DEPARTURE

Departure is worthy of mention on a progressive rock site because of the track People and Places. I know, it's one song, but what a song it is. Every member of the band sings on this one. Reminds me a little of what Yes would go on to do with the vocal arrangement for Leave It a few years later. There's also a cool bridge that leads to a scorching guitar solo. There was some nice experimentation with instrumentation too. Rolie is often cited as a master organ player, but he also was an early pioneer with the synthesizer as well (and not the cheesy Jon Cain use of synths).

There are some classic AOR tracks on this album, Some Day Soon, Where Were You, and Precious Time. There's the big hit, Anyway You Want It. Good Morning Girl has some nice orchestration as well (carry over from Dream After Dream I guess). A solid album with People And Places at it's core...a song for and about the fans that had been with Journey for the long haul.