Galley's Music Scene

Journey has always been on of America's greatest bands. This week saw the release of their 12th studio album, Generations. It's another solid effort by the band which now includes Neal Schon, Ross Vallory, Johnathan Cain, along with long-time members Steve Augeri on vocals and Deen Castronovo (formerly of Bad English) on drums.
Journey was, without a doubt, the biggest band in the world in 1983; Frontiers was on the top of the charts, they had a huge sell-out worldwide tour, and their previous album, Escape, was one of the best rock albums ever released. Journey was simply unbeatable in the years 1978 - 1986 for the sheer quality of the music they produced. Just think back of the albums from that period: Infinity, Evoluton, Departure, Captured, Escape, Frontiers, and Raised On Radio. Singer Steve Perry seeked more creative control of the band for 1986's Raised On Radio, and did the unthinkable; he convinced Neal and Johnathan to fire Ross Vallory and Steve Smith. Perry now admits that was a huge mistake. No offense to American Idol's Randy Jackson (who filled in on bass for that album and the subsequent tour), but ROR sounded too much like a Steve Perry solo record. Journey ultimately had to turn the tables and fire Perry in the late 1990's after he refused to accept medical treatment for an injury for religious reasons. Journey simply couldn't wait any longer and needed to tour to support the Trial By Fire album. They hired former Tall Stories singer, Steve Augeri, and filled in the now vacant drummer slot with Castronovo. Steve Smith simply did not care for touring any longer (which is a real bummer since I didn't get to see him play when he was with The Storm). Perry eventually had to have the surgery.

View Journey's bio at AllMusic.com

Preview Journey's music at CD Universe

Triumph have always been one of my favorite hard rock bands. (I recently bought all of their remastered CDs). What sets Triumph apart from the other hard rock bands is the diversity in their musical styles. Pick up any of their albums and you might here some classical guitar, some light jazz or blues, or more than likely, all three. Rik Emmett, is not only one of the most-talented guitarists on the planet, he can really belt out a tune as well. His vocals were perfectly suited for Triumph's music, but as you may know, he didn't sing all of the songs. Drummer Gil Moore added his vocal talents to several tracks on each album. While nowhere near as good as Rik's voice, his was certainly a good match for the songs that he sung. When they dueted, as they did on Killing Time, the results were pure magic. Bass player Mike Levine not only added some solid bottom end with his bass playing but also added keyboards where they were needed. Like most bands in the late 80s, keyboards become more of a focal point on rock records, but Triumph never let them overpower the music.
While Triumph had huge smashes with the Allied Forces and Never Surrender albums, the pinnacle of their career was the Thunder Seven album. The highlight of Thunder Seven is what I like to call the "Time Suite" (Time Goes By, Midsummer's Daydream, Time Canon, Killing Time). As stated in an earlier post, this selection of songs is some of the most passionate, yet powerful hard rock songs you will ever hear.

Read Triumph's official biography

Preview all of their albums at CD Universe