Customer Reviews

Look Into the Future

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Journey circa 1976 KILLED. This, and their eponymous first album, remain the best examples of the only-in-San-Francisco mix of psychedelia/heavy metal/fusion/santana soul to have ever been committed to vinyl.

As evidenced by numerous Winterland and Day on the Green concert efforts (along with several unfortunate dates at the death-of-all-acoustics barn "Cow Palace"), this group rocked like no other.

Neal Schon blazed though this disc, offering world-class riffing and soloing throughout. The intense solo in "She Make Me (Feel Alright)" is beyond anything Page recorded, and the middle solo in the title track is sublime. "Midnight Dreamer" and "I'm Gonna Leave You" leave the listener in a puddle. Gregg Rolie's backing organ is the closest link to jazz-rock (see numerous early nineties John Abercrombie albums for comparison), and Aynsley Dunbar was every bit a peer of Bonham.

"Anyway" is the moody power ballad that in concert was extended to 20 minutes or so of intense blues rock, while "Saturday Nite" was the hit that didn't happen that could have averted the Steve Perry abortion that followed for 20+ years.

If only Journey could have followed this with a strong effort instead of the tepid "Next," the finest instrumental quartet in the history of rock could have offered us more insanely beautiful/intense music for the ages. Those of us who hoped for the more of the same will have to content ourselves with such 1974-76 classics as "Look Into the Future," "Kohoutek," "Anyway," "Topaz," "Mystery Mountain," "You're On Your Own," and "Of a Lifetime."

If you saw them live during this period, you know what I'm talking about. Journey was it.

Buy this--and the first album--and see the American answer to the power of Zeppelin and the intricacy of Yes--unfortunately never fully appreciated outside of their home town Bay Area.

"Yes I'm coming home, I'm coming home someday...."

Following the reviews of rabid pre-Perry Journey fans is a bit intimidating, but let me include myself as one of them albeit with qualifications. Of the first three Journey albums, this one stands a cut above the other two because of the more focused effort overall as well as their unquestionable peak with the title song, their "Stairway to Heaven"; I can't think of another song in their entire catalog that exhibits such raw and exciting inspiration. Having said that, this and the other two pre-Perry albums, indeed Journey itself, could have been easily relegated to footnotes in rock history were it not for the decisions to add Steve Perry to the lineup and to commit themselves to a specific musical direction rather than continue as a band in search of itself (and a paying market). There is outstanding musicianship demonstrated throughout the first three albums, but relatively little growth in between. Even the most adoring fan must admit, shining moments of musical clarity aside, there are only marginal distinctions between them.
All that to say this: I own the first three Journey CDs and play them regularly, partly out of nostalgia but mostly because they demonstrate a fundamental joy of playing that sometimes got lost in the slick production of later albums. There's no denying Perry's talent or the wisdom of bringing him in, and it is almost certain that Journey wouldn't have achieved the success they did without him. Nonetheless, I have a special place in my heart for their first three efforts, this one in particular. Recommended for anyone who appreciates an honest piece of work.

If you are a fan of Journey's hits and Steve Perry's vocals, you will probably hate this CD. This is Journey's second CD. It is about 42 minutes long. The music style is significantly different than when Journey hit it big.

The style on this CD is British influenced, hard rock/progressive music. It is a lot like early Deep Purple (first three albums) or early Uriah Heep. It reminds me most of Armageddon (Kieth Relf's band after the Yardbirds and Renaissance). If you really like this album, you should definetly check out Armageddon's one and only CD.

Midnight Lover, with its keyboard and guitar solos sounds like it was pulled right out any one of a hundred British progressive rock albums.

This CD even includes an obligatory Beatles song. Almost all early British progressive bands (Yes, Deep Purple, etc.) included a Beatles song on their first or second album. It must have been a law in Britain.

This isn't the softer, art-rock kind of later type of progressive music of Yes or Emerson, Lake and Palmer. This is the early style of progressive rock (like Deep Purple before Ian Gillan joined) that is harder. In concert, Journey played much harder and noiser than this album. When I first saw them, I couldn't believe it was them (I thought it was another group).

As you probably know, Journey was a spin off from Santana. Neal Schon was a teenage guitarist that Santana stole away from Eric Clapton, who appeared on the third and fourth Santana albums. He was joined shortly by Greg Rolle the singer and keyboardist on the first 3 Santana albums. The original drummer, Praire Prince (who now plays with Jefferson Starship) was replaced by Ansley Dunbar (a British drummer who played with Frank Zappa and a number of progressive bands in UK).

Greg Rolle's unique voice and keyboards gave both Santana and Journey a rich atmosphere to the music. I feel that Steve Perry's high pitched, screeching, corporate rock vocals ruined the band. But, obviously, my tastes in music isn't what reaches the masses or sells albums.

If you're into BLAZING, orgasmic lead guitar I recommend this album for the song Look Into the Future alone. It is the absolute best lead guitar I'VE EVER HEARD. And being a fan of lead guitar, I'm very familiar with Satriani, Beck, Vai, Page, Santana, among many other names with huge reputations in the rock world. Neal Schon outdoes them all on this song and in Journey's first three (pre Steve Perry) albums overall. While the first of the albums is my favorite of the three, the song Look Into the Future is the best song on these albums and is my favorite song for lead guitar of all time. Give it more than one listen, crank the sucker up and enjoy. It grows and grows and grows on you. Should be a staple on classic rock radio. Unfortunately even Journey themselves has forgotten about it.

Of all the pre corporate Journey albums (the ones without Steve Perry and with Greg Rollie) This is my favorite. Progressive, boiling, exciting this line up just plain rocked hard. Neal Schon shows his teeth on these early releases. Many associates of Neal have always stated that he was and is the best guitar player around. This release demonstrates his superb abilities.

Later on with the 2nd Journey line up, he subscribed to the pop formula, sold lots of albums, packed venues and still rocked... but with more restraint and less wild abandon. He is absolutely golden on these tracks.

I just pulled this one out and cranked it up after alot of years. I grew up in Marin County listening to Journey(pre-Steve Perry) and absolutely loved their early "Space Rock" stuff. Neal Shon has the best solo of all time on Look Into the Future. Saw him at Winterland in the front row and lost a bit of hearing during that show, but it was awsome. If you want to hear a guitar virtuoso at work, check out Look Into the Future, and then follow it with I would Find you on the Next album, I believe.

If you like his solos, follow it with some Camel music. Very soulful solos as well.

This album combines the best of pop, hard rock, and progressive rock. It has the intensity of some of the best hard rock and most of the melodic sense of the best pop. Like other progressive rock, a single song on this album may encompass multiple styles, starting out slow and spacey, then building into an intense hard rock style. Unlike a lot of progressive music (some of King Crimson, for example), these songs are very accessible.

The best songs are the last 4.

If you enjoyed this album, you will probably also enjoy their first album, "Journey", which was a little more progressive. These two albums are among the finest in rock and roll, and it's very disappointing that the band didn't produce more like them. (Their 3rd album, "Next", is ok, but nothing special. Their 4th album, "Infinity", was much more commercial, and it brought them superstardom and all the nasty comments about Steve Perry that you have read in the other reviews. Unlike many fans of early Journey, I liked the 4th album, but it is nowhere near as interesting as the first two.)

The only downside of this album is that the recording quality of it (and its predecessor) is less than mediocre.

Strongly recommended.

How many times weren't you listening to a Rock CD (or album) and felt sort of disappointed because nobody really ROCKED. I do like Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple (their beginning) but when I listened to the first 3 Journey records I put the others a little aside.
This is the CD every Hard Rock fan must have. Outstanding playing and singing. I sometimes wonder how it would have sounded with Steve Perry on the leading vocals.... but Greg Rolie was great and fit the bill. Besides, Neal Schon, like Michael Schenker, did (and still does) everything we want to listen to from a guitar player. To top that off, only a tunneling drumming played by such a monster of a drummer like Aynsley Dunbar. Talk about PERFECTION.

I saw Journey perform live at the Paramount Theater in Seattle in late 1975, a two hour show of nothing but material from their first album and Look into the Future. The tickets were free, as part of a concert series promoting new bands. As the lights dimmed, Kahoutek roared from the PA, and you just knew it was going to be a scorching concert. It was.
In total contrast to the clap-along feel-good Journey pop concerts most people know, this was a night of incindiary jazz-rock-blues fusion. Greg Rolie handled the vocals, but the focus was extended instrumental workouts, and Schon played some guitar pieces that made the hair on my neck stand up. He and Rolie traded riffs all night, and it was one of the most powerful rock concerts I ever attended.
The show was broadcast on FM radio a week later, and the tape I made was a personal gem for many years, until it was lost in a house fire.
I don't blame Journey for turning in a commercial direction, because even in 1975 heavy jazz-rock didn't sell well... Journey had to hire a pop singer and play radio-friendly fare to survive. But those who were fortunate enough to see the band perform in its early years saw the real talent of its virtuoso musicians. They were much more powerful on stage than on record, but still, Look into the Future is a fine document of that era.

I first caught wind of Journey's pre-Steve Perry days after buying the "Time 3" box set, and I rushed to grab up Journey's "root" albums: their debut "Journey," this album and their third album, "Next."

I had to special order "Look Into The Future" a few years ago, and it was well worth the wait! "Look Into The Future" is a great album in which Journey re-captures their melodic, progressive, fusion, hard rocking flavor they exhibited in their first album, "Journey." This time around, the group presents us with a lot more vocals headed by Gregg Rolie. Rolie does a fine job as usual, driving out his intense, soulful voice out amongst Neal Schon's power-charged guitar, Ross Valory's flawless bass, and Aynsley Dunbar's pounding, energized drums. Virtually every song is a polished work of art, with catchy, rhythmical performances. As with the first album, "Look Into The Future" presents us with plenty of unique twists and a variety of different sounds and jamming, shuffling beats.

Check out the bluesy groove of the opening track "On A Saturday Nite." Schon and Dunbar do a great job here, and the song is a lot of fun. Check out Rolie's way groovy piano/keyboard intro. In speaking of fun, you're sure to enjoy the fun rock of the following track, "It's All Too Much." I believe this was originally a Beatles tune, or perhaps done by one of the Beatles. Journey does an excellent cover of this song; Journey-style of course. It's such a powerfully charged song, courtesy of Schon's sizzling guitar and Valory's intese base guitar. The song really jams. But then we're shifted back to the blues with "Anyway." Rolie's vocals are charged and demanding and Schon's guitar has a free-flowing edginess that makes the song great.

Journey decides to get rough, rugged and rowdy with "She Makes Me (Feel Alright)," and down and dirty rock song crafted to Journey perfection on the wings of Rolie's energetic vocals, Dunbar's harsh, shuffling beats, and Schon's smoking guitar. And if you want more edgy and rowdy rock fun, than set your CD player to track #7, "Midnight Dreamer." The song is in the exact same ballpark as "She Makes Me (Feel Alright)," and the exact same works of musicianship by Schon, Rolie, Dunbar and Valory can be heard here.

Not only is Gregg Rolie a great classic rock vocalist, but he is also an excellent keyboardist. The intense "You're On Your Own," starts out with some melodic but urgent sounding Rolie keybaords and they continue throughout the song. Rolie's keyboards and Schon's guitar work so well together here, and Valory's bass is heard loud and clear.

The next song is my favorite; the free-flowing, progressive, melodic "Look Into The Future." Rolie's voice is soulful, free-flowing and smooth as are Schon's soft guitar chords. Again, Rolie's thick keyboard swirls and Valory's base bring the whole package home. This song is almost atmospheric and takes you on a mind "Journey." The song is unique in that it is soft, contrasted by loud and more rowdy toward the end.

The album ends with a bluesy but rugged number in "I'm Gonna Leave You." Again, Schon's powerful guitar is clearly exhibited here as is Rolie's edgy voice. It fits with the two other rough rock songs I mentioned previously. Dunbar's drum beats are a jamming good time.

Journey is entertainment galore with the variety and exquisit musicianship they present on this album. You want fun? It's here. You want edgy? It's here. You want smooth? It's here. You want blues? It's here. This is overall a superb early Journey album, and one to not pass up!!