Journey

Columbia, 1983)

If ever there was a hard act to follow, it was Escape, the allconquering masterpiece that had made Journey the biggest rock act in America. But when the heat was on, these guys didn’t falter. What they delivered with Frontiers was another multi-platinum hit, another classic.

Separate Ways (Worlds Apart), the album’s opening track, is the ultimate heavy melodic rock anthem, its dramatic tone set in Jonathan Cain’s neon-bright keyboard intro, the band blasting at full power, and Steve Perry hitting high notes and a deep emotional intensity that made him the greatest singer of his generation. Faithfully is the definitive power ballad, with Perry’s voice again at its absolute peak. Edge Of The Blade is arguably Journey’s heaviest song. The title track, tricksy and unconventional, has a flavour of early-80s Rush. And After The Fall and Send Her My Love are two more supreme ballads from the undisputed masters of the art.

Most extraordinary of all is that this brilliant album could have been even better. In a bizarre decision, two glorious songs, Only The Young and Ask The Lonely, did not make the cut. And while one substitution in their place was the wonderfully atmospheric Troubled Child, the other, Back Talk, was a complete turkey, perhaps the worst song the band ever recorded, and the one flaw in what was otherwise a work of genius. PE Must hear: Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)