by ChildInTime » Sun Sep 06, 2009 10:01 am
Aww, thanks! <=)
Here is Raised on Radio.... this'll be the last one in awhile, since I actually did these a while ago.
Journey- Raised on Radio *Cue the Imperial March!!!!*
Boss:
"Darth" Steve Perry- King of Sap/Sith Lord/Self-Appointed CEO of Journey, Inc./Vocalist
Employees:
Jon Cain- King of Sap/Darth Steve's Sith Apprentice/Vice President of Journey, Inc./Keyboard Player
Neal Schon- Face-melting.... sometimes. He has been reduced to Steve and Jon's lackey.
Randy Jackson- YES, THAT Randy Jackson. He plays bass here. And isn't bad, either. Huh.
Larrie Londin- Session drumz (R.I.P.)/Smitty's replacement. (NOOOOOOOOOO!!!)
Intro- Steve went completely bonkers during the recording of this, apparently, and became a big neurotic control-freak mess: he basically controlled everything from the songwriting to the PRODUCTION. Yeah, he produced the album himself. He also apparently became a Sith Lord in his spare time, because he somehow convinced Neal and Jon to fire Steve Smith, probably with magical Sith Powers(!!!). And Steve smith is AWESOME. If I was 21+, I would totally have a few drinks with him. Darth Perry also convinced Neal and Jon to fire Ross Valory, but he's whatever, so that one isn't as surprising. Will The Power of the Dark Side make me believe this album is good? Or is it good for what it supposedly is-- an unabashed pop album? Or is it just plain bad? Let's find out! *NOTE: I am going to listen to this as open-mindedly as I can, for what it is: A pop album. Which will be hard because I just turned off Dio's "The Last in Line" for this. Oh well. Let's see how it goes....
Girl Can't Help it- Ok the album is starting out on a sort of R&B sounding keyboard and drum and guitar melody. Wow, Steve REALLY had a bunch of control on this, huh. Dang. Kinda catchy, I gotta admit. And Steve sounds good, at least. It's pure 80s cheese, though. Alright, this is shaping up to be a sort of R&B influenced pop tune... a lot like Steve's Street Talk thing. Dang, you might as well call this another solo album of his, because Journey isn't an R&B band! Or at least, it shouldn't be! Like I said, though, this is still catchy. I'm getting a little nervous, though.... there hasn't been a solo yet and it's more than halfway through the song. ARE YOU KIDDING?!? If I was Neal, I would buy a Jackson Rhoads and threaten Steve with the tip of it (It's sharper than his nose!)--- oh never mind, HERE'S a solo. Oh thank god. It's kind of whatever, but it's still SOMETHING. Alright the song ends with an a cappella, layered vocal "oooooh nothin' stands between looooovin' youuu" or something like that. I don't care enough to check the lyrics. NEXT!
Suzanne- Steve is once again a name killer!! Or maybe it was Jon this time. Whatever, it's still Steve singing it so people are gonna connect it with him. I feel sorry for anyone named Suzanne. This song is another very 80s pop sounding song, but without the R&B influence. Good vocals again, though. Very bass-driven verses. And the chorus... "SUZANNE! DON'T WALK AWAAAAY!" yeah this is going to be in my head for days. By the way, Steve's vocals sound even more manly than they did on Frontiers and he looks way more manly, too, which is weird because Frontiers was hard rockin' and this one is saccharine, squeaky-clean pop so far. Maybe he felt he needed to compensate for that...? Heh. Oh good, at least there's a guitar solo in this one too. And it's a little less whatever than the one in the first song. Poor Neal. Seriously. I feel sorry for the dude. He needed to grow a pair and kick Steve's Napoleonic boo-tay.
Positive Touch- Heh... this sounds kinda jazzy! Was Smitty here for this?? I really dig this so far, but let's wait for them to screw it up. Hey, they're not yet! I'm surprised... the song title said otherwise. (HEH.) There's a kind of oom-pah oom-pah type bass-beat throughout song that really drives it along and makes it slightly less dated sounding (There's similar rhythms in modern rock songs nowadays). I LOVE the keyboard/guitar riff on this, and once again, the chorus is great. Fun solo by Neal near the middle... I'm glad there's a solo in each song so far. I was scared there wouldn't be any. Heh, there's a sax solo, too! I like it, though. It adds to the feel in a positive way (Heh heh). The song ends with the sax solo going on, and interlaced with Steve's vocals.
Be Good To Yourself- Alright, this is better. Starts out with a guitar thing instead of a doofy keyboard thing. I actually like this one so far. It sort of reminds me of early- Goo Goo Dolls, back when they were power-pop/pop-punk, but with a bunch of cheesy keyboards and a better singer. But I still like John Rzeznik a lot. They could do an awesome cover of this song. Anyway, the chorus is doofy. "BE GOOD TO YOURSELLLLLLF! WHEN NOBODY ELSE WIIIIILLLLL!" Still perfectly head-boppy, though. But I really dig the verses. I LOVE THAT PART in the second one! "I'M TURNING OF THE NOOIIISE THAT MAKES ME CRAY-ZAY!!!" I totally wanna scream that part. It's such a good vocal line. Ok next chorus again la di da di da (or should I say "La do da do day"? HURR HURR HURR) Alright, middle of the song. Keyboard riffs aplenty. And a guitar solo that sounds like... SONIC THE HEDGEHOG?!? What?!? It sounds like they were playing too much Atari or whatever the deuce was around before doing this. Fades out on the solo.
Once You Love Somebody- Starts out on a bass riff that's as fat and chunky as Randy Jackson is before going into a really cheesy keyboard thing.... then Steve comes in. Another really R&B influenced thing, but more smooth than the bouncy Street Talk stuff. Someone joked around that this could be used on Miami Vice. I disagree. This sounds like SEINFELD. *ahem* VERY pop chorus. Catchy, though. But this is POP, so catchiness is the main goal here. I feel more and more sorry for Neal with each song. He must have cried himself to sleep after each studio session; he's hard rock boy through and through; or at least WAS, or at least SEEMED like it. At least Steve and Jon let him have a solo in each song so far. I'll say that much. And I also really dig Steve's vocals here. They really are nice on this album. But they'd sound even better singing HARD ROCK. I dig the bass and keyboard riff that ends this, though. I will say that. It sounds like it'd be fun to play.
Happy To Give- This... is bad. Fluffy happy bunnies and puppies-in-a-basket balladry. This is another one that everyone likes. WHY?! It sounds like Steve's on valium or something. ESPECIALLY on the chorus... rrrrgh. This may be another one I need to let grow on me, though. Unlike After the Fall, however, this one is insanely cheesy sounding, which turns me off automatically from any song. (See Open Arms)
Raised on Radio- Ha ha, a harmonica thing kicks this one off. How-day! But ooooh I like that guitar riff at about 0:15. Nice and chuggy. Too bad the keyboards screw it up. This is basically a clusterfuck of old-school song lyrics. Like a homage to 50s and 60s hit songs or something. I love the chorus though. I will say that. It sounds kinda awesome. RoR seems to just have great choruses, besides Happy to Give and Once You Love Somebody. And I love the "MR DJ! MAKE YOUR DEDICATION!" beginning of the second verse. If I was a singer I would sing the hell out of that part. But I seriously don't get this album. Steve sounds the most ballsy he ever has.... Neal is raring to go.... everyone was dumped by their girlfriends/wives and they're pissed and depressed... and they make a POP album?!?! This album should have been their MOST edgy!! There is no logic to this album! Oh yeah... Neal has another really Sonic the Hedgehog sounding guitar solo in this. Heh.
I'll Be Alright Without You- Ok, this one is VERY VERY R&B. Once again, though, Steve sounds great. Oh wow, the "Looord don't leave me lonelaaay!" part at 1:05 sounded EXACTLY like Melissa Etheridge. O_o Jeez, they should do a duet or something. Anyway, the chorus is very poppy. Ha ha, Jon starts off the second verse I think. Wow, another 'pretender' reference by Steve. Jeez, he's just as bad as Dio is with his "Wheel" and "LOOK OUT!" stuff. I like the chunky guitar line at 2:29. Poor Neal. I hope there was a suicide watch for that dude for this whole thing. At least he got a really nice, sexy bluesy solo in on this that the song fades out on. Phew.
It Could have been You- Another really R&B/funky sounding thing in the beginning with a keyboard and guitar riff. Oh I love the vocals so far, though. Good boy, Darth Steve. This is getting.... dare I say it.... really good! Wow! I mean sure it's still poppy but it's GOOD!! If I was a tenor singer I'd be all over this (But alas, I'm a pretty damn low alto. I can't sing Steve Perry's parts very well at all. <:( ) I LOVE the "Change has forsaken.... our PROMISEEESSS!" Part in the second verse. There's so many good vocal moments on this album, I must say that. This is DEFINITELY Steve's song ALL THE WAY. But it's good so I don't mind. I really dig the deep "Wheere arrrre you! NOW!" Backing vocals near the end. Seriously, this was actually 100% good. I swear. If you're gonna download one song from this make it this one.
The Eyes of a Woman- Ok, this is not starting out very well. Really bad 80s keyboard sound. At least Steve's vocals are great, but that seems to be the thing throughout the album-- it rests entirely on his vocals. This seems to be filler material, though, and is a bit boring. I will say this, though: I like the more melancholy nature of the music itself. That saves it from being even worse, but as it is, it's still not great.
Why Can't This Night Go On Forever- Rrrgh this sounds out doofy--- but..... ooh.... the vocals are making it kind of haunting and nostalgic. Make no mistake, this is definitely a lighter/tissues song. But it's darker again, so it's ok in my opinion. I love that part at 1:46 where steve's like "Where's the laughter we gotta tryyyYYYYY!" He seriously has a great amount of vocal moments here. ANOTHER great vocal moment at 2:22. And yay there's a solo in this! Go Neal! ...Hey, there was a solo in every song. Sweet! Wow Steve is hittin' some high notes in there. Not as high up as his '70s stuff, obviously, but.... dang. And the song--- and the album--and Steve's career with Journey (for 10 years, anyway)--ends with a keyboard line and fades away into the night....
My Favorite Songs- It Could have Been You, Be Good to Yourself, Why Can't This Night Go On Forever
Least Favorite- The Eyes of a Woman, Happy to Give
Total Amount of Songs- 11
Yeouch. >_< I shouldn't have turned off Dio.
Grade For a Rock Album: C
Grade for a Pop Album: B+
Grade in General: B-
What I would do to make this album an A+:
1. Give creative control to NEAL, not Darth Steve or his Sith Apprentice Jon.
2. Delete The Eyes of a Woman and Happy to Give.
3. Replace Happy to Give with a darker ballad that doesn't sound like happy rainbows and baskets full of puppies.
4. Replace 'Woman and HtG with hard rocking stuff.
5. In general, take away some of the R&B flavor to this. the R&B thing is Ok for Darth Steve's solo work. NOT for Journey.
6. Give Neal a hug. <:(
Conclusion: Compare this to a Coca Cola with slightly too much syrup in it. It still tastes pretty good, but is a little too sweet and heavy and leaves an odd taste in your mouth afterwards. And it makes you really want a normal Coke.
*open mouth, insert foot*
I definitely tip my hat to you for going through all that work on the reviews. It must've taken a long time! 
I hate to say it, but I just couldn't read all that... I think I have ADD or something. 
My parents are lovely. I just can be hyperactive at times. But I catch myself! Most of the time anyway. 
