Freedom (Journey album)

Freedom is the fifteenth studio album by the American rock band Journey, released on July 8, 2022, through BMG Rights Management and Frontiers Records. It is the band's second album to date not to feature founding bassist Ross Valory, who was dismissed in 2020; he is replaced by Randy Jackson, who was last on Raised on Radio (1986). With fifteen songs and a run time of one hour and thirteen minutes, it is the longest Journey album ever released, excluding compilations.[9][10]

Freedom
Studio album by
Journey
ReleasedJuly 8, 2022
Recorded2021
StudioTarpan Studio (San Rafael, California)
Yo Mama's House (Hollywood, California)
Left On Sunset (Hollywood, California)
NRG Recording Studios (Los Angeles, California)
Addiction Sound (Nashville, Tennessee)
Dreamsong (Orlando, Florida)
Length73:12
LabelBMG
Producer
Journey chronology
Live in Japan 2017: Escape + Frontiers
(2019)		 Freedom
(2022)		 Live in Concert at Lollapalooza
(2022)
Singles from Freedom
  1. "The Way We Used to Be"
    Released: June 24, 2021[1]
  2. "You Got the Best of Me"
    Released: April 26, 2022[2]
  3. "Let It Rain"
    Released: May 17, 2022[3]
  4. "Don't Give Up on Us"
    Released: June 7, 2022[4]
  5. "United We Stand"
    Released: July 4, 2022[5]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Classic Rock[7]
Riff Magazine[8]

Upon its release Freedom received mixed critical reviews – despite the performances and musicianship receiving near-universal praise, criticism was directed at its production, mixing and length.

Background and title

The album's 11-year gap from Eclipse (2011) marked the longest between two Journey studio albums to date. It is the only Journey album to feature drummer and producer Narada Michael Walden, as well as the first album to feature bassist Randy Jackson since Raised on Radio (1986). Both departed the group before its release.[11]

The album's title of Freedom was the original title of the group's 1986 album Raised on Radio, but was changed by then lead singer Steve Perry.[12]

Tour
Freedom Tour
Tour by Journey
LocationNorth America
Associated albumFreedom
Start dateFebruary 22, 2022
Legs4
No. of shows134
Journey concert chronology

The Freedom Tour[13] is an ongoing concert tour by American rock band Journey. The tour began in Pittsburgh on February 22, 2022 and is currently ongoing.[14][15]

Background

On November 15, 2021, Journey announced that they would be embarking on a tour over the spring on a 40-city tour.[16] Billy Idol who was set to be one of the two opening acts on the North American tour, announced on February 2, 2022 that he would be canceling his appearance due to an upcoming surgery, and will be replaced by Toto throughout the tour.[17] On May 10, 2022, the last four shows of the North American leg were postponed due to a band member testing positive for COVID-19.[18] The tour dates were later rescheduled for March to April 2023.[19]

Reception

Jim Harrington of Mercury News applauded Journey during the concert in San Francisco, but Toto stole the spotlight in their gig at Chase Center.[20] Steve Knopper of Billboard reviewed the Durant concert, in which he praised Schon and Cain for taking a break from feuding and Knopper quoted that concert was "harmonious and upbeat".[21]

Setlist

The following setlist was performed at the first show in Pittsburgh, but may not represent the majority of the shows on the tour.[22]

  1. "Only the Young"
  2. "Stone in Love"
  3. "Don't Stop Believin'"
  4. "Faithfully"
  5. "I'll Be Alright Without You"
  6. "Ask the Lonely"
  7. "Who's Crying Now"
  8. "Mother, Father"
  9. "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)"
  10. "Lights"
  11. "The Way We Used to Be"
  12. "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'"
  13. "Wheel in the Sky" / "My Hometown"
  14. "Open Arms"
  15. "Girl Can't Help It"
  16. "Send Her My Love"
  17. "Be Good to Yourself"
  18. "When You Love a Woman"
  19. "Anyway You Want It"

Tour dates
List of concerts, showing date, city, country, venue and opening act(s)
Date City Country Venue Opening act(s)
Leg 1 – United States[16][13]
February 22, 2022 Pittsburgh United States PPG Paints Arena Toto[23]
February 23, 2022 Philadelphia Wells Fargo Center
February 25, 2022 Belmont Park UBS Arena
February 27, 2022 Newark Prudential Center
February 28, 2022 Boston TD Garden
March 2, 2022 Detroit Little Caesars Arena
March 4, 2022 Hershey Giant Center
March 6, 2022 Manchester SNHU Arena
March 8, 2022 Albany MVP Arena
March 10, 2022[lower-alpha 1] Houston NRG Stadium —
March 12, 2022 Milwaukee Fiserv Forum Toto
March 14, 2022 St. Paul Xcel Energy Center
March 16, 2022 Kansas City T-Mobile Center
March 17, 2022 Oklahoma City Paycom Center
March 19, 2022 Little Rock Simmons Bank Arena
March 21, 2022 St. Louis Enterprise Center
March 24, 2022 Salt Lake City Vivint Arena
March 27, 2022 Portland Moda Center
March 28, 2022 Seattle Climate Pledge Arena
March 31, 2022 San Francisco Chase Center
April 1, 2022 Sacramento Golden 1 Center
April 4, 2022 Anaheim Honda Center
April 5, 2022 Los Angeles Crypto.com Arena
April 7, 2022 San Diego Pechanga Arena
April 9, 2022 Glendale Gila River Arena
April 11, 2022 Denver Ball Arena
April 13, 2022 Dallas American Airlines Center
April 15, 2022 New Orleans Smoothie King Center
April 20, 2022 Tampa Amalie Arena
April 21, 2022 Orlando Amway Center
April 24, 2022 Cincinnati Heritage Bank Center
April 25, 2022 Atlanta State Farm Arena
April 27, 2022 Nashville Bridgestone Arena
April 28, 2022 Charlotte Spectrum Center
April 30, 2022 Columbus Schottenstein Center
May 2, 2022 Rosemont Allstate Arena
May 4, 2022 Grand Rapids Van Andel Arena
May 5, 2022 Indianapolis Gainbridge Fieldhouse
May 7, 2022 Cleveland Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
Leg 2 – North America
July 15, 2022[lower-alpha 2] Winchester United States Resorts World Las Vegas —
July 16, 2022[lower-alpha 2]
July 20, 2022[lower-alpha 3] Paso Robles Chumash Grandstand Arena
July 22, 2022[lower-alpha 2] Winchester Resorts World Las Vegas
July 23, 2022[lower-alpha 2]
July 27, 2022 Albuquerque Tingley Coliseum
July 29, 2022 Las Cruces Pan American Center
July 30, 2022 Lubbock United Supermarkets Arena
August 5, 2022 Mount Pleasant Soaring Eagle Casino Mac Saturn
August 6, 2022[lower-alpha 4] Canton Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium Donnie Iris and the Cruisers[24]
August 8, 2022 Hopewell CMAC Performing Arts Center —
September 16, 2022[lower-alpha 5] Paradise Caesars Forum
September 17, 2022 Sparks Nugget Casino Resort
September 23, 2022 San Juan Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum
September 28, 2022 Monterrey Mexico Arena Monterrey
September 30, 2022 Mexico City Mexico City Arena
October 5, 2022 Honolulu United States Neal S. Blaisdell Arena
October 6, 2022
Leg 3 – North America
January 27, 2023 Durant United States Choctaw Grand Theater —
January 28, 2023
February 4, 2023 Allentown PPL Center Toto
February 5, 2023 Charlottesville John Paul Jones Arena
February 8, 2023 Savannah Enmarket Arena
February 10, 2023 Columbia Colonial Life Arena
February 11, 2023 Greensboro Greensboro Coliseum
February 14, 2023 Lexington Rupp Arena
February 17, 2023 Knoxville Thompson-Boling Arena
February 19, 2023 Bossier City Brookshire Grocery Arena
February 22, 2023 Austin Moody Center
February 23, 2023 Lafayette Cajundome
February 26, 2023 Jacksonville VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena
March 1, 2023 Washington, D.C. Capital One Arena
March 3, 2023 University Park Bryce Jordan Center
March 4, 2023 Hartford XL Center —
March 8, 2023 Montreal Canada Centre Bell Toto
March 9, 2023 Quebec City Centre Videotron
March 12, 2023 Toronto Scotiabank Arena
March 13, 2023 Ottawa Canadian Tire Centre
March 16, 2023 Buffalo United States KeyBank Center
March 17, 2023 Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall
March 20, 2023 Champaign State Farm Center
March 21, 2023 Moline Vibrant Arena at The MARK
March 24, 2023 Sioux Falls Denny Sanford Premier Center
March 25, 2023 Lincoln Pinnacle Bank Arena
March 28, 2023 Des Moines Wells Fargo Arena
March 31, 2023 Tulsa BOK Center
April 1, 2023 Memphis FedEx Forum
April 4, 2023 San Antonio AT&T Center
April 7, 2023 Springfield Great Southern Bank Arena
April 8, 2023 Wichita Intrust Bank Arena
April 11, 2023 Casper Ford Wyoming Center
April 13, 2023 Boise ExtraMile Arena
April 14, 2023 Spokane Spokane Arena
April 17, 2023 Eugene Matthew Knight Arena
April 19, 2023 Stockton Stockton Arena
April 22, 2023 Bakersfield Mechanics Bank Arena
April 23, 2023 Fresno Save Mart Center
April 25, 2023 Thousand Palms Acrisure Arena
May 19, 2023 Laughlin Laughlin Events Center —
May 20, 2023 Whitney Thunder Valley Casino Resort
July 1, 2023[lower-alpha 6] Provo LaVell Edwards Stadium

Personnel

Track listing

All tracks are written by Neal Schon, Jonathan Cain, and Narada Michael Walden, except where noted

No.TitleLength
1."Together We Run" (writers: Walden, Rachel Efron, Randy Jackson, Cain, Schon)4:49
2."Don't Give Up on Us"5:23
3."Still Believe in Love"5:16
4."You Got the Best of Me"5:33
5."Live to Love Again" (writer: Cain)5:30
6."The Way We Used to Be"3:35
7."Come Away with Me"4:02
8."After Glow"5:22
9."Let It Rain"4:40
10."Holdin' On" (writers: Schon, Cain, Jackson, Walden)3:14
11."All Day and All Night"3:38
12."Don't Go" (writers: Arnel Pineda, Schon, Walden, Cain)4:58
13."United We Stand" (writers: Schon, Cain, Walden, Jackson)5:05
14."Life Rolls On" (writers: Schon, Walden)4:57
15."Beautiful as You Are"7:10
Total length:73:12
Japanese edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
16."Hard to Let It Go" (writer: Cain)4:08
Notes
  • The CD released by BMG does not list Walden among the writers of "The Way We Used to Be".

Personnel

Journey

  • Neal Schon – guitars, backing vocals, keyboards
  • Jonathan Cain – keyboards (except "All Day and All Night" and "Don't Go"), backing vocals, synth bass on "Still Believe in Love"
  • Arnel Pineda – lead vocals (except "After Glow")
  • Randy Jackson – bass (except "Still Believe in Love"), backing vocals
  • Narada Michael Walden – drums, backing vocals, keyboards
  • Jason Derlatka – backing vocals on tracks 5, 6, 9, 12, 14, 15
  • Deen Castronovo – lead vocals on "After Glow"

Production

  • Neal Schon, Jonathan Cain, Narada Michael Walden – production
  • Bob Clearmountain, Adam Ayan, Jim Reitzel, Keith Gretlein, David Kalmusky – engineering

Charts
Chart performance for Freedom
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[25] 23
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[26] 25
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[27] 77
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[28] 65
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[29] 7
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[30] 22
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[31] 29
Scottish Albums (OCC)[32] 8
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[33] 92
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[34] 2
UK Albums (OCC)[35] 87
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[36] 3
US Billboard 200[37] 88
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[38] 9
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[39] 17

References
  1. Kaufman, Gil (June 24, 2021). "Journey Release First New Song in Decade, 'The Way We Used to Be'". Billboard. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  2. Greene, Andy (April 26, 2022). "Journey Preview New LP 'Freedom' With 'You Got the Best of Me'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  3. Irwin, Corey (May 17, 2022). "Listen to Journey's New Song 'Let It Rain'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
  4. "Journey Releases New Single 'Don't Give Up On Us'". Blabbermouth.net. June 7, 2022. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  5. Irwin, Corey (July 4, 2022). "Listen to Journey's New Single 'United We Stand'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  6. Monger, James Christopher. "Journey Freedom review". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  7. Barton, Geoff (July 8, 2022). "Journey's Freedom: a succession of songs that are the stuff of legend". Classic Rock. Future plc. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  8. Hicks, Tony (July 4, 2022). "ALBUM REVIEW: After 11 years, Journey overstays its welcome on 'Freedom'". Riff Magazine. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  9. "Journey Releases Official Visualizer For New Single 'You Got The Best Of Me'". Blabbermouth.net. May 4, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  10. "Freedom by Journey". Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  11. "Jonathan Cain Says Journey 'Step Out a Little Bit' on New Album". Ultimate Classic Rock. March 2022. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
  12. Wardlaw, Matt (May 24, 2022). "Journey's 'Raised on Radio' Was Almost Called 'Freedom'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  13. "Journey Music - On Tour". Journey Music. Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  14. Wise, John (November 15, 2021). "Journey, Billy Idol To Kick Off 2022 Tour In Pittsburgh". CBS Pittsburgh. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  15. Polansky, Rob (November 15, 2021). "Journey bringing its 'Freedom Tour' to Hartford". WFSB. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  16. "Journey Announces 'Freedom Tour 2022' With Billy Idol And Toto". Blabbermouth.net. November 15, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  17. Rolli, Bryan (February 2, 2022). "Toto to Replace Ailing Billy Idol on All Journey Dates". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  18. "Journey Postpones Last Four Shows Of North American Tour After Bandmember Tests Positive For COVID-19". Blabbermouth.net. May 10, 2022. Retrieved May 16, 2022.
  19. Rapp, Allison (October 17, 2022). "Journey Announces 2023 50th-Anniversary Tour Featuring Toto". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
  20. Jim Harrington (April 1, 2022). "Review: Journey is good, but opening act is much better". The Mercury News. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  21. Steve Knopper (January 28, 2023). "Journey Takes a Break From Feuding, Returns for Harmonious Concert at Oklahoma Casino". Billboard. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
  22. Wilkening, Matthew (February 23, 2022). "Journey and Toto Kick Off 2022 'Freedom' Tour: Set Lists, Videos". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  23. "Journey Announce North American Freedom Tour 2022 With Special Guests Billy Idol, Toto". Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles. November 15, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  24. Ed Balint (July 8, 2022). "Donnie Iris and The Cruisers to open for Journey at Aug. 6 Concert for Legends at HOF Fest". CantonRep.com. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  25. "Austriancharts.at – Journey – Freedom" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  26. "Ultratop.be – Journey – Freedom" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  27. "Ultratop.be – Journey – Freedom" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  28. "Dutchcharts.nl – Journey – Freedom" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  29. "Offiziellecharts.de – Journey – Freedom" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  30. "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2022-07-18/p/3" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  31. "Billboard Japan Hot Albums: 2022/07/13 公開". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  32. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  33. "Top 100 Albums Weekly". El portal de Música. Promusicae. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  34. "Swisscharts.com – Journey – Freedom". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  35. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  36. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  37. "Journey Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  38. "Journey Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  39. "Journey Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 19, 2022.

Notes
  1. The concert on March 10, 2022 was part of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
  2. These concerts on July 15, 16, 22, and 23, 2022 were performed with an orchestra.
  3. The concert on July 20, 2022 is part of the California Mid-State Fair.
  4. The concert on August 6, 2022 is part of The Concert for Legends.
  5. The concert on September 16, 2022 is part of Dentsply Sirona World 2022.
  6. The concert on July 1, 2023 is part of the Stadium of Fire
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.