TRIAL BY FIRE

After their "Frontiers" album and tour, Journey took some time to rest as a band. Steve Perry recorded a very commercial mellow album called "Street Talk" (1984) which included the very mellow ballad called "Sherrie", which also has one of the worst video clips I have seen. I listened to "Street Talk" when a female friend lent me that album for a brief time in 1985. I didn`t like it so I never bought it.

By 1986, there was a new album by Journey called "Raised on Radio", and by that time the band only had three members (Perry, Schon and Cain, the main songwriters) with Steve Smith and Ross Valory being fired before the album was recorded. I only listened to a song from that album called "Be Good to Yourself" in a FM Radio station in my city, a song which I didn`t like very much, sounding for me as very similar to the songs from Perry`s "Street Talk" album. I never bought "Raised on Radio", and I forgot to play Journey`s music for several years.

By 1989, Schon and Cain had another band called "Bad English" with lead singer John Waite. They recorded two albums which were not as successful as the albums they recorded with Journey. I watched on TV to two of their video clips, and for me that band was just another commercial Arena Rock band whose style was similar to Journey`s in some parts but with another lead singer. I never bought their albums.

Then, in late 1996, this album titled "Trial by Fire" was released. I remember being in a record shop buying another CD and when I paid for that CD I received in the bag an ad announcing the release of "the new album recorded by the classic line-up of Journey". I didn`t buy it then, not being interested very much in Journey`s music since the mid eighties.

In mid 1998 I went to a record shop which had at low prices several CDs released by Sony / Columbia. One of them was Steve Perry`s second solo album titled "For the Love of Strange Medicine" (1994). I bought it and I liked it a lot. That album is much better than "Street Talk", in my opinion.

By late 1998, I went again to the same record shop which again had those Sony / Columbia low priced CDs and cassettes. I didn`t find the CD version of "Trial by Fire", but I bought the cassette version instead.

"Trial by Fire" is a good album, but it seems to me that by 1996 Journey was reforming to try to repeat their old formula of Hits in an album with some sugar ballads and some heavy rock songs. I have to say that I still like some of the songs ("Message of Love", "One More", "It`s Just Rain"). But even in the songs I liked I could find similarities with old songs like "Separate Ways" (in the case of "Message of Love" and "One More"). There are other songs with a lot of influence from old ballads composed by them, and also with some influences from Steve Perry`s "Street Talk" album ("When You Love a Woman", "If He Should Break Your Heart"). The only ballad that I really like a lot is "It`s Just Rain". The rest of the songs are not as interesting for my taste. The band also had the help of a songwriter which was not part of the band (John Bettis, who I think that he wrote some songs for "Street Talk" with Perry) in a few songs. So, for me this album sounds more like they were really working hard to try to capture in a new album their old sound but with a lot of not very interesting songs.

I have to say that I prefer Steve Perry`s second solo album more than this "Trial by Fire" album. It is much better that "Trial by Fire" and much less commercial than "Street Talk".

After this album was released, Perry had some health problems which prevented the band to tour again. Perry needed a hip surgery, but he kept the band waiting for two years before he was given an ultimatum by Cain and Schon and he finally was fired in 1998. He finally went to that surgery after he left Journey, and the band carried on with other lead singers which despite being very good couldn`t repeat the success of Journey with Perry. Steve Smith also left the band after Perry was fired not seeing a future for the band without Perry.

This album was very successful in the Hit Parade charts, but...I don`t like it very much in comparison to their "Escape" and "Frontiers" albums.

Despite the proliferation of sappy-ballads, Trial By Fire remains for me a fun listen when I am in the mood for Journey's signature brand of saccharine rock.

Specifically, the songwriting and mood clicks here better than most of their other albums, which are very song-oriented and formulaic in their delivery. All of the songs are longer than their older hits, giving the musicians more time to experiment with solos and instrumental passages, which they thankfully do quite well. Message of Love and One More are energetic openers in the vein of Separate Ways, with big melodies and Schon's guitar sounding aggressive and sharp. Can't Time the Lion is especially enjoyable, since it possess a style and sound different than anything they've done before.

Perry's vocals are thankfully much smoother and easier on the ears than in the past, but some of the ballads are terrible. Don't Be Down on Me Baby and When I Think of You are worthless, plodding, sentimental yuck, reminiscent of his solo offerings. Fortunately, there are some classy vocals here as well-- nothing so big and pompous as Faithfully/Open Arms (which is good, in my book). Still She Cries, It's Just the Rain, and Trial By Fire are all good examples, with reserved deliveries by Perry and very cool, smooth guitar playing from Schon.

So, I'll stick my neck out here and say that Trial By Fire is actually one of the band's better albums; it is more reserved, stylistic, and artistic than their packaged-to-sell albums from the '80's. Prog fans who enjoy the campiness of Journey may actually find themselves appreciating the musicianship in this one (and one can always just delete the lame ballads from their iPod).

Songwriting: 2 Instrumental Performances: 3 Lyrics/Vocals: 3 Style/Emotion/Replay: 3

Ten years were a quite sufficient break to sit back and wait for an unexpected great and new musical orientation.

"Message Of Love" is maybe one of their best ever song from "Journey" (if you would expect some of their great seventies tracks): excellent beat and catchy melody. Of course, this has nothing to do with their earlier albums, but at least, such a straight forward rock song is holding the key.

The ballad rhythm is not fully enjoyable while listening to the dull and conventional rock ballad "When You Love A Woman". To have been waitng for about ten years to release such a weak affair is not really meeting expectations. Still, I have to say and confess that this "Trial?" is the best of their material since Perry came on board (which was not a difficult matter).

This album is more rock oriented than its predecessors and most of their AOR stuff is just an awful remembrance from the past. The heavy " Castless Burning" is one of the highlights: such a big rhythm and fantastic beat! THE highlight of this album.

I have never been able to endorse the Perry entrance in this band. Few to none were the songs I could tolerated before this "reunion" work. But when I listen to such a miserable tune as "Colors Of The Spirit", I can only come back to earth and acknowledge that most of the weak achievements were not only a thing from the past.

The dull "When I Think Of You" or "Easy To Fall" are just another confirmation of the weakness of this album. Avoidable rock ballads with no feel. The best you can do is to avoid these type of songs.

I have been quite harsh with my "Journey" reviews. Accordingly. I have to recognize that "Trial By Fire" is better than their earlier stuff. Some of their earlier blunders are still back again under the form of the weak rock ballads like "Don't Be Down On Me Baby", "Still She Cries" or "It's Just A Rain".

The passable title track can justify the two stars rating. Some sort of innovation in terms of Perry appearances as far as I'm concerned even if the dreadful reaggae "Baby I'm Leaving You" is quite dispensable.

One more, then baby I'm leaving you

Journey do not have a classic line up as such. For some, the earliest albums are the only ones which earn credibility for the band, and it is hard to argue against the requirement that co-founder Greg Rolie and early drummer Aynsey Dunbar be included in any attempt to define a classic line up. That said, it must also be recognised that the bands biggest selling albums ("Escape" and "Frontiers") were recorded by the line up of Perry, Schon, Cain, Valory, Smith.

It is that quintet which reconvened in 1996 to record this album, the band having appeared to call it a day some 10 years earlier. The healing of wounds was all the more remarkable given that Valory and Smith had been unceremoniously sacked prior to the recording of "Raised on radio".

As had become the norm on the mid-1980's albums, the trio of Neal Schon, Jonathan Cain and Steve Perry monopolise the song writing, with only minor variations in the credits for a couple of the songs. Noted lyricist John Bettis (who also wrote for The Carpenters, Madonna, and Whitney Houston among many others) helps out on a couple of tracks. With no less than 15 tracks including the closing hidden track and a running time of over 70 minutes, this is by far the meatiest Journey release, and effectively a double album when compared to those from the LP years.

The main benefit of the CD age for this and albums such as this is that the extra space available allows the band to develop the tracks more fully. Thus the tracks here are generally slightly longer than they might have been 10-20 years previously. With running times of 4-6 minutes, the songs remain tight and focused, but Neal Schon is able to slip in more in the way of lead guitar breaks overall.

The opening "Message to love" reassures us that the band have lost none of their energy, this up-tempo rock number being as powerful and punchy as anything which has gone before. As we would expect, the album has the usual mix of such songs and smoochy ballads. What there also are though is a selection of mid-tempo rock anthems, namely "One more", "Still she cries", "It's just the rain" and the title track. It is these songs which are arguably the ones which distinguish the album and which are for me the best of the bunch. Indeed, the closing pairing of "It's just the rain" and "Trial by fire" make for a combined 10 minutes of classic Journey at their absolute best.

The piano led weepy "When you love a woman" is very much a vehicle for Perry's wonderful tones. Inevitability, it secured further singles chart success and a Grammy nomination for the band, but for me it is inferior to similar tracks on previous albums. Likewise, "When I think of you" with its "Magic moments" intro is a bit too drippy.

"Castle's burning" is by far the heaviest track the band have recorded, ever. With a running time of around 6 minutes, it is also the longest of the Perry age. The album actually closes with a hidden track called "Baby I'm leaving you", but this cod-reggae episode is not quite hidden enough!

In all, this is pretty much the perfect Journey album in terms of their AOR years. The song writing is spot on, the arrangements allow the songs to develop well, Steve Perry's voice never sounded better, and the instrumental performances are top notch. Forget the negative spin of the anti-Perry-era brigade, this is a wonderful album.

The cover illustration is superb, the fold-out lyric sheet reflecting the biblical references which abound through the album.

"Trial by fire" would prove to be something of a one off reunion, Steve Perry leaving the band again, apparently through injury but this time permanently, during planning for a subsequent tour to promote the album.

Return

Trial By Fire was Journey's first album in ten years and the last one ever to feature the distinctive lead vocals of Steve Perry. I think it is fair to say that this album was a return to form of sorts, but it is debatable if Journey had much of a form to return to! What I mean is that Trial By Fire was undoubtedly the best Journey album since the band's "golden" period in the late 70's and early 80's, but saying this is not saying much, if you ask me. Even adding that this is one of Journey's better albums overall does not even involve much praise in itself. Still, Trial By Fire is a decent album on its own merits and one that even might hold some interest for at least some visitors to the parts.

There are several good songs here, though not a single great one. Unfortunately, there are also some not so good songs that bring the album down. The total running time is much too long for the album's good. It would have been very easy for the band to make a much more coherent, consistent and enjoyable album by just removing the lesser tracks from the track list. But I suppose that the compact disc offered a strong temptation to put this much music out at once, but this material would have benefitted considerably from being limited to the length of a single vinyl LP, say around 35 to 40 minutes or so.

The first two tracks are quite promising, especially One More which reminds of John Payne- era Asia. Message Of Love and When You Love A Woman have lyrics that are hard for me to accept. I really don't like such explicit and standard love songs lyrically speaking, but musically these two songs are quite alright. The next track worthy of mention is Castles Burning which starts out as a rather generic heavy Blues rocker but eventually develops nicely into something that reminds me of the Neo-Prog band Pallas toward the end of it!

Many of the songs are very typical Journey tunes of varying quality and I will not mention them all explicitly, I mention only those that stand out for me for one reason or another. There is a considerable amount of songs in the middle of the album that just pass me by without leaving any particular impressions. Colours Of The Spirit is an exception here as it features some interesting World-Music sounds, but it does unfortunately not develop into anything particularly interesting. It is not until Can't Tame The Lion that the album once again becomes interesting to me. This is a good song with a strong melody and great vocals. Another two good songs follow in It's Just The Rain and Trial By Fire and these would have ended the album in a reasonably strong fashion if it wasn't for the awful "hidden" track that closes the disc.

To sum up. There are just too many fillers here that add nothing of value to the album for this to be a good album. It does, however, have its moments and is indeed a very worthy addition to the collections of Journey fans. But beyond those fans, it has very limited interest.

After a ten-year gap Journey's classic 1980s line-up reconvened to produce this highly-anticipated 'comeback' album, the seeds of discontent sown by vocalist Steve Perry's 1987 defection seemingly buried deep in the past. With Perry augmented by Neal Schon(guitar, vocals), Ross Valory(bass), Jonathan Cain(keyboards, vocals) and Steve Smith(drums), 'Trial By Fire' is very much an attempt to repeat former glories, though sadly and like many returning heroes the fact remains that Journey's time has very much been-and-gone. You have to go way back to 1981 to find the last worthwhile Journey album and that - 'Escape' - was a stone-cold classic, branded by many as the pinnacle of the AOR genre. Follow-up efforts 'Frontiers'(1983) and 'Raised On Radio'(1986) proved popular amongst fans yet were very much products of their time, now sounding even more dated than the group's mainly excellent 1970s material and sorely lacking the creative input of original keyboardist Gregg Rolie. His replacement, former Baby's member Cain, initially proved to be an inspired choice, his commercial nous, melodic instincts and canny ability to produce catchy and emotive hooks the main creative power behind the enormous and long-lasting success of 'Escape'. However, his influence proved to be short-lived. And like both 'Frontiers' and 'Raised On Radio', 1996's 'Trial By Fire' proved to be something of a damp squid. The real problem is that Journey in their heyday were perfectly suited to the musical environment around them. They practically invented soft-rock, a style that has no place in the grunge-dominated 1990s, and here their music sounds forced and formulaic. The ballads prove dull and mawkish, the rockier numbers horribly over-produced, a slick sheen of sentimentality glazing the brittle riffs. The misty, slow-burning 'Colours Of The Spirit' and the semi-muscular arena rock of the title-track aside, 'Trial By Fire' proves somewhat disappointingly that the good times will stay where they belong: in the past. Journey were a great, great band in their pomp, their first three albums - 'Journey'(1975), 'Look Into The Future'(1976), 'Next'(1977) - and the likes of 'Infinity'(1978), 'Departure'(1979), 'Dream After Dream'(1980) and 'Escape' testament to their enduring appeal. Sadly, the undemanding 'Trial By Fire' fails to ignite in the same way.

STEFAN TURNER, STOKE NEWINGTON, 2012

For some reasons, I like this album which I purchased by accident as it was cheaply priced. Not jut the price, actually .... I also love the album cover. I have never followed Journey in particular as after early year they already transformed into a straight rock band. In particular of this album, I enjoy the opening track "message of Love" which starts wonderfully with an ambient sound combining vocal and keyboard plus guitar effects. The music flows nicely in a bass-tight rhythm session. It's probably the rhythm section plus some sorts of howling guitar and effects throughout the song that makes me feel excited with it. The guitar solo is also stunning. Even though this song is far away from being called as prog music, but I really enjoy the composition as well as the singing style. The second track "One More" is also another excellent track that I regularly play when it comes to this album.

Well ...sometimes we need to break from prog music for a while and have this album spun. I think this album deserves a three-star rating in terms of straight rock music - nothing is prog here at this album by Journey.

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

After more than ten years since their last studio album (1985´s Raised On Radio) Journey came back with the classic line up of Steve Perry, Neil Schon, Jonathan Cain, Ross Valory and Steve Smith. Surprisingly Trial By Fire did not get much airplay or TV exposure as before: the times had changed and both critics and the MTV were in love and/or mourning grunge and alternative pop. The highly polished and melodic rock of Journey had no room in the 90´s (or so some people thought). The lack of a tour also didn´t help matters (see below).

Which is really a pity since the new album showed the band had lost none of their fire neither the capacity of writing great songs. they were open minded enough to bring in a new producer (Kevin Shirley) and a few recent influences too. Not that Trial By Fire is a perfect album. with more than 70 minutes of running time it showed not only their versatility but also a slightly unbalanced tracklist that would sure benefit from the dropping of a couple of ballads. However, there are no real fillers and even the weakest songs are not bad. In fact, there are very strong ones that I was quite surprised didn´t get the attention they deserved, like the powerful opener Message Of Love, the surprisingly heavy Castles Burning and the ethereal Colors Of The Spirit. Other highlights are the mid-tempo rocker One More and the title track. In all, a very good album.

Unfortunately, there would be no tour to promote the album: Steve Perry had a hip injury that seems to take forever to heal (other sources claim his voice was not up to previous standards and he was not taking chances). When the rest of the band decided they would not wait any more, it was too late to save the project (though Trial By Fire would still sell enough through the years to eventually reach platinum status). They got another singer and Steve Smith, who thought the come back was meaningless without Perry, quit. They would soldier on, but that´s another story.

With a superb production, a beautiful cover, very good songs and an energetic performance, Trial By Fire shows a band that, contrary to most contemporaries, had enough power and ideas to justify totally their comeback as a creative force. While not as successful as their previous efforts, it stood very well the test of time (just like the others). If you like sophisticated melodic rock, you can´t go wrong with this CD. Rating: something between 3.5 and 4 stars.

Journey is a group known for intending to please a wide, grand audience since 1978 (some might argue 1977). Ever since singer Steve Perry's entrance to the fold, the band had been sitting on the lap of luxury; selling out multiplexes and smashing sales records every year. This is no doubt due to the leadership of Perry himself; his soaring vocal range and pure energy as a frontman led the band to the peak of their success, supported by a well-oiled machine of a band to round out the commercially viable sound. However, around the time of 1986's somewhat lackluster Raised on Radio, tensions were rising in a (quite typical) battle of control over the band. Steve Perry started taking control by firing two members of the band (bassist Ross Valory and drummer Steve Smith) and things got uglier from there. After Raised on Radio and its subsequent tour, the band decided to call it quits... until 1995, that is.

Steve Perry and co. didn't seem to think they were quite washed up just yet, and most likely made this album, Trial by Fire, out of the hope of still being relevant in this ever-changing world of music. The result is an extremely weak effort... one that massacred Steve Perry's final moments with the band.

The record is plagued with so many problems, in execution or concept, that it drowns out any redemption the songs might hold. The first problem is the length: at a heaping 75 minutes, this album is a chore to listen to, especially with the lack of solid or focused material. All the classic Journey albums kept the length nice and tidy, usually each clocking in at about 35-42 minutes. They might have had the intention of making up for lost material or time, but in this case, it's simply an overkill.

The other huge problem is with inspiration. The band have seemly run out of the energy they're notorious for, and have replaced most of their hard rock roots with soft rock and -dare I say it?- adult contemporary music, probably in hopes of appealing to a new generation. The result of colliding two generations together makes for an extremely inconsistent and tough listen, something that shouldn't be part of the Journey repertoire; it can only ensure that both audiences will be alienated by multiple portions of the album.

So are there songs worth listening to from this album? It just so happens that there are some redeeming moments buried within this mound of junk... notably in the first few songs of the album. "Message of Love" is a deceptively good opener to the album, complete with the typically powerful guitar work by Neal Schon and pounding rhythms that compliment Steve Perry's vocals very well. "One More" is an odd song for a band like Journey, but the orchestral experimentation works in their regard, and the quasi-progressive feel is quite nice. "When You Love a Woman" is a nice classic Journey ballad; it does have a touch of the adult contemporary style I mentioned, but it fits well, and the symphony backing the band provides a solid backdrop to the composition.

However, after this streak of highlights, the album falls flat on its face. "Castles Burning" is a weak attempt at macho heavy metal posturing and angst, while songs like "It's Just the Rain" and "Colors of the Spirit" show a disappointing dip in passion and quality from the Journey of old, only getting better for the closing track (not counting the hidden track), "Trial by Fire," the only other highlight on the record.

All in all, Trial by Fire is overlong, washed up, and simply beating a dead horse. Even though the album went gold eventually, people generally caught on and figured out that the album was not worth any of their money... and they were right. Journey listeners beware... this is the most atrocious album by Journey, and is only recommended if you want to have EVERY SINGLE Journey album.

Whenever I'm feeling snarky I always know I can take my dour mood out on groups like Journey instead of my lovely wife or close relatives. But the joke's ever on me because, as usual with this band's records, what I foolishly presume will be a relatively painless aural exercise turns out to be an agonizing ordeal of yearning for it to be over. One of the drawbacks of the CD era is that commercial-minded ensembles like this bunch were now able to fit a lot more of their anemic, anti-prog material on a single disc. I should get a special Boy Scout merit badge just for sitting through this! In reference to this album singer Steve Perry boasted that "we didn't try to reinvent ourselves." He wasn't kidding. I'll say this up front: If you liked the music Journey was making just before they went on hiatus in '87 you're gonna be happy as a clam with what's on this, their 1996 comeback release, "Trial by Fire." Times changed. They didn't.

"Message of Love" - A spacey intro leads right into a "formula rock" ditty that holds no surprises. The only thing more predictable is the sun rising in the east every morning. "One More" - Following a sappy orchestral snippet that includes a "dramatic" spoken-word section I was mercilessly subjected to Perry's overwrought, Broadway stage-worthy vocalizing. In my mind I could picture him slowly rising from a smoking volcano and then strolling down a long lava-lined staircase while gesturing provocatively to the audience. (Hell, I had to think of something to take my mind off the banality of the tune.) "When You Love a Woman" - A very Michael Bolton-ish power ballad snooze fest complete with a faux gospel chorale swaying in the background. (I find I'm already having to restrain my gag reflex and I'm only 3 cuts in!) "If He Should Break Your Heart" - What's truly breaking my heart is that this kind of shlock is on a progressive rock music site. I mean, even cotton candy isn't this sugary. "Forever in Blue" - These guys evidently bought into the record label's motto of "If it worked a decade ago it'll work again. Trust us." Sadly the suits were right but to my ears this is a vile piece of embarrassingly dated crapola. "Castles Burning" - An example of what happens when a pop act tries to get "heavy." It's extremely difficult for me to imagine anyone playing this for a friend and exclaiming "Isn't this FANTASTIC?" And, like most of the tracks on this record, it's about four minutes too long. "Don't Be Down on Me Baby" - Here's where they roll out their obligatory "bluesy waltz" number. I found it almost as entertaining as clipping my toenails. Neal Schon is an okay musician but he always comes off as an insecure lead guitarist trying to impress his peers with how fast he can play. That approach gets real old real fast.

"Still She Cries" - Perhaps if they'd made this an instrumental it would've provided me with a much-needed ray of light but no, they just had to turn it into a song only a lovesick 12 year old Daddy's little princess could relate to. "Colors of the Spirit" - Oh, great. Now I'm on safari with these jokers. I reckon this is their attempt to create a "world beat" sound but Perry's pasteurized voice makes that a mission impossible. Good grief, this is torture. "When I Think of You" - I can almost hear one of the band members saying "Hey, fellas, let's manufacture another clone of 'Forever Yours!' Cha-ching!" Um, somebody nudge me when this dull-as-a-butter-knife dirge is over. Or not. "Easy to Fall" - At this juncture it's almost as if they're intentionally parodying themselves. This is so awful it defies description. "Can't Tame the Lion" - This tune begs the question; "Don't y'all have any flavors other than plain vanilla?" "It's Just the Rain" - Deafening white noise would be preferable to this. I feel like I'm trapped in an elevator. Alone. Evidently they felt it necessary to add a lot of "stormy night" sound effects to make sure I "got" the theme. Segue into "Trial By Fire" - Who actually paid good money for this stuff anyway? Did Steve just warble the line, "Hello, Mister Moon?" Yes. He did. Just shoot me. "Baby, I'm Leaving You" - Enough already. They just had to go full pseudo reggae on their way out, huh? This is about as soulful as a Lawrence Welk YouTube video. Pitiful. Journey has no shame whatsoever. I'm definitely leaving. To go throw up.

Dig this, though. This CD made it to #3 on the album charts! What? And the syrupy "When You Love a Woman" not only rose to #12 on the singles chart, it was nominated for a Grammy! If you don't believe me look it up for yourself. In addition, three other singles culled from this album charted! Yark! That means a substantial amount of people actually missed Journey's hit- making monotony machine and welcomed them back with um, open arms. If there's a bright spot to behold it's that this was the end of the Perry period. Seems he broke a hip in Maui before the support tour began and that forced the band to cancel the whole strolling-down-the-volcano thing they had planned. Bummer. It would've been neat-o. As I indicated earlier, if this is your cup of tea then be my guest. Dive in. Stay in. As for me, I'd rather hear fingernails scraping down a chalkboard. No stars.