TRIAL BY FIRE

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.