Eclipse a year later

[Don]

Ritual and (surprisingly) She's A Mystery are the ones I'm including in my playlist now days.
Perhaps, because to my ears, they sound a bit different than what I interpret as Journey's sound. The exception would be the last phase of SAM where Pineda sounds exactly look Perry as the guitars start ramping up but I can accept that.

Resonate was in the rotation for awhile as well as AIP and Someone but eventually they started sounding too generic to me and got dropped.

The album, in bits in pieces has definitely outlived Revelation which was one of the most forgettable Journey records I have ever listened to.

[Gideon]

Eclipse is still in regular rotation for me.
'Resonate' remains the album's strongest track, but I don't listen to it nearly as often due to overplaying it in the first few months.
The songs I listen to the most now are 'Human Feel', 'Ritual', 'Tantra', and 'To Whom It May Concern'.
Overall, this album is on par with TBF for me, which means it's at the top of Journey's catalog.

[Andrew]

Still solid, still rockin'.

[Liam]

Still no.

(had to mess with y'all eventually.)

[scarab]

a solid 75%

City of Hope killed it. Why they pushed the weakest track is beyond me.

[Memorex]

I never listened past the first couple days.

[steveo777]

I never listened past the first couple days.

And you probably did some skipping too, right? Sad, if most people judged this album based on the fact they didn't like some of the intros, before they really got to hear things kick in. Some of the songs take off in an entirely and unexpected direction. I hope you really listened to it. And it's not for everyone, especially those only want the familiar sounding Journey. I'm more into Eclipse than I ever was Revelation.

[YoungJRNY]

a solid 75%

City of Hope killed it. Why they pushed the weakest track is beyond me.

I agree. I like the Journey-esq opener, but the the lyrics were ill and the complete song is just corny and all kinds of wrong. Sometimes there's good Journey-corny and there's bad. City of Hope sucks IMO but I still give a listen once in awhile. Overall, Eclipse is a change of pace type CD. I still like it and will play it through my rotation without hesitation. Revelation is still a strong album as well. I defiantly listened to more Revelation than I did Eclipse. Eclipse is actually still growing on me a year later and still has room to grow when it comes to overall-plays. I still almost get the vibe that it's still fresh, new and the first time I'm listening to it while Revelation feels vintage Journey.

[jrnyjetster]

Still solid, still rockin'.

Too bad the band didn't promote it properly. Resonate is a good song, but I'm afraid it's too late. Awful video!

[Abitaman]

Still high up there on my list, but not as great, IMO, in the first few months of listening to it. It rocks, but with out a big hook, it is hard to keep going back too.

[Memorex]

I never listened past the first couple days.

And you probably did some skipping too, right? Sad, if most people judged this album based on the fact they didn't like some of the intros, before they really got to hear things kick in. Some of the songs take off in an entirely and unexpected direction. I hope you really listened to it. And it's not for everyone, especially those only want the familiar sounding Journey. I'm more into Eclipse than I ever was Revelation.

I gave it several front to back listens in those first few days. I liked a few things, liked a lot of Neal's playing. It just didn't have whatever brings me back to an album. Even the new Van Halen album - I thought it was an excellent job, very well done, about as good as anything I could expect, but there is nothing there for me to attach to and I only listened that first week. On the other hand, I listen to the latest Night Ranger album at least once a week. But the Jack Blades album, which I think is good, only got me that first week. Not sure what it is that brings me back or not.

[Aaron]

I gave it a fair shake and it sucked. I've not listened to it since the first week I bought it. Schon had some good playing on it but it did not sound like Journey. Neal's pandering to the "current scene" by running below standard tune killed it. The bottom line, it sucked ass.

Somewhere in California is still one of the few cd's I listen to. That cd is awesome from start to finish. I'm still baffled as to how Mac gave that turd Eclipse 100% while getting is so right with the 100% on Somewhere in California.

[hoagiepete]

Didn't (don't) dislike the CD, just nothing on there to make me want to come back for more listens. It's been mothballed since about 2 weeks after I bought it.

[Michigan Girl]

I listened, gave it a fair shake, even liked 50% of it in the
beginning ...SAM is the only keeper for me. It's still 90%
better than Revelation. I like NWA, but I simply do not connect
w/the storyteller on any of it/Revelation ...I do not feel the music.

When you wet Eclipse down and throw it at the wall it doesn't stick.
However, it still has legs, so it can get up and crawl once it
regains consciousness.

[Eric]

I listened, gave it a fair shake, even liked 50% of it in the
beginning ...SAM is the only keeper for me. It's still 90%
better than Revelation. I like NWA, but I simply do not connect
w/the storyteller on any of it/Revelation ...I do not feel the music.

When you wet Eclipse down and throw it at the wall it doesn't stick.
However, it still has legs, so it can get up and crawl once it
regains consciousness.

I didn't connect with the storytelling either and wanted to. Didn't get the concept. I'm negative in the artistic and musical department, so, take that with a grain of salt.

Really like the album, though. Like more songs individually from Revelation, but for an overall album I think I prefer Eclipse.

[kgdjpubs]

Eclipse still pretty solid for me, albeit with some reservations that have been there from the beginning. Still falls into the category of Raised on Radio of "when is a Journey album not a Journey album" also. It's basically side B of Frontiers made into a full length album. There is a very limited amount of the pop-rock Journey that everyone expects. Doesn't really bother me, but there really isn't a radio single on the album. City of Hope was never going to do well. That leaves either Someone or Anything is Possible--and AIP needs some significant rearranging especially at the end to be pop-palatable. Resonate is good, but not really radio friendly either. Chain of Love released into the hard rock radio MIGHT have worked, but you are appealing to an audience that really doesn't follow Journey.

I tend to agree with Jeremey's assessment that sometimes Arnel is following a pre-arranged melody pathline by Cain as opposed to adding his vocal style to the mix sometimes though. Take something like To Whom it May Concern and you hear real genuine emotion from him. Some of the other songs can feel a bit clinical and cold sometimes.

Revelation was Journey by the numbers and wasn't going to offend anyone....but wasn't going to blow anyone away either. Eclipse takes chances, but you ended up with a non-commercial album, which probably wasn't a wise decision from a business standpoint. There are good and bad points to both albums. Find the middle ground between commercial and experimental and you probably don't divide the fanbase as much.

[jrny84]

For me Eclipse just missed the mark and signature Journey sound I really enjoy. Yes, I do like "Resonate" plus a few others, but of all the Journey albums I have, I listen to this one the least. Personally I liked alot of the songs on Revelation and still listen to that cd the most from the pineda albums.

[jestor92]

It sucked when it was released and it still sucks now.

[musicfan17]

Meh... I liked it...still like it... but it never really stuck with me then or now. A mediocre Journey decent Journey album is still better than many newer bands efforts, so it's all about perspective. At this point, after two noodle-fest concerts by them, my desire to see Journey live is mostly gone. I'll still buy their stuff, but they don't excite me that much. I'll always have everything from their ENTIRE catalog to keep me happy. Look how much music they have given us over the years.

[ForceInfinity]

I liked Eclipse, but that Neal Schon video totally wrecked Resonate for me....

[The_Noble_Cause]

Sometimes there's good Journey-corny and there's bad.

That's a good way of putting it. Has Cain has ever penned a worse lyric than "Don't you wanna go to the City of Hope?" Just cringe inducing. Neal's solos on the tune are classic and almost redeem the song.

[xflajrnylvr]

It sucked when it was released and it still sucks now.

+1

[The_Noble_Cause]

...but there really isn't a radio single on the album.

There's no Faithfully-style ballads, but "Someone" or "Anything is Possible" or "Ritual" are the most commercial. To be safe, they could have let Cain sneak one ballad in there.

[kgdjpubs]

...but there really isn't a radio single on the album.

There's no Faithfully-style ballads, but "Someone" or "Anything is Possible" or "Ritual" are the most commercial. To be safe, they could have let Cain sneak one ballad in there.

Someone or AIP are the best bets, but AIP would need some serious rearranging on the back end.

As far as Ritual goes, I didn't like the song the first time it appeared on Revelation titled Wildest Dreams, and didn't like it any better this time around. I wouldn't have even put it on the album, much less release it as a single. That said, I may well be alone in that opinion.

[The_Noble_Cause]

Someone or AIP are the best bets, but AIP would need some serious rearranging on the back end.

As far as Ritual goes, I didn't like the song the first time it appeared on Revelation titled Wildest Dreams, and didn't like it any better this time around. I wouldn't have even put it on the album, much less release it as a single. That said, I may well be alone in that opinion.

"Ritual" is a much more polished song than "Wildest Dream", with a bigger hook, to my ears anyway. AIP just needs a radio edit.

[parfait]

Eclipse is really artistic, progressive and mature. It's like The Division Bell, just with a better looking bassist.

No. No. It still sucks balls.

[jrny84]

The only way I will buy another album is if they get back to the Journey sound that I really like to listen to and have come to enjoy over the years. Give me something along the lines of Frontiers.

[FormerJrnyFan]

I'm w/my 'ol buddy Sterner... blah at best

[yandtguy]

Eclipse has fallen off like all the post-Perry Journey albums. "Human Feel," "She's A Mystery" and to a lesser degree "Someone" make the Journey mix these days. That's pretty consistent for post-Perry albums except for Arrival. I still dig about 6 songs from that one.

[slucero]

sonically great... musically not so great.