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Journey: Worlds Apart
Jam band. Arena rockers. Pop-culture icons. Rock and Roll Hall of Famers. Journey's story, like the band's varied and exciting discography, has many chapters. Long before "Don't Stop Believin'" became a zeitgeist-shifting phenomenon, Journey was just a dream that rose from the ashes of Santana. Then they became a juggernaut, selling more than 100 million albums worldwide on the strength of favorites like "Any Way You Want It," "Open Arms," and "Separate Ways." But success did not happen overnight, and was not easily maintained. Soaring vocalist Steve Perry eventually completed Journey's hitmaking sound alongside stalwart guitarist Neal Schon, Gregg Rolie, and then Jonathan Cain. But Perry's tenure would not last, and this fracture threatened to re-define the band forever. Worlds Apart author Nick DeRiso traces this incredible odyssey through each era, each album, and each tour. This is much more than just the history of Journey-it's an all-access backstage pass.
- GenresMusicNonfiction
417 pages, Paperback
Published December 8, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 10, 2024
Journey: Worlds Apart by Nick DeRiso chronicles the band back before they became an offshoot of Santana. You'll find out who started Journey, how they rose in popularity, and how all the band members fit into the mix. Then it switches gears to when they started struggling to remain on top and keep it together, even after their universally loved lead singer left the band. It untangles the legal web that's been claustrophobically silencing the band, which almost resembles a Western movie shootout where everyone turns against one another.
I will say that Journey is the first rock band I ever loved. The first time I heard Escape at my cousins' house in South Jersey, I instantly was enamored. I still remember traveling back to North Jersey on the New Jersey Turnpike with all the songs replaying in my head. I begged my mom when we returned to take me to a record store or any kind of store that had this album, and it's still a favorite.
For Journey fans, this book provides all the information that you ever needed to know. It's packed with so much information about the band members, their touring life and personal lives, and their recording of many of their seminal albums. It's totally comprehensive to the point that you may grow a little bored. That is not the fault of the author. He does an excellent job of covering everything that's important. The problem is that after Raised on Radio is covered, the book slows down immeasurably, and I had trouble staying interested. Except for when you find out how they hired Arnel Pineda to take over for Steve Perry, the book couldn't keep my interest.
I like the way this book is arranged, though, with quick snippets of information through charts of current record albums, a rundown of who they toured with, who recorded what, and more. If you're not interested in every part of (ahem) Journey's journey, you can page through the book until you get to a section that interests you more.
You get biographies of most Journey members who made an impact. The coverage of Steve Perry really gives you insight into his reasons for leaving and conduct in the band, some of which wasn't favorable. I bet not everyone knows that Randy Jackson from American Idol toured with Journey and has a resume of outstanding talent to boot. I didn't even know that they had a handful of other people to cover the singing. I knew about Arnel because the story is one of fairy tales, but that's the extent. If you ever see the documentary about him, it's compelling.
One thing I never knew about was that the item shown on many of the albums is a scarab. Hearing about how that symbol came to be associated with Journey fascinated me. I'll never look at Escape or any of the other albums in the same way again. Who knew, either, that the alien- or robot-like creature on Frontiers had a name! I almost feel silly for not knowing about the scarab.
My final summation for this book is that it's definitely for fans who will read the entire book. If you're more of a casual fan, it may be easier to pick up the electronic version to skip past sections that may not interest you. Otherwise, it may be too much information to digest because there's so much of it.
Thank you, Book Whisperer, Time Passages, for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! It was a pleasure!
I will say that Journey is the first rock band I ever loved. The first time I heard Escape at my cousins' house in South Jersey, I instantly was enamored. I still remember traveling back to North Jersey on the New Jersey Turnpike with all the songs replaying in my head. I begged my mom when we returned to take me to a record store or any kind of store that had this album, and it's still a favorite.
For Journey fans, this book provides all the information that you ever needed to know. It's packed with so much information about the band members, their touring life and personal lives, and their recording of many of their seminal albums. It's totally comprehensive to the point that you may grow a little bored. That is not the fault of the author. He does an excellent job of covering everything that's important. The problem is that after Raised on Radio is covered, the book slows down immeasurably, and I had trouble staying interested. Except for when you find out how they hired Arnel Pineda to take over for Steve Perry, the book couldn't keep my interest.
I like the way this book is arranged, though, with quick snippets of information through charts of current record albums, a rundown of who they toured with, who recorded what, and more. If you're not interested in every part of (ahem) Journey's journey, you can page through the book until you get to a section that interests you more.
You get biographies of most Journey members who made an impact. The coverage of Steve Perry really gives you insight into his reasons for leaving and conduct in the band, some of which wasn't favorable. I bet not everyone knows that Randy Jackson from American Idol toured with Journey and has a resume of outstanding talent to boot. I didn't even know that they had a handful of other people to cover the singing. I knew about Arnel because the story is one of fairy tales, but that's the extent. If you ever see the documentary about him, it's compelling.
One thing I never knew about was that the item shown on many of the albums is a scarab. Hearing about how that symbol came to be associated with Journey fascinated me. I'll never look at Escape or any of the other albums in the same way again. Who knew, either, that the alien- or robot-like creature on Frontiers had a name! I almost feel silly for not knowing about the scarab.
My final summation for this book is that it's definitely for fans who will read the entire book. If you're more of a casual fan, it may be easier to pick up the electronic version to skip past sections that may not interest you. Otherwise, it may be too much information to digest because there's so much of it.
Thank you, Book Whisperer, Time Passages, for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! It was a pleasure!
December 19, 2023
I had the good fortune to interview Walter "Herbie" Herbert in 2001. Herbie was the driving force behind the band Journey, which he put together after leaving his role as Santana's road manager. Focused on guitarist Neal Schon and Gregg Rolie, Journey grew from rock fusion roots to become one of the biggest acts in America. Journey has now surpassed 50 years in the business, but Herbie was not satisfied that the band's legacy was secure.
Herbie brought up his favorite group, the Grateful Dead, mentioning that (at the time) there were 78 books about that legendary band. "There isn't one about Journey," Herbie told me.
Journey: Worlds Apart helps to correct that oversight. Whatever fans and critics may have thought over the years, Journey was a band of extremely talented individuals who happened to be able to create great, enjoyable songs with one another. Pieces were swapped in and out, and, more often than not, those pieces built off the foundation to become something greater.
Worlds Apart tells the story of a band that seems to get to know one another along the way, more or less coalescing into Journey. If a piece stopped fitting, it was replaced. When one piece, Steve Perry, became more important than all the others, people were sacrificed to keep him happy. When Perry then decided he didn't want to do it anymore, the rest of the band had to wait and hope for a return before finally realizing that wasn't going to happen. Steve Perry leveraged his importance in a way that seems unbelievable.
I am a Journey fan, so I knew a lot of what was in Worlds Apart already. There's more detail here than in my memory, of course, but not necessarily all the detail I would have wanted about certain time frames. More responses from the principal members to fill in some of this information would have made this a better read. Kudos to author Nick DeRiso, as it had to be a massive undertaking to accumulate all the quotes and interviews that are here from social media, interviews and other available source materials. It is good to have all of that information in one place finally.
Journey was often derided as "corporate rock" in their heyday, and Worlds Apart somewhat reinforces designation, which I always hated. Too often with Journey, business decisions have seemed more important than the brotherhood of being in a band. While some key members have been together for decades, and others have left and come back, it does make me wonder if this happens out of the joint acceptance of necessity instead of actual personal affection and appreciation.
This is a must read for any Journey fan, and it differs from a lot of other rock biographies, where the involved bands grow more "organically."
Herbie brought up his favorite group, the Grateful Dead, mentioning that (at the time) there were 78 books about that legendary band. "There isn't one about Journey," Herbie told me.
Journey: Worlds Apart helps to correct that oversight. Whatever fans and critics may have thought over the years, Journey was a band of extremely talented individuals who happened to be able to create great, enjoyable songs with one another. Pieces were swapped in and out, and, more often than not, those pieces built off the foundation to become something greater.
Worlds Apart tells the story of a band that seems to get to know one another along the way, more or less coalescing into Journey. If a piece stopped fitting, it was replaced. When one piece, Steve Perry, became more important than all the others, people were sacrificed to keep him happy. When Perry then decided he didn't want to do it anymore, the rest of the band had to wait and hope for a return before finally realizing that wasn't going to happen. Steve Perry leveraged his importance in a way that seems unbelievable.
I am a Journey fan, so I knew a lot of what was in Worlds Apart already. There's more detail here than in my memory, of course, but not necessarily all the detail I would have wanted about certain time frames. More responses from the principal members to fill in some of this information would have made this a better read. Kudos to author Nick DeRiso, as it had to be a massive undertaking to accumulate all the quotes and interviews that are here from social media, interviews and other available source materials. It is good to have all of that information in one place finally.
Journey was often derided as "corporate rock" in their heyday, and Worlds Apart somewhat reinforces designation, which I always hated. Too often with Journey, business decisions have seemed more important than the brotherhood of being in a band. While some key members have been together for decades, and others have left and come back, it does make me wonder if this happens out of the joint acceptance of necessity instead of actual personal affection and appreciation.
This is a must read for any Journey fan, and it differs from a lot of other rock biographies, where the involved bands grow more "organically."
January 21, 2024
Journey: Worlds Apart, by Nick DeRiso, is an excellent history of the band and its members from pre-Journey through very recently.
I have read one other Time Passages book, the second volume in the Eagles history, and the same things I liked about that one I like about this one. This is less like a biography of the band, which usually have a distinctive authorial perspective (maybe a tribute, maybe overly sensationalized, maybe even confrontational), and more like walking back through the years looking at everything from press releases, interviews, articles and reviews. With DeRiso keeping it all connected by contextualizing what we are reading, we experience this (again for many of us) as it happened.
This isn't just for diehard Journey fans, anyone who remembers their heyday and wants to know more about them will enjoy this quite a bit. I am not a big fan even though I had all of their early albums through Frontiers. A shipmate introduced me to their music with the third album in 1977 and I went back and bought the first two. So while I like the Perry version of the band, I preferred the more freeform and jam aspects of them when they were more prog/jazz influenced. But through it all Schon's guitar work shined through, so I still liked it, just like a lot of pop-oriented rock of the time.
If you're old enough to remember them through the 70s and 80s, this will be a nice trip down memory lane and you'll pick up a couple things you might have forgotten or not known. If you came to their music after their peak years, this will give you a wonderful introduction to the band and how they evolved and changed over time.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
I have read one other Time Passages book, the second volume in the Eagles history, and the same things I liked about that one I like about this one. This is less like a biography of the band, which usually have a distinctive authorial perspective (maybe a tribute, maybe overly sensationalized, maybe even confrontational), and more like walking back through the years looking at everything from press releases, interviews, articles and reviews. With DeRiso keeping it all connected by contextualizing what we are reading, we experience this (again for many of us) as it happened.
This isn't just for diehard Journey fans, anyone who remembers their heyday and wants to know more about them will enjoy this quite a bit. I am not a big fan even though I had all of their early albums through Frontiers. A shipmate introduced me to their music with the third album in 1977 and I went back and bought the first two. So while I like the Perry version of the band, I preferred the more freeform and jam aspects of them when they were more prog/jazz influenced. But through it all Schon's guitar work shined through, so I still liked it, just like a lot of pop-oriented rock of the time.
If you're old enough to remember them through the 70s and 80s, this will be a nice trip down memory lane and you'll pick up a couple things you might have forgotten or not known. If you came to their music after their peak years, this will give you a wonderful introduction to the band and how they evolved and changed over time.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
December 28, 2023
It's a big job, taking on the task of chronicling the 50+ years of Journey -- and all of the related projects that help to tell the complete story of what makes Journey tick as a band. Nick DeRiso was the right person for that job and has done an unbelievable job of researching and reporting the band's history -- including conducting interviews with many key participants in the Journey circle to help fill in crucial details.
Worlds Apart is a big book at 400+ pages, but it's also one that you can consume at your own pace...feel free to flip to your favorite album, era or song and chances are good that you'll find yourself jumping to other eras/albums/songs. Before you know it, you're deep into it and it's quite a ride. I really appreciate what Nick has done here with Worlds Apart, documenting each period of the band in such a thorough manner.
He digs through each era with incredible care, while giving special attention to things like Steve Perry's shelved solo album, Against the Wall, the innovation that Journey brought to the music industry with Nocturne -- which literally revolutionized the concert experience -- and many other subjects. All Journey members, past and present, are well-represented. In the Internet age, we take for granted that everything is available all of the time informationally, but the truth is, websites disappear. Key sources for stories can vaporize. With Worlds Apart, DeRiso has documented the Journey saga for eternity and for fellow fans, this is a must.
Worlds Apart is a big book at 400+ pages, but it's also one that you can consume at your own pace...feel free to flip to your favorite album, era or song and chances are good that you'll find yourself jumping to other eras/albums/songs. Before you know it, you're deep into it and it's quite a ride. I really appreciate what Nick has done here with Worlds Apart, documenting each period of the band in such a thorough manner.
He digs through each era with incredible care, while giving special attention to things like Steve Perry's shelved solo album, Against the Wall, the innovation that Journey brought to the music industry with Nocturne -- which literally revolutionized the concert experience -- and many other subjects. All Journey members, past and present, are well-represented. In the Internet age, we take for granted that everything is available all of the time informationally, but the truth is, websites disappear. Key sources for stories can vaporize. With Worlds Apart, DeRiso has documented the Journey saga for eternity and for fellow fans, this is a must.
December 9, 2023
'Journey: Worlds Apart' is very deeply researched yet still tells this story at a fast-moving pace, with firsthand memories, chart information, and lots of insight. Joel Selvin, the San Francisco journalist who originally covered their amazing rise and was featured on the Journey episode of 'Behind the Music,' is a sharp and often hilarious interview subject. He's joined by dozens of others, including members of Journey, their many collaborators, and even original MTV DJ Martha Quinn. There hasn't been a comprehensive look back at this one-time jam band that grew out of the disintegrating original Santana lineup into generational icons via "Don't Stop Believin'." Another one won't be needed.
July 19, 2025
This is an exhaustive history of a band that has seen so many members come and go and come and go again that it’s hard to keep track of. From their early days as a Santana spinoff of sorts, to the Steve Perry years through to Arnel Pineda’s run and everything in between, it’s hard to believe they had so much success with so many personnel changes. The infighting, the litigation, the arguments on social media - it’s all covered here. The biggest issue I have with the book is the repetitive nature of it at times. It’s a long read that could have been much shorter and much more enjoyable without going over the same events multiple times.
January 4, 2024
This review only needs four words: READ THIS BOOK NOW!!!
*I received a complimentary ARC of this book in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.
*I received a complimentary ARC of this book in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.
December 29, 2023
If you like Journey, you’ll like this.
If you don’t, you won’t.
If you don’t, you won’t.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews