VINYL DESTINATION: JOURNEY - "ESCAPE" hit 45 this week

 45 years ago this past week, Journey's Escape was released.  I have dipped frequently into the well lately for 'core' memories, and I guess I'm doing so again here today.  When we lived on Lichter Road in Kenosha County in the early 80's, I hung out in the basement a lot.  My sister Pee Wee's bedroom was off the "rec room", where I played quite often.  There are many singles I can recall either vibrating through the walls, or hearing at full blast (depending on if she had the door open or not).  Those include Eddie Money's Shakin, Cheap Trick's I Want You to Want Me, Flock Of Seagulls' I Ran, often on repeat.

But one probably had more miles on those vinyl grooves than the others and that was Journey's Who's Crying Now?.   This was a morose and melancholy ballad that often made me feel sad, which was probably the track's goal.  Combined with the time period I was living in and feelings I was dealing with, it was often haunting, and is one of those cuts that can take me back to that gut feeling if I hear it now. I've babbled about that before.

Who's Crying Now was wailing through the halls of our residence for days before Escape's release, as it was common 80's practice to drop a single before an album's release to build radio momentum and fluff potential record sales.  Realize now, one of the all-time great LP openers, Don't Stop Believin' starts off the record!  They went with Cryin' as the first single.  Weird.

All of that being said, Escape fits together with REO Speedwagon's Hi Infidelity as a quality power pop album from the same era without a weak song.  A real one-two punch.  Despite the fact that Don't Stop Believing and Open Arms both hail from Escape, my favorite track is Stone in Love.  I would call it a 10/10 song if not for that endless instrumental refrain that drains the cut of its rockin' momentum.  Never liked that about it,  but I can live with it.   

Now, Escape isn't wall-to-wall bangers like Hi Infidelity, but it is close.  At the same time, REO's album didn't spawn a damn video game either.