It's 1986. Journey was on top of the world. Their album Raised on Radio owned the charts. Tours sold out within minutes. There wasn't anything they couldn't do. Then...
Fast-forward to 1996. No new studio music since Raised on Radio. Guitarist Neal Schon founded Bad English. Steve Perry (AKA The Voice) was releasing solo records. But he left a clue in a video for his 1985 solo song "Foolish Heart". At the end of the video (at least in its original length), members of Journey met him on stage, and Steve said "Let's go cut a track".
But that "track" never got "cut", or it wasn't acceptable to the band or their record label. But the real breakup of Journey happened after their "comeback" record, Trial By Fire. And it's this album, 11 years after Raised on Radio, that contains our Wayback destination for today.
The opening track, "Message of Love" is textbook Journey. Bombastic percussion, soaring vocals by Perry, and a garden-variety over-indulged guitar solo by Schon. It would have been at home on any Journey album of the '80s. And even though Trial was a million-selling record, it was the last one with Perry as vocalist.
VH1 tells the tale much better in a classic Behind the Music (go here--https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elLRt16I46w). Perry's hip injury led to a demand for a hip replacement by the rest of the band. Perry didn't want to do it, and was issued an ultimatum--get the surgery or else. Perry resigned from the band. And since then there has been zero Steve Perry music other than some repackaged outtakes and 5 songs that were supposed to be a solo album but were shelved.
Perry lives on in "Message of Love". Yeah, yeah--Journey found a singer who sounds like Perry. No matter--the new guy doesn't write as well, sing as well, and he's a mimic. There is only one Voice. Let's luxuriate in his greatness.
More later.. Let's hope the rumors of a new Perry album are true...
Pete
