Evolution by Journey

I used to rock out to this because my Dad had it on cassette tape. That was over 10 years ago, however.

Anyway, to the album:

Evolution is, sometimes, overlooked. And I can understand that. While creative and enjoyable, it has it's flaws. Like many bands, Journey made the mistake of trying to recreate some parts of a previous success, in this case, Infinity. With that minor, understandable flaw taken into account, Evolution is still a delightful album and provides many wonderful tunes. Along with Infinity and Departure, Evolution is a sure cure for a bad day. You can not listen to this album and not feel good.

Great Example Of Journey's Early Steve Perry Years

EVOLUTION is a great example of Steve Perry's early years with Journey. Back then, he was doing a white rock version of Sam Cooke vocally, with a lot more soul than he would display once superstardom hit. The best songs here are "Just The Same Way" and "Do You Recall." Buy this one at the same time you buy INFINITY, DEPARTURE, CAPTURED, ESCAPE, and FRONTIERS.

Journey at their best

This album and Infinity are two of my all time favorites. With the exception of just a couple of songs (oddly enough the two that you still hear on classic rock radio stations, Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin' and City of the Angels) everything on the album just sounds unbelievable. Too Late, When You're Alone, Sweet and Simple, Lovin' you is Easy, Just the Same Way, Do You Recall, Daydream...all phenomenol. Daydream has a surreal quality, and you're in another world when you listen to it. Do You Recall is one of those rare songs that hooks you a couple seconds into the song, and it never goes wrong. Sweet and Simple is a little bluesy, and placed right in the middle of the album it really balances out the rest of the album. I even like Lady Luck, also a little bluesy with heavy keyboards, which is a departure from their other stuff (it sounds more like something you would hear on the Departure album) although it is an acquired taste.



Unfortunately, 2 years after releasing their two greatest albums, Journey's sound became much more pop than rock. Along with many other great 70s bands, Journey succumbed to the early 80s MTV pop revolution. The worst thing that happened to this band was the replacement of original keyboardist Gregg Rollie with former Babys keyboardist Jonathan Cain, who wrote a lot of the 80s pop hits most people are familiar with. (I have a feeling they would have turned pop either way, but who knows?) Don't get me wrong; some of their 80s stuff was good, but it just doesn't hold a candle to the songs from Infinity or Evolution. It's such a shame that we have only two truly great Journey albums. What could have been...