Review Summary: This is a good album through and through, but here's a warning: It's going to be the last good album for Journey...
The first three albums that Journey made captured a more submissive, progressive fusion style in their music. Gregg Rolie wasn't the best singer, but he got the job done and his voice was passable for prog. However, this missed the point of his presence in the album: his keyboard work. Both Gregg Rolie and Neal Schon showed great musicianship in their works. Ross Valory, the bassist, made his bass work stand out even with everything else happening in the music. Etc., Etc...
So, that was the deal with their early years. So now, we reach the post-prog era of Journey. Steve Perry comes in, and prog comes out of the equation. So how does it add up? Actually not too bad yet. Neal Schon still shows some jazzy solos, and Gregg Rolie still stands out with his keyboards. However, as you can see from the 3/5 rating, there were still problems with Steve Perry coming in with the band. Read on and find out what went wrong...
The album opens up with Lights, their first song to reach the charts. You can tell that Steve Perry really tries with the vocals, and this is one of his strongest tracks on here. The next two songs are actually bridge into each other. Feeling That Way is yet another vocal-driven ballad focusing on Perry's vocals. The song bridges into Anyway, which has a very similar tone. There's not too much variation.
So I guess I'll just say it now. The problem with this album is that the variation was left behind from the previous albums in favor of a more straightforward, crowd-pleasing album. Any jazz-laden roots are being left behind for pop-rock, and somehow the members who have appeared in albums of talent and quality have agreed to change. Again, there's just not enough in each song to stand out from the next one. A perfect example is the closer Opened the Door. It keeps repeating and rehashing itself, and this gets tiring, as well as trying one's concentration.
So overall, this album wasn't necessarily bad by any means, but it still did not match the high quality of Journey's previous works. However, it's a sign of the times that Journey is changing from prog to more accessible arrangements. Journey's turning IS becoming more accessible, though, and that might be good enough for some people.
Highlights: Lights, Winds of March, Feeling that Way
Lows: Opened the Door, Anytime
