We all have our guilty pleasures and one of mine is the band Journey. I was familiar with Journey while growing up like most everyone else was, through hearing their hits over and over again on the radio. I didn't seriously get into this band until the summer of '89, when I read a long article about them in the magazine Kerrang. Within a year of reading this article, I had collected or at least heard every Journey album up to that point, which made my brother Tom, aka Fartzarellah, think I had gone mad! Looking back, I now think he was right (or at least partly right!) and most of their albums which I used to love, like Infinity, Raised on Radio and Evolution or Departure (I get these two confused, since their covers are so similar!) I can barely listen to anymore. Sad, eh?

One of three Journey albums I can still listen to and enjoy as much as I used to (the other two being Next and Escape) is their 1983 album Frontiers. From what I read, this was supposed to be a bit of a disappointment compared to it's predecessor Escape, partly because it didn't generate as much hits (and maybe because it didn't spawn it's own video game!) , but I actually PREFER it to Escape and will go as far as saying that is my favorite Journey album. There are many reasons for that.

For one, it sports a very loud and meaty production, with Steve Smith's drums front and center in the mix, making it one of their heaviest sounding albums. Two, even though Jonathan Caine's keyboards and synthesizers are very prominent in the mix as well, sometimes smothering Neil Schon's guitar, it also features some of Schon's most inspired and melodic and emotional guitar playing. Schon makes his presence felt throughout the entire album, whether he is cranking out monstrous guitar riffs (like on Chain Reaction, Edge Of The Blade and Rubicon) or soloing his rump off (almost the entire album, even on some of the ballads, like Faithfully), this despite the fact that he receives fewer songwriting credits than ever before on a Journey album. The synthesizers and the front and back cover (depicting the Journey-men in sky diving suits) give the album a somewhat space-age feel. And I also approve of Steve Perry's singing, which sounds more rough and aggressive here, which suits the music to a tee..or t or tea.....

My main reason for liking this album are the songs themselves, of course. In terms of songs, despite a few questionable moments on the second half, I would say this is their most consistent album. The first half contains all of the hits...four of these five songs became top 40 hits and even the one that didn't, the tough hard rocker Chain Reaction (which had an amusing video), got substantial airplay. The opening track Separate Ways gets the album off to a satisfying and loud start with some aggressive guitar riffing by Schon and some emotional singing from Perry. I won't get into too much detail about the other three songs from the first half, since you've probably heard them so much on the radio already. I like 'em all, with my least favorite being After The Fall, and my favorite being Faithfully, one of Journey's best ballads, which Schon puts his seal of approval on with more inspired and heart felt soloing.

All five songs on the second half, none of which became hits, are as catchy and as listenable as anything on the first half, except they are a tad heavier and have more of an 'edge' to them, particularly the second half's opening number Edge Of The Blade, which is a dangerous and spacy sounding hard rocker and one of my favorite songs on the album. This is followed by another strong number, Troubled Child, which is mellow during the verses, but gets loud and heavy for the refrain and the instrumental section. Once again, I can not say enough nice things about the guitar playing.

The most controversial and universally loathed track here, by both the fans and the band members themselves (bassist Ross Valory and at least one other Journey man think it's their worst song ever) is Backtalk. Based on a complicated drum pattern by Steve Smith (getting a rare co-writing credit here), musically it may be the heaviest number that Journey have ever done, with some crunchy rhythm guitar playing and a near Eddie Van Halen-like guitar solo from Schon. But I don't think it's the music that's the problem, it's Steve Perry's angry half shouting vocal delivery, spewing out lines like "Don't talk to me with that tone of voice" and "your attitude is pushing me to the limit!" (like he was having a bad mustache day!), and the way he sings " B-b-b-b-b-b- backtalk." Another reason it is so disliked is that it's inclusion on the original album meant that the much better hit single Only The Young was left off and would not be available on a Journey album until their greatest hits album. It did appear on the Vision Quest soundtrack and is included as a bonus track here. My only complaint with Only The Young is that sonically, it sounds wimpy, particularly the drums, compared to the songs on Frontiers. Getting back to Backtalk, I actually like the song, especially Steve Smith's drum pattern, and I can tolerate Perry's vocal on it.

After the slightly odd and futuristic, synth drenched hard rock of the title track (which shows that these guys could still play in weird time signatures when they felt like it), the original album ends on a glorious and very heavy note with my all time favorite Journey song, Rubicon. I love almost everything about this tune, from Schon's loud and heavy guitar riff, to his guitar solo, Perry's lyrics (which have a very positive message) and his vocal melody for both the verses and the refrain, etc.. I particularly like how they modulate during the first verse for a few lines, then drop down to the original key before going into the chorus. Perty darn cool! My only complaint here is the way Cain's synthesizers practically smother Schon's guitar when they come up, all the more disappointing because it's such a great guitar riff! Other than that, this is a terrific song and a perfect way to end the album.

The remastered version includes a 16 page booklet, which has a plethora of photos, but no liner notes and no lyric sheet, and four bonus tracks, the aforementioned Only The Young, and Ask The Lonely, Liberty and Only Solutions. My favorite is Only The Young...I dishonestly can't recall how the others sound. Maybe they will catch on after a few listens.

Overall, what can I say, except, that I really like Frontiers....dammit! Want to fight?