I wish...

[Monker]

My "I wish..." list for Journey. A bunch of things I wish had happened over the years. Just a "wish" list, I know some are next to impossible.

I wish....

...Journey's earliest years were better documented.
...there was a recording of "The Golden Gate Rhythm Section" just to see/hear what the original idea was .
...there was a release of a song with Prairie Prince on drums.
...the first concert "The Crater Festival" in Hawaii had been captured and released.
...there was a song I could point to and say, "Wow, Tickner sounds great there..."
...Robert Fleischman had released at least once song with Journey.
...the Montrose Studio live recording would have been an official release with Maybe "Next" as a live single.
...the full KBFH Superjam could be release on CD...with Good Times as a single.
...Journey or members of Journey, would have done more collaborations, like they did for Sammy Hagar.
...I wish some of those collaborations could have been on Journey releases.
..."Little Girl" was released on either Departure or Escape and released as a single...and NOT a "B" side.
...Journey did the entirety of the Tron soundtrack...ie: Queen for Buck Rodgers
..."Let it Rock You" had been completed and released as a single back in the 80's. It was so close.
...a FULL Departure concert was released instead of the portions that were released for Captured.
...the MTV Houston Escape concert was released on Video/CD a lot sooner than it was.
...a full version of a "Raised on Radio" concert was released.
...Steve Perry had rerecorded the entirety of the Alien Project demo, instead of just "If You Need Me, Call Me"
...the version of Journey with Kevin Chalfant and Gregg Rolie had recorded at least one album and did a tour before the Trial By Fire reunion.
...the Time*3 box set was a more comprehensive box set, maybe including some of the things above.
...a type of "video" box set could have been released along with Time*3
...a copy of the Robyn Flans book was included with the box set.
...Gregg Rolie had done an entire tour with Journey, instead of just various guest appearances over the years.
..."Greatest Hits Live" had included fan favorite live songs and not just a live version of most of the hits.
...GHLIve had not had so many songs already found on Captured.
...GHLive had not been altered so much in production.
...Robyn Flans had written a follow up book after the TBF breakup.
...Augeri were given more rest time between tours so his voice did not get so stressed.
...more recognition was given to Journey for the 2001 Vegas DVD going platinum.
...a true follow up to Arrival was recorded
...the Auger/JSS/Arnel transitions were handled more professionally and different.
...Journey did not start allowing their personal lives to interfere with band activities...starting with Neal's public "courting" and marriage to M
...Journey would have done a true 50th anniversary celebration, instead of a tour with an almost standard set list.
...the Escape lineup minus Steve Perry had been together for the anniversary tour.,
...Steve Perry could have been allowed to do "something" on video during the anniversary tour.
...Journey could have done something musical on either Tron:Legacy or Tron:Eres

That's all I can think of right now...

[Journey/Survivor]

My "I wish..." list for Journey. A bunch of things I wish had happened over the years. Just a "wish" list, I know some are next to impossible.

I wish....

...Journey's earliest years were better documented.
...there was a recording of "The Golden Gate Rhythm Section" just to see/hear what the original idea was .
...there was a release of a song with Prairie Prince on drums.
...the first concert "The Crater Festival" in Hawaii had been captured and released.
...there was a song I could point to and say, "Wow, Tickner sounds great there..."
...Robert Fleischman had released at least once song with Journey.
...the Montrose Studio live recording would have been an official release with Maybe "Next" as a live single.
...the full KBFH Superjam could be release on CD...with Good Times as a single.
...Journey or members of Journey, would have done more collaborations, like they did for Sammy Hagar.
...I wish some of those collaborations could have been on Journey releases.
..."Little Girl" was released on either Departure or Escape and released as a single...and NOT a "B" side.
...Journey did the entirety of the Tron soundtrack...ie: Queen for Buck Rodgers
..."Let it Rock You" had been completed and released as a single back in the 80's. It was so close.
...a FULL Departure concert was released instead of the portions that were released for Captured.
...the MTV Houston Escape concert was released on Video/CD a lot sooner than it was.
...a full version of a "Raised on Radio" concert was released.
...Steve Perry had rerecorded the entirety of the Alien Project demo, instead of just "If You Need Me, Call Me"
...the version of Journey with Kevin Chalfant and Gregg Rolie had recorded at least one album and did a tour before the Trial By Fire reunion.
...the Time*3 box set was a more comprehensive box set, maybe including some of the things above.
...a type of "video" box set could have been released along with Time*3
...a copy of the Robyn Flans book was included with the box set.
...Gregg Rolie had done an entire tour with Journey, instead of just various guest appearances over the years.
..."Greatest Hits Live" had included fan favorite live songs and not just a live version of most of the hits.
...GHLIve had not had so many songs already found on Captured.
...GHLive had not been altered so much in production.
...Robyn Flans had written a follow up book after the TBF breakup.
...Augeri were given more rest time between tours so his voice did not get so stressed.
...more recognition was given to Journey for the 2001 Vegas DVD going platinum.
...a true follow up to Arrival was recorded
...the Auger/JSS/Arnel transitions were handled more professionally and different.
...Journey did not start allowing their personal lives to interfere with band activities...starting with Neal's public "courting" and marriage to M
...Journey would have done a true 50th anniversary celebration, instead of a tour with an almost standard set list.
...the Escape lineup minus Steve Perry had been together for the anniversary tour.,
...Steve Perry could have been allowed to do "something" on video during the anniversary tour.
...Journey could have done something musical on either Tron:Legacy or Tron:Eres

That's all I can think of right now...

I assume that you do know that the very first live show, the Crater Festival does exist in bootleg form, and I believe that there are also bootleg performances of other shows with Prairie Prince on drums?

It's a great list overall. Many of those things on your list are things that I have thought many times myself over the years.

I really wish that like you mentioned, they had done one album and tour with Rolie and Chalfant in the band.

[The_Noble_Cause]

Neat idea for a post. Where does one begin with this band? It's very much a story of missed opportunities...


-I wish Ask The Lonely and Only The Young were included on Frontiers initially.

-I wish they had kept writing/recording the occasional duet (like Feeling That Way, Anytime, JTSW etc) even after Rolie left. It was part of the Journey sound.

-I wish they had replaced Perry in the late eighties and given a Kevin C lineup a try.

-I wish they listened to Herbie on more issues.

-I wish they kept Ross and Smith (for both ROR and in 2020).

-I wish we had a proper follow-up to Arrival. Generations has some good tunes, but it's half-assed. Even if Augeri was fading, make a concerted effort to record something that lives up to the legacy.

-I wish they kept Azoff management or QPrime.

-I wish the Randy and Narada lineup would have panned out.

-I wish Jeremey H would've worked out.

-I wish the stain of tapegate/lip-syncing didn't exist.

- I wish the Resonate music video (with Neal and Lady M making out of the beach) was wiped from my brain.

-I wish somebody would take the keyboard away from Neal.

-I hope Jon finally wakes up.

[youkeepmewaiting]

I wish they gave Arrival more respect

I wish they would have done more with Jack Blades after Arrival

I understand why they have to stick to the major songs during the big tours but I wish they would have done a few smaller shows playing deeper cuts, recorded and released them

I wish there was more Raised on Radio content

I wish they would release well put together box sets with demos and b sides (there must be lots sitting around the vaults even if Schon says there isnt... most likely impossible to get the clearance from Perry)

I wish JSS would have been given a longer run to see what could have happened

[Gideon]

I wish they

* Replaced SP and went with Chalfant
* Did more with Trial By Fire, their best album imo
* Paced themselves on tour more for the sake of Augeri and Arnel
* Gave Deen/Jason 2-4 songs per show to help Augeri and Arnel
* Kept QPrime management
* Collaborated with modern artists every now and then to try to get back on the radio
* Did more high profile events (2021 was great: iHeart, Lollapalooza, Rock in Rio, etc.) when AP was up to the job
* Kept Change for the Better, Wildest Dream, Resonate, Chain of Love, and Edge of the Moment in the set constantly
* Recorded an Eclipse live DVD, I'll never get to hear my favorite Journey song (Resonate) live
* Hired active, competent social media managers and cranked out social media content a la Def Leppard
* Banned Neal and Jon's wives from anything business related
* Kept Neal off social media

[jrnyman28]

Minor correction: Queen did Flash Gordon

I wish: Neal had more backbone over the years. It seems like he never thought he had any power. I imagine Herbie kept it that way. But so many times Neal had ideas, plans, thoughts and he backed down…to HH, to Perry, to Jon, to the fans. I especially wish he didn’t cave before the TBF reunion or immediately following the TBF fiasco.

What info does the forum have about “Let It Rock You”? I hear conflicting origins.

[scarab]

I wish Journey thru Time played more theaters
Like 3K-5K.
I wish Perry/School would do something...
Anything.
Their magic was so epic.
I wish Jon would just go.
He's been phoning it in for years.

[Journey/Survivor]

Minor correction: Queen did Flash Gordon

I wish: Neal had more backbone over the years. It seems like he never thought he had any power. I imagine Herbie kept it that way. But so many times Neal had ideas, plans, thoughts and he backed down…to HH, to Perry, to Jon, to the fans. I especially wish he didn’t cave before the TBF reunion or immediately following the TBF fiasco.

What info does the forum have about “Let It Rock You”? I hear conflicting origins.

I agree. Contrary to what most of this forums members seem to think, Schon should have had more power and say in Journey over the years. Perry and Cain had way too much power in the band. Especially Perry.

[Monker]

Minor correction: Queen did Flash Gordon

I wish: Neal had more backbone over the years. It seems like he never thought he had any power. I imagine Herbie kept it that way. But so many times Neal had ideas, plans, thoughts and he backed down…to HH, to Perry, to Jon, to the fans. I especially wish he didn’t cave before the TBF reunion or immediately following the TBF fiasco.

What info does the forum have about “Let It Rock You”? I hear conflicting origins.

Dean and I went back and forth on "Let It Rock You". We were not really arguing, just stating our points. I always thought it was from the ROR time. It just sounds like the ROR style and Perry's voice seems deeper and rougher. I don't remember all of Dean's points, but I think he thought it was from the Escape time. I think he mentioned something about Neal's guitar sounding more like Escape than ROR, and maybe the bass not being Randy Jackson. I don't think anybody knows for certain.

Froy was the source for when I first heard it. He was selling CD's of "rarities" for $40/CD (and $70/VHS tape, for concerts, etc). That was an incredibly outrageous price for the early 1990's. So, a few fans from the AOL type forums (GEnie, to be specific) got together to share the cost. We each bought a different CD and then shared it between us. I do not remember where Froy said he got it from, or what he thought the source was.

[DK23]

I wish Cain had written for countless more artists throughout the years
I wish Neal could play as melodically as he did in the 20th Century
I wish Perry’s 90s rasp voice wasn’t limited to just two (full) albums
I wish Jeff Scott Soto’s one recorded “Journey” song was better
I wish Journey didn’t do Japan release only bonus tracks
I wish Journey got more praise for their musicianship than they did/do
I wish Generations, Red 13, Tron, Dream After Dream were on every streaming platform
I wish unreleased draft tracks/studio outtakes from the past 30 years were released (TBF to Freedom)
I wish we got more than one post-80s Steve Smith album when he really advanced his playing
I wish the band had considered John Farnham to join them in the late 80s or 90s
I wish they performed obvious Perry-era fan favorites at concerts, like IBAWY, Girl Can't Help It, Feeling That Way, Just the Same Way, Stay Awhile
I wish we had more albums from Arnel before his voice went (circa 2012)
I wish the band would stop ending songs in concert with a 30-second wall-of-noise fest and just end songs abruptly when possible
I wish Deen Castronovo could play drums that fit the Journey sound more
I wish Message of Love didn’t sound so much like Separate Ways
I wish Chain Reaction was a better song
I wish they toured less with Perry so we could hear more Perry
I wish Neal had a short instrumental on Freedom
I wish the band were better about archiving things
I wish the band would make 4k restorations of music videos (sans Resonate ofc)
I wish the band would change its band profile pic on streaming platforms
I wish all diehard Journey fans knew about and participated in this forum

[JourneyHard]

I wish Journey's official web site was kickass instead of totally lame.
I wish Jeff Scott Soto is given another chance with Journey in 2028 after Jon leaves.
I wish the Herbie Herbert documentary that was promised five years ago is finally released some day.
I wish Journey returns to being a jam band and rotate one ballad per concert and rock out the rest of the time.
I wish Steve Perry was 100% healthy for the Trial By Fire Tour. That would have been awesome.
I wish Journey had a rocker on the Heavy Metal Soundtrack instead of Open Arms.
I wish Gregg Rolie would tour with Journey one last time so I could see him with the band.

[jrnyman28]

Minor correction: Queen did Flash Gordon

I wish: Neal had more backbone over the years. It seems like he never thought he had any power. I imagine Herbie kept it that way. But so many times Neal had ideas, plans, thoughts and he backed down…to HH, to Perry, to Jon, to the fans. I especially wish he didn’t cave before the TBF reunion or immediately following the TBF fiasco.

What info does the forum have about “Let It Rock You”? I hear conflicting origins.

Dean and I went back and forth on "Let It Rock You". We were not really arguing, just stating our points. I always thought it was from the ROR time. It just sounds like the ROR style and Perry's voice seems deeper and rougher. I don't remember all of Dean's points, but I think he thought it was from the Escape time. I think he mentioned something about Neal's guitar sounding more like Escape than ROR, and maybe the bass not being Randy Jackson. I don't think anybody knows for certain.

Froy was the source for when I first heard it. He was selling CD's of "rarities" for $40/CD (and $70/VHS tape, for concerts, etc). That was an incredibly outrageous price for the early 1990's. So, a few fans from the AOL type forums (GEnie, to be specific) got together to share the cost. We each bought a different CD and then shared it between us. I do not remember where Froy said he got it from, or what he thought the source was.

I get different vibes on all of it. I love the guitar work. Sounds like Neal but in a way he has never really played for modern Journey. It does sound like Randy on bass. But inalso thought Perry sounded like Street Talk era.

[Loneman1]

Minor correction: Queen did Flash Gordon

I wish: Neal had more backbone over the years. It seems like he never thought he had any power. I imagine Herbie kept it that way. But so many times Neal had ideas, plans, thoughts and he backed down…to HH, to Perry, to Jon, to the fans. I especially wish he didn’t cave before the TBF reunion or immediately following the TBF fiasco.

What info does the forum have about “Let It Rock You”? I hear conflicting origins.

Dean and I went back and forth on "Let It Rock You". We were not really arguing, just stating our points. I always thought it was from the ROR time. It just sounds like the ROR style and Perry's voice seems deeper and rougher. I don't remember all of Dean's points, but I think he thought it was from the Escape time. I think he mentioned something about Neal's guitar sounding more like Escape than ROR, and maybe the bass not being Randy Jackson. I don't think anybody knows for certain.

Froy was the source for when I first heard it. He was selling CD's of "rarities" for $40/CD (and $70/VHS tape, for concerts, etc). That was an incredibly outrageous price for the early 1990's. So, a few fans from the AOL type forums (GEnie, to be specific) got together to share the cost. We each bought a different CD and then shared it between us. I do not remember where Froy said he got it from, or what he thought the source was.

I get different vibes on all of it. I love the guitar work. Sounds like Neal but in a way he has never really played for modern Journey. It does sound like Randy on bass. But inalso thought Perry sounded like Street Talk era.

I've figured it was either a Street Talk outtake or from the early recordings of what became ROR before Perry switched gears more towards R&B. It does sound like Neal playing to me though as well and Perry's voice has that rougher edge to it as mentioned. I reaaaaally wish someone could run the main studio rarities we have by some members of the band somehow to get better, more definitive answers if they remember any of them.

[UrbanCoyote]

I always felt it was an early ROR track based on the energy and feel of the song. Perhaps their original idea for what later became the ROR title track? I wish they would release some of the ROR leftovers and early versions of those songs.

[Journey/Survivor]

I've always loved Schon's guitar playing on the song. But I always considered it to be on the weak side by Journey standards in terms of both lyrics and lead vocals.

Plus, I was always surprised by the part where Perry says "Suck on this," and I could do without that line.

I'd still love to get to hear a fully mastered/remastered recording of it for Schon's guitar playing, if nothing else.

[jrnyman28]

I've figured it was either a Street Talk outtake or from the early recordings of what became ROR before Perry switched gears more towards R&B. It does sound like Neal playing to me though as well and Perry's voice has that rougher edge to it as mentioned. I reaaaaally wish someone could run the main studio rarities we have by some members of the band somehow to get better, more definitive answers if they remember any of them.

I forgot about the tonal change early on ROR. This sounds right to me. Perry sounds close to Street Talk but with Neal and Randy. This works for me!

[Eric]

I think I'd go with ONE wish and then I think a lot of good would have happened with the alternate timeline:

Replace Perry with Mickey Thomas in 1984.

[Loneman1]

Speaking of wishing, I've been thinking about a full ROR concert video release again lately......I really hope this happens in my lifetime. I'm not sure what would be the motivation for Sony to dig into the vault and give one of those concerts they have a nice remastered polish & shine and put it out there, but hopefully there will be another opportunity in pop culture to make it a priority that will sell but I'm not sure what that might take other than the end of the band.

[OlHoag]

I wish there could have been one more album with Rolie, Perry, Schon, Valory and Smith.
I wish there was no internet so I didn't have to see how sausage is made with the band so we could just enjoy the music and not worry about their personal lives and business struggles.

[ebake02]

I wish:

They would add Fillmore Boogie back to the set
They played Edge of the Blade live more often
There was more live material from the Perry years
They didn't tour Augeri to death and burn out his voice
That Arrival was appreciated more for the great album it is
There was a live album with JSS
They would release all of the finished songs that never made the cut on their studio albums
That Neal and Jon weren't such a dysfunctional mess
That Arnel would grow up and cut the will he or wont he quit drama
The Perry would give fans what they've always wanted and sing just one song with the band
That Neal recorded another HSAS album
That Freedom had better production instead of the muddy mess it became
That the Trial By Fire Tour happened
That Let It Take You Back was on Revelation in the US
That Hard to Let it Go was on Freedom in the US too
That Augeri had sung on Every Generation instead Jon

[youkeepmewaiting]

Speaking of wishing, I've been thinking about a full ROR concert video release again lately......I really hope this happens in my lifetime. I'm not sure what would be the motivation for Sony to dig into the vault and give one of those concerts they have a nice remastered polish & shine and put it out there, but hopefully there will be another opportunity in pop culture to make it a priority that will sell but I'm not sure what that might take other than the end of the band.

I assume Perry was coked off his face during the shows and doesn't want to relive it / doesn't like his performance

[Art Vandelay]

Speaking of wishing, I've been thinking about a full ROR concert video release again lately......I really hope this happens in my lifetime. I'm not sure what would be the motivation for Sony to dig into the vault and give one of those concerts they have a nice remastered polish & shine and put it out there, but hopefully there will be another opportunity in pop culture to make it a priority that will sell but I'm not sure what that might take other than the end of the band.

I assume Perry was coked off his face during the shows and doesn't want to relive it / doesn't like his performance

Maybe you needed to be there to witness a ROR show live to appreciate it. I know a lot of people who went to see them at the Spectrum and said it was amazing. Perry was on fire. I'm sure it was and I'm sure many of you here could attest to that as well. But listening to the audio clips that are out there...man, it's difficult for me to appreciate. Too much screaming and overkill. GCHE and IBAWY are two of my favorite live performances of theirs. They're zoned in on those performances. But some of the other stuff sounds likes they're coming off the rails. Again, just a perspective from listening to half decent audio bootlegs.
What are your thoughts?

[Loneman1]

Speaking of wishing, I've been thinking about a full ROR concert video release again lately......I really hope this happens in my lifetime. I'm not sure what would be the motivation for Sony to dig into the vault and give one of those concerts they have a nice remastered polish & shine and put it out there, but hopefully there will be another opportunity in pop culture to make it a priority that will sell but I'm not sure what that might take other than the end of the band.

I assume Perry was coked off his face during the shows and doesn't want to relive it / doesn't like his performance

Maybe you needed to be there to witness a ROR show live to appreciate it. I know a lot of people who went to see them at the Spectrum and said it was amazing. Perry was on fire. I'm sure it was and I'm sure many of you here could attest to that as well. But listening to the audio clips that are out there...man, it's difficult for me to appreciate. Too much screaming and overkill. GCHE and IBAWY are two of my favorite live performances of theirs. They're zoned in on those performances. But some of the other stuff sounds likes they're coming off the rails. Again, just a perspective from listening to half decent audio bootlegs.
What are your thoughts?

I do remember Perry mentioning in an interview around the time he was working on Houston '81 for DVD release and he said that he was also going to perhaps work on a ROR show for release next, but that never happened obviously and I wish I could find the interview. I want to say it was with his Fan Club but I may be way off on that.

I was born in '81 so a wee bit too young for that era, but I've also amassed a lot of bootlegs from that tour and while several songs are DEFINITELY sped up, the whole tour just feels so different and seemingly a bit looser feeling (again.....likely coke lol) than tours before and since. The New Years show is amazing with an incredible setlist, but there was definitely some pre-game partying going on!

I do know that a full on video of a concert or if need be compilation of the best moments from the tour would absolutely be my biggest grail piece of my collection at this point. There is just something about it that stands out. Maybe because it turned out to be Perry's last stand and the band was in such a unique place at that point with just the three of them running things.......and by three I mean Perry.

[JohnH]

- I wish the Resonate music video (with Neal and Lady M making out of the beach) was wiped from my brain.

Awww, now you know why I never watch any music videos any more.

Don't want other images in my head besides what I make up. Never saw that .

[The_Noble_Cause]

- I wish the Resonate music video (with Neal and Lady M making out of the beach) was wiped from my brain.

Awww, now you know why I never watch any music videos any more.

Don't want other images in my head besides what I make up. Never saw that .

Lol. In hindsight, that was the beginning of the end.

[UrbanCoyote]

I saw them in Memphis for the ROR tour. They were on fire, lots of energy. If they were to release only thing I'd want a ROR show cd/dvd like the Houston 81 show.