Journey‘s Greatest Hits 2, a brand-new collection of original recordings by the mega-platinum band, will be available as a single CD, digital download, and special gatefold double-vinyl edition starting November 1, 2011. In conjunction with the double-LP version of Greatest Hits 2, Journey’s original Greatest Hits, one of the top-selling American rock albums of all time with worldwide sales in excess of 25 million, will also be issued as a gatefold double-vinyl edition on the same day. Each double-vinyl edition includes a code for a free digital download of the vinyl remastered album.
“I’m very excited to be releasing this compilation,” said Neal Schon. “Many of these songs were written in our earlier days by Steve Perry and myself, and hearing them again brings back great memories. “Little Girl” has an extra special meaning for me because it’s one of the songs my father, who worked with us for many years, worked on with us. All our songs have stood the test of time, and I hope our fans will enjoy this collection.”
GREATEST HITS VOL. 2 by JOURNEY (Columbia/Legacy 88697 77986 2) Selections:
1. Stone In Love
2. After The Fall
3. Chain Reaction
4. The Party’s Over (Hopelessly In Love)
5. Escape
6. Still They Ride
7. Good Morning Gir
8. Stay Awhile
9. Suzanne
10. Feeling That Way
11. Anytime
12. Walks Like A Lady
13. Little Girl
14. Just The Same Way
15. Patiently
16. When I Think Of You
17. Mother, Father (Live In Houston, 1981)
Exclusive Interview With Keyboardist Jonathan Cain
In 2013, Journey will celebrate their 40th anniversary. But for now, the band has embarked on a massive tour in support of its 15th studio effort, Eclipse, which is also the second album to feature Arnel Pineda, their Filipino vocalist discovered by guitarist Neal Schon on YouTube. While Revelation (2008) was in the great tradition of AOR/melodic rock, Eclipse is a heavier record, with a progressive vibe and a spiritual concept.
We caught up with keyboardist/songwriter Jonathan Cain, right before the band’s performance at Paris’ Palais des Sports on July 7th. A Chicago native, Cain has been writing and co-writing many of the band’s hits, since he joined the Californian rockers 30 years ago to replace founding member Greg Rollie. He told us about the spiritual concept behind Eclipse, the privilege of making new music and his musical influences.
The European Tour with Foreigner is coming to an end. How did it go?
Really good! We’ve been successful in many places like the UK or Germany, which is a new place for us relatively speaking. We also played for 50 000 people in Sweden at the Peace and Love Festival. Bob Dylan was there too. Lots of kids have been coming, so we saw a lot of younger fans. All in all, It’s been a very good tour. It’s great playing with Foreigner. Ten years later, we’re still friends and we really like their music. We both have our new singers, so it’s good energy.
You also have connections with Styx who opened for you in the UK…
Yeah we’re very tight with the guys from Styx as well. Ricky Phillips and I were in The Babys and Bad English together. Tommy Shaw is a good friend of mine and so is JY (James Young), and Todd (Sucherman)… they’re all our buddies. So, it’s a lot of fun to be on the road with our brothers.
Do you see a big difference between the American audiences and the European ones?
The Europeans are maybe better listeners. I think they go more for the details and they certainly like the new music. They’ve been receptive to the new songs. A lot of time in The States, we can’t play so much new music, but here we can let it go and it’s pretty cool. They all listen to it and enjoy it…
Eclipse is definitely a rock record, heavier, a lot more guitar-oriented than the bands’ previous albums…
Yes, that was the purpose from the beginning. Neal and I wanted to go this road and try it. It’s also the album Neal had always wanted to make. Journey’s kind of always had a rock side and a pop side. This is our rock side.
This is also a conceptual album with a strong spiritual vibe. Could you tell us more about it?
I have studied Tantra for several years and it changed my life. The message for the Journey fans is “Turn down the noise and plug into the power and the true God [which is] the perfection that we live in”. Our original sin is to question this perfection. I felt that that all along. We’re not preaching this, we’re just saying: “Think about it. Nature is perfect and God is everywhere”.
I thought it was time to come with this idea. And it’s pretty rock’n’roll, because it’s central, spiritual and physical. It goes on all plans of living. We’ll all become sick as a society if we don’t maybe try some of these things, especially nowadays… We just get sucked into the Internet and the new streaming media, Facebook…and forget to connect to the other things in nature and life like our friends, our loved ones, our hearts… It’s up to us to go out unplugged, to see a beautiful field of flowers and enjoy the day, to have peace for an afternoon. This is really a big powerful thing that exists and the Hindus knew a long time ago about it.
We started with “City Of Hope”, which is about connecting where you live. When we were in Manila, we saw Arnel with his (charity) foundation. He’s giving back to the hungry kids starving in the streets. He’s connecting to where he lives. He is providing more light in dark places, spreading his energy, trying to make things better. That’s where the whole concept begins and why Arnel’s personality is really plugged into this record. Meeting him, he’s a Buddhist, and meeting his friends was a great source of inspiration.
We’re where we’re supposed to be. We’re touring new places. We have all this new music.
Since more and more people download songs instead of buying new albums, how is it important for you to still make a studio album that one can listen from start to finish?
It is very important. Neal and I don’t want to be a ‘catalogue band’. We could play different sets of songs every night if we wanted to. We have 14 albums now. Eclipse is our 15th one. To create new music is a privilege because of the success of Revelation. But we can’t fool ourselves. We have to say: “Hey, we’re as good as in our last CD and if we have enough people believing in us, we look forward to continuing. When it stops, then it’ll stop”. But we like doing it, for our fans and for our heads… and our hearts.
Would you say he arrival of Arnel and the “Don’t Stop believing” phenomenon have given the band a new lease of life?
Yes definitely, I think it’s given us another ten years. We didn’t plan it that way. It was given to us. It’s a gift from the Gods! (Laugh). We’re fortunate and grateful to be blessed like this. It’s pretty cool.
Is there a musician you would love to play with?
There’s a drummer that play with John Mayer… Keith Carlock. He’s fantastic. He played with Sting too. He lives in my hometown so there’s a possibility! I’m building a studio in Nashville now, and I’m hoping to get the guy over to jam with me! (laugh)
Are you influenced by the music over there?
A little bit you know, in the writing. I don’t try to pretend I’m a “country western guy”, but I can write a little bit of that. And I’m helping my daughter with her career, she’s a singer/songwriter, her name is Alison. She’s very good. I co-wrote and produced a lot of her demos. I’m also writing for some people there, they like my style. I play around town for charity events. It’s a nice community. I really like it. There’s a lot of music there… very good stuff, like The Kings Of Leon. Jimmy Stafford from Train moved there as well as Bob Ezrin the famous producer for Alice Cooper… So I think rock’n’roll is really about to bust a move in Nashville. And I really hope my studio is going to be part of this!
If you had to choose your three favourite albums, all kinds of music taken together, what would it be?
Probably The Dark Side Of The Moon, The Who Live At Leeds and… oh yeah I like this crazy, Steely Dan the Aja album. Oh my God it’s a great album! Those three are part of my favourites, but I can keep going on and on: Elton John Honky Château, SupertrampCrime Of The Century, Led Zeppelin…
The Beatles?
Yeah, of course. Sergent Pepper’s is pretty amazing. And the White Album…Whoa! We played it the other night. “Helter Skelter”, what a fantastic song!
My son is quite a retro guy. He’s only 15, but he’s found out about Blind Faith, he’s a big Zeppelin fan, he likes Hendrix, Cream, I showed him Ginger Baker… He’s checking out all this old stuff, but he also listens to Slipknot. So, he’s quite a diverse music listener and he’s a good drummer too.
I probably don’t listen to as much music as I used to cause I wanna keep my brain clear for new things. I like a lot of silence because I’m writing a lot now. I’m working on a book, I’m trying to. And I do a lot of photography too. I have my own Flickr page. I take impressions of places I go. It’s fun.
Journey in 2008 with… Damn! Who’s that guy again?
Do you remember the first record you ever bought?
I think it was a Beach Boys single… Probably “I Get Around”. (Singing) “Get Around round round… I get around”. I was a big Beach Boys fan. I liked the singing and the harmonies, Brian Wilson, the way he was… “Good Vibrations”, oh My God! I grew up with that. And there was The Beatles of course. I think Meet The Beatles was the first album that I bought. I was also very much into jazz in the sixties… I liked Miles Davis, Jimmy Smith, Buddy Rich, all those guys. I liked the Big Bands, Wes Montgomery, Oscar Peterson, Ahmad Jamal, Sergio Mendez/Brazil 66, “The Girl From Ipanema”, all that stuff.
When did you know you wanted to be a professional musician?
When I was 15 I guess. I was playing a lot around town and I was making pretty good living. I started playing in bands in my high school. We had what we called “Battle of the Bands” and I won a few of those. I went to College to learn more about music theory, the harmonies, the orchestrations… then I left. I just went out as a “professional gypsy” in a van, playing all kind of crazy music. I did everything from the polkas to the show tunes to the rock. I wanted to play it all. It was fun. And I got here (Journey) because of The Babys with John Waite.
At which moment did you realize you had song writing skills?
Well… I was at the Dick Clark Show in 1976, the American Bandstand. I wrote a song called ‘Till It’s Time To Say Good Bye”. I guess that’s when I knew. It was Top 40. I wrote about myself and I thought: “Ok, they must like it. I could do better, but I’m happy for my success”. It encouraged me to continue. But it takes a while to learn how to write a song. You have to live your life, find your place… find your voice. I think that co-writing has helped me a lot you know, writing with all these different people. It’s good for you.
Do you turn the volume up or down when you hear Journey’s music on the radio? I know it’s a stupid question! (Laugh)
No, I let it play. I like it. I’m honoured. It’s always flattering to hear yourself.
So you guys are back in Paris, two years after your concert at Le Bataclan. What can we expect from tonight’s show?
A shorter set. We can’t play as long because there are three bands, but I think it’s a good mix of old and new material. We’ll play some songs from Eclipse and the energy is good right now in the band. It’s pretty strong.
Do you have a message for Journey fans in France?
“Bonsoir les Français. Nous sommes heureux d’être ici ce soir!” It’s almost that! (Laugh)
Interview released by Alan & Defnael for Ondes de Rock on July 7, 2011.
A big thank you to Jonathan Cain for his precious time!
The Man in White! Kevin Shirley hangin’ out with his new mates
Europe, Sweden’s biggest rock band, confirm their next studio album, slated for April 2012 release, will be produced by the world’s hottest rock record producer, Kevin Shirley. No stranger to the crème de la crème of iconic rock records, Shirley’s produced albums for Iron Maiden, Joe Bonamassa, Black Country Communion, Black Stone Cherry, Mr. Big and Journey.
“We still feel we have one hell of a rock record to make” says Europe’s singer Joey Tempest. “Kevin’s the man for the job. We love his work with Bonamassa, Black Country Communion, and Black Stone Cherry. He’s the real deal. We’re ready to do some serious damage.” Last week Europe met up with Shirley in Stockholm to discuss the direction of the next album. Based on reactions from the fans and media, Europe’s 2009 album ‘Last Look at Eden’ proved to be the band’s most important record since ‘The Final Countdown’.
Scandinavian Hairlines! Europe at the peak of their success in the mid-80s
“I’ve been a big fan of Europe’s work for many years,” says Shirley. “The band is influential and highly underrated. I can’t wait to make the upcoming album their most explosive to date.” After summer 2011, Europe will finish the promotion of Last Look at Eden tour, and will start to focus their energy on the next album produced by Shirley.
“We’ve toured for one and a half years” adds Tempest. “It’s time to write and record some new songs and get back on the road again in 2012.” The new material suggests a more straight forward rock approach evident in ‘Doghouse’ – a new song Europe performed on their recent UK tour. The song is also featured on Europe’s upcoming ‘Europe: Live at Shepherd’s Bush’ DVD, released August 2011 on earMUSIC CDs and DVDs. earMUSIC is also about to release a limited deluxe book with pictures be Denis O’Regan. “Live Look At Eden” features exclusive live audio and the stunning performance at last year iTunes Festival in London. Recording for Europe’s new album begins in Stockholm on October 3rd, for an April 2012 release.
After releasing their latest (and excellent) album Somewhere In California, Night Ranger are getting ready to embark on a summer tour across the US as special guests supporting Foreigner and Journey. But that certainly won’t be the first time the bands have ever met. Indeed, Night Ranger guitarist Brad Gillis told Vh1 Classic Rock Nights that he was present at a pretty significant moment in Journey’s history.
“I mean, I remember being in a band called Rubicon in 1977, 78 and I remember rehearsing at this place in San Francisco and we had the small room and in the big room was Journey. And they were talking about they were auditioning a new singer. And this guy walks in, Steve Perry, and we all kind of meet him, say hi. And they kind of rush him in, close the door and we’re all standing by the door listening and he’s just, his pipes open up and he goes (sings) and he started singing. We all had chills, we’re going ‘Oh my God!’ and then I remember them walking out going, ‘Well, looks like we got our new singer!’”
Night Ranger’s Somewhere In California and Journey’s Eclipse are both available through Frontiers Records.
“Don’t Stop Believin’ – The Untold Story Of Journey” is out today! Written by rock & metal writer Neil Daniels (“The Story Of Judas Priest: Defenders Of The Faith”, and “Robert Plant: Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page & The Solo Years”), and published by Omnibus Press, this is the first, ever complete, biography of the legendary Californian rock band. Tracing the band’s history since its formation in 1973, “The Untold Story Of Journey”, features original interviews and a wealth of research.
You bet that as huge Journey fans we’re rapidly gonna make the acquisition of this precious object!
“Hey guys! It’s waiting for you”
If you want to know more about it, here’s a good interview with author Neil Daniels,here!.
No need to tell remind you that Journey’s new album, Eclipse, is out on May 24 in North America (exclusively at Walmart), and the day after in Europe (Frontiers Records). Ondes de Rock is up to something big and exciting on that occasion… stay tuned!
Alan
“Steve Perry is the greatest AOR singer of all time. He remains unparalled. I still get goose bumps every time I hear his voice…” Neil Daniels.
“Ok Arnel… Are you really sure you parked your car here?”
Hello true rock lovers!
We have great news for you… But you probably already know it: JOURNEY is back! “Eclipse”, their new studio album, will be released on May 24 in North America exclusively at Walmart, and 3 days later in Europe on Frontiers Records. In the meantime, they have released a six-minute behind the scenes EPK, which can be viewed below. It features performance footage and interviews with the band’s members.
Here’s the film:
The 12 tracks of “Eclipse” were written over the past 18 months by lead guitarist Neal Schon and keyboard player Jonathan Cain, with collaboration from singer Arnel Pineda who joined the band 3 years ago after Neil Schon discovered him on Youtube.
“I’m in love with this record, which I haven’t said about one of our albums for a long time,” says founding member Neal Schon. “It’s a rock record and it sounds amazing.”
And as good news comes in twos, The “Eclipse Tour” comes to Europe in early June, stopping by Paris on July 7 (at LePalais des Sports with FOREIGNER as special guest). ONDES DE ROCK will be in the audience and there’s pretty good chance we realise an interview with the band! We’ll also cross the Channel to attend their gig at Wembley Arena in London (June 4), the first step of their UK Tour with STYX and FOREIGNER as special guests!
Ondes de Rock World 