#110
Reviewed by Tom Mott
Journey
Departure
Allen’s Rating: 2 out of 5
Tom’s Rating: 3.4 out of 5
Allen’s Highlights:
Any Way You Want It
Tom’s Highlights:
Any Way You Want It
Walks Like a Lady
Line of Fire
Where Were You
Reviewed by Tom "I could go the rest of my life without hearing Don't Stop Believin' again" Mott
Journey Escape was the first album I bought with my own money. That was @Jim Erbe's idea. Strong album! I liked it! Everybody had it. I will never listen to that album again. But Jim also introduced me to Sparks "Angst in my Pants" which I still listen to regularly.
This is not Journey Escape. It's the line-up before that line-up. Depending on how you take your Journey, this is either the "classic" lineup, or the "proto" lineup before their "classic" lineup.
For the record, I am not a Journey hater.
1) Separate Ways is a monster!
2) My band convered Any Way You Want It 20 years ago. It's still on YouTube. I still love it.
3) Greg Rolie was in Santana when they played Tanglewood in 1970. That version of Soul Sacrifice is even better than the version they played at Woodstock. Some of the most glorious 13 minutes on YouTube. Highly, highly recommended.
4) Steve Perry is a mensch. Dude retired when he couldn't hit the high notes. Married a woman with a terminal illness and took care of her.
ANY WAY YOU WANT IT - 5.00
Yes! The second song my band ever recorded, and it still f@#%ing rocks!
Greg Rolie and Neil Schon.
WALKS LIKE A LADY - 3.25
Great jazzy feel. Perry's pipes are undeniable. But it doesn't gel. Boz Scaggs or Donald Fagen should be singing this. I imagine there's some dude with a bitchin' Camaro and this is his jam, and I feel an outpouring of love for that dude, whomever he may be.
SOMEDAY SOON - 2.00
I forgot I was listening. Boring.
PEOPLE AND PLACES - 2.00
Sounds like a crappy Styx ballad. Don't get me wrong, I've got a soft spot for Styx. But still.
PRECIOUS TIME - 3.00
I actively disliked the first half of this. There are some Steve Miller Band SF rock vibes here -- I'd swear that's Steve on harmonica -- but overall it wasn't working. By the end, the harmonica work won me over. [Edit: It's Greg Rolie on harmonica. Well played, sir!]
WHERE WERE YOU - 3.75
Sounds like this would rock an arena. Like "Start Me Up" -- not the biggest hit, but strong enough to get the crowd pumped. The chorus lowers the score for me a bit. I really like Neil Schon's solos on all the songs so far. Sooooo much better than Witchfyne!
I'M CRYIN' - 2.75
I just realized how much Steve Perry sounds like Tina Turner. Is this common knowledge, or did I just unlock the Thunderdome Code? The song is fine. I don't need to ever hear it again.
LINE OF FIRE - 2.99999999 UPGRADED TO 3.75
One of those jazzy rockers that Ten Years After was good at. Or Van Halen. It's fine. I can't quite give it a 3.0. I prefer Schon's bluesier solos to his shredding solos. EDIT: Whoa, holy shit there was a gunshot!!! That was cool. Now I want to be in a heavy metal parking lot with girls in midriff tees drinked cans of beers out of our cooler.
DEPARTURE - 4.0
38 seconds of noodling. If it was Eno or Neu! I'd probably automatically give it a 4.0, so in fairness I will.
GOOD MORNING GIRL - 1.75
Tedious
STAY AWHILE - 3.25
We're in Wheel in the Sky territory here. Stripper music. That's not always a bad thing.
HOMEMADE LOVE - 2.00
An awkward funky something or other that really doesn't work. Aerosmith might've pulled it off.
NATURAL THING - 2.50
Didn't I just hear this two tracks ago? Maybe if I had gone to prom I'd rate this higher.
LITTLE GIRL - 2.25
This could almost have been on an early Bee Gees album. Almost. Steve Perry has an amazing voice, but needs to stay in his lane.
FINAL VERDICT
If I was getting a ride in my older brother's friend's bitchin' Camaro and that guy popped this cassette into the deck and cranked it up, it would've gone down as a memorable life moment. But that never happened.
https://open.spotify.com/album/2OyVtIEp7O7a6o82DF4Ba5?si=EMtyxULxRMSIAgYNkGHDsQ
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