Dateline: 1973- San Francisco. A hot bed time and place for popular music. Keyboardist Gregg Rolie and guitarist Neal Schon are members of the legendary rock band Santana. It’s time for them to leave the nest and form their own band. The result was the start of Journey.

Last week I ran into a LA Times article where their music critic said he hated The Doors, but was going to revisit their musical catalog to see if it would change his mind about that band. Hmmm…I have a few bands for which I have those feelings. Journey is one of those bands. There’s plenty of time to listen to some music. Why not try the same experiment.

That led me to the Journey discography.

These guys have put out a lot of material. Fifteen studio albums! They really pushed it during their first decade with ten albums. That was common during an era when bands made a lot of money through record sales.

I’m not going to listen to all of their records. It’s too much. Way…way too much. I decided to hear their first two albums from the Rolie/Schon days. Then I picked out three from when Steve Perry joined the band as their lead singer/front man. Finally, I found some live versions of the greatest hits. A nice variety to make a judgement, right?

We start with the albums “Journey” and “Look Into The Future.” Like most new bands, Journey at this point couldn’t quite figure out what their sound should be. Some of the songs sounded like they should be from the Santana catalog. Others had a progressive rock feel. There was nothing wrong with that. Plenty of bands don’t find their sound…their calling for years. It may take multiple albums to get it right.

My problem with those albums was the lack of feeling and soul. Technically, the early Journey was fine. The musicianship is terrific. They’re just missing the heart. Yeah, you can sound like Santana, but you aren’t Santana unless you have Carlos Santana. Journey didn’t have him.

A couple of albums later, Steve Perry joined the band. What a voice on this guy. He had the pipes and he had the look that a true front man for a great rock band needed to have. From this point on, Journey became a hit machine.

Journey has had ten platinum albums and eighteen top forty singles since Perry became their leader. You know all the songs, “Feelin’ That Way”, “Wheel In The Sky”, “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin” and of course, the legendary “Don’t Stop Believin’.”

Normally, when I hear a Journey tune on the radio, I change the station. This week I listened to them all. Every. Single. One!!

I still don’t get it. I figured I might be missing something. I looked for people who liked/loved Journey. What was it that they got that I didn’t?

“Were they a great band? God no! Are they still overplayed on the classic rock format? Ugh. Having said that, my late 70s/80s childhood would not be the same without them.”
“I didn’t like them then, but I enjoy them now. Taste in music is personal.”
“Love love love. Posters all over my teenage bedroom!!!!!!”

Like one of the quotes says, “taste in music is personal.” That’s so true…and after a week of heavy Journey listening, mine hasn’t changed. The Journey I heard three decades ago sounded blah and with a lack of heart and soul. I still feel that way now. I’m sure this piece won’t change anyone’s mind. People who love Journey will continue to listen to their music and attend their concerts. I’ll continue to change the radio station and get on with my life.

It’s good to know that not all things in life are changing due to the pandemic.

Related Post: Musical groups I’ll try to learn to during the coronavirus quarantine 

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