INFINITY

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Forth album of Journey from 1978 and the first one with excellent vocalist Steve Perry behind the microphone. By the time they released this album called Infinity the band stepped in a new period, the comercial period, with many hits and million albums saled worldwide. If the previouses albums sold quite poorly this thing will change next year, in 1978. After three albums that were considered dissapointing, but were in fact Journey's most progressive ones from the entire discography and why not the best, Journey hired a better vocalist - Steve Perry. The results were immediately felt, the album was sold in over one million copies, more than the previous albums altogether. But the sound changes were almost dramatic. From that jazz-fusion progressive music they turned in an AOR - hard rock band, not far from what FOREIGNER, STYX or BOSTON played during the same period. Some great pieces are too on this albuym like: the hit Lights, the smooth Patiently - excellent vocal parts made by Steve Perry and a classic Journey tune, sung on every concert Wheel In The Sky, the rest are ok. I considered this album as a good one, with high and lows, but i prefer the previouses ones with more jazzy aproach. 3 stars, good album, but no more than that.

This is one of my most hated album ever, because it's representative of the music industry taking over the deciding reins of RnR and turning it into a money machine, and in a few months will transform a genuine rock group into a corporate rock group - seriously Jouney has been labelled that, and by specialist music journalist at that, themselves part of that industry. Soooo CBS, not happy with commercial returns proposed a hideous deal: lose their gold-knitted recording deal or accept this semi- crooner Steve Perry as their frontmen and major songwriting partner.

The band started to change and this album was the first of a series of idiotic Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am hood artworks with the infinity sign associated, which was a little laughable and so in line with the kitsch tastes of the late 70's. And right away, one can see that Perry chose the younger (and probably more malleable) Schon as his privileged writing partner (Rollie being the ex-lead singer was less probable too), even if his credit don't appear on three tracks, probably leftovers from their just-gone-by days

No less than three top hits came out of this album, all crafted as radio-friendly songs, including the soppy opening ballad Lights, the un-welcomed Anytime (not written by Perry, but sung by him) and the ugly Wheels in The Sky, strangely also not written by Perry, which goes to show that his voice was indeed the only missing ingredient for the group to go from rags to riches. CBS knew what they were doing, quite unfortunately for the RnR spirit.

Among the least loathsome tracks are the hard rocker La Do Da and Winds Of March, which allows one last glimpse of the old Journey in the few great interplay moments ... and that's about it!!To think that there were still three early 70's heroes taking part in this kind of venture is rather unsettling, but they were probably caught financially with their pants down and not necessarily with groupies around, so they were forced or coerced into this.

What really hurts is that within months, Journey was filling stadiums and at the forefront of Stadium, rock, adult-oriented rock, corporate rock and rolling in the bucks from a numb-skulled mainstream crowd only willing to part with their cash for tedious garbage like this. Sooo impressve that Mick Jagger came in for a crash-course to see how it was all done. Soon the heads would start Rolling (Rollie would be second ;o)p) with Dunbar's groupies unsettling the new master's style. No matter how well played or professionally produced (Celine Dion's album are exactly that as well), Infinity is exactly the album to be shat upon. If you're in an anti-capitalist flag-burning parade, bring along your sister copy of this hideous album and throw it in the fire for extra fuel... it should provide a bonfire and save some human ears from being numb-skulled by idiocy.

So it's the beginning of the AOR stadium juggernaught, rife with corporate undertones and a packaged to sell set list-- but who honestly cares? Lights is one hell of a song, and if a prog-loving listener can't enjoy slumming to feel-good guitar jams like these, then there isn't much point in lauding all the really good bands we'll all agree are more artistic and inventive.

In a nutshell, this album is a collection of catchy rock-oriented fusion shimmering with vocal and guitar hooks. Schon's playing here is first rate-- very smooth, energetic, and dynamic, while Perry's (in)famous vocals are infectious in their soulful genuineness. The fact that he shares lead duties with Rolie (in the first part of the album anyway) is excellent, and it lends a diverse and rich palette to listen to-- even though this is just classic rock. The one-two-three punch of Lights, Feeling That Way, and Anytime is emotionally buoyant, and sure to put one in a good mood. I find that 3 of the later tunes are or approach filler, but the gems here far outweigh those few.

Ultimately, I feel that albums like this cleanse the palette of the deep, complex stuff we progressive listeners like to surround ourselves with, giving us a taste of saccharine sweetness before diving headlong into full-length concept albums and mutation time signatures. Infinity doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is-- a collection of nice, soulful, and approachable music... with a really, really excellent guitar player.

Songwriting: 2 Instrumental Performances: 3 Lyrics/Vocals: 3 Style/Emotion/Replay: 4

It's a little known fact that for nine months between Next and Infinity, Robert Fleischman, who was never on a Journey studio album, was the lead singer for the band. Steve Perry (pretending to be the cousin of a roadie) sang at a sound check with the band during Fleischman's absence, and wound up being the replacement. Ironically, part of the reason manager Walter Herbert wanted to remove Fleischman from the lineup was because Fleischman wasn't working well in the band's early progressive rock styling; when Perry came on board, he was instrumental in pushing them into the mainstream rock circuit. In general, I like this album as much as I like every Journey album with Perry on board; that is to say, it has both great moments and below-average filler.

"Lights" "Lights" is a good ode to the band's hometown, San Francisco. It has some pleasing rhythm guitar work and is overall a satisfying song.

"Feeling That Way" My favorite song on this album has Greg Rolie handling the verses and Perry singing the choruses, a formula they would use on a few other songs during their brief time together. Neal Schon's guitar solo is diligent and fits with the music, but Perry's dynamic vocalizations toward the end of the song are the real gem.

"Anytime" The previous song goes right into this one (and usually does so on the radio also). It's a simple arrangement with a catchy chorus and Rolie on the verses.

"La Do Da" The heaviest song on the album, full of rocking guitars and a screaming solo, this happens to be my least favorite song on the album, mainly because it doesn't flow very well.

"Patiently" The previous track goes into this ballad led by Schon's twelve-string guitar. Perry does a great job singing this one. Halfway through, the electric guitar kicks in with the whole band, and gives this song a completely different flavor.

"Wheel in the Sky" One of Journey's greatest hits, this song has always been one of my favorites. It has a memorable main riff and chorus, and a screaming guitar solo under which Perry delivers some extremely high vocal notes.

"Somethin' to Hide" This song is largely forgettable, but has some good dual lead and enjoyable vocal harmonies. The ending has Perry copying the lead guitar note for note, and has him exhibiting his phenomenal pipes.

"Winds of March" This piece has the most interesting instrumentation, with Rolie on piano and Schon on acoustic guitar. The lyrics are bland, though, and had they not been so dull, this song would have been a top notch addition to this album. Halfway through, the music shifts gears, relying on a heavier sound with Rolie finally getting to cut loose on his organ.

"Can Do" Here's a song that sounds a lot like rock from the mid-to-late 1960s, featuring lazy vocal legatos and thick harmonies, only it uses heavier instrumentation and Schon lets it rip on his guitar.

"Opened the Door" A flow of piano and guitar make for another agreeable track, with Perry singing quite smoothly. It's a decent ending to a decent rock album, and even has a little synthesizer on the last minute before Schon's lead guitar drowns it out.

|C-| A classic AOR album with some prog hints.

Of all the Journey albums my parents have with which I grew up, this is probably the only one I will give anything higher than a two. The reason for this is that almost all of the songs on here are decent, if not exceptional for what it is. Most of the band's early slightly proggy material lacks cohesiveness, adequate production, and easily below par singing. Most of the band's pop material following this album has little to no musical integrity whatsoever, made to make cash, period. Not that this is too far from that, but I think some of the integrity from their proggy period carried over a bit, especially in terms of the guitar and keyboard work. Thus this is, in my opinion, Journey at their apex (besides perhaps Next, which I have yet to hear), which is obviously not saying very much.

It is apparently true that their record company pushed them to take a commercial direction with their music with this album, but I'd argue that the band worked better and wrote somewhat higher caliber music overall with this approach. What I like (almost love) about this album is Perry's wonderful voice, however obnoxious and pop sounding it is, it sounds rich in timbre and tone quality to my ears, at least. The chord changes produced by the guitar-keyboard-bass relationships are really quite brilliant, and the way the three parts line up so well makes for some very cohesive songs, with complexity that rivals that of Styx. That obviously isn't saying a whole lot, but if you compare it to other standard AOR bands Boston or Foreigner, this album, in terms of composition, is accurately described as prog-related. Not that I like making comparisons, every album stands on its own quality in my reviews, but that's the only way to put it in perspective where this sits in the prog arena.

Really the songs on this album can be grouped into thirds: the four best songs, which would become classics in hard rock music, the three slightly average but good songs, and the three album fillers that almost smugged the album to a two. The four best are Lights, Feelin' That Way, Wheel in the Sky, and the quite proggy Winds of March. All of these would raise Journey to arena rock fame, and in my opinion can be considered about as musical as anything Styx made. They're also songs I loved as a child, so there's some sentimental value there for me. Anytime, Patiently and Something to Hide are the pretty good tunes that don't add or subtract anything to/from the album. Fillers include the worst song, La Do Da, the crappy Can Do, and the less irritating Opened the Door. Overall, however, all of the songs combined create a really good slightly prog-related AOR album.

So as I said in my review of The Grand Illusion by Styx, this is a highly recommended classic if and only if you like AOR, otherwise I'm pretty sure most of you more elitist jazz-fusion or eclectic proggers out there would want to stay as far away from this album as you can. It all depends on what your overall outtake is on AOR is. Personally I could do without this album, but sometimes it's a nice break from all of the complexities and cerebral nature of prog. So if you're thinking about buying a Journey album, this is probably the only one you should get, and the only one you'll probably get regardless.

An infinite journey

Infinity is my favourite Journey album. While the band's early albums were more in the Jazz-Rock/Fusion category a bit in line with Santana and their later albums were more AOR in line with bands like Styx, on Infinity Journey presents us with the perfect balance between these (and other) elements. They maintained some of their progressive aspects and great guitar work, while combining it with good song writing and the excellent and distinctive lead vocals of Steve Perry. We find here classic songs like Wheel In The Sky and Patiently, as well as the excellent and most progressive song Winds Of March, creating a coherent yet varied album. There is a very nice mix between rockers and ballads, electric and acoustic instruments and influences ranging from Hard Rock to Pop to (American) Folk to Jazz and Blues.

Journey is clearly a controversial band here on Prog Archives and it is probably agreed by all that at least some of their albums lie wholly outside the scope of what can be called progressive rock. However, it is equally clear that some other albums of theirs can be called progressive in some sense or other, or at least that they bear some relation to Prog. It usually agreed that somewhere along the line, Journey sold out and left their progressive aspirations behind and ventured into more commercial areas of music.

But while some progressive rock fans (probably those who lean more towards Jazz-Rock/Fusion) argue that only the band's first three albums are really kosher from a progressive perspective and some purists say that the debut album is the only reason Journey is relevant for Prog Archives. Other Prog fans (those who prefer the harder rocking and more melodious sides of Prog) would rather favour albums like the present one. After Infinity, the band started to drift further towards radio friendly Rock continuing through to the end of the 80's (I have not heard all these albums yet, though).

Infinity should not be dismissed by any Prog fan, in my opinion. It features some great songs, great vocals and guitar work and there are still many progressive aspects to the band's sound (that would sadly gradually fade away in the 80's). While fans of Santana and Jazz-Rock/Fusion purists should probably best stay away from this album, anyone who appreciates melodic, song based, Rock with good vocals and good lead guitar work should be able to enjoy this album.

Journey's best album. Recommended: three solid stars!

You have one extremely gifted guitar player. You have a great keyboards player and a superb composer. But sales are not on par with the huge expectations from the record company although the music proposed by the band was quite good during their first three albums.

So. What needs to be changed? As far as I'm concerned, nothing of course. But the record company executives thought differently (and their wallet will thank them therefore). A new lead singer was brought on board, coming out of nowhere.

The change on "Journey" 's music is disastrous. Not that the band was very progressive so far, but the warm voice from Gregg, his heavy keys play and more than all the superb guitar play from Neal gave some great feel and class to their first three albums.

This one is just an AOR parody from start to finish. Detestable songs, poor melodies, in one word: ridiculous when compared to previous recordings. But it did sell quite better. And you know how economics rule the world.

There is really nothing to point out in this album. Boring ballads ("Something To Hide") to useless AOR tunes: this is all what is available on this weak album. There is virtually no reason at all to get involved with this one. Let's stick to their debut until "Next" to avoid a major disillusion.

It will be the start of a huge commercial success, but a rather weak creative career (but other bands did the same, right). Avoid this as the plague. Only "Winds Of March" shows some relation with good music during the middle instrumental section (thanks to the characteristics I mentioned about the two great men).

One little star.

Winds of change

Following the spectacular lack of success for their musically credible first three albums, Journey succumbed to pressure from their record company and reinvented themselves. Recognising that they were weak in the vocal department, they initially brought in Robert Fleischman as lead vocalist. He however lasted less than a year, there being only one commercially available recording by the band with his vocal ("For you" can be found on the "Time 3" box set"). He did however write other songs with the band, three of which can be found on "Infinity".

Towards the end of 1977, in the most significant move of the band's entire existence, Steve Perry took on the role of lead vocalist. For my money, Perry has one of the best voices in rock. Derided for steering the band away from the fusion based rock which they had played thus far, it must however be acknowledged that his arrival immediately delivered the commercial success the band and their record label craved. On this album Perry shares lead vocal duties with founder Gregg Rolie, but it is already apparent that Rolie's talents are stronger elsewhere.

Noted Queen producer Roy Thomas Baker was brought in to produce the album, Baker bringing with him many of the techniques he had used to great success with Queen.

The opening "Lights", written by Steve Perry and Neal Schon, gives an immediate indication of the way Journey will head forever more. This classic AOR ballad may be ultra smooth, but it has a killer melody and all the ingredients of a live anthem. Perry and Schon dominate the writing on the album as a whole, but the other band members do contribute too.

The songs alternate between the ballads, the anthems and the upbeat rock songs, but all the while they are shorter and much more focused. Gone are the long instrumental breaks, and improvisations are now a definite no go area. The tracks here run from 2½ to 5 minutes, with most being around the preferred single length of 3-4 minutes.

Tracks such as the vocal ballad "Patiently" may sound nothing like anything we have heard thus far from Journey, but sales of the album speak for themselves, and such songs at least secured a future for Journey. Personally, I consider it a wonderful song anyway.

The upbeat "Wheel in the sky" is similar to Gary Moore's "Murder in the skies", melodically at least but not in sentiment. "Feeling that Way" had an interesting history, in that it was initially written as the instrumental "Velvet curtain", an extract of which can be heard on "Time 3". Lyrics were then added and the song became "Please Let Me Stay", intended for the album "Next"; it was not included on that album though. Steve Perry later picked up the song again, added some new lyrics and it finally appears on this album.

The five minute "Winds of March", written during Robert Fleischman's brief time with the band, is the closest we get to anything prog here. The song includes some fine organ and guitar, which sit well alongside Perry's superb vocal.

In all, an album which for my money is unfairly derided, not for the music it contains, but for what it represents in terms of Journey's history. The simple fact is though that the band's record label were ready to drop them. They had to reinvent or die. It is to their credit that they took the bold steps they did. While "Infinity" may represent the end of Journey as a band with prog credentials, it is still a fine album.

Completely shorn of the progressive and fusion elements that adorned their first three albums but featuring new, talismanic lead-singer Steve Perry, 'Infinity' would be the first of many gold-standard soft-rock records that would slowly turn Journey into one of the most popular American rock bands of all time. Backed by four of the five original members - Gregg Rolie(keyboards, vocals), Aynsley Dunbar(drums), Ross Valory(bass) and Neal Schon(guitar) - Steve Perry's new-fangled version of Journey were now focused solely on producing hit-singles and sell-out stadium tours, something they achieved with alarming precision. Their peak would arrived during the early-eighties, when albums such as the epoch-defining 'Escape' and the softer, mellower 'Raised On Radio' confirmed their position as the kings of AOR, though albums such as this 1978 effort would also play their part. Crammed with polished rockers, slick ballads and the occasional screeching guitar solo, this is a perfectly acceptable slice of commercial pop-rock that deliberately eschews the instrumental dexterity of the group's early albums. Enjoyable then, but one does yearn for something a bit meatier after several listens.

STEFAN TURNER, STOKE NEWINGTON, 2012