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| Surely, someone told them.... |
The Biggest Surprise: Not that everything passed though Steve Perry, but the way it did.
The Most Famous Line-Up: Neal Schon (guitar); Ross Valory (bass); Steve Perry (vox); Gregg Rolie (replaced by Jonathan Cain and a different keyboard); Aynsley Dunbar (drums; replaced by Steve Smith in 1978)
What You Need to Know
“We’re gonna write about people’s lives, about what’s on their mind. ‘Just a small-town girl'…”
- Jonathan Cain
According to the Journey Behind the Music, a succession of tragedies propelled Steve Perry’s career in music, and he’d have a couple in Journey’s third act (against convention, it’s a four-act play). The first version of the band formed in San Francisco when former members of Santana – a ridiculously young Schon and Rolie – teamed up with former members of Frumious Bandersnatch – Valory and (very briefly) George Ticknor to form, first the Golden Gate Rhythm Section, then Journey. Three albums came out of (most of) that line-up – an eponymous debut in ’75, Look Into the Future in ’76, and Next in ’77. They played a jam-heavy sound back then and swapped singing duties, looking for the right mix. After laying three eggs, the band’s label more or less ordered the band to hire a lead singer, but that search also rescued Perry from mourning the death of someone from his previous band and his movie-perfect then-career of repairing chicken coops. Thrown together in a Denver hotel shortly after Perry came on, he and Schon wrote the first song for Journey’s first step to the main stage, 1978’s Infinity, “Patiently,” in just a few minutes. (“Wheel in the Sky” came from the same album.)
When Rolie took off after Departure (he was just tired of the life), Perry formed a writing partnership with his replacement, Cain, who came over from The Babys at Rolie’s suggestion. Those two repeated the trick from the Denver hotel room, only with a better (or more commercial) song: “Open Arms.” Despite critics’ and Schon’s cool reaction (and general antics around it), the single was massive, Escape was massive, and Journey was “Atari-designed-a-video-game-for-them” big. Because he seemed to be the nerve center for making it all happen, the rest of the band generally let Perry take over the band’s direction (to paraphrase Schon, “I took my hands off the wheel”) – an arrangement that could only last as long as he did. Fame started eating at him, and Perry retreated from the rest of the band. What started with traveling separately with then-girlfriend, Sherrie Swafford (yes, “Oh, Sherrie,” who still left him in the end) ended with him throwing Valory and Smith out of the band (a decision he seems to regret). After a crisis that involved his mother’s death, Perry wound up bolting (I believe) in the middle of the tour supporting Raised on Radio…and that was it…
…until Perry called up the rest of the band for a reunion in 1996. They recorded an album called Trial by Fire, and were all set to tour it…only to have a degenerative bone disease hit Perry while hiking in Hawaii preparing for the same tour. When he couldn’t go, the rest of the band decided to go without him. The feelings about all that remain incredibly complicated…the Behind the Music on that angel is pretty damn incredible.
My Favorite Anecdote
Pretty much all the stories around “Open Arms,” whether Schon visibly hating on it during recording, or him pissing off Perry by telling him “that song really kicked-ass” after it killed on its live debut. Also, this quote from Schon:
“When we were a jam band, it was mostly guys in the audience, and now our audience is 80% women. Y’know, they loved the ballads. That’s what I noticed the difference when I looked out there. It was very pleasing on the eyes.”
Why They Didn’t Make the Island
A couple Journey songs still actually get a response out of me – “Anyway You Want It,” (Departure, 1980) “Stone in Love,” (Escape, 1981) maybe something that sounds like “Lights”(Infinity, 1978) – and I think of all of those as the best version of Journey with Steve Perry (also, could be I'm just a Rolie stan). I’d never put any of those songs on a playlist, not because they’re awful, but because Journey has this knack for bubbling up in the zeitgeist now and then that has always felt misplaced to me. That said, I did have some fun knocking around their pre-Perry catalog, where I found a song I genuinely like (“Hustler”) and a song that answered the question, “why did the label want a singer?” (“She Makes Me (Feel Alright)”). So, bottom line, “peak-Journey” is played out for the rest of my lifetime, and the early stuff...well, it's missing something.
The Most Famous Line-Up: Neal Schon (guitar); Ross Valory (bass); Steve Perry (vox); Gregg Rolie (replaced by Jonathan Cain and a different keyboard); Aynsley Dunbar (drums; replaced by Steve Smith in 1978)
What You Need to Know
“We’re gonna write about people’s lives, about what’s on their mind. ‘Just a small-town girl'…”
- Jonathan Cain
According to the Journey Behind the Music, a succession of tragedies propelled Steve Perry’s career in music, and he’d have a couple in Journey’s third act (against convention, it’s a four-act play). The first version of the band formed in San Francisco when former members of Santana – a ridiculously young Schon and Rolie – teamed up with former members of Frumious Bandersnatch – Valory and (very briefly) George Ticknor to form, first the Golden Gate Rhythm Section, then Journey. Three albums came out of (most of) that line-up – an eponymous debut in ’75, Look Into the Future in ’76, and Next in ’77. They played a jam-heavy sound back then and swapped singing duties, looking for the right mix. After laying three eggs, the band’s label more or less ordered the band to hire a lead singer, but that search also rescued Perry from mourning the death of someone from his previous band and his movie-perfect then-career of repairing chicken coops. Thrown together in a Denver hotel shortly after Perry came on, he and Schon wrote the first song for Journey’s first step to the main stage, 1978’s Infinity, “Patiently,” in just a few minutes. (“Wheel in the Sky” came from the same album.)
When Rolie took off after Departure (he was just tired of the life), Perry formed a writing partnership with his replacement, Cain, who came over from The Babys at Rolie’s suggestion. Those two repeated the trick from the Denver hotel room, only with a better (or more commercial) song: “Open Arms.” Despite critics’ and Schon’s cool reaction (and general antics around it), the single was massive, Escape was massive, and Journey was “Atari-designed-a-video-game-for-them” big. Because he seemed to be the nerve center for making it all happen, the rest of the band generally let Perry take over the band’s direction (to paraphrase Schon, “I took my hands off the wheel”) – an arrangement that could only last as long as he did. Fame started eating at him, and Perry retreated from the rest of the band. What started with traveling separately with then-girlfriend, Sherrie Swafford (yes, “Oh, Sherrie,” who still left him in the end) ended with him throwing Valory and Smith out of the band (a decision he seems to regret). After a crisis that involved his mother’s death, Perry wound up bolting (I believe) in the middle of the tour supporting Raised on Radio…and that was it…
…until Perry called up the rest of the band for a reunion in 1996. They recorded an album called Trial by Fire, and were all set to tour it…only to have a degenerative bone disease hit Perry while hiking in Hawaii preparing for the same tour. When he couldn’t go, the rest of the band decided to go without him. The feelings about all that remain incredibly complicated…the Behind the Music on that angel is pretty damn incredible.
My Favorite Anecdote
Pretty much all the stories around “Open Arms,” whether Schon visibly hating on it during recording, or him pissing off Perry by telling him “that song really kicked-ass” after it killed on its live debut. Also, this quote from Schon:
“When we were a jam band, it was mostly guys in the audience, and now our audience is 80% women. Y’know, they loved the ballads. That’s what I noticed the difference when I looked out there. It was very pleasing on the eyes.”
Why They Didn’t Make the Island
A couple Journey songs still actually get a response out of me – “Anyway You Want It,” (Departure, 1980) “Stone in Love,” (Escape, 1981) maybe something that sounds like “Lights”(Infinity, 1978) – and I think of all of those as the best version of Journey with Steve Perry (also, could be I'm just a Rolie stan). I’d never put any of those songs on a playlist, not because they’re awful, but because Journey has this knack for bubbling up in the zeitgeist now and then that has always felt misplaced to me. That said, I did have some fun knocking around their pre-Perry catalog, where I found a song I genuinely like (“Hustler”) and a song that answered the question, “why did the label want a singer?” (“She Makes Me (Feel Alright)”). So, bottom line, “peak-Journey” is played out for the rest of my lifetime, and the early stuff...well, it's missing something.
Other Featured Songs: I dedicated 1/3 of this playlist to giving people a taste of pre-Perry Journey, which got “It’s All Too Much” from Look Into the Future and (for me) the more mature, yet somehow not yet tied together, “Spaceman” and “People” from Next. With the Perry era material, I included hits from a couple yards off the beaten path – “Anytime” and “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’” (because I learned the story behind it) – and then a handful from the band’s hey-day to show a little of what else they did: “Walks Like a Lady” (lounge meets honky-tonk?), “Escape” (actual rocker, one for Neil) and “Lay It Down” (a more melodic rocker). Finally, there’s “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)” because a guy I chat with likes it and that makes me pull for it. One of the worst videos every made, btw, but what the hell?
Most Journey Song: "Open Arms,” both for its popularity and the way it demonstrated the hierarchy of the band. On a personal note, if you blurted out, "name a Journey song!" I'd answer with "Wheel in the Sky," because I was mesmerized by Neal Schon's afro in that video for a whole damn year.
Sources
Wikipedia
Most Journey Song: "Open Arms,” both for its popularity and the way it demonstrated the hierarchy of the band. On a personal note, if you blurted out, "name a Journey song!" I'd answer with "Wheel in the Sky," because I was mesmerized by Neal Schon's afro in that video for a whole damn year.
Sources
Wikipedia
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