The cynical might suggest that Frontiers releasing yet another live Journey album without even mentioning the year in the title is a bit of a money grab (It was recorded in 2021). Let’s be honest we all know that Journey has a catalogue you can’t really go wrong with, but conversely you’ve probably heard absolutely everything here before on another live album.
This release I guess has the added spice of the being released whilst the band’s two main protagonists exchange pleasantries and Legals as the battle rages between original member Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain, who joined 7 years in. Both men seem to need to keep things going to fund those lifestyles. Both men of course clearly love money but all we really care about as fans is the wonderful music they have made over the years and personally rather than hear what we’ve all heard before a hundred times I’d rather they concentrate, or at least flirt a little with newer material.
There’s an interesting part in the press release that reads: “As the band’s legend continues to grow larger and their touring gets bigger, they recently released a new studio album, “Freedom” in July 2022. It was their first album of new material to be released in eleven years, since 2011’s “Eclipse”. The album was met with rave critical and fan reviews and charted in multiple countries around the globe.” The irony is that ‘Freedom’ doesn’t get a sniff, nor does ‘Eclipse’: as far as the setlist goes there’s NOTHING on here from the new album and NOTHING on here from the 2020’s, 2010’s 2000’s, or the 90’s. Why even bother mentioning a new album if the band themselves won’t even bother to play a single track. They obviously don’t rate it themselves it’s a wonder they even release anything new. It’s such a shame as the new material is actually rather good.
Just to give some perspective the newest track that gets an airing is ‘Raised on Radio’s’ Be Good to Yourself’. Raised on Radio was released in 1986 that’s a whopping 36 years ago.
As far as surprises go there are few. ‘Just the Same Way’ from ‘Evolution’ might be a surprise (but it’s not a great song) and so might be the turgid, and here, completely uninspiring ‘Still They Ride’ from Escape. I was never a big fan of the title track from ‘Escape’ either but that too gets an outing here. Surely one of them could be replaced with something they’ve done in the last 36 years? OK I get that the majority of fans want to relive the past again and again and live in fading memories of youth but some of us don’t mind new music from our favourite artists.
So there you have it – the Lollapalooza performance from Chicago on July 31, 2021 gets the works – released on CD/DVD, Blu-ray, and Vinyl. Just to show how out of touch Rolling Stone is the press release also has the quote: ““But for the young festival goers and indifferent onlookers who expected a weathered band of baby boomers to twiddle their thumbs for an hour before breaking out jukebox staples, they got to experience arguably the most underrated feeling a music festival can offer: discovering a different side to an artist’s discography that you overlooked up until then.” – Rolling Stone” I’d argue that they got what you always get from Journey – pretty much the same setlist for the last 30 years. It makes you wonder if anyone at Rolling Stone has been to a Journey concert in the last few decades.
Look, all gripes aside the fifth official live album from the band sports a great set, and Pineda is now pretty much the last man standing with the 2020 sackings that essentially left Cain and Schon is control. That particular soap opera might just be as exciting as the news of a new Journey live album.
Tracklisting:
1. Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) | 2. Only The Young | 3. Guitar Interlude | 4. Stone In Love | 5. Be Good To Yourself | 6. Just The Same Way | 7. Lights | 8. Still They Ride | 9. Escape | 10. La Do Da | 11. Piano Interlude | 12. Who’s Crying Now | 13. Guitar Interlude | 14. Wheel In The Sky | 15. Ask The Lonely | 16. Open Arms | 17. Lovin’ Touchin’ Squeezin’ | 18. Faithfully | 19. Any Way You Want It | 20. Don’t Stop Believin’
2/10 for originality 8/10 for the music
LINE-UP:
Neal Schon – Guitars
Jonathan Cain – Keyboards
Arnel Pineda – Vocals
Deen Castronovo – Drums
Narada Michael Walden – Drums
Marco Mendoza – Bass
Jason Derlatka – Keyboards, Vocals
Journey Social Media:
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https://www.facebook.com/journey ;
https://www.instagram.com/journeymusicofficial/ ;
https://twitter.com/journeyofficial ;
https://www.youtube.com/journey ;