HOLD ON TO THE FEELIN'. So yeah, as we all know by now, November is National Journey Month. Yes, Steve Perrytonitis is spreading worldwide and the naysayers are powerless to stop it! It's all the rage. Everybody's doing it. They're having Journey parties and people are naming their first born "Cookie Duster". (OK sorry, really obscure Journey joke there). So I thought I'd do my part by listing my top ten favourooney Journey songs. Now, you may notice the absence of powerhouse favourites like "Wheel in the Sky" or "Who's Crying Now". Well, that's because they're not on the list. Not in the top ten anyway. But here are the songs which ARE in my top ten:
#10 - POSITIVE TOUCH. Here we have an unknown album track from 1986's RAISED ON RADIO album -- you know, the one with the guy from American Idol playing bass. This one's pure silly 80's power pop and it's been known to cause a frolic.
#9 - FAITHFULLY. One of the old reliable 80's power ballads and still a good one. Smile for me, Philadelphia.
#8 - THE GIRL CAN'T HELP IT. An actual single from RAISED ON RADIO this time. Endless road trip material. And yes, the RAISED ON RADIO tour was when I saw Journey at the good ole Spectrum. "They're still standing in the rain..."
#7 - RAISED ON RADIO. So, can you tell by now that this was a popular album with we road trippers?!? Here's a song whose lyrics consist solely of old song titles (Stagger Lee, The Locomotion, Lucille etc.) as Journey, much like Queen's RADIO GA GA, celebrates the history and power of rock & roll radio. And the harmonica sounds excellent!
#6 - LIGHTS. So you think you're lonely. Well my friend, I'm lonely too.
#5 - STONE IN LOVE. Those crazy nights I do remember; in my youth. I do recall those were the best times. . . But the best part comes at about 2:28 minutes into the song as we instrumental our way out. This technique would figure strongly in a later song that would win an award. . . Stay tuned to this list.
#4 - SEND HER MY LOVE. How it hurt so bad to see her cry. Terrific, terrific song. My favourite song on the FRONTIERS album. Broken hearts can always mend. And roses never fade.
#3 - WHY CAN'T THIS NIGHT GO ON FOREVER. Once again we revisit the RAISED ON RADIO album. This is the album closer - an incredible ballad in the FAITHFULLY mode. However, this one was even more powerful because, in fact, it was, for a decade anyway, Journey's final musical statement. All this and it contains my favourite lyric couplet: "city lights".
#2 - EASY TO FALL. Words unspoken. After a decade of silence, Steve Perry and Journey returned in 1996 with the TRIAL BY FIRE album. While not particularly a match to their previous work, this album contained this one song which is almost two songs; and this one song on the album made the wait worthwhile. As in the earlier mentioned STONE IN LOVE, EASY TO FALL's first half is a great power ballad -- then around the 3:35 mark we go into an incredibly floaty instrumental guitar part which is almost transcendent. To the shock of everyone, myself included, EASY TO FALL went on to win the Penguin Award for 1996 Song of the Year!
#1 - STILL THEY RIDE. Jessie rides through the night. And for some reason, I get all ferklempt. I haven't the faintest idea why this song should be at the top of my list but it is. If I was the sort who succumbed to "bic-lighting" I'd do it to this song. Still they ride on wheels of fire. They rule the night. And this rules the list.
