Journey’s first album shows a path they should revisit |
Until a comment was left on the Journey Revelation review post I made last year, I hadn’t. The comment I’ll get to in a bit and it had nothing to do with Journey’s first album, but sometimes it’s something totally unrelated that makes me go hmm.
I didn’t realize that Steve Perry was absent from the first three albums Journey released and founding member and keyboardist Gregg Rolie (official website: greggrollie.com) was lead vocals. I mean maybe I did, but some cobwebs in the brain cleared when I read who the band lineup was after hearing a very different original singer. Rollie was a very good singer for the type of Journey music of this era.
The original lineup of Journey in the mid 70s was not about syrupy ballads and pop anthems, barely the same band. When I first listened to the very first song ever by Journey on their self-titled album called “Of A Lifetime” I dug it instantly. Wow, who are these guys, I thought. The guitar riff is barely the Journey you and I both know. In fact if you don’t like the heavy guitar based rock of the 70s, you won’t like this incarnation of Journey. But for me? A guy who’s ears feast on long, catchy guitar solos in songs like Freebird and Highway Song, bring it on.
As I listened more and more to the first album what struck me was that Journey shouldn’t have tried to copy their era with Steve Perry. They did that with Steve Augeri and seem to be trying that with Arnel Pineda. What about going back to their first three albums and trying that version of Journey?
Before you laugh at how poor this would probably do commercially think past the dollars and cents aspect for a minute. The music industry isn’t exactly what it once was and radical thinking might be necessary recipe for more bands. Props to Neal Schon for using YouTube to find their new singer, but I wish he would have gone back in time and looked at where Journey started for their next journey.
Reader Rob O. asks what my thoughts are on Revelation a year later. Rob, I still wouldn’t change the review grade and none of the songs grab me the way I would have liked other than the one mentioned in the review. Instead, I’m listening to Journey’s first album and will likely be buying the other two with Rollie on lead vocals. Maybe this says something about my taste as commercially these albums weren’t remotely comparable to the Journey of 80s, but hey I haven’t based my music tastes on commercial results.
Interesting historical note that Gregg Rolie stuck around for the first two albums (Infinity and Evolution) where Steve Perry sang lead vocals. These two albums have some of my favorite popular Journey songs on them like Wheel In The Sky, Anytime and Lights and perhaps my favorite Journey ballad: Too Late.
Rollie didn’t mind Perry coming in to sing lead vocals according to a vintagerock interview:
I liked having a lead singer. It didn’t bother me at all. I had been that and playing keyboards and harmonica. It was pretty spread out. I thought it was a new challenge, a new way to go. Why not? Steve Perry had a great voice. It was that simple.
Rollie is still touring but not playing much, if any, Journey music so I probably stand alone in my musical sentiments. Whether you agree or disagree, give the first Journey album a listen and compare. I prefer the 70s to the 2000s, but hey I haven’t liked the majority of new music put out by bands that were hot twenty or more years ago.
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I cut my teeth on Journey’s “Infinity,” playing that hunk o’ vinyl until the grooves were just about rutted out! And I loved most of “Evolution” too!
Actually, I think there is a market for the kind of “throwback” sound you’re describing. There’ve been a fair number of bands who’ve hit with that kind of retro vibe.
Hopefully they will have used Arnel’s soundalike vocals mostly as a door-opener so it’ll be interesting to see what this newest incarnation of Journey does with the next album.
Comment by Rob O. — July 14, 2009 @ 10:25 am PST
Journey’s debut album is a landmark fusion rock album, and although could never be, nor would be, a commercially successful album it’s a statement in fusion musicality. The second (Look Into The Future) was more commercially accessible but the debut is a stronger album, and Next (the third of the trio) did show that a change was required as there was a staleness in some of the form (particularly ’side one’ in old vinyl terms).
What’s not overly stated and should be is George Tickner’s contribution to the debut(and co-writing credits on the subsequent albums) - George certainly knew his chords and was responsible for a lot of the arrangements, and was throwing some interesting shapes around as a foil to Schon’s remarkable lead work. Problem was Schon didn’t know where to land after the soloing over Tickner’s rhythm (more of a live issue) and said so to Herbie Herbert. HH dropped George Tickner and the band moved on as a 4 piece before starting the search for a front man and new sound. George Tickner did head to Medical School as the ‘known’ history will show but he didn’t quit the band as is usually cited.
Gregg (Rolie - only one L in Rolie!) was around for four albums with Perry (1980’s Departure was the third and there was the rarer less known Dream After Dream soundtrack album which didn’t carry a lot of substance but did carry a couple of excellent numbers).
The band will never consider revisiting the original sound - they are geared to write and sound like the ‘classic era’ and haven’t progressed musically since Trial by Fire - they performed a number of songs from the first three albums at the start of early Generations shows in 2005 but were soon dropped due to apathy of many of the fans who simply came to hear the ‘hits’ and didn’t know any of the Pre-Perry material (there are a number of bootleg shows where you can hear fans shout ‘play something good’ during these early ‘fusion’ sets).
New material aside, JRNY know where there ‘future’ lies with Arnel Pineda and it’s in their past - but not in their origins.
Comment by Ross Muir, Prestwick, Scotland — July 15, 2009 @ 2:33 pm PST
I have always been a fan of Journey, since they were new…Perry had the most amazing voice. The guy could have been a Broadway singer! He could belt out some notes…
Comment by Pat B. — July 17, 2009 @ 11:06 am PST
I’ve always been a big big fan of Journey—seen them 4 times in concert, many years ago. Gosh. It seems like a lifetime ago.
I can remember being totally bummed out when Rollie left the group. I still have their first album, and the many albums they put out after that, but it’s the first one I treasure.
Comment by Janine — July 29, 2009 @ 5:58 pm PST
Journey’s “Infinity” was one of those seminal albums of those teen years in the 1970s, the era portrayed in “Dazed and Confused” directed by Richard Linklater. Greg Rolie is an excellent vocalist and keyboardist and seemed to have the worse timing: he’s left bands that were on the verge of popular success. He and Neal Schon played with Carlos Santana before Journey. That’s his voice on “Black Magic Woman.”
Comment by Rick @ Canon Camera Bag — August 12, 2009 @ 12:25 pm PST
Wow…I had no idea he sang on Black Magic Woman!
I liked the band with Steve Perry, especially Infinity & Evolution—and you’re right, Greg’s timing was way off!
Agreed, TDavid—Too Late is a great great tune and also one of my favorites.
Comment by Janine — August 13, 2009 @ 8:40 am PST
I was quite the Journey fan in high school (when Escape was released), and in addition to owning the “original 4 albums” (I/E/D/E), I owned the earlier albums as well. You can really see the Santana influence there.
I like Steve Perry’s vocals in general because they’re fun to sing - and by that I mean they’re technically challenging to sing well, but I think that some of the best stuff on Infinity and Evolution are when both Rollie and Perry are singing together (”Feeling that way” is a good example). I also really like Jonathan Cain’s stuff on Escape, which remains one of my favorite albums.
Frontiers still rates as the most disappointing album of all time for me. At that point, I think they started that trip from a band that could play good rock (Dead or alive on Escape) to one that mostly did syrupy ballads. Or, I guess you can argue that that started when Rollie left but it took a couple of albums to go too far.
Comment by Eric — September 7, 2009 @ 10:08 am PST
I love Journey. Growing up I never listened to much of anything. I didn’t even have a Walkman for crying out loud. But when I wen to college my roommate listened to Journey all the time. That’s when I realized how much I love music, listening to their 1st album.
Comment by Music On Hold — September 19, 2009 @ 2:44 pm PST
I have always been a Steve Perry fan. Who is not???
Comment by John Musca — September 29, 2009 @ 9:57 am PST