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RAISED ON RADIO

Journey

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Journey Raised On Radio album cover
2.41 | 96 ratings | 10 reviews | 7% 5 stars

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Studio Album, released in 1986

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Girl Can't Help It (3:50)
2. Positive Touch (4:16)
3. Suzanne (3:38)
4. Be Good To Yourself (3:51)
5. Once You Love Somebody (4:40)
6. Happy To Give (3:49)
7. Raised On Radio (3:49)
8. I'll Be Alright Without You (4:49)
9. It Could Have Been you (3:37)
10. The Eyes Of A Woman (4:32)
11. Why Can't This Night Go On Forever (3:43)

Total time 44:34

Bonus tracks on 2006 remaster:
12. Girl Can't Help It (Live video mix) (4:17)
13. I'll Be Alright Without You (Live video mix) (4:57)

Line-up / Musicians

- Steve Perry / lead & backing vocals
- Neal Schon / guitars, Kurzweil synth (10), backing vocals
- Jonathan Cain / keyboards, DMX programming (3), backing vocals

With:
- Dan Hull / saxophone (2,7), harp (7)
- Randy Jackson / bass (1,3-5,7-9,12,13), backing vocals (2,12,13)
- Bob Glaub / bass (2,10,11)
- Larrie Londin / drums (1,3-9), percussion
- Steve Smith / drums (2,10,11)
- Mike Baird / drums (12,13)
- Steve Minkins / percussion (3)
- Megan Clearmountain / Fx (10)

Releases information

Artwork: Michael Cotten & Prairie Prince (modeled after the studios for KIGS in Hanford, California)

LP Columbia- OC 39936 (1986, US)

CD Columbia- CK 39936 (1986, US)
CD Columbia- CK 67724 (1996, Europe) Remastered (?)
CD Legacy- 82876 85894 2 (2006, US) Remaster by Dave Donnelly with 2 bonus tracks

Thanks to Ricochet for the addition
and to Quinino for the last updates
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JOURNEY Raised On Radio ratings distribution


2.41
(96 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of rock music(7%)
7%
Excellent addition to any rock music collection(17%)
17%
Good, but non-essential (24%)
24%
Collectors/fans only (36%)
36%
Poor. Only for completionists (16%)
16%

JOURNEY Raised On Radio reviews


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Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by b_olariu
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars Pure AOR album. This was the final Journey album from the '80's. After this one the band split up, and for a good reason, this album is pure pop AOR with nothing special and nothing to do with the early works, he doesn't seam to be alike with the albums with Perry on vocals, not to mention the one's with Rollie. With all that i consider this one good, not from a progressive view, but from a music listner view. Because i'm open minded i give a chance to this album, but no more that 3-4 listnings. I was plased what i hered, easy listning , and specially a good album for the car or as the title suggested for the radio. All in all a good album for me, but far from what we are use to like on Journey music. Not recommendet, only if you know all the rest of the albums prior to this one. 2.5 rounded to 3, still a good AOR album, but nothing more, and even weaker that other Journey albums where i give also 3 stars.
Review by Prog Leviathan
PROG REVIEWER
2 stars Hyper-slick AOR written, recorded, and packaged direct for 1986 store shelves. Although terrible in most every way, I actually enjoy some sections of this hammy release from the world's hammiest arena band if only for their completely over-the-top camp and style. One can listen to and make fun of Raised on Radio like one might while watching a cheesy '80's teen comedy-- a "so bad it's good" kind of experience.

As far as songs go, there isn't much here to distinguish it from any of the band's '80's releases save for a more polished production and increased integration of Cain's synthesizer. Schon's guitar playing is very calculated throughout, energetic but sterile, accompanying Perry's high-pitched crooning and trite lyrics. The songs themselves are exactly what one would expect from Journey, but area least better than some of Journey's truly bad albums thanks to its less shrill production.

Quickly consumed and immediately forgotten, Raised on the Radio is the epitome of a made-for- FM agenda. Sing and laugh along... but be ready for a shower afterwards.

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

Review by ZowieZiggy
PROG REVIEWER
1 stars I guess that the best decision for the band was taken after the release of this album: to call it quit.

I hardly could bear their AOR oriented music since Perry has been brought on board ("Infinity"). IMHHO, the music proposed since then is rather poor and inspiration very, very thin. What's weird is that from this very moment, the band will sell millions of albums and started a very successful commercial career.

This album is no worse than its predecessors; but it is no better either. Which means that the same sort of expectations are met: basic and radio friendly rock music of which prog is not even related by far (but "Journey" has been pretty consistent in achieving this result for quite a long time already).

A lot of AOR stuff like "Girl Can't Help It" or "Be Good to Yourself" which shows a definite Springsteen feel (same for the well named "Raised On The Radio"), some decent pop-rock with "Positive Touch" which features some nice sax, some very short and excellent guitar solo with "Suzanne" (but way too scarce on this album). Schon is also shining in the closing part of "Be Good To Yourself". It is for sure a great add-on when he is providing these killer guitar breaks.

Some sub-par Rod Stewart rock songs under the form of "Once You Love Somebody" which is best avoided for your own good even if an infectious guitar break also highlights this weak track ("I'll Be Alright?" is a carbon copy). There are obviously the syrupy ballads as well ("Happy To Give", "The Eyes Of A Woman" as well as the closing track).

In all, this album is totally dispensable and best avoided for prog ears. You have been warned already several times about this band: first three albums good to very good and that's it.

One little star.

Review by Epignosis
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
3 stars Normally, I would recoil at the prospect of listening to 1980s pop rock, but something about this album carries a sense of charm- not nostalgia or anything, it's just that most of these songs consist of solid, if simple arrangements, unimpeachable execution, and incredibly memorable melodies. Good music is good music, after all. Also, this may be the only place one sees the name of American Idol judge Randy Jackson on the site, who took over most of the bass duties in the absence of Ross Valory. For the most part, Raised on Radio is a decent and fun AOR album that shouldn't displease too many Journey fans, and represents the end of a period for a great American band.

"Girl Can't Help It" Not a bad soft rock song to begin with to close out Journey's work in the 1980s. It brings in a slightly harder edge thanks to Neal Schon's guitar.

"Positive Touch" Here is a funky little number, lead by piano and the subtle pop-and-slap groove from Jackson. While it's one I would normally skip, in so doing I miss out on one of Schon's most brilliant guitar solos.

"Suzanne" By far the cheesiest thing on the album in every respect- the drums, the overpowering synthesized bass, the utterly banal lyrics, I am almost ashamed to say this is one of my favorite songs on the album. I suspect it is a combination of the vocal melody and Steve Perry's excellent performance that does it for me. Whatever the case, I can't help myself.

"Be Good To Yourself" I used to listen to this song in the morning to start the day. That's all I'm going to say about it.

"Once You Love Somebody" This is my least favorite on the album, but it still has its own funky 1980s charm that pervades the album.

"Happy to Give" This song is the softest of the album, with light synthetic instruments and Perry's overwhelming vocals.

"Raised on Radio" The title track is a spunky 1980s rocker- nothing more, and nothing I particularly care for. It's irritating, meandering, and doesn't end well at all.

"I'll Be Alright Without You" My favorite from the album, this has a smooth, velvety guitar lead, nice and clean at first and gritty later, and an impeccable vocal performance. The chorus is one of Journey's best moments in my opinion.

"It Could Have Been You" I find this to be the most forgettable track on the album. It has decent moments, but the corniness-factor is too much because it affects the melody. The guitar tone is rather annoying.

"The Eyes of a Woman" Another softer song, this has some decent lead guitar work, and bassist Bob Glaub even steps to the fore with some great moments.

"Why Can't This Night Go on Forever" The final track makes for a gentle conclusion, perhaps trying to capture to the success of "Faithfully" from a few years before. While that didn't happen, this is a song with quite a bit of power and finesse.

Review by SouthSideoftheSky
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Symphonic Team
1 stars The journey ends (at least for a while)

As I have said in some of my previous reviews on Journey albums, it is probably universally agreed that, at some point in time, Journey sold out and left their progressive aspirations behind completely and ventured wholly into commercial areas of music. The real purists (probably those who lean towards Jazz-Rock/Fusion) argue that only the debut album is really kosher from a Prog perspective and some slightly more tolerant listeners might say that the three first albums are ok, but after that they draw the line. Other Prog fans (those who prefer the harder rocking and more melodious sides of Prog) would perhaps rather favour albums like Infinity and perhaps even Departure and maybe Frontiers. Personally, I belong to the second group, holding up Infinity as my favourite Journey album. On that album, the band 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. But after Infinity, the band embarked on a "journey" that would eventually lead them to the trite and radio friendly music that can be found on Raised On Radio. The previous Frontiers was a good album, but this album is where I draw the line. Even the lacklustre Evolution and Escape albums (that I also rated with one star) have their moments, but Raised On Radio is consistently poor.

I don't really feel the need to comment on individual tracks this time as the songs here sound pretty much the same. The song lengths all lie in the three to five minutes range and are based on vocals, keyboards and guitars. As usual the vocals and guitars are very good, and there are a few passages where keyboards are in the foreground, but this time this is just not enough to save this album from the lowest possible rating. Needless to say, there is nothing progressive about this album whatsoever. The song writing is generic and dull and there is not even one good song here. The production is overly polished and aimed at radio play.

One of Journey's worst albums, only for completionists.

Review by Easy Livin
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin
3 stars Raised for radio

Following the release of "Frontiers" in 1983 and the subsequent promotional tour, the members of Journey decided to take a sabbatical. During the interim period, a couple of unreleased tracks from "Frontiers" surfaced on soundtrack albums, and solo albums were recorded by some of the band members. When they reconvened, musical differences soon resurfaced which resulted in bass player Ross Valory and drummer Steve Smith being fired from the band. Valory left prior to recording of the album starting, but Smith remained long enough to appear on a couple of songs. The two were not replaced immediately, the rhythm section for this album being formed by session musicians.

While songwriting duties are shared once again by Jonathan Cain, Steve Perry, and Neal Schon, it is Perry who is the dominant force throughout the album. He appears to have been the decision maker during the recordings, the album being as much a follow up to his solo work as to the previous Journey album.

While there is perhaps a tinge of disappointment this time around with the lack of any progression, this is nonetheless a fine collection of well crafted songs. Generally more upbeat with less emphasis on the ballads, "Raised on radio" is certainly radio friendly. Songs such as "Suzanne" (girls names are usually a good bet for a hit) offer nothing radical or innovative, but they do generally make for a good listening.

Dan Hull adds some fine sax to "Positive Touch" giving the song a Hall and Oates feel, while "Be Good to Yourself" ends with a welcome lead guitar break by Schon. On the ballad front, "Happy to give" is well up to standard, Perry once again showing that he unquestionably has one of the best voices in rock.

On the downside, there does appear to be rather more in the way of filler this time, with songs such as "Once You Love Somebody" being decidedly average. "The Eyes Of A Woman" too is a by the numbers and all too prosaic ballad.

In all, a good but slightly uninspired offering from Journey. There is a generally feel of going through the motions here which means we have a good but unexceptional release.

After its release and an aborted promotional tour, Journey effectively broke up. It would be the best part of a decade before any further original material emerged in the band's name.

Review by stefro
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars A part return-to-form and, in truth, the last truly half-decent Journey album, 1985's 'Raised On Radio' would see only three members from wretched predecessor 'Frontiers' returning to the fold, namely the core creative trio of Jonathan Cain(keyboards), Steve Perry(vocals) and Neal Schon(guitar, vocals). Ably assisted by an assorted cast of top-notch session players - former drummer Steve Smith and bassist Randy Jackson amongst them - 'Raised On Radio' would chart a distinctly soft-spun, synthesized vibe which saw Cain pretty much taking centre-stage. Already one of the group's main writers and one of the key factors behind the huge success of 1981's career-defining 'Escape' album, Cain's glutinous array of keyboards and synths colours a highly- emotional album that has become something of a fan favourite over the years, as well as being one of the few Journey album's to garner genuinely positive reviews outside of their North American dominion. With Neal Schon's guitars on strangely muted form and vocalist Steve Perry taking a gentler approach, this is very much Journey in reflective, almost melancholic mood, though the album also features the usual array of Journey trademarks, with the misty-eyed ballads, up-tempo rockers and slickly-crafted pop pieces the group do so well still in check. Overall there were four singles culled from the album, with "Girl Can't Help It", "Be Good to Yourself", "I'll Be Alright Without You" and "Suzanne" all reaching the top 20, though overall sales for 'Raised On Radio' failed to match previous efforts, possibly due to the new(ish) direction the group were taking. As a result, it would prove to be the last 'classic era' Journey release before their return eleven years later with 1996's 'Trial By Fire' and the end of an era for the much-maligned but hugely-popular group. Although not in the same league as 'Escape', 'Look Into The Future' or 'Infinity', this is a worthy end to the soft rock story of the 1980's and the genre's major exponents.

STEFAN TURNER, STOKE NEWINGTON, 2012

Review by Tarcisio Moura
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars Two years after Frontiers came Raised On Radio. And by then, boy, the musical scene had changed a lot, with most AOR groups disbanding and/or losing ground quickly to British new wavers like Duran Duran and Culture Club or to heavy metal bands, from thrash to glam. ROR sounds a lot like the band trying hard to adapt to the new styles, with lots of synths and a very slick production. So much so that they found that they didnīt need a jazzy drummer like Steve Smith, who was dismissed during the recording sessions (although he was credit on 3 songs). Bassist and founding member Ross Valory claims that, tired of ego clashes within the group, decided to leave before the sessions started. Both places were taken by session musicians.

So the band was reduced to the hardcore trio of Steve Perry, Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain, all prime songwriters of the band. Production duties were taken by Perry, who pretty much ran the show here. And it comes as no surprise when Raised On Radio sounds more like Perryīs solo project than actually a Journey album. The savior factor was the fact that the songwriting department still retained much of their former magic: songs like Girl Canīt Helped It, Iīll be Alright Without You and Be Good To Yourself are typical Journey stuff, full of great melodies, power and stunning performances of all involved. Suzanne, Once You Love Somebody and It Could Have Been You are nice, but quite different and maybe a little too close to the 80īs pop cliche. Still, none of the tracks are crap and the fact that Perry is singing better than ever do help matters a lot.

After several spins you get the feeling that Raised On Radio does not achieve that energetic and fresh approach Journey used to a few years before. Itīs the first Journey album since Next that sounds a bit dated. As good as the songs are, the plastic synth sounds and the monochromatic drums on much of the tracks take away some of the former charm they once had in spades.

Rating: 3 stars. Good melodic album, but they have done better ones.

Review by Guillermo
PROG REVIEWER
1 stars "Street Talk....Part Two"

Well. I mean: this album sounds more like another mid eighties solo album from Steve Perry than an album by JOURNEY. "Raised on Radio" was recorded in late 1985, and released in 1986, and it sounds very influenced by Steve Perry's previous solo album titled "Street Talk" from 1984, which I listened to several times in 1985 and I never liked it. In fact, I saw this "Raised on Radio" album in a record shop in 1986, and I didn't buy it after I listened to the song "Be Good to Yourself "in the radio several times. Full Corporate Rock music. That is: very commercial Pop Rock from that period of time, sounding very influenced by some bands from the same time (TOTO, STARSHIP). With typical mid eighties's keyboards sounds, reverberation, even the use of sax in some songs (something that the band used for the first time, I think, in this album). There are some very good lead guitar parts played by Neal Schon which identify this album as being an album from JOURNEY. But the album for the most part is very influenced by Steve Perry's successful "Street Talk" album. Of course, he co-produced the "Raised on Radio" album (with Jim Gaines), a thing which then caused some problems. First, bassist Ross Valory left the band before the recording of the album startet, and later drummer Steve Smith left the band after playing the drums on three tracks, saying years later in an interview that for this album it was the first time that he was asked to use a "click track" (a metronome) to record his drum parts, a thing that he didn't like then, because he liked more to play and to record the songs in a more spontaneous way (with him being a very good drummer, I think that he was right). So, the band became a trio (Steve Perry, Jonathan Cain, Neal Schon), with the three of them being the main composers of the band anyway, and recruiting some session musicians to record this album and later to go on tour.

This album is not bad as a typical Pop Rock album from the mid eighties. But the sound of the band really changed a lot from previous albums like "Frontiers" (1983) and "Escape" (1981). Maybe the record label executives and A&R personnel wanted this album to be like it is. I was right to never buy this album. It really is for the very dedicated fans of the very typical mid eighties Pop Rock music. Steve Perry is a very good lead singer, and he was going to record a much better solo album for 1994 ("For the Love of Strange Medicine"). But his 1984's "Street Talk" solo album, despite being more successful, was maybe the first step to influence JOURNEY's music in 1985-86 to the point that the band lost some of its original sound and identity. They split after the tour for this album.

Review by siLLy puPPy
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR PSIKE, JRF/Canterbury, P Metal, Eclectic
3 stars After the triumphant trilogy of "Departure," "Escape" and "Frontiers," where San Francisco based JOURNEY found huge success after having tamed down their crossover progressive tendencies that went straight for the hard rock and AOR jugular they succeeded in a short time to become one of the biggest bands in the world. And after a several year run and a slew of hit singles and successful tours, the band was on burnout mode and needed some time off. After 1983's "Frontiers," both lead singer Steve Perry and guitarist Neil Schon would release their own solo albums with Perry finding yet more success on the pop charts. After three long years in the mid-80s when the music scene was quickly changing the band finally released the followup RAISED ON RADIO in 1986 but not until after Perry got a taste for creative control where he produced his solo release and wanted to quit the band however keyboardist Jonathan Cain had other ideas and wanted Perry back in the limelight to help out on his new music, but it came with a price. Perry's newfound taste for independence resulted in both bassist Ross Valory and drummer Steve Smith being fired from the band as well as the album cover depicting the radio station that Perry's parents owned. Perry took the reins in the production department as well and as a result a JOURNEY album was released that sounded unlike anything in their previous catalogue and more like a followup to Perry's 1984 solo "Street Talk."

Technically the group was whittled down to a trio but in reality hosted a whole army of guest musicians, associate producers and engineers. The main newbies were session musician and bassist Randy Jackson who appeared on all kinds of albums by Jean-Luc Ponty, Billy Cobham and a million others and drummer Larrie Londin who also appeared on a million and one different artists' recordings. In addition there were extra bassists and drummers on board as well as Dan Hull contributing a new sound to the band - the saxophone. Despite the new arrangements and style shifts, the band found another top 10 album that would go double platinum as there was enough pop rock and AOR appeal to please the second wave fans of their career. The band would also score four top 40 hits and have yet another successful tour. However this was the end of JOURNEY at least for a while. It was clear that the band no longer functioned in meaningful way and after this album they would split until their reunion ten years later with the album "Trial By Fire."

RAISED ON RADIO is one of the stubbornly proud incarnations of the mid-80s with all of the cheese and pompous glory associated with that time period, but for what it is, i have to say that there are appealing pop rock tracks to be found on this one. And in that regard is very similar to almost every JOURNEY album i've encountered. That meaning there are a handful of extremely strong and well constructed pop rock hooks floating around in a few tracks and then a bunch of AOR filler and wimpy arena rock crap. RAISED ON RADIO is no different than the rest actually. Personally i'm quite partial to three of the singles on this one. The upbeat and catchy "Girl Can't Help It" displays the band's pop hook talents as good as anything they had ever concocted. Same with the more energetic "Be Good To Yourself." The slower ballad "I'll Be Alright Without You" also captures Perry's unique crooning abilities to weave magic around an otherwise OK melodic track, however my absolute favorite on the album is the non-single second track "Positive Touch" which is so damn catchy that if you swapped out vocalists could easily fit on Supertramp's "Breakfast In America" with its cleverly crafted groovilisciousness and sizzling sultry sax solos.

Other than the somewhat mesmerizing ballad "The Eyes Of A Woman," i find the remaining tracks to be somewhat lackluster as they exemplify the excess AOR tendencies that were aimed at post pubescent mall rats who lusted over Perry's ridiculous swooning lyrics. Particularly nauseating is the closer "Why Can't This Night Go On Forever" which just reeks of a slow wedding dance ballad when the booze has run low and the sentiments high and a raw slice of AOR hell that sounds like a reworked production of their previous hit "Faithfully". The rest of the tracks including the hit single "Suzanne" are just to syrupy and just don't come close in quality to the strongest tracks on the album. This could have been a very satisfying album overall if they would've stuck to the sultry swinging sax type of tracks that work quite well with their songwriting skills. Unfortunately that was not to be and JOURNEY once again released an album that i keep around for a few tracks that i listening to but this is just another album that has too much filler. 3 stars for the strong tracks that makes this a decent listen with some selective skipping.

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