Artist: JOURNEY
Album: GREATEST HITS 1978 - 1997 (DVD)

Year: 2003
Media type: DVD

It will be many years before Journey's music will be known as anything but soupy '70s arena rock and embarrassingly overwrought '80s pop. But that day will come: the songs and the playing are just too good for the scorn and ridicule to endure forever. Journey: Greatest Hits DVD 1978-1997 will do little, however, to hasten the band's salvation. In fact, if it weren't such a gift to those who love the music, a case could be made for suppressing the disc's video content, so unimaginative is most of the directing and so damning is the attire (or lack thereof).

But even if sweaty guys running around in tight jeans and no underwear isn't really your thing, the disc has its treats. There's MTV nostalgia, pure and simple--"Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)," with its mimed quayside performance and strutting high-heeled model, is perhaps the quintessential "What were they thinking?" video. We also get exciting glimpses of the early band (with keyboardist Gregg Rolie passing the lead-vocal torch to newcomer Steve Perry) kicking out classics like "Feeling That Way," "Lights," and "Just the Same Way." Many of the songs feature live audio as well as video, and it's here, most notably in "Who's Crying Now" and "Stone in Love," that lead guitarist Neal Schon cuts loose with some extended licks. An unexpected pleasure is 1996's heartfelt ballad "When You Love a Woman." The guys are aging gracefully, Steve Smith's drumming is better than ever, and the video itself boasts the most tasteful production of the bunch.

TRACKLIST DVD:

- Don't Stop Believin', recorded 1981 - Live, Escape tour .
- Wheel In The Sky, recorded 1978 .
- Faithfully, recorded 1983 .
- Any Way You Want It, recorded 1981, Live, Escape tour .
- Separate Ways, recorded 1983 .
- Lights, recorded 1978 .
- Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin', recorded 1979 .
- Be Good To Yourself, recorded 1986, Live, Raised on Radio Tour Mountain Aire Festival .
- When You Love A Woman, recorded 1996 .
- Who's Crying Now, recorded 1981, Live, Escape tour .
- Send Her My Love, recorded 1983 .
- Girl Can't Help It, recorded 1986, Live, Raised on Radio Tour Mountain Aire Festival .
- Open Arms, recorded 1981, Live, Escape tour .
- Just The Same Way, recorded 1980 .
- Stone In Love, recorded 1981, Live, Escape tour .
- Feeling That Way, recorded 1978 .
- After The Fall, recorded 1983 .
- I'll Be Alright Without You, recorded 1986, Live, Raised on Radio Tour, Atlanta GA

Running time 74 minutes.