting song lyrics. On the other hand, I also discovered that the band's lesser, or "filler", songs were pretty mediocre, often boring me to tears. Very recently, I finally snagged a greatest hits CD, but even as I listened to it, I realized that something was missing. Like that old song I once had on a 45rpm single, The Party's Over. And a few key songs from the Escape disc which had sort of drifted out of my collection at some point. Just a few weeks after that purchase, and a bit more research on the web, I located an even more perfect hits package. This one, Essential Journey, packs thirty-two terrific hits onto two CDs. And it's got The Party's Over, plus the Escape tracks that I sorely missed, most notably Stone In Love and Escape. Now I'm rockin' to a whole wack of great classic rock, much of which I never had much exposure to back in the day.

Journey is still touring and recording, though I have no real interest in their current output. I did watch the 2012 documentary about the band's search for a new vocalist. That was a cool and inspirational story, though it focused too much on the singer Journey finally chose. Even though his voice was about as close to Steve Perry's as could be, I just couldn't accept anyone else as the lead vocalist for such a legendary band. 

Perry was Journey, with his unique and striking vocal style and sound, his songwriting contributions, and his stage manner and presence. I watched a 1981 Journey concert on YouTube not long ago, and it made me wish I'd been in the front row of one of their shows back then. Not all flashy like Rush or Maiden, these guys just went out there and delivered a rocking good time, reproducing their studio tracks flawlessly. 

Also crucial to the Journey sound were, and still are, guitarist Neal Schon and keyboardist Jonathan Cain. Schon wrote incredible music, showcasing his talents on the fretboard, while Cain displayed his dexterity and flash on the keys. Those two, plus the solid rhythm section of an often rotating line-up of musicians, laid down some of the best music of the 70's and 80's. Though Journey was initially a progressive rock band, they redefined their sound as they composed more pop-oriented material on their fourth album, Infinity. They drew both praise and criticism during their heyday, ascending to become one of the most successful acts of the era. And Journey has now sold nearly 90 million records, making them one of the world's best-selling bands of all time. 

Not bad for a bunch of hippies out of San Fran.