Journey : prog vs AOR

I've heard one pre-Perry album (Next) and enjoyed it.  I actually haven't heard a Journey album with Steve Perry, but I have the 2 disc greatest hits album, and it's much more powerful that Next, imo.  I'd much rather listen to Faithfully than The Hustler.  

harmonium.ro wrote: Logan wrote: rushfan4 wrote: This is a pretty cool Journey song from their debut album Kohoutek.  A title like that might fit in just fine on a Magma album, although the music is completely different. I don't find it completely musically different; it actually has a VERY Zeuhlish vibe to me (though the lead guitar makes is sound more significantly different). I like it. Indeed. It reminds me a lot of Jean Paul Prat's music. So not Magma, but Zeuhl.

It reminded me most of Jean-Paul Prat's Masal too -- neat that we heard the same (the opening is very reminscent of Masal).  I'm a big fan of that album, but still don't the have later one.  And when I heard Jean-Paul Prat's Masal, it reminded me more of the Zeuhl bands such as Paga and Weidorje, and Zao, than Magma, (which is more why I thought Masal on the Zeuhl side, but I guess any Zeuhl fan will get it when they hear it).  But of course they all have stylistic similarities which is why Prat, Eskaton etc. style can be named after a Vander construct (Zeuhl - celestial music).  That Journey track does remind me of some more, rather Offering like Magma music, and stuff like Felicite Thosz (hmm, maybe not that one -- I don't listen to Zeuhl as much as some years ago when I was a completist).

Incidentally, I considerably prefer the live version of that track that I posted to the studio one.


Edited by Logan - November 15 2011 at 20:32

Logan wrote: rushfan4 wrote: This is a pretty cool Journey song from their debut album Kohoutek.  A title like that might fit in just fine on a Magma album, although the music is completely different. I don't find it completely musically different; it actually has a VERY Zeuhlish vibe to me (though the lead guitar makes is sound more significantly different). I like it.

Indeed. It reminds me a lot of Jean Paul Prat's music. So not Magma, but Zeuhl.

Early Journey had some good prog, but Steve Perry and the pop Journey is far better.  Nothing wrong with well-crafted and well-executed commercial music.

 

rushfan4 wrote: This is a pretty cool Journey song from their debut album Kohoutek.  A title like that might fit in just fine on a Magma album, although the music is completely different.

That one's actually pretty good!

They went very quickly from a mediocre pop-fusion band to a horrible AOR one. I don't like either but the early stuff is at least listenable.
Amazingly AOR is winning though. It's one of the mysteries of the universe.


Edited by The Miracle - November 15 2011 at 14:17

This is a pretty cool Journey song from their debut album Kohoutek.  A title like that might fit in just fine on a Magma album, although the music is completely different.

I think that this is a pretty cool Journey song from the 80's La Raza Del Sol that only appeared on their box set.  It is on their 2001 Live video.  It has a Santana feel to it. 

The early albuims are not that great, but they definitely set the band up as a prog band. For me, the Perry era albums are much better, but contain little or no prog as such.

I've listened to the first three albums.....they were weaning themselves off of the jazzy prog of Santana trying to get themselves into the mainstream, which was weaning itself away from the progressive styles of the late 60s and early 70s.  I place Journey square into that overproduced schlock that was soon to known as corporate rock....Foreigner, Boston, Kansas, Styx.  Don't get me wrong - there are some fair to good songs on the first three albums (and on early Kansas and Styx albums as well) - Look Into the Future, Kohutek - but nothing that I ever have much of an urge to put on.  In fact, some of the stuff I found bearable in the past is really abrasive when I hear it now.

If I had such power I wouldn't have put them on the site on the first place.