Evolution

Evolution is the fifth album on which Journey, while keeping hard rock’s sure drive, powerfully advances toward more widely open melody and bold choruses. It pushes the great change of direction from Steve Perry’s joining on the previous Infinity further. Perry’s soaring, beautiful voice, Neal Schon’s fluid guitar and Gregg Rolie’s keyboards give the songs a sure lift and rich warmth. The new drummer Steve Smith also joined. From the accessibility of the pleasant “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’,” the band’s first Top 20 hit, to the exhilaration of the speeding “Just the Same Way,” the album deftly turns the band’s outstanding playing into pop conviction that reaches more listeners, while cuts like “City of the Angels,” “Too Late” and “Do You Recall” convey the work’s fullness. An important record that clearly opened the road from an outstanding playing band to a melodic rock band reaching a wide public. The exquisite balance of technique and catchiness feels good. A fulfilling record that powerfully evokes the run-up leading, via the next Departure, to the great explosion of the masterpiece Escape — conveying the band’s steady growth.