Formed from the remnants of the original Santana band that played a legendary set at Woodstock in 1969, Journey began as a progressive rock act with jazz and blues undertones led by teen guitar prodigy Neal Schon and organ player and main vocalist Gregg Rolie. Author David Hamilton Golland traces the winding road the group took as it morphed into a multi-platinum worldwide smash that dominated the music charts in the 1980s, survived multiple lineup changes that threatened to doom the act forever, then made an unlikely resurrection to become an American institution and thriving concert draw 50 years after its first shows.
Golland’s main thesis is that Journey was a white group that took Black music styles and successfully incorporated them into a rock pop amalgamation that was eventually embraced by eager white audiences looking for something fresh and exciting as the 1970s came to an end. The addition of powerhouse white-soul singer Steve Perry is indeed the crucial moment in the Journey story, and the string of hit songs that Perry, an avowed fan of Sam Cooke and other R&B singers of the 1960s, wrote, co-wrote, and sang lends credence to Golland’s central theme.
Perry’s years of triumph are only part of the Journey story; Golland shows how the group persevered after his departure, with unknown singer Arnel Pineda, who stepped into Perry’s shoes to not only save the group but help usher in an unexpected Journey renaissance – the hit, “Don’t Stop Believing” becoming a cultural touchstone, as did Journey become icons whose long list of hit songs formed the soundtrack of the lives of multiple generations.
Well-paced, exhaustively researched, with in-depth analysis of the Journey catalog and the background stories of various key members of the group, Livin’ Just to Find Emotion is a great read for any fan of classic rock and those who like an epic tale of triumph, tribulation, and redemption.
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