Journey
's ninth new studio album found the group reduced to a trio of guitarist
Neal Schon
, singer
Steve Perry
, and keyboard player
Jonathan Cain
. But even without their regular rhythm section, the group was able to re-create the accessible
pop/rock
sound perfected on earlier albums such as
Escape
and
Frontiers
.
Schon
's guitar still cut through the fat keyboard chords, and
Perry
's fluid tenor still gave the songs an airy, melodic appeal. All of that was good for sales of two million copies and five chart singles, four of which made the Top 40 and one of which,
"Be Good to Yourself,"
reached the Top Ten. That didn't match the seven-million-selling number one
, but it confirmed that
's music had a large audience right to the (temporary) end of its career. ~ William Ruhlmann