Opus 80|A Musical Opus from the 1980s

I know Journey may not be the coolest band for a guy from the eighties to admit to liking, but I can’t help myself.  Yep, the lyrics are often far too sentimental for those with too much testosterone.  But I still can’t help but crank up one of their songs every time I hear it.  It’s of course not just the lyrics that get me, but the amazing guitar riffs by the master Neal Schon.  Here’s a guy that cut his chops at a very young age playing with the latin flavored rock gods Santana.  What I didn’t realize when I first started listening to Journey, was that prior to the addition of Steve Perry, these guys were a hard core jamming rock band.  Plenty of long extended and technically tough guitar solos were the order of the day.  And, Neal Schon was just the guy to pull that kind of stuff off.  I never listened to much pre-Steve Perry Journey, and neither did a lot of my generation.

It was truly Steve Perry that brought a lot of pop sensibilities and sentimentality to the band.  While it was an odd mix at first, and the source for much published friction later on, I also think, that it was that melding that made Journey the success they were.  A band that only has strong technically masterful chops will only appeal to a small group of listeners.  Usually other musicians that marvel at the playing ability of the band.  And that’s what Journey was before Steve Perry came along.  Of course on the other side, any other band that attempted to pull off the weepy, sentimental stuff without amazing musicians behind the scenes won’t last long.

Now another thing about getting hooked on a band from your growing up years, is that you often are blinded to the actual music, and just remember the memories.  That can be said to be true for me.  Journey was something I listened to during my teenager years, where a lot of things were going on.  Of which I’m sure I don’t need to explain to anyone over the age of 15.  Let’s just say it was a tumultuous and emotional time for me.  And the music of Journey was there for me for most of it.  Especially that one night, with that one girl, with that one Journey song.  You know who you are, and I’m sure you remember that song.  At least I do.  Nuff said on that topic for now

All in all, Journey is one band that will always be one of my favorites.  No matter how many times I listen to their music, it can’t help but elicit strong feelings and memories.  Surely good ones.  But the more I learn about the band, and the musical skills, that more I appreciate.