Faithfully

It’s hard to overstate the importance that the band Journey had in my teenage life. I lived and breathed the band, although I never saw them in concert. They were by far my favourite band, and I was devastated when they broke up.

I started listening to Journey around the time of their Escape album, which was released in 1981. It was and is pretty close to a perfect album, with four Billboard Hot 100 singles. Almost every song is great. You know “Don’t Stop Believing” but there’s also “Open Arms”, “Who’s Crying Now”, and one of my favourites, “Stone in Love”.

By this time, I was such a nerd that I added an infinity symbol to my signature!

I remember when I bought the next album, Frontiers, on vinyl. I was eager to bring it home and put it on the turntable. Once I listened to it, I wasn’t as excited, because the second half of the album is not great. However, it does have some bangers on it, like “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)”, “Faithfully” and “Edge of the Blade”.

By the time Frontiers came out, I had purchased several of their older albums, either used or new. Songs like “Lights”, “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin'” and “Lă Do Dā” were among my favorites. I played these records over and over again. I even managed to find and purchase their strange album, Dream, After Dream, which was the soundtrack for an obscure Japanese film. It was completely different than contemporary Journey music, but it has its own weird appeal to me.

I doubt many casual fans of Journey realize that they recorded three albums before Steve Perry joined the band. These albums are quite different than the Journey that most people know. It was described as jazz fusion, so it was a bit of progressive rock and more jazz and blues. They had a different lineup then with a different vocalist, Gregg Rolie (formerly of Santana). These albums were good in their own way, but again, very different than later albums.

After Frontiers, Journey took a pause and Steve Perry recorded his first solo album, Street Talk, with the megahit “Oh, Sherrie”. The group returned to the studio for the Raised on Radio album, which sounded more like Perry’s solo effort than a Journey album. I liked it.

Steve Perry quit the band after that, and the band took an eight-year pause. They released their tenth album Trial by Fire in late 1996, the last one featuring Steve Perry. I didn’t really care for the album at the time, although I have warmed to it over the years.

Journey went through some personnel changes after Perry left, and eventually they hired their current lead singer, Arnel Pineda. He’s a fine singer, but to me, Journey sounds like a cover band of themselves. Journey is coming to Winnipeg in March 2024, with Toto, but I’m not sure if I will go see them. Probably not.

After leaving Journey for the second time, Steve Perry recorded a second solo album, For the Love of Strange Medicine in 1994. Following that, he more or less disappeared for more than 20 years. I thought he was done with music.

When I heard in 2018 that he was releasing an entirely new album, I was thrilled! Traces came out in October 2018 and I bought streamed it immediately. I was practically crying as I listened to it, as it was so good. I didn’t realize how much I had missed Steve Perry’s singing. It’s fantastic. What a gift to his fans.

Today, I still love hearing Journey songs. I love the “big four and a half” – Infinity, Evolution, Departure, Escape, and the first half of Frontiers. About the only song I don’t care for these days is “Don’t Stop Believing” because I’ve heard it far too much in the past decade. Thanks, Glee.

“Wheel in the Sky”, “Walks Like a Lady”, “Who’s Crying Now”, “Open Arms”, “Send Her My Love”… so many great songs.

And I still have the infinity symbol in my signature.