New Eclipse material....disappointing?

[mercytree]

I am a die hard life long journey fan....i adore the pre and post Perry Journey....love all vocalists we've had....though parital to Perry and Augerri.....;however, after all the hype I've read on this site about Eclipse...and from what little I have heard....I hear nothing catchy, nothing with the hooks we're spoiled to have previously. Although as a fan I will be eager to hear anything they come up with while expanding their wings....I just cannot get excited about the new songs for the first time ever!!! Does anyone else feel a bit let down about the melodic aspect of the new songs? Yes the musician ship rocks...but the songs just don't move me....I'll reserve full judgment until i hear the whole album.....your thoughts? respectfully, rob

[Don]

I am a die hard life long journey fan....i adore the pre and post Perry Journey....love all vocalists we've had....though parital to Perry and Augerri.....;however, after all the hype I've read on this site about Eclipse...and from what little I have heard....I hear nothing catchy, nothing with the hooks we're spoiled to have previously. Although as a fan I will be eager to hear anything they come up with while expanding their wings....I just cannot get excited about the new songs for the first time ever!!! Does anyone else feel a bit let down about the melodic aspect of the new songs? Yes the musician ship rocks...but the songs just don't move me....I'll reserve full judgment until i hear the whole album.....your thoughts? respectfully, rob

Storyteller made a god point. We may need to have hear all of the songs strung together, as this is supposed to be a concept album. I guess the best example I could give you are the tracks from Dream After Dream. Hearing a song like Little Girl without the rest of the tracks surrounding it, you might wonder, where is this going?

I feel the same way with COH. Great sound and plenty of cool layering but in the end, what's it leading to? These are the type of songs that might have to GROW on you. With Journey, that is something we are not used to and I completely understand that it might not be for everyone.
It doesn't make you any less of a fan. How many people have even listened to Dream After Dream, or how many love Escape but hate Arrival? It's only music, after all.

[S2M]

I am a die hard life long journey fan....i adore the pre and post Perry Journey....love all vocalists we've had....though parital to Perry and Augerri.....;however, after all the hype I've read on this site about Eclipse...and from what little I have heard....I hear nothing catchy, nothing with the hooks we're spoiled to have previously. Although as a fan I will be eager to hear anything they come up with while expanding their wings....I just cannot get excited about the new songs for the first time ever!!! Does anyone else feel a bit let down about the melodic aspect of the new songs? Yes the musician ship rocks...but the songs just don't move me....I'll reserve full judgment until i hear the whole album.....your thoughts? respectfully, rob

Storyteller made a god point. We may need to have hear all of the songs strung together, as this is supposed to be a concept album. I guess the best example I could give you are the tracks from Dream After Dream. Hearing a song like Little Girl without the rest of the tracks surrounding it, you might wonder, where is this going?

I feel the same way with COH. Great sound and plenty of cool layering but in the end, what's it leading to? These are the type of songs that might have to GROW on you. With Journey, that is something we are not used to and I completely understand that it might not be for everyone.

I doubt it is a strict concept album, a la Operation: Mindcrime. I think all songs share a common theme.

[Jana]

I was concerned when I heard it was going to be harder rocking and more guitar-driven, as I love the keys in Journey music. and I love a few ballads So I even wondered if I would wnat to buy the album if it wasn't for me. I have been very surprised by the songs I've heard so far or short clips. I am now excited. I think Chain of Love, Resonate have great hooks and melody and are sexy songs, very catchy. And Human Feel stays in my head. Edge of the Moment intrigues me from the youtube clip I heard. City of Hope is just really, really nice to listen to with headphones on. I'm surprised how much I like it, because I wasn't impressed with that song much when I first heard it on the Las Vegas youtube clip, my least favorite.

It's a departure for them, but that's the beauty of different albums experimenting when it works. For some it won't, for some it will, and some might only like some songs. I will have to see if the whole album works for me as far as loving it from beginning to end when I hear all the songs. Don is right. This is supposed to be a concept-type album, so need to approach it that way when listening to it.

But the sound is really amazing on the album from the City of Hope single clip

[Don]

I am a die hard life long journey fan....i adore the pre and post Perry Journey....love all vocalists we've had....though parital to Perry and Augerri.....;however, after all the hype I've read on this site about Eclipse...and from what little I have heard....I hear nothing catchy, nothing with the hooks we're spoiled to have previously. Although as a fan I will be eager to hear anything they come up with while expanding their wings....I just cannot get excited about the new songs for the first time ever!!! Does anyone else feel a bit let down about the melodic aspect of the new songs? Yes the musician ship rocks...but the songs just don't move me....I'll reserve full judgment until i hear the whole album.....your thoughts? respectfully, rob

Storyteller made a god point. We may need to have hear all of the songs strung together, as this is supposed to be a concept album. I guess the best example I could give you are the tracks from Dream After Dream. Hearing a song like Little Girl without the rest of the tracks surrounding it, you might wonder, where is this going?

I feel the same way with COH. Great sound and plenty of cool layering but in the end, what's it leading to? These are the type of songs that might have to GROW on you. With Journey, that is something we are not used to and I completely understand that it might not be for everyone.

I doubt it is a strict concept album, a la Operation: Mindcrime. I think all songs share a common theme.

Yeah, Journey isn't exactly Pink Floyd or the Moody Blues. I think we have to use the alternative definition of Concept album as far Neal and Company are concerned.

[Eric]

I've heard enough to be excited, but not enough to review anything.

What we've heard:

- Radio edit of one song (I believe compressed)
- Clips of album edit of 2 songs (I believe compressed)
- Youtubes of 5 songs (decent quality)

It's a 12 song "concept" album. Other than Andrew, nobody has heard enough for a real review. I'm not as enamored with "City of Hope" as I was with "Higher Place" or "Faith in the Heartland", but its a strong tune.

[Don]

The Youtube of Chain In Love really intrigues me. It's a bit of a mess live with all the echo effects and what not but I'm thinking that song is going to be killer on the CD.

As I have said already, where Revelation came off better live, I think this is going to be one of the albums like TBF where it's going to be hard to replicate live what you are hearing from the studio.
That is fine with me.

[tammy]

I was looking forward to hearing the new songs after reading Andrew's review...but, I just now listened to the youtube clip 'City of Hope' and that sure felt disappointing...I haven't heard anything else from the new album. Hearing in COH parts of lyrics/phrases from previous songs - made me kinda cringe. Is that laziness? It also sounded like something I'd hear in a church...I guess it is meant to be uplifting but it didn't grab me at all, musically or emotionally...hopefully the other songs won't disappoint.

[george_g]

City of hope radio edit sounds a bit 'dry', if that's the approach in the mix, there is a problem. Heavier material is welcomed, but 'dry' sound like RED-13 would be under the standards...let's see what's coming in the full length versions

[Andrew]

Hole album has a raw vibe, but sooooo much going on. Nothing like Red 13.

This is not a snippets album. Hard to crop 60secs out of 6 minutes.

[Majestic]

Disappointment is normal! I first got into Journey with Escape. Loved that album from the beginning, still love it. Then came Frontiers. Can't say I hated it, but I was initially disappointed at least a little. I was expecting more Escape, but Journey changed direction. Now I love Frontiers. Then I decided to discover the old stuff. Infinity, Departure, etc. I was disappointed. None of those albums sounded like Escape or Frontiers, totally different direction, even though between those early Perry albums there were some similarities. I love those albums now. All of them. I don't like them as much as Escape, but I appreciate them for their uniqueness and think they are great classic albums. Then I discovered the Pre Perry albums...wanted to love them, but WTF, didn't sound at all like Journey! I learned to appreciate the more creative side of Neal and really appreciate his versatility and skill. I love those albums too, now. Then Raised on Radio came. Finally. Well, I wasn't disappointed by it, but mostly because I was thrilled to hear anything from Journey after such a long pause. Now I don't care for that album as much as the others and it is probably the one I play the least. It still has some great songs and is a unique creation. Trial by Fire, underwhelmed later but at first thrilled: Journey was back! Now I appreciate that album and like it in certain moods. Again, a very unique album for Journey. Arrival: No Perry??? What!? I gave it a chance, even though Augeri's voice didn't grab me, and I thought the comparissons to Perry were silly. I now love many songs on that album, and accept Augeri for what he was and like the music he made with Journey. Generations...underwhelmed. But wow, look at Deen's great tracks and singing, and best single vocal performance by Augeri: Knowing that you love me. I'll cut short with the rest, and just say disappointment comes with being a fan of this band because they always change. Funny they have a name like Journey. I'm excited about Eclipse, and I'm sure I'll be disappointed and thrilled all over again.

[JRNYMAN]

Disappointment is normal! I first got into Journey with Escape. Loved that album from the beginning, still love it. Then came Frontiers. Can't say I hated it, but I was initially disappointed at least a little. I was expecting more Escape, but Journey changed direction. Now I love Frontiers. Then I decided to discover the old stuff. Infinity, Departure, etc. I was disappointed. None of those albums sounded like Escape or Frontiers, totally different direction, even though between those early Perry albums there were some similarities. I love those albums now. All of them. I don't like them as much as Escape, but I appreciate them for their uniqueness and think they are great classic albums. Then I discovered the Pre Perry albums...wanted to love them, but WTF, didn't sound at all like Journey! I learned to appreciate the more creative side of Neal and really appreciate his versatility and skill. I love those albums too, now. Then Raised on Radio came. Finally. Well, I wasn't disappointed by it, but mostly because I was thrilled to hear anything from Journey after such a long pause. Now I don't care for that album as much as the others and it is probably the one I play the least. It still has some great songs and is a unique creation. Trial by Fire, underwhelmed later but at first thrilled: Journey was back! Now I appreciate that album and like it in certain moods. Again, a very unique album for Journey. Arrival: No Perry??? What!? I gave it a chance, even though Augeri's voice didn't grab me, and I thought the comparissons to Perry were silly. I now love many songs on that album, and accept Augeri for what he was and like the music he made with Journey. Generations...underwhelmed. But wow, look at Deen's great tracks and singing, and best single vocal performance by Augeri: Knowing that you love me. I'll cut short with the rest, and just say disappointment comes with being a fan of this band because they always change. Funny they have a name like Journey. I'm excited about Eclipse, and I'm sure I'll be disappointed and thrilled all over again.

Wow, that strangely made a lot of sense. You bastard! There are a few songs that are still working their way up from "I could live without it" status to "love it". Journey first hit my radar like so many others with Infinity. I don't see quite as much change from album to album as you, but there are two very drastic deviations from their overall sound that stand out. The transition from the first 3 albums to Infinity - obviously due to the addition of Perry as well as the music becoming more radio friendly. The other is Generations. There was that agenda to have each of the members sing lead on something as well as what I can only assume was a valiant and consorted effort to throw caution to the wind by writing and recording tracks for the album that are just totally disturbing and crappy (Ref.: Gone Crazy). Have to agree with you about Knowing That You Love Me. Generations did indeed deliver Augeri's most prolific and outstanding vocal performance with that one. Your analogy is pretty spot on - at least for me. There is a small percentage of their catalog that has had to grow on me but the majority of it I accepted and liked right away - not because "OMG, it's a Journey song so therefore I'm in love with it!" but because I like the Journey sound and that sound, while it has diversified and strayed a bit here and there, has remained largely true to form from one album to the next (with the exceptions I noted above.)

Good post!

[JRNYMAN]

Disappointment is normal! I first got into Journey with Escape. Loved that album from the beginning, still love it. Then came Frontiers. Can't say I hated it, but I was initially disappointed at least a little. I was expecting more Escape, but Journey changed direction. Now I love Frontiers. Then I decided to discover the old stuff. Infinity, Departure, etc. I was disappointed. None of those albums sounded like Escape or Frontiers, totally different direction, even though between those early Perry albums there were some similarities. I love those albums now. All of them. I don't like them as much as Escape, but I appreciate them for their uniqueness and think they are great classic albums. Then I discovered the Pre Perry albums...wanted to love them, but WTF, didn't sound at all like Journey! I learned to appreciate the more creative side of Neal and really appreciate his versatility and skill. I love those albums too, now. Then Raised on Radio came. Finally. Well, I wasn't disappointed by it, but mostly because I was thrilled to hear anything from Journey after such a long pause. Now I don't care for that album as much as the others and it is probably the one I play the least. It still has some great songs and is a unique creation. Trial by Fire, underwhelmed later but at first thrilled: Journey was back! Now I appreciate that album and like it in certain moods. Again, a very unique album for Journey. Arrival: No Perry??? What!? I gave it a chance, even though Augeri's voice didn't grab me, and I thought the comparissons to Perry were silly. I now love many songs on that album, and accept Augeri for what he was and like the music he made with Journey. Generations...underwhelmed. But wow, look at Deen's great tracks and singing, and best single vocal performance by Augeri: Knowing that you love me. I'll cut short with the rest, and just say disappointment comes with being a fan of this band because they always change. Funny they have a name like Journey. I'm excited about Eclipse, and I'm sure I'll be disappointed and thrilled all over again.

Wow, that strangely made a lot of sense. There are a few songs that are still working their way up from "I could live without it" status to "love it". Journey first hit my radar like so many others with Infinity. I don't see quite as much change from album to album as you, but there are two very drastic deviations from their overall sound that stand out. The transition from the first 3 albums to Infinity - obviously due to the addition of Perry as well as the music becoming more radio friendly. The other is Generations. There was that agenda to have each of the members sing lead on something as well as what I can only assume was a valiant and consorted effort to throw caution to the wind by including a couple of tracks for the album that are just totally disturbing and crappy (Ref.: Gone Crazy). Have to agree with you about Knowing That You Love Me. Generations did indeed deliver one of Augeri's most prolific and outstanding vocal performances with that one. Your analogy is pretty spot on - at least for me. There is a small percentage of their catalog that has had to grow on me but the majority of it I accepted and liked right away - not because "OMG, it's a Journey song so therefore I'm in love with it!" but because I like the Journey sound and that sound, while it has diversified and strayed a bit here and there, has remained largely true to form from one album to the next (with the exceptions I noted above.)

Good post!

[The_Noble_Cause]

With the exception of Frontiers and maybe Departure, all Journey albums took a few spins for me to appreciate. Some songs are, of course, always more immediate than others. This is true of all albums, by any band. I'm not saying convince yourself to eat crap and smile (still hate Believe and Butterfly here), but at least give yourself time to make an honest opinion.

[Don]

The way the fan base have become splintered over the years, going in a new direction musically isn't going to be that big a deal. With the exception of 2008, Journey has been capturing/bleeding fans bit by bit over the years anyway. Gain a few fans with Glee, lose a few fans with Eclipse, it all balances out.

Most of the newer transients are straw fans anyway, especially the younger ones who pretty much jump on the newest trend representing the older music and then disappear again when whatever media event promoting the music dies down.

[Carlitto H@kk]

With the exception of Frontiers and maybe Departure, all Journey albums took a few spins for me to appreciate. Some songs are, of course, always more immediate than others. This is true of all albums, by any band. I'm not saying convince yourself to eat crap and smile (still hate Believe and Butterfly here), but at least give yourself time to make an honest opinion.

Exactly, TNC. I tend to get alittle hyped when a new J-album comes out,
and I usually go into the first few listens a tad bit dissappointed; I guess
I subconsciously expect every album to be as consistent and great as Escape

But most of Journey's albums, especially all the post-Perry efforts, take three or four
solid listens before i can make a sound judgement... Although I knew I hated 90%
of TBF right from the start, and even after 8-10 spins of Generations I still felt cheated

I just find it absurd that 99% of the folks knocking this release already are basing all of their opinions
off of small snippets, or "glimpses", into an album that sounds like it really needs to be absorbed
from start-to-finish a few times.

[koberry]

Hole album has a raw vibe, but sooooo much going on. Nothing like Red 13.

This is not a snippets album. Hard to crop 60secs out of 6 minutes.

Why the heck does everyone seem to have a problem with Red 13? The Time simply rocks. There's a hook there and I'm hearing it. Or maybe that's just ringing in my ears. From what I've heard so far of Eclipse, there's a lot of The Time & State of Grace going on.

Lay off, buddy. That's my last warning!!

[S2M]

That's an easy question, Carlitto....I do not believe in the term 'grower'. I know if I like something first listen, even from a 20 sec clip....Listening to something over and over that I didn't initially like - will lead nowhere.....but listening to something that I initially liked could lead to me loving it....make sense?

[Eric]

Why the heck does everyone seem to have a problem with Red 13? :

I agree. The production was lacking but I like all 4 songs.

[koberry]

Disappointment is normal! I first got into Journey with Escape. Loved that album from the beginning, still love it. Then came Frontiers. Can't say I hated it, but I was initially disappointed at least a little. I was expecting more Escape, but Journey changed direction. Now I love Frontiers. Then I decided to discover the old stuff. Infinity, Departure, etc. I was disappointed. None of those albums sounded like Escape or Frontiers, totally different direction, even though between those early Perry albums there were some similarities. I love those albums now. All of them. I don't like them as much as Escape, but I appreciate them for their uniqueness and think they are great classic albums. Then I discovered the Pre Perry albums...wanted to love them, but WTF, didn't sound at all like Journey! I learned to appreciate the more creative side of Neal and really appreciate his versatility and skill. I love those albums too, now. Then Raised on Radio came. Finally. Well, I wasn't disappointed by it, but mostly because I was thrilled to hear anything from Journey after such a long pause. Now I don't care for that album as much as the others and it is probably the one I play the least. It still has some great songs and is a unique creation. Trial by Fire, underwhelmed later but at first thrilled: Journey was back! Now I appreciate that album and like it in certain moods. Again, a very unique album for Journey. Arrival: No Perry??? What!? I gave it a chance, even though Augeri's voice didn't grab me, and I thought the comparissons to Perry were silly. I now love many songs on that album, and accept Augeri for what he was and like the music he made with Journey. Generations...underwhelmed. But wow, look at Deen's great tracks and singing, and best single vocal performance by Augeri: Knowing that you love me. I'll cut short with the rest, and just say disappointment comes with being a fan of this band because they always change. Funny they have a name like Journey. I'm excited about Eclipse, and I'm sure I'll be disappointed and thrilled all over again.

Really great post. For fans of the dirty dozen (well, I think most of us have been fans of those at some point), Journey is a complex beast. The band has always stretched out... heck, the pre-Perry era was all about improv. With the exception of a couple of songs, Frontiers was an album almost completely comprised of B-sides and deep tracks. How much distance is there between Faithfully and Chain Reaction? Open Arms and Dead or Alive?

That's the thing that always killed me about the Corporate Rock label. Are songs like Edge of the Blade, Mother Father, Little Girl, Someday Soon, Too Late or Can Do really accessible to to the mainstream? I don't really think so. And songs like this make up at least 50% of the body of their music. On Eclipse, we may not get another Don't Stop Believin', and that's just fine with me. I'd be happy to hear more like Where Did I Lose Your Love, The Time and We Will Meet Again.

[koberry]

That's an easy question, Carlitto....I do not believe in the term 'grower'. I know if I like something first listen, even from a 20 sec clip....Listening to something over and over that I didn't initially like - will lead nowhere.....but listening to something that I initially liked could lead to me loving it....make sense?

Maybe... sort of. I think you're cheating yourself by making such snap decisions.

I didn't like Easy to Fall from a 20 sec preview on Amazon. But at the full 5:15 - WOW!

[SF-Dano]

Disappointment is normal! I first got into Journey with Escape. Loved that album from the beginning, still love it. Then came Frontiers. Can't say I hated it, but I was initially disappointed at least a little. I was expecting more Escape, but Journey changed direction. Now I love Frontiers. Then I decided to discover the old stuff. Infinity, Departure, etc. I was disappointed. None of those albums sounded like Escape or Frontiers, totally different direction, even though between those early Perry albums there were some similarities. I love those albums now. All of them. I don't like them as much as Escape, but I appreciate them for their uniqueness and think they are great classic albums. Then I discovered the Pre Perry albums...wanted to love them, but WTF, didn't sound at all like Journey! I learned to appreciate the more creative side of Neal and really appreciate his versatility and skill. I love those albums too, now. Then Raised on Radio came. Finally. Well, I wasn't disappointed by it, but mostly because I was thrilled to hear anything from Journey after such a long pause. Now I don't care for that album as much as the others and it is probably the one I play the least. It still has some great songs and is a unique creation. Trial by Fire, underwhelmed later but at first thrilled: Journey was back! Now I appreciate that album and like it in certain moods. Again, a very unique album for Journey. Arrival: No Perry??? What!? I gave it a chance, even though Augeri's voice didn't grab me, and I thought the comparissons to Perry were silly. I now love many songs on that album, and accept Augeri for what he was and like the music he made with Journey. Generations...underwhelmed. But wow, look at Deen's great tracks and singing, and best single vocal performance by Augeri: Knowing that you love me. I'll cut short with the rest, and just say disappointment comes with being a fan of this band because they always change. Funny they have a name like Journey. I'm excited about Eclipse, and I'm sure I'll be disappointed and thrilled all over again.

Really great post. For fans of the dirty dozen (well, I think most of us have been fans of those at some point), Journey is a complex beast. The band has always stretched out... heck, the pre-Perry era was all about improv. With the exception of a couple of songs, Frontiers was an album almost completely comprised of B-sides and deep tracks. How much distance is there between Faithfully and Chain Reaction? Open Arms and Dead or Alive?

That's the thing that always killed me about the Corporate Rock label. Are songs like Edge of the Blade, Mother Father, Little Girl, Someday Soon, Too Late or Can Do really accessible to to the mainstream? I don't really think so. And songs like this make up at least 50% of the body of their music. On Eclipse, we may not get another Don't Stop Believin', and that's just fine with me. I'd be happy to hear more like Where Did I Lose Your Love, The Time and We Will Meet Again.

^^^^^^both great posts.

[maverick218]

It's way to soon to tell- the only studio song we've heard so far is COH (radio edit), so that's not even the version on the album, and the live songs from the Vegas show. I'm waiting until I actually have the CD in my hands and I've listened to it a few times before I pass judgement.

[S2M]

That's an easy question, Carlitto....I do not believe in the term 'grower'. I know if I like something first listen, even from a 20 sec clip....Listening to something over and over that I didn't initially like - will lead nowhere.....but listening to something that I initially liked could lead to me loving it....make sense?

Maybe... sort of. I think you're cheating yourself by making such snap decisions.

I didn't like Easy to Fall from a 20 sec preview on Amazon. But at the full 5:15 - WOW!

Not a fair comparison. Amazon is known for allowing weird portions of songs as clips. Sometimes you only get a 30-sec instrumental part of a song. What I should have said is I know at first listen if I like a song or not....if it doesn't grab me, it never will....Songs with overly long intros turn me off. Songs that belt out the title of the song as a harmonizing in your face announcement REALLY turn me off.

[Don]

The thing with Journey is there is no one album that really took off for them. When your best selling album is the Greatest Hits you tend to get lumped in with a ton of other bands .
Escape is the closest thing to their own Mona Lisa but there is no Slippery When Wet, Hysteria, Pyromania, Boston, Appetite for Destruction, 90125, Bat Out Of Hell, Moving Pictures, The Wall, Dark Side Of The Moon, Hotel California, Back in Black, etc. in Journey's catalog. They've never had that one album that everyone had to have, whether they were really a Journey fan or not. I think in this case the band's consistency in creating GOOD records is used against them, and they are penalized for not quite having the ability to release that one GREAT album that could catch everyone's attention in the music world.

[Ehwmatt]

That's an easy question, Carlitto....I do not believe in the term 'grower'. I know if I like something first listen, even from a 20 sec clip....Listening to something over and over that I didn't initially like - will lead nowhere.....but listening to something that I initially liked could lead to me loving it....make sense?

I believe in the concept of music growing on you, but I typically find "growers" in the progressive music I like. Sometimes I find "growers" in more stripped back songs.

In AOR/Melodic rock? Not so much.

[Carlitto H@kk]

That's an easy question, Carlitto....I do not believe in the term 'grower'. I know if I like something first listen, even from a 20 sec clip....Listening to something over and over that I didn't initially like - will lead nowhere.....but listening to something that I initially liked could lead to me loving it....make sense?

I disagree somewhat. Yes, there have been times where I have been in love right from the get-go.
Since we're in a Journey forum, I'll use Arrival as an example. the first 20sec of Higher Place kicked my
ass and made say, "WOW!"

But on the flip-side, I find that the songs that initially grabbed me right away
are the songs I wind up growing tired of the quickest. Its the stuff that literally
grows on me that sticks, and those are the songs/albums that I truly embrace the most.

Its really just a matter of taste and opinion. I get the feeling you're not going to like
anything this band does for your own personal reasons...

[Jana]

That's an easy question, Carlitto....I do not believe in the term 'grower'. I know if I like something first listen, even from a 20 sec clip....Listening to something over and over that I didn't initially like - will lead nowhere.....but listening to something that I initially liked could lead to me loving it....make sense?

I disagree somewhat. Yes, there have been times where I have been in love right from the get-go.
Since we're in a Journey forum, I'll use Arrival as an example. the first 20sec of Higher Place kicked my
ass and made say, "WOW!"

But on the flip-side, I find that the songs that initially grabbed me right away
are the songs I wind up growing tired of the quickest. Its the stuff that literally
grows on me that sticks, and those are the songs/albums that I truly embrace the most.

Its really just a matter of taste and opinion. I get the feeling you're not going to like
anything this band does for your own personal reasons...

Yep to all this.

[S2M]

[Jana]

The thing with Journey is there is no one album that really took off for them. When your best selling album is the Greatest Hits you tend to get lumped in with a ton of other bands .
Escape is the closest thing to their own Mona Lisa but there is no Slippery When Wet, Hysteria, Pyromania, Boston, Appetite for Destruction, 90125, Bat Out Of Hell, Moving Pictures, The Wall, Dark Side Of The Moon, Hotel California, Back in Black, etc. in Journey's catalog. They've never had that one album that everyone had to have, whether they were really a Journey fan or not. I think in this case the band's consistency in creating GOOD records is used against them, and they are penalized for not quite having the ability to release that one GREAT album that could catch everyone's attention in the music world.

I agree. But I'm emotionally attached to Infinity (even though it isn't their definitive album, though) because it's such a unique sound that definied early Journey. Steve's crsytal clear high vocals with a very unique guitar/insrumental sound.