GENERATIONS

The second Steve Augeris fronted Journey album came in 2005 with several differences from their recent works. As title implies, the album is a mix of "old and "new" band´s sound. The tracks are also longer than usual and, most of the time, quite heavier too. The best example of those characters together is the opener: typical AOR Journey, but almost clocking at the seven minute mark, and the guitars are definitely on the upfront. The same goes for The Place In Your Heart, but then on things go differently, with several songs featuring new elements (or, to be more precise, old elements of Journey mark I), like soul, blues, gospel, fusion and hard rock influences. On Out Of Harms Way the influence of Led Zeppelin is overwhelming and Neil Schon proves why he is often cited as one of the most underrated guitar heroes of the world. The guy really kicks ass when he wants to!

Vocals are also handled by all band members at least on one song each, with mixed results. Deen Castronovo is surely their Phil Collins: not only he´s a extraordinary drummer but also sings so well he could have applied to be a singer in another AOR band, maybe even Journey itself. If you don´t believe me just listen to It´s Never Too Late and see for yourself. Small wonder he is the only one who sang on two tracks and did a fantastic job, despite the fact the band had already an outstanding vocalist. And what about the others? Well, keyboardist Jonathan Cain does a decent job on the title track, but Schon and bassist Ross Valory should have stuck to their instruments and sing only backing vocals.

The repertoire is a bit uneven, with some tunes dragging a little too much, but, as usual, the songwriting is good, even on the weakest tracks. Maybe the strongest asset Journey has, beside their obvious musicianship, is their knack for delivering great hooks and melodies, something they never lost all over the years. Their commercial success may have faded with time, but their ability to produce great AOR stuff has not.

Overall I liked the album, although some heavier tunes and overlong ballads did not please me that much. On the other hand there are some fine songs like Beyond the Clouds that deserved to be known by more people.

Rating: 3 stars. A solid, good CD, but not really essential.