Album Discussion---"Trial By Fire"

[StoneCold]

Perry's swan song. 'nuff said.

That was ROR, for the simple fact that on TBF, the rest of the band actually got to play their instruments.

Wikipedia:

Swan song has become an idiom referring to a final theatrical or dramatic appearance, or any final work or accomplishment. It generally carries the connotation that the performer is aware that this is the last performance of his or her lifetime, and is expending everything in one magnificent final effort.

Ah, sorry, I usually use that expression when referring to their last "great" performance. More or less a solo.

well, its wikipedia so the "magnificent" final effort part isn't accurate but close enough.

I'd say he did his best given wear and tear. On the plus side there's not the gasping for air like FTLOSM.

[Gideon]

Perry's swan song. 'nuff said.

That was ROR, for the simple fact that on TBF, the rest of the band actually got to play their instruments.

Wikipedia:

Swan song has become an idiom referring to a final theatrical or dramatic appearance, or any final work or accomplishment. It generally carries the connotation that the performer is aware that this is the last performance of his or her lifetime, and is expending everything in one magnificent final effort.

Ah, sorry, I usually use that expression when referring to their last "great" performance. More or less a solo.

well, its wikipedia so the "magnificent" final effort part isn't accurate but close enough.

I'd say he did his best given wear and tear. On the plus side there's not the gasping for air like FTLOSM.

True.

[SherriBerry]

'Easy to Fall' is my favourite song on the entire album - nothing falls short on this one. SP at his (presumably) weakest vocally is still amazing and Neal's solo and outro on this song are wonderful. 'Baby I'm a Leavin' You', however, just doesn't fit right to me - reggae? On a Journey album? Nnnoooooo!

[weatherman90]

This album, along with FTLOSM, has really grown on me.

I listened to it while driving to a Journey show last year and now it brings back good memories of that trip. I would have appreciated it more if it had a few faster-paced tracks, but despite that it's a very powerful album. Perry's vocals, great production, killer guitar solos, and plenty of strings that give the CD an incredible depth.

[Red13JoePa]

'Baby I'm a Leavin' You', however, just doesn't fit right to me - reggae? On a Journey album? Nnnoooooo!

Well that's why it was originally just a tack on, unlisted kinda bonus when it came out in 10/96...prolly the band just screwing around having a little fun in a reggae vein and they used it as an afterthought I actually don't mind hearing them branch off a little like this now and again (Good Times off the Time3 boxset).

[escapefan]

TBF is my favorite Journey album.. I love the balance of the members on the album..

[mikemarrs]

i think if they would've had a few more rockers and maybe trimmed the album down a little with less songs then it could've been a much more stellar album.the ballads on there are easily some of the best they ever did especially easy to fall and when you love a woman.doing this plus if a tour would've materialized then it would've been huge.

[MrsPerry]

Now we're talking.

Trial By Fire? Easily, in my honest opinion, the brightest spot in Journey's career. Songwriting and musicianship at its peak, with some excellent harmonies and emotional performances from Perry.

"If He Should Break Your Heart" = fantastic.

+1 I'm totally on board with you on this one. By far my favorite Journey cd.

totally backed. the best.

[Onestepper]

Besides being too slow (# of ballads), and a bit inconsistent, TBF represents the band's finest writing and collaboration effort imho. Everyone in the band had their moments of genius, and I personally think it's Cain's best work since joining the band. The amount of over modulation or dubs is scary, especially on WYLAW where it literally sounds like they have someone in the production room turning Perry's mic up and down every time he takes a breath. It's distracting and obnoxious. 'Still She Cries' is pure magic. I would rank it #4 of their catalog though, just based solely on some of the things listed above.

[NealIsGod]

TBF only has 1 good song (MOL) and another that didn't make the cut (ICSIIYE). What a letdown after waiting a decade.

[Gideon]

The entire album is fantastic. Could it have been better with a few more rock songs? Absolutely; the decision to leave off "I Can See It In Your Eyes" and replace it with "Baby I'm A Leavin' You" is easily as fucked up as the decision to keep "Lost Angels" and "Let Go" off of For the Love of Strange Medicine. In fact, "I Can See It In Your Eyes" is in my top five favorite rockers that Journey's released and I'd love to see them play it live; has the catchy melody and strong background vocals with some serious musicianship from Steve Smith and Neal Schon.

But even despite these little errors and the overabundance of ballads, what is on the album is unbelievably well-written and executed beautifully.

[Peartree12249]

The entire album is fantastic. Could it have been better with a few more rock songs? Absolutely; the decision to leave off "I Can See It In Your Eyes" and replace it with "Baby I'm A Leavin' You" is easily as fucked up as the decision to keep "Lost Angels" and "Let Go" off of For the Love of Strange Medicine. In fact, "I Can See It In Your Eyes" is in my top five favorite rockers that Journey's released and I'd love to see them play it live; has the catchy melody and strong background vocals with some serious musicianship from Steve Smith and Neal Schon.

But even despite these little errors and the overabundance of ballads, what is on the album is unbelievably well-written and executed beautifully.

I'm curious as to how much control Journey actually had on deciding which songs were selected for this album. I thought I read an interview with either Steve or Neal somewhere, that Sony had the final say which songs were picked and chose more ballads and ignored the rock numbers. Can any one confirm this?

[Gideon]

The entire album is fantastic. Could it have been better with a few more rock songs? Absolutely; the decision to leave off "I Can See It In Your Eyes" and replace it with "Baby I'm A Leavin' You" is easily as fucked up as the decision to keep "Lost Angels" and "Let Go" off of For the Love of Strange Medicine. In fact, "I Can See It In Your Eyes" is in my top five favorite rockers that Journey's released and I'd love to see them play it live; has the catchy melody and strong background vocals with some serious musicianship from Steve Smith and Neal Schon.

But even despite these little errors and the overabundance of ballads, what is on the album is unbelievably well-written and executed beautifully.

I'm curious as to how much control Journey actually had on deciding which songs were selected for this album. I thought I read an interview with either Steve or Neal somewhere, that Sony had the final say which songs were picked and chose more ballads and ignored the rock numbers. Can any one confirm this?

No idea. The remastered Trial By Fire is the closest Journey (or any band, in my opinion) has come to perfection.

[Deb]

Easily one of my favorite Journey ballads. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YjBD_C3ldw

[Gideon]

Easily one of my favorite Journey ballads. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YjBD_C3ldw

Five minutes of spectacular musicianship and writing on all fronts. I always think of this song and "What I Needed" as being siblings; both are darker Journey songs detailing darker thoughts, both are similar in length, both feature extremely haunting vocal performances, and both feature an obscenely kickass solo courtesy of Neal Schon.

[weatherman90]

Easily one of my favorite Journey ballads. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YjBD_C3ldw

Five minutes of spectacular musicianship and writing on all fronts. I always think of this song and "What I Needed" as being siblings; both are darker Journey songs detailing darker thoughts, both are similar in length, both feature extremely haunting vocal performances, and both feature an obscenely kickass solo courtesy of Neal Schon.

Didn't pick up on that, great observation!

[Gideon]

Easily one of my favorite Journey ballads. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YjBD_C3ldw

Five minutes of spectacular musicianship and writing on all fronts. I always think of this song and "What I Needed" as being siblings; both are darker Journey songs detailing darker thoughts, both are similar in length, both feature extremely haunting vocal performances, and both feature an obscenely kickass solo courtesy of Neal Schon.

Didn't pick up on that, great observation!

Yeah. If you listen to them side by side, you'll note many similarities with just enough subtle differences to prevent WIN from being an exact duplicate.

[Peartree12249]

The entire album is fantastic. Could it have been better with a few more rock songs? Absolutely; the decision to leave off "I Can See It In Your Eyes" and replace it with "Baby I'm A Leavin' You" is easily as fucked up as the decision to keep "Lost Angels" and "Let Go" off of For the Love of Strange Medicine. In fact, "I Can See It In Your Eyes" is in my top five favorite rockers that Journey's released and I'd love to see them play it live; has the catchy melody and strong background vocals with some serious musicianship from Steve Smith and Neal Schon.

But even despite these little errors and the overabundance of ballads, what is on the album is unbelievably well-written and executed beautifully.

I'm curious as to how much control Journey actually had on deciding which songs were selected for this album. I thought I read an interview with either Steve or Neal somewhere, that Sony had the final say which songs were picked and chose more ballads and ignored the rock numbers. Can any one confirm this?

No idea. The remastered Trial By Fire is the closest Journey (or any band, in my opinion) has come to perfection.

I hear that. Recently, I had a seven hour drive up to Duluth MN for work. I listened to nothing but Journey (Perry era) there and back. I have almost all their cd's with the exception of ROR and Captured. While I like all of them for different reasons, by far the one cd I listened to the most during my 14 hrs of travel was TBF. The only song on it I don't like is Castles Burning.

[Gideon]

The entire album is fantastic. Could it have been better with a few more rock songs? Absolutely; the decision to leave off "I Can See It In Your Eyes" and replace it with "Baby I'm A Leavin' You" is easily as fucked up as the decision to keep "Lost Angels" and "Let Go" off of For the Love of Strange Medicine. In fact, "I Can See It In Your Eyes" is in my top five favorite rockers that Journey's released and I'd love to see them play it live; has the catchy melody and strong background vocals with some serious musicianship from Steve Smith and Neal Schon.

But even despite these little errors and the overabundance of ballads, what is on the album is unbelievably well-written and executed beautifully.

I'm curious as to how much control Journey actually had on deciding which songs were selected for this album. I thought I read an interview with either Steve or Neal somewhere, that Sony had the final say which songs were picked and chose more ballads and ignored the rock numbers. Can any one confirm this?

No idea. The remastered Trial By Fire is the closest Journey (or any band, in my opinion) has come to perfection.

I hear that. Recently, I had a seven hour drive up to Duluth MN for work. I listened to nothing but Journey (Perry era) there and back. I have almost all their cd's with the exception of ROR and Captured. While I like all of them for different reasons, by far the one cd I listened to the most during my 14 hrs of travel was TBF. The only song on it I don't like is Castles Burning.

I would have thought that no one would like "Baby I'm A Leavin' You."

As for "Castles Burnin'", Neal Schon definitely steals the show (not the band of the lawyer's like the song says ). Perry's vocal performance wasn't bad, but it wasn't great, either. I think it's a great experimental song with some fantastic fretwork.

[Peartree12249]

The entire album is fantastic. Could it have been better with a few more rock songs? Absolutely; the decision to leave off "I Can See It In Your Eyes" and replace it with "Baby I'm A Leavin' You" is easily as fucked up as the decision to keep "Lost Angels" and "Let Go" off of For the Love of Strange Medicine. In fact, "I Can See It In Your Eyes" is in my top five favorite rockers that Journey's released and I'd love to see them play it live; has the catchy melody and strong background vocals with some serious musicianship from Steve Smith and Neal Schon.

But even despite these little errors and the overabundance of ballads, what is on the album is unbelievably well-written and executed beautifully.

I'm curious as to how much control Journey actually had on deciding which songs were selected for this album. I thought I read an interview with either Steve or Neal somewhere, that Sony had the final say which songs were picked and chose more ballads and ignored the rock numbers. Can any one confirm this?

No idea. The remastered Trial By Fire is the closest Journey (or any band, in my opinion) has come to perfection.

I hear that. Recently, I had a seven hour drive up to Duluth MN for work. I listened to nothing but Journey (Perry era) there and back. I have almost all their cd's with the exception of ROR and Captured. While I like all of them for different reasons, by far the one cd I listened to the most during my 14 hrs of travel was TBF. The only song on it I don't like is Castles Burning.

I would have thought that no one would like "Baby I'm A Leavin' You."

As for "Castles Burnin'", Neal Schon definitely steals the show (not the band of the lawyer's like the song says ). Perry's vocal performance wasn't bad, but it wasn't great, either. I think it's a great experimental song with some fantastic fretwork.

I just found the guitar to be very irritating. Technically it may have been very good, I love guitar driven rock, but that song just didn't do it for me. As far as BIALY. I liked it. It was a little light relief after the heaviness of some of the other songs on the album. Perry sound playful.

[mmberry301]

Although it does not have the power and range of their earlier work..I truly love this album (with all 16 tracks).

I listen to this one alot.

Yes it has alot of ballads..so call me a sap

It is very well done.

[EightyRock]

I think TBF is their most artistic CD. Probably only two songs that aren't my favorites, but I still don't skip them...Forever in Blue and Colors of the Spirit (which does have a killer guitar solo). You could tell they'd all matured, but were still musically connected in a way that was undeniable. Instant chemistry.

[EightyRock]

I'm curious as to how much control Journey actually had on deciding which songs were selected for this album. I thought I read an interview with either Steve or Neal somewhere, that Sony had the final say which songs were picked and chose more ballads and ignored the rock numbers. Can any one confirm this?

JDK made that decision, since so much of Journey's notoriety came from ballads. Sony thought ballads were their golden ticket. It wasn't like that was all they'd written, or wanted on that CD, but in the end...it wasn't their call.

[Jana]

I really enjoy Trial By Fire, but it's definitely not what I would call a rock album in the truest sense. I could definitely hear the difference in Perry's voice since ROR, but he still sounds good on here. It starts out strong but halfway though stays pretty mellow. So if I'm in that kind of mood, this is a great CD to pull out. I especially like It's The Rain, Still She Cries, Message of Love, One More, After The Fall.

[sniper16]

just not a big fan of this cd
i really hate the production
and think thats what takes away my ability to like this

[The_Noble_Cause]

I'm curious as to how much control Journey actually had on deciding which songs were selected for this album. I thought I read an interview with either Steve or Neal somewhere, that Sony had the final say which songs were picked and chose more ballads and ignored the rock numbers. Can any one confirm this?

JDK made that decision, since so much of Journey's notoriety came from ballads. Sony thought ballads were their golden ticket. It wasn't like that was all they'd written, or wanted on that CD, but in the end...it wasn't their call.

I've heard this said more in regards to 'Arrival', where the band made countless demos and then JDK chose which are keepers.
To date, unused rock demos are still finding their way onto Journey releases and other artists' albums.
If unused rock demos exist for TBF, they've never surfaced.

[Ehwmatt]

just not a big fan of this cd
i really hate the production
and think thats what takes away my ability to like this

The production?! Why? TBF sounds incredible to me...

[The_Noble_Cause]

The entire album is fantastic. Could it have been better with a few more rock songs? Absolutely; the decision to leave off "I Can See It In Your Eyes" and replace it with "Baby I'm A Leavin' You" is easily as fucked up as the decision to keep "Lost Angels" and "Let Go" off of For the Love of Strange Medicine.

It's a nasty habit the band still hasn't kicked.
Look at 'Never Too Late' being left off the initial domestic release of 'Generations'.
For an album deprived of A-material, that could've made a HUGE difference.
While not as strong as that track, "Let it Take you Back", would've also made a welcome addition to Revelation.
The redo of "Place in Your Heart' too.

[Onestepper]

just not a big fan of this cd
i really hate the production
and think thats what takes away my ability to like this

The production?! Why? TBF sounds incredible to me...

Listen to WYLAW. As I've stated previously, it literally sounds like someone is turning Perry's mic on and off every time he takes a breath. It's horrendous.

[Saint John]

just not a big fan of this cd
i really hate the production
and think thats what takes away my ability to like this

The production?! Why? TBF sounds incredible to me...

Listen to WYLAW. As I've stated previously, it literally sounds like someone is turning Perry's mic on and off every time he takes a breath. It's horrendous.

That usually happens when you can't sing a full line and they have to be strung together.