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Progland was founded by John Gabbard in 2005. It's purpose has been to provide you, the music community with the latest music and dvd reviews. It will continue to be your link to the most popular music reviews in the progressive world.

 

Journey - "Revelations"

Reviewed by: Gabor Kleinbloesem
Genre: AOR/Melodic Rock
Country: USA
Language: English
Length:

Disc: 1-(66:00)

Disc:2- (49:00)

Release Date: 6/3/08
Band Members: Arnel Pineda - Lead Vocals Neal Schon - Guitars, Backing vocals
  Jonathan Cain / keyboards, backing vocals, rhythm guitar (Disc-2 -Song-11) Ross Valory - Bass, Backing Vocals
  Deen Castronovo / drums, percussion, backing vocals, lead vocals (DVD: 9)
  Disc One: New Studio Disc Two: Remasted Classics with Arnel
Track Listing: 1.) -Never Walk Away (4:19) 1.) -Only The Young (4:14)
  2.)-Like A Sunshower (4:29) 2.)-Don't Stop Believin' (4:55)
  3.)-Change For The Better (5:52) 3.)-3. Wheel In The Sky (5:01)
  4.)- Wildest Dream (5:02) 4.)- Faithfully (4:47)
  5.)-Faith In The Heartland (6:18) 5.)-Any Way You Want It (3:25)
  6.)-After All These Years (4:10) 6.)-Who's Crying Now (5:16)
  7.)-Where Did I Lose Your Love (5:02) 7.)-Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) (5:27)
  8.)-What I Needed (5:28) 8.)-Lights (3:16)
  9.)-What It Takes To Win (5:23) 9.)-Open Arms (3:22)
  10.)Turn Down The World Tonight (4:56) 10.)Be Good To Yourself (4:29)
  11.)-The Journey (Revelation) (5:25) 11.)-Stone In Love (4:27)
  12.)-Let It Take You Back-(4:32) (Bonus Track-European Release)  
  13.)-The Place In Your Heart (4:20) (Bonus Track-European Release)  
  DVD DVD
  1.) -Sky Light 8.)-Open Arms
  2.)-Any Way You Want It 9.)-Mother Father
  3.)- Wheel In The Sky 10.)-Wildest Dream
  4.)- Lights 11.)- Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)
  5.)-After All These Years 12.)-Faithfully
  6.)-Never Walk Away 13.)-Don't Stop Believin'
  7.)-Open Arms (Prelude) 14.)-Be Good To Yourself
     
     
     
 

Every new CD of JOURNEY seems to be mark in AOR history. The particular album is heavily discussed all over the internet and to each their own opinion of course. 12 years ago 'Trial by fire' was a wonderful STEVE PERRY comeback album of JOURNEY, which also received a favorable review from our side back in 1996. 5 years later 'Arrival' was by far the best AOR album of 2001. 'Generations' from 2005 was very disappointing and seemed to show a band on it's way to the graveyard. Then what happened in the following 3 years should actually not happen to any band, because replacing your lead singer twice within 2 years is ridiculous. JOURNEY also had their TAPEGATE affair with STEVE AUGERI and many more rumors, including the reason why JEFF SCOTT SOTO was suddenly fired without telling him face to face. Anyway, moving on forward to 2008 and the band introduces a new singer called ARNEL PINEDA, a new CD and a sound going straight back to the 1980s AOR sound of the band. If you mix 'Arrival', 'Raised on radio' and 'Escape' with 'Frontiers', then you have 'Revelations'. Sometimes the songs are in the same unreachable AOR level of those albums, but here and there are a few fillers too.

Nevertheless, the new JOURNEY CD will definitely become one of the top AOR records of 2008, right next to a WORK OF ART, H.E.A.T. and BROTHER FIRETRIBE. With a new lead singer (number 6 when counting ROBERT FLEISCHMAN and GREGG ROLIE from the early years) in the line-up, Arnel from the Philipines (being the best STEVE PERRY imitator I have ever heard, yet with sill an own vibrato as well as can be heard on the new songs, especially on “What it takes to win”), a great production of KEVIN SHIRLEY, a big WALLMART deal in the USA (2-CD and 1-DVD package for an insane low price), JOURNEY is ready to make a huge impact and comeback with this 'Revelations' album. Happily it's not as ballad-orientated as 'Trial by fire', but even without STEVE PERRY it will have the same result as 'Trial by fire' from 12 years ago, so a high chart entry and a few singles being played on US Radio.

The European package has a bonustrack ("Let Me Take You Back", an OK song) not on the US version, but you would rather get the US version as this contains a full-blown recent Las Vegas shot performance. One way or the other, the 2-CD set is available for both of us. CD 1 is filled with new material, while CD 2 is this new JOURNEY line-up doing remakes of JOURNEY classics. Touching classics should be forbidden, but in this case it has been done very well and JOURNEY are one of the few major bands to re-record a full CD with their own tunes. After last year's KEVIN CHALFANT JOURNEY Tribute CD, we can now add a JOURNEY tribute by the band themselves. Back to the new studio-CD, which is of course the main target here to listen to. Well, this is JOURNEY at their very best, with many amazing soon-to-be new AOR Classics, especially uptempo rockers like "Never Walk Away" (RAISED ON RADIO Harmonyvocals, the follow-up to "Be good to yourself"), "Change For The Better" (a little like STEVE AUGERI period JOURNEY), "Where Did I Lose Your Love" (instant AOR Classic, superb song, perhaps AOR song of the year!) and "What It Takes To Win" (wow, this does sound a whole lot like HARLAN CAGE, pure AOR).

These rockers are JOURNEY at their very best, reaching classic 'Frontiers'/'Escape' level. Also the (semi) ballads have the incredible high AOR level of 'Frontiers'/'Escape' era, such as "After All These Years" (a definite number 1 hit candidate, the follow-up to "Faithfully", maybe AOR Ballad of the year 2008, right next to WORK OF ART’s “Once in a lifetime” one of the few new AOR ballads that hit the spot on the exact right place!), "What I Needed" ("Mother, Father" style) and the THE STORMish "Turn Down The World Tonight". So these are in total 7 super sensational pure AOR tunes, showing that JOURNEY is alive and well, with this fantastic new lead singer, ARNEL PINEDA. Remaining tracks are a slight let-down, because "Like A Sunshower" is a 'nothing special' soft ballad, "Wildest Dream" is quite a good heavy rocker, but a grower as the chorus fails a bit, "Faith In The Heartland" is a remake of the same song JOURNEY recorded on 'Generations' and finally, the instrumental "The Journey (Revelation)" does not make much sense.

In the end what we have here is probably the best selling AOR album since 2001's JOURNEY's 'Arrival' and happily it is a very sensational AOR album too! JOURNEY shows how the big boys do it and with a first week sales of 100,000+ in the USA alone by far the most successful pure AOR album since JOURNEY released 'Trial by fire', so better make sure you get this gem asap... The future looks bright for JOURNEY, although you never know what to expect considering the fact their lead singer has been replaced twice within a few years, but for now JOURNEY STRIKES BACK BIG TIME, so better get this 2-CD (in Europe) or 2-CD/1-DVD (in the USA) set asap!

(Points: 9.2 out of 10)

 

 

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