Journey: Arrival

In yet another case of the old school rockers' reunion, with half the band replaced by new members, Journey has returned to the world of rock with Arrival. Released five years after the band's true reunion album, Trial by Fire, the new CD was recorded in a scant two weeks with producer Kevin Shirley (Black Crowes, Aerosmith).\nArrival, Journey's 18th studio disc, includes a number of new contributors. First and foremost is new lead singer Steve Augeri, who could also be known as Steve Perry Lite. Perry's departure was apparently caused by health problems and band conflicts, and Augeri fills in nicely as a replacement. Nothing like not wanting to rock the boat, it seems. Also new to the lineup this go-round is drummer Deen Castronovo.\n"Higher Place" starts the CD off in true Journey fashion, as the song is comparable to the band's heyday. Augeri's vocals are dead-on, and the music is vintage rock and one of the better songs on the CD. Unfortunately, things start to unravel soon after. \nThe band members look very hip and trendy for their mid-40s on the CD's inside cover, appearing to not have aged at all. The same can't be said for the music. After a few more mid-tempo rockers, the band slides into power-ballad mode, with the piano intro to "Loved by You." A tender sentimental number, it strives to be emotionally powerful, but the cliched music drags down the straightforward but rather poignant lyrics. Unfortunately, it's followed by "Livin' to Do," which is best described as about six and a half minutes of plodding torture. The rest of the CD doesn't get much better. \nThe album crawls along, and at 15 songs and 74 minutes, is much too long. While it's not necessarily all bad, there's nothing that really jumps out upon the first few listens as being outstanding either. Arrival is nothing but a retread, reaching for past glory, and money would be better spent on a greatest hits CD.