Journey.
They were on the radio a lot when I transitioned from pop to rock in high school. They seemed to always be on that Friday or Saturday night rock show.
I wasn't a big fan. Didn't really appreciate the vocals then.
Over the years I did notice that Neal Schon's guitar - while always competent - was often simply beautiful. Guitar can sound beautiful.
Much later I came to truly appreciate Steve Perry's voice.
Put them together and you have some of the most beautiful rock songs out there. Send Her My Love, simple, beautiful voice and guitar.
With time, their classics have stood the test of time. Just the Same Way, Feeling that Way, Lights, Lovin', Touchin', Squeezing'.
Escape is my favorite album of theirs.
Lyrics aren't prominent in what I like about a song. Largely because it may be decades before I fully hear them. I most often have to look them up. So, Journey never really hit me emotionally.
Except now, and it hit me out of the blue.
I'll be an empty nester in a couple of weeks, so there's an underlying sensitivity/fragility lurking below the surface.
For some reason, I had the simple, pretty opening riff of Only the Young in my head. Knew it was Journey, didn't know the song. I found it, and hit play.
Another night in any town
You can hear the thunder of their cry
Ahead of their time
They wonder why
In the shadows of a golden age
A generation waits for dawn
Brave carry on
Bold and the strong
Only the young can say
They're free to fly away
Sharing the same desires
Burning like wildfire...
Oh, my God. If that doesn't capture the mood of those first years of leaving the nest... Emotionally sucker punched by... ...Journey?! I mean, they sing about emotional stuff, but it never resonated with me.
Oh, wait. Girl Can't Help It. All the classical elements of a top Journey song, the pretty guitar, Steve's buoyant nimble signing. The angst of knowing that the relationship is going to fail, even though you wish you could make it work. Laying out the moments of the fracturing. Good song. And then great song. The song redirects (at 2:27) with some just gorgeous harmonies, the bridge and outro is just a dirge of vocals and guitar for the emotion that lives long after they've had to move on.
Yeah, that one always resonated with me.
Their ethos of "taking the midnight train going anywhere" didn't strike a chord with me. Trains don't go "anywhere". They're as constrained a form of transportation that can exist. I missed the metaphor because of its engineering. My future seemed laid out clearly. I was getting found, not getting lost.
I missed the thunder of Journey's cry.
Older, I realize those tracks, five-feet wide, are only visible for at most a couple of miles. We only think we know where they're taking us. We don't really know. It's all unknown. And still, we ride.
But for our young - bold and strong - oh, the thunder!