Disco de Journey: “Trial by Fire [Japan Bonus Track]”

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

and

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.

The Japanese version of Trial By Fire has one more track then the U.S. release. It's called "I Can See It In Your Eyes" and it rocks! This song should have been kept on the U.S. release and replaced by another. But Over in the good ole U.S.A THE RECORDS COMPANIES FORGOT HOW TO ROCK OR ARE RUN BY CORPORATE SUCKA$$'S WHO GOT THERE A$$ES KICKED EVERYDAY BY HARD ROCK LOVERS AND THIS IS THEIR PAYBACK TO US!!! Hey whatever right????? Journey rocks and if your a die-hard having this cd with the bonus is well worth it!

I've been a Journey fan since the age of 17. It is now, at 37 and after watching VH1 Behind the music featuring Journey, that I realized just how much I enjoy listening to the "REAL VOICE OF JOURNEY", Steve Perry. Trial by fires "When you love a women" is a true testiment of love between a husband and his wife and I dedicate this song to my husband of 11 years! Steve Perry you did it again. As always he sings from his soul and the listener is convinced that Steve has been down that road that he sings about!! At 52, his voice is a alittle older but wiser and still beautiful!! COME BACK STEVE. WE'LL BE WAITHING!!

This reissue's remastering sounds incredible (especially the bass) and it includes the amazing 'Only the Young' style b-side 'I can see it in your eyes.' The CD as a whole avoids the fast song, slow song cycle. I liked Raised on Radio and expected this to be more of the same. But the songs here reach further. Almost as if Journey had written a few of these for a movie soundtrack with the addition of a few strings, some interesting percussion, and songs that include larger themes. Steve Perry's voice is in fine form although it would've been great to have had a few more solos from Neal Schon.

I have been a longtime fan of Journey, if not a Steve Perry mark, but I think I can do an honest take on this one. I don't know if it's as good as Escape was, but it's definitely better than Raised on Radio and possibly Fronteirs. Yes, Steve Perry's voice does sound a bit rougher and he has lost some highs, but even at 60-70% of what he once was, he's far better than any singer I hear on modern rock radio these days, and I personally like the rough edge he has now. Neal Schon seems to be in the background on this one, but when he DOES step out and solo, it's arguably his best lead work he's ever done with Journey. As far as the two big singles go, I've heard people say "Message of Love" is a clone of "Seperate Ways". If it is, I think it's a better version of it. Also, if there is any Journey ballad that can rival "Open Arms", it's "When You Love A Woman". That kind of leads to my one glaring issue with TBF...it's a bit too heavy on ballads for me, and that's coming from someone who's a sucker for ballads, especailly ones that Perry sings. After a while, I was going to fall asleep until "Can't Tame The Lion" came on. Aside from that, I liked this album a lot. The songwriting might not be for everyone, but for what it is, it's outstanding. Gettting a hidden bonus track for your money was pretty cool too. Oh, and as always, the cover art is spectacular.