"Lost in twilight, the memories Precious moments, you and me We've been old friends, all through the years Picture postcards, sharing tears What's in our hearts, there's never time, to say Need you tonight, lover don't fade away I've seen your city lights As I walk away."
When I think of 80's groups one of the first that has to come to mind is Journey. Whether they were rocking out or serving up one hell of a power ballad, Steve Perry and the rest of the guys always made a rock solid impression. It's really hard to choose just one favorite Journey song too. It totally depends on my mood on any given day. While I love their earlier stuff, Journey's 9th studio album, Raised on Radio has always been a favorite of mine.
The fifth single off of it, for whatever reason didn't do so great which at the time was pretty shocking to me. "Why Can't This Night Go on Forever" seemed like a pretty solid ballad to me and it was done in the same vein of every other one that charted well- or maybe that was the problem. Maybe back in 1986 we were all looking for something a tiny bit different from the guys. Regardless, it's still a really great song that seems to often be forgotten in Journey's extensive catalog of hits. Check it out for yourself below. Does this song ring a bell?
I was having a conversation with someone about music the other day and they said that if they never heard another Journey song for the rest of their lives they'd be okay with that. It made me think a little and I realized that people do seem to have a kind of black or white reaction to the band. It's love or hate ( not even touching the debate over Steve Perry on vocals vs. anyone else) and I suspect it's based on the overkill of songs like "Don't Stop Believin'", "Lovin', Touchin' Squeezin'" and "Faithfully".
I mean, we do realize they had several albums filled with other hits, right? Journey's catalog of music is massive and loaded with a lot of really great songs. I can remember being about ten years old and listening to "Who's Crying Now" on my little transistor radio and being blown away by the vocals. Check out the live clip below and then tell me how much you hate Journey. I dare ya.
"You should've been gone Knowing how I made you feel And I should've been gone After all your words of steel Oh I must've been a dreamer And I must've been someone else And we should've been over
Oh Sherrie, our love Holds on, holds on Oh Sherrie, our love Holds on, holds on."
When I think of Steve Perry's first solo album, Street Talk, I'm instantly transported back to the summer of 1984. I was heading into 8th grade and my days were spent laying in the sun with my best friend at her grandmother's house, boom box blaring. We were obsessed with Q-102, a new radio station and listened non-stop. They gave away albums every single hour and we were on a mission to win. Steve Perry's album was one of the coveted prizes and at the time "Oh Sherrie" was played on the radio every 3 hours and MTV had the video in heavy rotation as well. Such a great ballad, one that to this day I'll stop and listen to whenever it pops up on the radio.
"You should've been gone Knowing how I made you feel And I should've been gone After all your words of steel Oh I must've been a dreamer And I must've been someone else And we should've been over
Oh Sherrie, our love Holds on, holds on Oh Sherrie, our love Holds on, holds on."
When I think of Steve Perry's first solo album, Street Talk, I'm instantly transported back to the summer of 1984. I was heading into 8th grade and my days were spent laying in the sun with my best friend at her grandmother's house, boom box blaring. We were obsessed with Q-102, a new radio station and listened non-stop. They gave away albums every single hour and we were on a mission to win. Steve Perry's album was one of the coveted prizes and at the time "Oh Sherrie" was played on the radio every 3 hours and MTV had the video in heavy rotation as well. Such a great ballad, one that to this day I'll stop and listen to whenever it pops up on the radio.
I was having a conversation with someone about music the other day and they said that if they never heard another Journey song for the rest of their lives they'd be okay with that. It made me think a little and I realized that people do seem to have a kind of black or white reaction to the band. It's love or hate ( not even touching the debate over Steve Perry on vocals vs. anyone else) and I suspect it's based on the overkill of songs like "Don't Stop Believin'", "Lovin', Touchin' Squeezin'" and "Faithfully".
I mean, we do realize they had several albums filled hits, right? Journey's catalog of music is massive and filled with a lot of really great songs. I can remember being about ten years old and listening to "Who's Crying Now" on my little transistor radio and being blown away by the vocals. Check out the live clip below and then tell me how much you hate Journey. I dare ya.
"You should've been gone Knowing how I made you feel And I should've been gone After all your words of steel Oh I must've been a dreamer And I must've been someone else And we should've been over
Oh Sherrie, our love Holds on, holds on Oh Sherrie, our love Holds on, holds on."
When I think of Steve Perry's first solo album, Street Talk, I'm instantly transported back to the summer of 1984. I was heading into 8th grade and my days were spent laying in the sun with my best friend at her grandmother's house, boom box blaring. We were obsessed with Q-102, a new radio station and listened non-stop. They gave away albums every single hour and we were on a mission to win. Steve Perry's album was one of the coveted prizes and at the time "Oh Sherrie" was played on the radio every 3 hours and MTV had the video in heavy rotation as well. Such a great ballad, one that to this day I'll stop and listen to whenever it pops up on the radio.
"You should've been gone Knowing how I made you feel And I should've been gone After all your words of steel Oh I must've been a dreamer And I must've been someone else And we should've been over
Oh Sherrie, our love Holds on, holds on Oh Sherrie, our love Holds on, holds on."
When I think of Steve Perry's first solo album, Street Talk, I'm instantly transported back to the summer of 1984. I was heading into 8th grade and my days were spent laying in the sun with my best friend at her grandmother's house, boom box blaring. We were obsessed with Q-102, a new radio station and listened non-stop. They gave away albums every single hour and we were on a mission to win. Steve Perry's album was one of the coveted prizes and at the time "Oh Sherrie" was played on the radio every 3 hours and MTV had the video in heavy rotation as well. Such a great ballad, one that to this day I'll stop and listen to whenever it pops up on the radio.
Philadelphia audiences are always something special. If you are an artist rolling into a local venue then you can pretty much count on having a great gig. I was reminded of this last night as two monsters of rock, Journey, and Def Leppard played a three-hour show that kept the near-capacity crowd on their feet in the Wells Fargo Center. More than 16,000 people showed up to relive a bit of their youth and both bands delivered.
Journey was up first and I really wish that people would back up off of Arnel Pineda. I understand that Steve Perry fans will always rally for him to come back but clearly, he has no interest. Pineda has been slaying on lead vocals for more than a decade.
More than ten years.
I've seen him likened to a Steve Perry impersonator which is crazy to me because nothing that he does will ever be right for a particular group of people. If he nails the lyrics like Perry then he is copying him, but if he were to totally switch it up those same people would say that he ruined the songs. So, let's stick with the solids. Pineda is fantastic. The range of his voice is amazing for tracks like "Separate Ways" and then he has just enough emotion to hit those warm and fuzzy nerves in songs like "Faithfully".
I've also seen some critics question whether or not the band should hang it up already and I have to wonder if they've ever actually seen Journey play because not only do they sound fantastic, but they are clearly enjoying themselves. Neal Schon's TWO guitar solos show why he was considered to be a prodigy by age 15, Jonathan Cain's work on the keys can literally break your heart and Steve Smith with his 70's butterfly collar and yellow Converse will remind you that the drums are absolutely everything in a rock band.
Throw original bassist Ross Valory into the mix and you get some authentic jam band moments that likely grease the wheels of this finely oiled machine.
It was a string of radio hits and that was exactly how the Philly crowd wanted it. They opened with "Separate Ways", barreled through "Stone in Love", slowed things down a bit for "Lights" and "Open Arms" (by the light of cell phones, of course) and then cranked everyone up again for "Don't Stop Believin".
If you came out to see a band that delivers some great classic rock then there is no way that you were left disappointed. Journey still throws down. Period. It didn't end there. Def Leppard is a long time Philly favorite and you could feel the love for them just while crossing the parking lot. Def Leppard merch was everywhere. People came prepared with their classic t-shirts, pins, and then there was the dude wearing an authentic 80's jean jacket with a huge Hysteria logo ironed onto the back of it.
Yeah, Philly was ready and the band did that thing they do best, they rocked it.
While Arnel Pineda plays with the audience, Joe Elliott commands its' attention- something he has been doing for nearly forty years now. Hysteria is one of those few legendary albums that I still listen to all the way through because each song is somehow better than the one before it. Listening to the band steamroll through songs like "Rocket", "Animal" and of course, "Pour Some Sugar on Me" live never ever disappoints. Phil Collen is back in the mix after missing a few shows for a family emergency and his guitar solos are some of the best in the business and Vivian Campbell more than pulls his musical weight on the opposite side of the stage. Rick Savage, Def Leppard's bassist since 1982, jams with everyone and has a personality that jumps off of the stage.
So much has been said about drummer Rick Allen losing his arm in a car accident and learning to play in spite of it, but I still think he is underrated. Back there behind the kit, Allen kind of feels like the gorilla glue that holds everything together. Elliott freely admits that the band has "been through some real shit and always comes out the other side" and I think Allen is the living, playing proof that they can overcome anything.
If you love the band's early stuff then you'll be thrilled to know that they march out a string of tunes like "Foolin'" and "Bringing on the Heartbreak" and eventually encore with "Rock of Ages" and "Photograph".
Like I said, Philadelphia loves their rock stars and I'm grateful to have been a part of that love in The Wells Fargo Center. If you're looking for 3 hours of throw down, singalong rock then you need to grab yourself some tickets and catch a show. The Journey and Def Leppard Tour will be rolling across the country until October so check it out!
I was having a conversation with someone about music the other day and they said that if they never heard another Journey song for the rest of their lives they'd be okay with that. It made me think a little and I realized that people do seem to have a kind of black or white reaction to the band. It's love or hate ( not even touching the debate over Steve Perry on vocals vs. anyone else) and I suspect it's based on the overkill of songs like "Don't Stop Believin'", "Lovin', Touchin' Squeezin'" and "Faithfully".
I mean, we do realize they had several albums filled hits, right? Journey's catalog of music is massive and filled with a lot of really great songs. I can remember being about ten years old and listening to "Who's Crying Now" on my little transistor radio and being blown away by the vocals. Check out the live clip below and then tell me how much you hate Journey. I dare ya.
"You should've been gone Knowing how I made you feel And I should've been gone After all your words of steel Oh I must've been a dreamer And I must've been someone else And we should've been over
Oh Sherrie, our love Holds on, holds on Oh Sherrie, our love Holds on, holds on."
When I think of Steve Perry's first solo album, Street Talk, I'm instantly transported back to the summer of 1984. I was heading into 8th grade and my days were spent laying in the sun with my best friend at her grandmother's house, boom box blaring. We were obsessed with Q-102, a new radio station and listened non-stop. They gave away albums every single hour and we were on a mission to win. Steve Perry's album was one of the coveted prizes and at the time "Oh Sherrie" was played on the radio every 3 hours and MTV had the video in heavy rotation as well. Such a great ballad, one that to this day I'll stop and listen to whenever it pops up on the radio.
