Disco de Journey: “Infinity”

I was 14 years old when this album was released. I went over to a friends house after school and through the door of his older brother's room was the sound of this voice. The voice was, Steve Perry's.

I was already building a pretty diverse record collection. I told my friend to hang on for a second and literally stopped in my tracks and knocked on his brother's door. He opened the door and said, "Hey, what's up?" I asked who it was that he was listening to. He said, "Journey." and showed me the cover. That friday night, I went to a local department store with my family and passed by the record section. There it was, "Infinity". With the best looking artwork on the rack. I pulled out my lone $10 dollar bill and bought the record. It was on sale for $5.98!. This purchase began a journey of my own. They were my favorite band from 1978 to 1983's "Frontiers". I bought their records. Went to their concerts on every tour and watched them develop and implode. I didn't know about terms like "corporate rock", or the pending homogenization of rock radio that was beginning to happen. I just knew that i liked their sound. Roy Thomas Baker produced the album's "Infinity" and "Evolution". His production style was a major force to why and how they became so hugely successful. Infinity is an album for the ages and for all ages. Personally, The best Steve Perry Era album, and one which I am listening to right now at the age of 44, as I write this.

It is one of the best rock album's made in the 70's. Waaaay beyond it's time. It had class and soul and groove. The band played great and I feel that if you like good melodic, well sung rock music this is an absolutely stellar recording. If you are into the "New wave" or "punk" generation from the same era. You won't dig this at all. It's not angst. It's beautifully played and arranged commercial rock music.

A masterpiece.

NOTE:I hadn't heard Journey before this record (or so I thought). Actually, my older brother had "Look Into The Future" and "Next" in his collection. The pre-Steve Perry Journey is a fantastic lineup and great, great music. It's this Journey without Steve Perry. But the great voices of Gregg Rolie (Santana's co-founder and singer of Black Magic Woman) and Neal Schon (a Guitar Prodigy and fine singer in his own right) . The Pre-Steve Journey holds it's own and deserves just as much attention from the record label and curious musician based fan.

Remasters with bonus tracks, etc.

Anyway, go and listen. Really listen.

For the young or the (gasp) uninitiated to Journey, Infinity is the first one to listen to. (Even though there were three albums before Infinity, Journey, Look Into the Future, and Next, these have a certain jazz fusion quality that may or may not be widely appreciated, depending upon the intended audience.) Though certain elements will become more refined in Evolution, Departure and especially Escape and Frontiers, the listener cannot help but be inspired by the energy and freshness of this album. My particular favorite track on this one is "Winds of March-" eloquent and powerful- not what you'd expect, but as you listen to Journey, not just the "top 40" songs by Journey, you will see a wonderfully broad range and depth that will keep the listener forever coming back again and again to revisit the magic.

"Infinity" is just an amazing cd and should be considered as one of the most consistent and ground breaking cd's of the seventies. With vocalist Steve Perry joining the already talented yet unfocused Journey fold all of the elements were now in place to create this breath taking effort. Perry has to be one of the best vocalists of all time with his powerful and distinct singing style. Schoen, Rolie, Valory, and Dunsbar really gel on this cd and have created an amazingly tight output behind Perry. Throw in excellent songs and a great song flow and we are blessed with a timeless piece of musical history. Journey would go into more of a pop/rock direction on their follow-up effort "Evolution" which wasn't necessarily a bad thing but "Infinity" has all of the elements necessary to be considered a classic cd.

Actually I'm sure there are people that would recommend one of the best of collections but to me this was always "the sound" of Journey with the high voice of Steve and Neil's crunchy guitar and Greg's keyboards, not to mention the rhythm section keeping the whole thing anchored.

There are some great songs (lights, Wheel in the Sky, Feeling That way/Any Time) and whenever I listen to this album I'm always transported by to a better time (or forward to my current relationships :D )

Anyway - you might be like a "best of" album better than this but Infinity is probably the best journey album from composition, songs, performance, etc. :D

The most stunning quality of INFINITY is the smooth transitions from piece to piece which makes for a sweetly flowing and memorable listening experience! The classic LIGHTS begins the experience with its poetic yearning for the "city by the bay." A Gregg Rolie twinkling of keys leads into FEELING THAT WAY. ANYTIME follows with bold vocal harmonies. LA DO DA punches out an Aynsley Dunbar beat which fades to a soft Neal Schon guitar picking out the delicate melody of PATIENTLY. "Winter is here, again, oh, Lord..." is the haunting tones of WHEEL IN THE SKY which fade to the sincere supplication, "Please come talk to me; tell me what's on your mind..." of SOMETHIN' TO HIDE. The smooth and driving rhythm of Ross Valory's bass provides perfect balance with the humanity of Steve Perry's voice which is never more astutely heard than in the tones of WINDS OF MARCH. The band then joins forces on the enthusiastic CAN DO. INFINITY comes to an end (so to speak) with the soft confessions of how a certain girl OPENED THE DOOR to a certain boy's life. And with the detailed production of Roy Thomas Baker (of QUEEN fame), JOURNEY spells out a big, fat sound which nearly bursts from the edge of the CD! Now, this review was written completely from memory... see what an experience INFINITY is!