Sunday, July 31, 2016

Journey - Escape (35th anniversary)

Today (July 31st) marks the thirty-fifth anniversary of Escape, the seventh studio album from Journey. This 1981 record spent an amazing one hundred and forty-six weeks on the US Billboard Album chart, peaking at the number 1 spot.

For my full review of this early 80's classic, click here.

For even more from Journey, click here.
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1 comment:

  1. HERCAugust 2, 2016 at 2:55 PM

    I know this album front to back and somewhat begrudgingly came to appreciate each and every track.

    Why begrudgingly?

    When we left Rantoul, IL to move to the sunny clime of Tucson, AZ in the late Summer of 1981, my folks used the opportunity to take a detour and turn the move into a vacation as we headed southeast to Florida and Disney World before heading due West on I-10 towards Arizona with a memorable stop in New Orleans.

    I never was a cassette buyer but the extended road trip forced me to make some quick and dirty buying choices both beforehand and on the road to feed the knock-off Walkman I got from DAK. I picked up Voices by Hall & Oates, Long Distance Voyager by The Moody Blues and Rick Springfield's Working Class Dog in preparation before we left and later picked up Journey's Escape on the road.

    Ten days after we left Illinois, we arrived in Arizona and unbeknownst to me, Dad had been informed that there would be a thirty day wait for housing on the Base so his plan was to camp out at a campground just outside the city limits for the thirty days while pocketing the majority of the housing allowance he was paid. Camping in Southern Arizona in August. Sleeping on a bunk bed cot below my little sister in a tent a foot from my parents sleeping on a pallet. It was a dreadful experience but my music got me through. Without it, I don't know what I would have done.

    Without a doubt, "Who's Crying Now" is my favorite track. I used to play it then rewind it and play it again and again on those desert nights lying on a picnic table staring up at the clear skies and bright stars. "Still They Ride", "Don't Stop Believing", and "Open Arms" are other favorites but like I said, I like them all though I favor the first side of the tape/album to the second. I suppose it was that month at the campground when I realized it was impossible to grow tired of music I liked, no matter how many times I listened to it.

    Thanks for reminding me of this album's anniversary.

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