Customer Reviews

Infinity

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This album marked a serious transition for Journey. Steve Perry had come aboard, the sound of the band had changed, and the feel of the music was larger, with a great deal more emotion.

This album alone has more hits than any other Journey album. With songs like 'Lights (#68 on Billboard),' 'Feeling That Way,' 'Anytime (#83 on Billboard),' 'La Do Da,' 'Patiently,' and Wheel in the Sky,' all of which were hits, Journey put itself on the rock and roll map. The Album itself ranked 21 on the charts, and at the time of its release it was Journey's biggest album. Moreover, after this album, Journey went on the produce and record seven more huge selling albums which ranked better than 'Infinity' on the charts ('Open Arms' reaching #1). But in my opinion, this one is their best.

The album itself is perfectly arranged, every song seems to follow from the previous one, making for a nice continuous flow. Perry is at his best vocally (aside from maybe the Open Arms album), and the band sounds better than ever.

If you have never heard Journey before (if that could ever be the case with anyone out there), then this is the best album to start with. Moreover, if you are a big Journey fan, then you already know just how good this album actually is. I highly recommend it.

Of course, Journey reached their peak point of radio dominance during the 80's, ruling both the airwaves and the touring road. But 1978's rock and roll acheivement "Infinity" sets the stage for their craft of musical excellence that would become their trademark in the next decade.
Here, Journey, with frontman Steve Perry debuting, shapes the form of their classic rock and roll--a blend of soft magical melodies ('Lights'), Neal Schon's hard rocking riffs (the carnie's ballad 'Wheel in the Sky'), FM radio gems ('Anytime'), and of course, the element of Journey that sets them apart from other graduates of their genre, their slightly enigmatic genuine poignancy (captured here on 'Winds of March'). All throughout "Infinity," Journey introduces us to their unique stylings; soft keyboard and piano arrangements (specialty of Greg Rollie) combined with profound rhythms and beats (thanks to Ross Valory & Aynsley Dunbar, who soon departed after this set's release), matched with Steve Perry's uncomparable vocals and Neal Schon's classically trained guitars.
Journey in many ways set up the radio pop-rock sound that was so evident in the '80's, combining synth and genuine rock. However, this pop sound of the next decade was soured by such other acts as the Culture Club and countless other burn-outs, but Journey was one of the few bands to turn that sound of theirs into a perfected musical craft. This lovely little thing called Journey was formed by a harmonic musical perfection, and "Infinity" displays that excellency in all its glory, as would a string of successful albums throughout the next decade.

For the young or the (gasp) uninitiated to Journey, Infinity is the first one to listen to. (Even though there were three albums before Infinity, Journey, Look Into the Future, and Next, these have a certain jazz fusion quality that may or may not be widely appreciated, depending upon the intended audience.) Though certain elements will become more refined in Evolution, Departure and especially Escape and Frontiers, the listener cannot help but be inspired by the energy and freshness of this album. My particular favorite track on this one is "Winds of March-" eloquent and powerful- not what you'd expect, but as you listen to Journey, not just the "top 40" songs by Journey, you will see a wonderfully broad range and depth that will keep the listener forever coming back again and again to revisit the magic.

This is the album that brought Journey from being a "jam band" of sorts (and a good one at that) to an all-time classic rock band. For sure, adding Steve Perry to the lineup added a whole new element to this band.

Tracks like the leadoff beauty "Lights" and the rocking "Wheel In the Sky" are of course well known classics, with Perry instantly showing his musical chops. Equally as memorable is the two-track combination of "Feeling That Way" and "Anytime", where keyboardist Greg Rollie combines with Perry for some stirring and rocking melodies. Songs like "La Do Da" and "Can Do" are solid, incredibly melodic rockers, while "Patiently" is just a gorgeous slow song that is a sign of things to come when this band really hits it huge in the 1980s. For sure, they were well on their way with this one.

I have called 1981's "Escape" perhaps my favorite rock album of all time, and for sure Journey is to me the best rock band on the planet. Nonetheless, the beauty and majesty of Journey's true classic rock still blows me away to this day. For sure the pace, flow, and melodies of this album make it absolutely brilliant.

"Infinity" is just an amazing cd and should be considered as one of the most consistent and ground breaking cd's of the seventies. With vocalist Steve Perry joining the already talented yet unfocused Journey fold all of the elements were now in place to create this breath taking effort. Perry has to be one of the best vocalists of all time with his powerful and distinct singing style. Schoen, Rolie, Valory, and Dunsbar really gel on this cd and have created an amazingly tight output behind Perry. Throw in excellent songs and a great song flow and we are blessed with a timeless piece of musical history. Journey would go into more of a pop/rock direction on their follow-up effort "Evolution" which wasn't necessarily a bad thing but "Infinity" has all of the elements necessary to be considered a classic cd.

INFINITY Recorded in 1978

Steve Perry took Journey to new levels when he joined up with them in 1978. This album is proof of that.

The songs are well crafted, beautiful and Perry has the voice of an angel. Infinity is a super SOLID album. Not a bad song on here. Wheel in the Sky (classic Journey at its best), Patiently (1st song Perry wrote with Jrny), Lights (Perry's own song he brought to the band), Winds of March (romantic Perry vocals), Somethin' To Hide, La Do Da (this one rocks) are all my favorites.

If you dont own this you should!! This is a rock music staple and easily one of the best Journey albums ever recorded.

Journey was founded by Greg Rollie and Neal Schoen who left Santana. The band's first few albums were more on the experimental side, with long jams and not alot of structure. In 1977, they were persuaded to bring Steve Perry into the fold. This move proved to be a successful one as their first album together, Infinity, was a big hit. The album is made up of FM radio friendly songs that were perfect for stadium tours. "Wheel In The Sky" and "Lights" are staples of the classic rock format and although they are a bit overplayed, they are solid songs. "La Do Da" is a strong rocker and "Patiently" is a good power ballad that would become the band's forte.

The most stunning quality of INFINITY is the smooth transitions from piece to piece which makes for a sweetly flowing and memorable listening experience! The classic LIGHTS begins the experience with its poetic yearning for the "city by the bay." A Gregg Rolie twinkling of keys leads into FEELING THAT WAY. ANYTIME follows with bold vocal harmonies. LA DO DA punches out an Aynsley Dunbar beat which fades to a soft Neal Schon guitar picking out the delicate melody of PATIENTLY. "Winter is here, again, oh, Lord..." is the haunting tones of WHEEL IN THE SKY which fade to the sincere supplication, "Please come talk to me; tell me what's on your mind..." of SOMETHIN' TO HIDE. The smooth and driving rhythm of Ross Valory's bass provides perfect balance with the humanity of Steve Perry's voice which is never more astutely heard than in the tones of WINDS OF MARCH. The band then joins forces on the enthusiastic CAN DO. INFINITY comes to an end (so to speak) with the soft confessions of how a certain girl OPENED THE DOOR to a certain boy's life. And with the detailed production of Roy Thomas Baker (of QUEEN fame), JOURNEY spells out a big, fat sound which nearly bursts from the edge of the CD! Now, this review was written completely from memory... see what an experience INFINITY is!

This is the first release after Steve Perry joined Journey that features a whole host of radio gems: "Lights", "Feeling That Way", "Anytime", and "Wheel In The Sky". The rest of the set is equally good, I particularly liked the harmonies on "La Do Da". "Patiently", and "Opened The Door" are great over looked ballads. "Something To Hide" is a straight ahead rocker.

"Winds Of March" is an over looked power ballad which features delicate piano followed by rich power organ by Gregg Rolie and spectacular pyrotechnics by Neil Schon. This is my favoriate track except for "Wheel In The Sky".

The band is solid through out this set. I particularly liked the sound on this cd. It seems to be a rich "dark" sound which makes the harmonies attractive; at least to me anyway.

This set is highly recommended and essential to your Journey collection.

Steve Perry joined Journey as a lead singer from the band's fourth album in 1978. Since Steve Perry joined the band Journey would see the glorious career which would continue until mid 80s. The new singer with passionate crystal-clear high-tone vocal changed the band for the better. With the exception of LA DU DA and CAN DO(hustler variation) which see the last album's prog sound, most of the tracks are quite new showing that Steve Perry extended the band's music and made the band's music more attractive for ordinary music fans. Particularly Steve did well in power ballads that paved the way for the rock bands to commercial success. LIGHTS, ANYTIME, WHEEL IN THE SKY are the gem tracks. In this album Steve did not entirely sing lead solo and some tracks share the vocal parts with Gregg Rolie such as ANYTIME, FEELING THAT WAY. WINGS OF MARCH starting as ordinary ballads belies their rockin' spirit shown in agressive interlude in mid part. This is not only nice album to add for Steve Perry fans but for Gregg Rolie fans that like Storm or Abraxas Pool materials.