Customer Reviews

Raised on Radio (Expanded)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Rasied On Radio" has been called "too pop" by some fans,but I like this album very much,thank you.The main reason to pick up this reissue is the the remastered sound( by Dave Donnelly),since it is a vast improvement over previous CD editions.The bass and midrange are increased,giving songs like "Once You Love Somebody","Positive Touch","It Could Have Been You" and the hits "The Girl Can't Help It","Be Good To Yourself","I'll Be Alright Without You" and "Suzanne" a kick and punch that wasn't there before.Its also contains two live tracks(I'll Be Alright Without You" and "The Girl Can't Help It") and is packaged with a cool booklet featuring photos and tour dates from the "Raised On Radio" period.Unfortunatly,this would be the final album for Journey until a short-lived Steve Perry-led reunion CD("Trial By Fire")appeared in 1996.

I am a 'Journey with Steve Perry' fan. This is my favorite of all of their albums. The bands energy and artful flair are very evident in this CD! The CD has two live performances at the end.....something the original album did not have. Since Journey is one of the few bands that sounded as good 'live' as they did in the studio, I found the two additional songs a wonderful addition to the CD.

This album is a shimmering, glimmering, moody, mystical masterpiece. The wonderful Cain keyboards are in front of the mix creating atmosphere, there is a little less of the great Neal Schon but what is here is as good as always, and the incomparable Steve Perry's voice is lower in the register than it was through most of his career, which actually makes him sound even better. Indeed, it is just about impossible to sound much better than Perry did at this stage of his career. He was truly the voice of his generation of pop-rock singers.

Raised on Radio is, in short, the best album of its type -- which is not the style Journey is most known for, but something very similar to late Roxy Music, mainly their great album Avalon.

It says much that Roxy Music was a critics' darling, whereas Journey was, and is, panned by critics. I don't know about Roxy, but I know why critics didn't like Journey or Foreigner or the like. Virtually all pro or semi-pro music critics are part of a far-left political culture and they wear their agenda on their sleeves. They hardly understand or care about music; their interest is that bands promote leftist politics one way or another. Any band that is very popular but apolitical will be perceived as an enemy and attacked relentlessly, in order to focus attention on bands the politically correct deem more acceptable. Journey concentrated on actually making music, so the critics hated them. The "music" rags had more power in those days, but these things never change. They branded Journey "corporate", whatever that means. I didn't realize that corporations wrote these sugary melodies and sang them like an angel; I thought that was Steve Perry. And as far as I can tell, he sings better than any Beatle (just to compare them to the all-time boomer generation critical favorite), Schon plays guitar better than any Beatle, this band wrote better melodies than any Beatle, and they were darn near as popular as the Beatles. They just didn't write better, or more importantly, more agressively left-wing lyrics than the Beatles, so the twentysomething lit-major socialists who write music reviews don't like them.

I do. I like them better than the Beatles. By a lot. They're less annoying and far superior sonically. If you're reading this review, I bet you think so, too. Don't feel guilty about it. Feel guilty if you've been brainwashed so badly that you don't have Raised on Radio (and the equally superb albums that preceded it) in your collection. At least you can remedy that situation as soon as possible; there's no remedy for rock critics.

I love "Raised on Radio." It is without a doubt my favorite Journey record because each track is great. I put this CD on and play it from start to finish and never tire of it. Steve Perry's vocals really shine on these well crafted songs and the guitar work gives each song an edge. Perhaps it's not for people who are looking for hard rock songs, but for people looking for a full collection of well performed, melodic rock songs, it's among the best there is.

Raised on Radio my old favorites JOURNEY with Perry on the lead vocals uncomparable to the new singers in the recent Journey albums.Perry sings with true emotions and the tracks were also very heart warming I guess thats all the difference it makes. WHERE IS PERRY?

I enjoy all of Journey's albums but this one from 1986 has always been my favorite cuz it's almost perfect from beginning to end & is the one I always keep coming back to. If this album has any flaws it is only the last studio cut which is a good track but not quite as memorable as the earlier ones. But all in all, this album is superb pop/rock craftsmanship & it contains 3 of their biggest hits - "Girl Can't Help It", "I'll Be Alright Without You" & "Be Good to Yourself" and IMHO, they are all classics.

The album also contains several other great tracks that are right up there with the hits. Songs like "Positive touch" which is a great fast tempo rocker that starts off with some great piano by Jonathan Cain & which has a beat & melody that is unforgettable. "Suzanne" is another fast tempo track & has a very cool guitar solo by Neil Schon. "Once You Love Somebody" is a great mid-tempo number that starts & finishes with some nice bass & it has an almost jazzy sound to it. My favorite on the album - "It Could Have Been You" kicks off with an awesome guitar riff by Neil Schon & is another powerful mid-tempo groove that doesn't dissapoint. The best ballad on the album is the flawless "Happy to Give" which is a haunting & sad song and it is very reminiscent of Journey's earlier hit - "Send her my love". All these tracks could've been hits if given the chance & all are sung to perfection by the great Steve Perry. Last but not least is the title track - "Raised on Radio" which is a powerful blues rocker & the hardest rocking song on the album. It starts off with some great harmonica & then blasts off with crunching guitars & heavy percussion. Not quite as melodic as the previous songs but still a good song overall & a great song to rock out to.

The last 2 tracks, which were added onto this re-mastered cd are live versions of the hits "Girl Can't Help It" & "I'll Be Alright Without You" from the 1986 tour. They are superbly done & sound almost as good as the studio versions which is a rare thing for most bands other than Journey. If you wanna see the band perform these fantastic live cuts, buy the Journey - Greatest Hits DVD 1978-1997 - Music Videos & Live Performances. They were recorded at a huge outdoor concert in Northern California & you'll even see Randy Jackson from "American idol" fame playing bass, sporting a crazy 80's "do" & wearing those hideous tight red leather pants that so many musicians wore back in the day. LOL

Raised on Radio is a magical mix of early 80s power pop, soulful R&B, and classic rock. Like all of Journey's albums, the songs run the gamut of human emotions, but with more maturity and worldly experience than earlier Journey albums From the bittersweet "Girl Can't Help It", a catchy pop song with an edge that sounds better with each listen... to the upbeat rocker "Be Good To Yourself", that makes you want to do just that... to the sincere affection of "Happy To Give" to the romantic rapture of "Why Can't This Night Go On Forever." And the title track that for those of us who were Raised on Radio sums up the spirit of this underrated record. Steve Perry has never sounded better... and for a man called "The Voice" that's saying something. His still soaring but often raunchier vocals are front and center and Neal & the rest of the band backs him up brilliantly. A great album!

Love this album! There are no finer tunes to belt out or dance to from Journey. I am a true Journey fan, but this one couldn't be happier...

I bought this CD for my wife. She has all the Steve Perry CD's. If you don't know Journey and you're thinking of listening to them this would be one of the great CD's. Although all of them are great.

I saw Journey 2 Times in the Steve Perry period. I SAW the FRONTIERS L.A.show, then the Raised On Radio show in Long Beach. They were both great shows, but the change in the band on the Raised On Radio album gave the band a stronger, punchier sound. And the live show was the Proof,I told a friend today that "Raised On Radio is like the perfect album" I still love this album, and the reissue CD has that reminder of the power of that live show. The 2 live tracks at the end are Fantastic, I Want More! Journey Fans, Buy this CD, You'll Love it... I Still Do.