Thought I’d take a break from the job/job/band/school and review Journey’s new album Revelation, because I know there are a few Chiffers who would appreciate it.
Revelation was intended by the band to be something of a step in a new direction. the opening track, Never Walk Away, has been described by critics and fans as distinctively Journey-esqe; I would take that one step further by saying the song is highly distinctive of their Arrival-era material with former singer/songwriter Steve Augeri. My first impressions as the first track played were not exactly feelings of disappointment, as I really liked the Arrival-era material (while I still consider this material to be inferior to what the band was producing circa 1981-1985, I still enjoy the material on a limited basis), but I certainly didn’t want another album of the same material.
Having said that, i was fairly surprised by the second track, Like A Sunshower. While not in traditional Journeyesqe form, Sunshower does explore both some new territory musically while embracing the bands lyrical roots style.
Track three, Change for the Better, is a rocker that hearkens stylistically back to the bands highly successful Frontiers era with the lyrical styles of John Cain and Neal Schon combined into an upbeat, powerful package.
Track four, Wildest Dream, is another departure from the direction the band was headed in the Arrival and post Generations era, and is a good old fashioned rock 'n roll tune. Stylistically speaking, Wildest Dream feels like a departure from traditional Journey material, but still retains the bands thematic elements.
Track five is something of an enigma to me as to why it appears on this album as it was part of the bands previous major release, Generations. The song is distinctively an Augeri piece of penmanship and is fairly representative of the Arrival/Red 13/ Generations era material, and IMHO the only real downpoint to this new album. While some musical, tempo and thematic elements have been updated and Arnel Pineda’s vocals added, the song is essentially the same song from the previous album. As I’ve stated, it’s a mystery to me why the band included it on the subsequent major release after its original appearance on the Generations album, especially since the song was the only track from the Generations album to receive major mainstream attention appearing frequently on NBC’s Football Night in America.
Track six is the crown jewel of the Revelation album. This ballad rivals any other the band has done previously, and hopefully illustrates the direction the band is taking. This song is best listened to with the one you love 
. After All These Years is invocative of Faithfully and When You Love a Woman while perfectly showcasing the powerful lyrical and songwriting ability of pianist Jon Cain. It’s not often I can say that I would be persuaded to buy an album for just one song, but this might be the time I might just have considered it had I not been a committed Journey fan.
Track seven reminds me distinctly of the Escape era material with a newer flair, almost as if this track was, for some reason, left off the 1981 album and unearthed in 2008. Thematically, the track is distinctly Journey, with Neal Schon and Jon Cain utilizing what appears to my ears to be gear from the Escape.
Track eight explores some musical territory that Journey has been rare to venture into, with sounds and progression invocative stylistically of progressive band Dream Theater, while still including a signature Journey sound and lyrical style that indicates the new direction the band intends to travel in while still including the flair that long-time fans enjoy.
Track nine is hard to place. Stylistically and thematically it follows material from both early and later eras; lyrically the song is reminiscent of the Escape/Frontiers era but musically and thematically feels distinctly Gennerations era. Rhythmically, this song feels like it was a carry-over from earlier days, but the updated playing style and progression indicate otherwise.
In the track eleven slot is another Jon Cain ballad that, while not as impressive as After All These Years, is moving and melodic, beautiful and easy on the ears. As a musician who started as a pianist, I have a special place in my life for the music of Jon Cain, both with Journey and his solo works, and this track is no less special than any of his other work.
Track eleven is a Neal Schon composed instrumental; nuff said. As a bassist, I give praise for guitarists pretty sparingly. that said, Neal Schon as always been impressive (for those who don’t know, he was playing in Carlos Santana’s band at age 15!), and this little ditty doesn’t disappoint.
Disk two of Revelation is a re-recording of Journey’s “greatest hits” catalog. What makes this special for a die-hard fan like myself is that most of my favorite classic Journey tracks are represented here, note for note, but redone with modern recording and musical technology.
What makes this disk even more special is that every song is representative of it’s original, practically note for note, beat for beat.
Journey is one of those bands that gets better as time goes by, like a fine wine. There aren’t many older rockers out there that can say the same; even many bigger names have lost their edge in many respects, but Journey continues to impress, both live and recorded. In this case, the modern performed and perfected versions of our favorite tracks are represented here.
If you happened to buy you copy of Revelation at Sprawl-Mart, as I did, you were lucky enough to get the new live DVD. The performance captured is on par with the high level the band set with their “Journey 2001” live DVD, but lead singer Arnel Pineda adds an energetic, spirited element that comes through the rest of the band. You can tell they still love their music; they’re not just going through the motions.
I used to say that I was a big Steve Augeri fan before, but after hearing Arnel Pineda polished and spot on with the band, both on the disk and the DVD, and feeling the spirit and energy he conveys I have to say that Mr. Pineda is the better of the two, and almost (almost almost!) the best of the four Journey frontmen (and only because I grew up with Steve Perry at the helm, nostalgia has such power).
All in all, Revelation is not in the least disappointing; while it is certainly not the very best offering from Journey in the band’s long history, it certainly is the very best of the post-Perry material.
I give it a rating of 7/10 scarabs 
