Disco de Journey: “Trial by Fire”

Though it was short-lived,Journey's 1996 comeback "Trial By Fire" featured the classic trademark Steve Perry-led Journey sound of polished pop-rock(Message Of Love,Castles Burning,Can't Tame The Lion and the bonus track I Can See It In Your Eyes) and soulful power ballads(their last big hit When You Love A Woman,Don't Be Down On Me Baby,Easy To Fall and If He Should Break Your Heart)with some other things thrown in,like even a pop-reggae number Baby I'm A Leavin You.Sadly,this would be the final Journey album with Steve Perry.He was let go due to an injury and since then the band has been with two different lead singers(Steve Auguria and Jeff Scott Soto,namely),neither was able to fill the big hole in Perry's absence.This 2006 reissue contains a nice booklet,though unlike the other 2006 Journey reissues,there are no tour dates(for reasons said above).It also contains superb remastered sound which like

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was done by Dave Donnelly at DNA Mastering.While it may not contain a "Don't Stop Believin" or an "Open Arms",Trial By Fire will satisfy many a Journey fan,as well as those of contemporay soft-rock.

I have to admit, I was never a big Journey fan back in the day. I didn't dislike them, I was just into different music at the time. Recently after reading about the new Journey front man and the Steve versus Arnel controversy, I found myself intrigued and picked up Journey's Greatest Hits. I was stunned! I knew the words to every song as though I had absorbed the music subliminally. I began to realize that truly, Journey provided the soundtrack of the 80's. I now wanted more. So I picked up this little gem. What I like about it is that it's not the Journey of the 80's. Don't get me wrong, that music was great but been there done that. To stay creatively fresh an artist needs to keep moving forward. I don't think it would've served Journey well to just keep cranking out the same stuff they did in 83'. Trial By Fire's a more mature work. No, Steve Perry probably couldn't hit the high notes anymore, but so what? What he may have lacked in the upper register is more than made up for by the husky soulfulness of his voice and impeccable phrasing. While I like SP's FLOSM, I think he was at his best when working with Jonathan & Neal. I love this CD!

I have been a Journey fan FOREVER(at least since Steve Perry became lead vocalist). I think the music on this album is wonderful. Mr. Perry's voice is so calming and soothing,and songs like "Trial By Fire" ,"Colors of The Spirit",and "It's Just The Rain",are full of that typical Journey emotion they bring to their music. I was very happy to hear,that after so long,that they made another album. I hope and pray that they will continue to creat such wonderful music for a long time. If and when they stop,the music world will lose a great powerful voice and a wonderful source of music.

Even though their 1996 reunion was short-lived,this album shows that when great musicians get together the results can be quite spectacular-this is evident in a number of cuts on this album which are instant Journey classics.At the same time,I believe,this record suffers from an overabundance of ballads which somehow break the momentum leading to an overall lukewarm impression after every listen.Perry is in great vocal form,Schon is as impressive as ever,Cain builds massive keyboard backrounds,while Valory and Smith provide a very tight rhytm section;especially Steve Smith's 'jazzified'drumming stands out.A very strong comeback,yet it needed more songs with a punch and a slimer selection of slow numbers.

great remaster finally the extra song of the japanese import and the last album sing by the legend steve perry the most beatiful voice in rock if you dont have you missed one of the great aor albums of all time and if you have it all ready buy it again the extra song if a most for a journey fan also the photos in the booklet priceless!!!!!!!!!