 | JourneyA Retrospective: 1975-1996left to right: Jonathan Cain, Ross Vallory, Neal Schon, Steve Perry, and Steve Smith |
Overview:Journey started in 1973 when guitarist Neal Schon and keyboardist Gregg Rolie, formerly of Santana, formed the group. After three albums focused more on progressive rock and instrumentals, the group developed a more mainstream-rock sound with the addition of Steve Perry on vocals. The group saw immediate results on 1978’s Infinity, a million seller within a year. 1979’s Evolution and 1980’s Departure brought similar success. Those three albums produced classic rock favorites like Lights, Wheel in the Sky, Any Way You Want It, and Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’. The 1981-83 lineup of Schon, Perry, bassist Ross Valory, drummer Steve Smith, and keyboardist Jonathan Cain gave the group its greatest success. 1981’s Escape produced three top-10 hits, sold 10 million copies, and gave Journey its only #1 album. 1983’s Frontiers gave the group a #2, six-time platinum album with another top 10 hit. Schon, Perry, and Cain returned in 1986 for another top-10, platinum album in Raised on Radio. The group then went on hiatus before returning a decade later with 1996’s Trial by Fire. The Players:
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Awards:
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The Studio Albums:Hover over an album cover to see its title and year of release. Click on the album to go to its dedicated DMDB page. 
Compilations/Live Albums:
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| Journey (1975):
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Journey, whose name came from a radio contest, began as an offshoot of Santana when guitarist Neal Schon and keyboardist/vocalist Gregg Rolie jumped ship to form a new band in 1973. Aynsley Dunbar, who replaced original drummer Prairie Prince, also brought an impressive resume, having worked with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, the Jeff Beck Group, and Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention. Rounding out the band were bassist Ross Valory and guitarist George Tickner. At this point, Journey focused more on the instrumental abilities of its players as they honed a sound that mixed jazz and progressive rock.
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| Look into the Future (1976):
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| The band lost rhythm guitarist George Tickner, but maintained the rest of the lineup and a similar sound for their sophomore outing. |
| Next (1977):
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| This was the finale for Journey’s more progressive rock sound before they moved to a more radio-friendly, arena-rock sound. |
| Infinity (1978):
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Steve Perry’s first album with Journey marked the turn of the tides. Their first three albums had been more progressive-rock and jazz-leaning affairs, but with Infinity the band had their sites set on the classic rock world. The album sold three million copies. None of Journey’s first three albums even hit gold status.
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| Evolution (1979):
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Like its predecessor, Evolution sold three million copies. This time, however, the band also landed its first top-40 hit.
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| Departure (1980):
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Having built a loyal fan base with Infinity and Evolution, Journey were now headed for the big leagues. Like the two albums before it, Departure sold three million copies. This time, however, the band would crack the top-ten of the album chart.
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| Dream After Dream (soundtrack, 1980):
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Despite release during the height of Journey’s powers, this soundtrack to the Japanese fantasy film Yume, Yume No Ato, garnered almost no attention. That was primarily because the album was dominated by instrumental throwbacks to the band’s earlier, pre-Infinity progressive rock/jazz days. Still, Little Girl, one of the few songs with Steve Perry vocals on it, should have mustered a little more curiosity among the Journey faithful.
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CapturedJourney |
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Released: January 30, 1981 Recorded: August and October 1980 Peak: 9 US, -- UK, 9 CN, -- AU, 14 DF Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, -- UK, 3.0 world (includes US and UK) Genre: classic rock |
Tracks: (1) Majestic (2) Where Were You (3) Just the Same Way (4) Line of Fire (5) Lights (6) Stay Awhile (7) Too Late (8) Dixie Highway (9) Feeling That Way (10) Anytime (11) Do You Recall (12) Walks Like a Lady (13) La Do Da (14) Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’ (15) Wheel in the Sky (16) Any Way You Want It (17) The Party’s Over (Hopelessly in Love) Total Running Time: 71:18 |
Rating:  3.988 out of 5.00 (average of 20 ratings)
Awards: (Click on award to learn more).
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About Captured: This was the first live album from Journey. This was a double-platinum, top-ten album. It featured a new studio cut (The Party’s Over) and a live song (Dixie Highway) which had never been released on a Journey album. Tracks Not on Previously Noted Albums:
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| Escape (1981):
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Journey’s sole #1 album sold ten million copies on the strength of three top-ten pop hits. Open Arms became the band’s biggest chart hit and Don't Stop Believin’ would become the band’s biggest seller over time, thanks to publicity a quarter century later from use in the TV Shows The Sopranos and Glee.
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| Frontiers (1983):
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Frontiers couldn’t match the success of Escape, but it was still the second-best charting and selling album of the band’s career. It gave them their fourth top-ten hit with Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) and three more top-40 hits.
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Greatest Hits LiveJourney |
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Released: March 24, 1998 Recorded: 1981-1983 Peak: 79 US, 12 DF Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, -- UK, 1.0 world (includes US and UK) Genre: classic rock |
Tracks: (1) Don't Stop Believin’ (2) Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) (3) After the Fall (4) Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’ (5) Faithfully (6) Who’s Crying Now (7) Any Way You Want It (8) Lights (9) Stay Awhile (10) Open Arms (11) Send Her My Love (12) Still They Ride (13) Stone in Love (14) Escape (15) Line of Fire (16) Wheel in the Sky (17) Fireworks & Crowd Total Running Time: 71:16 |
Rating: 4.009 out of 5.00 (average of 17 ratings)
Awards: (Click on award to learn more).
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About Greatest Hits Live: The band’s second live album covers material from their heyday from 1978 to 1983. Had it been released after Frontiers, it seems it would have been guaranteed platinum, top-10 status. Instead, it didn’t come out until 1998 and went largely unnoticed. |
| Raised on Radio (1986):
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Schon, Perry, and Cain got back together in 1986 for Raised on Radio. Valory and Smith were no longer in the band, replaced by Michael Baird on drums and Randy Jackson, later a judge on TV’s American Idol. This was another multi-platinum affair which was a top-ten hit on the Billboard album chart and gave the band yet another top-ten hit.
“Following the tour, Journey disbanded. Perry went into a prolonged period of seclusion as Schon and Cain formed Bad English with vocalist John Waite,” WR who had worked with Cain in The Babys a decade earlier. “Bad English had several hit singles, including the chart-topper ‘When I See You Smile,’ before breaking up” WR after two albums. Schon then formed the rock group Hardline with Bad English drummer Deen Castronovo. While the group experienced far less success than Journey or Bad English, it did cement a relationship between Schon and Castronovo. Eventually, he would be brought into the Journey fold as well. During this same time, Journey alums Gregg Rolie, Ross Valory, and Steve Smith formed The Storm, which didn’t generate near the attention of Journey or even Bad English and Steve Perry solo projects, but they did manage one top 40 hit with “I’ve Got a Lot to Learn about Love” in 1991. “Perry returned to recording in 1994, releasing For the Love of Strange Medicine. Although the album went gold, it was a commercial disappointment by previous standards.” WR
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Greatest HitsJourney |
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Released: November 15, 1988 Recorded: 1978-1987 Peak: 10 US, 12 UK, 8 CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): 15.0 US, -- UK, 16.5 world (includes US and UK) Genre: classic rock |
Tracks: (1) Only the Young (2) Don't Stop Believin’ (3) Wheel in the Sky (4) Faithfully (5) I’ll Be Alright without You (6) Any Way You Want It (7) Ask the Lonely (8) Who’s Crying Now (9) Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) (10) Lights (11) Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’ (12) Open Arms (13) Girl Can’t Help It (14) Send Her My Love (15) Be Good to Yourself Total Running Time: 61:32 |
Rating:  4.450 out of 5.00 (average of 21 ratings)
Awards: (Click on award to learn more).
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About Greatest Hits: “Greatest Hits is an excellent, thorough 14-track collection containing all of Journey’s big hits, from 1978’s Wheel in the Sky to 1986’s I’ll Be Alright Without You. Although the songs aren't presented in chronological order and a handful of minor hits (‘Suzanne,’ ‘Walks Like a Lady’) aren't included, it doesn’t matter, since every essential Journey single…is here, which means that it's all most casual fans will ever need.” AMG The album includes two songs which hadn’t been released on a Journey album before. Ask the Lonely was first available on the Two of a Kind soundtrack and Only the Young came from the soundtrack for Vision Quest.
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Time 3Journey |
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Recorded: 1975-1986 Released: December 1, 1992 Peak: 90 US, 10 UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, -- UK, 0.5 world (includes US and UK) Genre: classic rock |
Tracks, Disc 1: (1) Of a Lifetime (2) Kohoutek (3) I’m Gonna Leave You (4) Cookie Duster (5) Nickel and Dime (6) For You (7) Velvet Curtain/Feeling That Way (8) Anytime (9) Patiently (10) Good Times (11) Majestic (12) Too Late (13) Sweet and Simple (14) Just the Same Way (15) Little Girl (16) Any Way You Want It (17) Someday Soon (18) Good Morning Girl Tracks, Disc 2: (1) Where Were You (2) Line of Fire (3) Homemade Love (4) Natural Thing (5) Lights (live) (6) Stay Awhile (live) (7) Walks Like a Lady (live) (8) Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’ (live) (9) Dixie Highway (live) (10) Wheel in the Sky (live) 11) The Party’s Over (Hopeless in Love) (12) Don't Stop Believin’ (13) Stone in Love (14) Keep on Runnin’ (15) Who’s Crying Now (16) Still They Ride (17) Open Arms (18) Mother, Father Tracks, Disc 3: (1) La Raza Del Sol (2) Only Solutions (3) Liberty (4) Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) (5) Send Her My Love (6) Faithfully (7) After the Fall (8) All That Really Matters (9) The Eyes of a Woman (10) Why Can’t This Night Go on Forever (11) Once You Love Somebody (12) Happy to Give (13) Be Good to Yourself (14) Only the Young (15) Ask the Lonely (16) With a Tear (instrumental) (17) Into Your Arms (instrumental) (18) Girl Can’t Help It (live) (19) I’ll Be Alright without You (live) |
Rating: 3.970 out of 5.00 (average of 20 ratings)
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About Time 3: Like many box sets, this set tries to appease casual fans and diehards simultaneously. The result is that neither side will be completely satisfied. Over the three discs, there are about a disc’s worth of mostly previously-unreleased rarities (listed below). The rest of the collection is a mix of singles and album cuts. One has to ask why the box set needs to cover 7 of the 10 songs from Escape. Instead of 7 songs from the Captured live album, wouldn’t it have been more interesting to mix in more previously-unreleased live cuts? Alas, this is what we get. Tracks Not on Previously Noted Albums:
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| Trial by Fire (1996):
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After ten years, Journey returned – and the classic lineup of Steve Perry, Neal Schon, Jonathan Cain, Ross Valory, and Steve Smith who gave the world Escape and Frontiers, the band’s two most successful albums. Even after a decade away, Journey managed a top-20 pop hit with When You Love a Woman. The song accomplished a first for the band – it was their maiden voyage to the top of the adult contemporary chart.
The reunion was short-lived, however; Perry and Smith opted out of the reunion after the tour, but Journey continued, hiring a new lead singer, Steve Augeri (formerly of Tall Stories), and…Castronovo, who made their debuts on Remember Me, a track on the 1998 Armageddon soundtrack. The band next reconvened in 2001. Arrival, Journey’s 11th new studio album, was released in April, followed by a national tour.” WR In 2005, Journey “released a new album, Generations, and embarked on their 30th anniversary tour. Shows on the tour stretched over three hours long and were divided into two sets – one focusing on pre-Escape material, the other on post-Escape material.” WR By 2006, “Jeff Scott Soto aboard as a replacement for Augeri, who developed a throat infection that prevented him from singing. However, Soto’s time with the band was limited; in 2007, Journey announced that they had parted ways with the singer and were once again seeking a frontman. They found him in Arnel Pineda, a Filipino vocalist that they discovered after seeing him perform on YouTube. Pineda made his debut with the band in 2008, the same year that Journey released Revelation.” WR That album proved a surprise success – going top 10 and inching toward gold as of this writing – feats the band hadn’t accomplished on a studio effort since 1996’s Trial by Fire. They returned with another studio album, Eclipse, in 2011. The journey had proved to not be over yet.
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The EssentialJourney |
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Recorded: 1978-1996 Released: October 16, 2001 Peak: 47 US, 10 UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, -- UK, 2.0 world (includes US and UK) Genre: classic rock |
Tracks: (1) Only the Young (2) Don't Stop Believin’ (3) Wheel in the Sky (4) Faithfully (5) Any Way You Want It (6) Ask the Lonely (7) Who’s Crying Now (8) Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) (9) Lights (10) Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’ (11) Open Arms (12) Girl Can’t Help It (13) Send Her My Love (14) When You Love a Woman (15) I’ll Be Alright Without You (16) After the Fall Tracks, Disc 2: (1) Chain Reaction (2) Message of Love (3) Somethin’ to Hide (4) Line of Fire (live) (5) Anytime (6) Stone in Love (7) Patiently (8) Good Morning Girl (9) The Eyes of a Woman (10) Be Good to Yourself (11) Still They Ride (12) Baby I’m a Leavin’ You (13) Mother Father (14) Just the Same Way (15) Escape (16) The Party’s Over (Hopelessly in Love) |
Rating: 4.094 out of 5.00 (average of 17 ratings)
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About The Essential: There weren’t any new tracks on this collection to whet fans’ appetites. In fact, it’s hard to know why this sold two million copies as it isn’t really any more than a deluxe repackaging of the 1988 Greatest Hits album. Disc 1 almost repeats the track order of that compilation. This means the second disc is dominated by minor hits and album cuts. One would think that would at least make this an exhaustive set covering every song that ever charted for Journey. Nope. “Too Late,” “Stay Awhile,” “Walks Like a Lady,” “Dixie Highway,” “Only Solutions,” “Suzanne,” and “Why Can’t this Night Go on Forever,” “If He Should Break Your Heart,” and “Can’t Tame the Lion” were all hits on one chart or another and could have been included here instead of an overabundance of album cuts. “Little Girl,” from the Dream After Dream soundtrack would also have been a sensible addition. And how do you miss the mark by not pairing “Anytime” with “Feeling That Way,” one of the great two-fers of classic rock radio? To be fair, some of these did appear on the third disc of the limited edition set, but considering that third disc (see notes) only had eight cuts, it still made for a subpar job. This collection would have also worked much better if it were compiled chronologically. That would balance the better known songs over two discs instead of loading them all up on the first disc. About the only thing this collection has over the previous Greatest Hits and Time 3 collections is the inclusion of three cuts from 1996’s Trial by Fire. Notes: A limited edition offered another disc’s worth of material: (1) Don't Stop Believin’ (live) (2) Stone in Love (live) (3) When I Think of You (4) Suzanne (5) Walks Like a Lady (6) Feeling That Way (7) Mother Father (live) (8) I Can See It in Your Eyes |
Greatest Hits 2Journey |
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Recorded: 1978-1996 Released: November 1, 2011 Peak: 93 US, 10 UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): -- Genre: classic rock |
Tracks: (1) Stone in Love (2) After the Fall (3) Chain Reaction (4) The Party’s Over (Hopeless in Love) (5) Escape (6) Still They Ride (7) Good Morning Girl (8) Stay Awhile (9) Suzanne (10) Feeling That Way (11) Anytime (12) Walks Like a Lady (13) Little Girl (14) Just the Same Way (15) Patiently (16) When I Think of You (17) Mother Father (live) |
Rating: 3.954 out of 5.00 (average of 10 ratings)
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About Greatest Hits 2: Like The Essential collection, there’s nothing here that hadn’t been released before, but this set does correct some of the mistakes of that compilation. While this one still misses some chart hits, it does have “Feeling That Way,” “Stay Awhile,” “Little Girl,” and “Suzanne” – all songs left off of the two-disc Essential. It is still hard to understand who this set was for. Clearly the record companies hoped the 15 million fans who bought the first greatest hits set would pony up for this one as well. They didn’t. The album peaked at #93 and didn’t even crack the half-million mark in sales. Notes: An international version added a live version of “Don't Stop Believin’” as a bonus track. |
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First posted 9/12/2020; last updated 7/9/2022. |
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