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Raised on Radio

Journey - Raised on Radio Audio CD

A fair review of the Journey "Raised on Radio" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Journey reviews here, or go back to the Journey tabs.

Band: Journey
Title: Raised on Radio
Rating:

Release Date: 2006-10-03
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Girl Can't Help It 2: Positive Touch 3: Suzanne 4: Be Good to Yourself 5: Once You Love Somebody 6: Happy to Give 7: Raised on Radio 8: I'll Be Alright Without You 9: It Could Have Been You 10: Eyes of a Woman 11: Why Can't This Night Go on Forever 12: Girl Can't Help It [Live Video Mix][*][Mix] 13: I'll Be Alright Without You [Live Video Mix][*][Mix]

What Were They Thinking??
Apparently, Steve Perry wanted to take the band in a new direction, so he fired bassist Ross Valory, while drummer Steve Smith walked out (or might have been fired as well; I'm not certain). Raised on Radio is a disastrous album. Ultimately, Valory and Smith were replaced with session musicians, including future American Idol judge Randy Jackson. What resulted from this "new direction" was an absolutely faceless '80s pop record that sounded nothing like Journey. The singles "I'll Be Alright Without You," "Girl Can't Help It," and "Be Good To Yourself" are mediocre, while the rest of the album is completely forgettable, by-the-numbers soft rock. "Positive Touch," with its insipid harmonies and saxophone track, sounds like a bad Hall & Oates cover. "Raised on Radio" itself is the only rocker here, but even it is mindlessly insubstantial. Journey deserves some credit for changing their sound. Unfortunately, this is a digression, not an update. Raised on Radio is one experiment that did not pay off. 2 Stars.

Not spectacular, but not awful either
They had been since 1981, with the release of the megahit 'Escape' (subtitle was 'E5C4P3'), which spawned one of the most downloaded songs in the history, 'Don't Stop Believin'. By 1985, Journey were one of the biggest bands in the world. ' The group released 'Frontiers' in 1983 and had yet another massive hit, the ballad 'Faithfully. '

Original bassist Ross Valory and drummer Steve Smith, who had been with the band since 1979, were fired, ultimately being replaced by session musicians, one of which later became superstar because of a little show called 'American Idol. ' That was Randy Jackson, who plays bass guitar on this album.

With the firings of Smith and Valory, that left only a core trio of Journey. That was lead vocalist Steve Perry, guitarist Neal Schon (a former member of Santana, and a GREAT guitarist too) and keyboardist Jonathan Cain (a former member of John Waite's former group, The Babys).

'Raised on Radio' has it's moments sure, mostly when Schon steps up for a guitar solo, but it's much more commercial than most of their other releases. But, several songs on here aren't terrible, and there's one (the hit 'I'll Be Alright Without You') that really shines, mostly due to Schon's guitar licks at the beginning.

The album also includes the ballad 'Why Can't This Night Go On Forever' (which does feature Steve Smith on drums, interestingly), and the other two megahits from the album 'Girl Can't Help It' and 'Be Good To Yourself. '

But I like the two bonus tracks. 'I'll Be Alright' and 'Girl Can't Help It,' in my honest opinion, sound far better live than they do in their original album versions. If you don't own the 'Time 3' box set (which I do own), than you should get 'Raised on Radio' perhaps to hear those two live versions. They really are great. Schon's guitar sounds great, as always on these recordings.

Overall, 'Raised on Radio' isn't a terrible record. Journey were megastars by 1985, when this was released, and this was the last record the band would release until 1996, with 'Trial By Fire,' the comeback album which found the group reuniting with Ross Valory and Steve Smith again. Buy it if you are a Journey fanatic, but start with 'Greatest Hits,' 'The Essential Journey,' 'Escape,' or even an early album, like 'Look Into The Future,' from 1976.

A Great Collection of Songs
" It is without a doubt my favorite Journey record because each track is great. I love "Raised on Radio. I put this CD on and play it from start to finish and never tire of it. Steve Perry's vocals really shine on these well crafted songs and the guitar work gives each song an edge. Perhaps it's not for people who are looking for hard rock songs, but for people looking for a full collection of well performed, melodic rock songs, it's among the best there is.

Put Frontiers and Street Talk in a blender and you have Raised on Radio
While it may not have the Journey feel everyone liked in Frontiers and Escape, it was more similar to Street Talk and if you aren't familiar with Street Talk, that's Steve Perry's solo album. Raised on Radio is a very interesting album. Songs such as Positive Touch, Suzanne, and Eyes of a Woman have more the more Street Talk feel than a Journey Feel. Be Good To Yourself, Girl Can't Help It, Why Can't This Night Go On Forever and Raised on Radio if you have to ask, have the classic Journey feel that most people are familiar with and are most likely the songs old Journey fans will listen to. Once You Love Somebody, Happy To Give, It Could Have Been You, and I'll Be Alright Without You are the weird hybrid songs that are the combination of the two and strangley the latter one, I'll Be Alright Without You is my personal favorite because it really does make a statement and like what they said in the Time Cubed Booklet, it is musical therapy for someone who did hurt your heart. The two bonus tracks are the two Raised on Radio live tracks that first appeared on Time Cubed which is pretty cool but I really wanted to see Into Your Arms and With a Tear be resurrected and put on this album. Raised on Radio may not have the Journey feel everyone likes, it may have not been as good as Escape, Frontiers, or even Trial by Fire, it's part of the Journey and any fan should at least listen to it once or twice.

old is gold
Perry sings with true emotions and the tracks were also very heart warming I guess thats all the difference it makes. Raised on Radio my old favorites JOURNEY with Perry on the lead vocals uncomparable to the new singers in the recent Journey albums. WHERE IS PERRY?.

You can see a complete list of all Journey discography, or go back to the Journey tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.