Format: CD Condition: New Year of Release: 2011 Cat. No.: Label:
Whilst 'Revelation' was a smart, slick looking and sounding album, 'Eclipse' sort of continues these traits but with additional complexities and surprises I am not often used to seeing from them! Now I must admit even though the chances of Journey reaching the heights they once did back in the 1980's are pretty slim, the band do now appear to have settled quite comfortably in formulaic rock, and proof of this lies in 'Eclipse'. That's not a bad thing mind you, the overblown bombastic rock tunes and stratospheric singles of 'Escape' and 'Raised on radio' these days are more considered; but on 'Eclipse' we just get to see a few of these glimpses of older Journey elements come back into the wholesome sound.
'Eclipse' is a fairly decent stab at no frills rock, we have inspired melodies and guitar licks throughout; "City of hope" for example:- is a straight up and definitive hit single and thoroughly deserves to be one, it's an excellent song and opens the flood gates for the album. "Edge of the moment" is another excellent well flowing number; whilst, "Chain of love" and "Ritual" however appeal to me the most- swaying more to the heavier side of melodic rock. The remaining tracks here combine well thought out positioning and diversity, including a tremendous instrumental in the form of "Venus" (the sort of acoustic)- "she's a mystery" and the key Journey ballad "Anything is possible." No one can really successfully claim that all this is stagnant or uninspired. The work here is of a combined band effort and it's not hard to witness this within these songs.
Whilst Journey's brand of melodic arena rock has continued to stand the test of time, in front of older key band member losses and the slight dip of relevance in the genre throughout the 90's, it is testament to the bands purpose and inspiration to other countless melodic rock bands that these guys are still making music today. Though it's true Journey have never been my favorite band, and one that I previously and certainly had the occasional time of day for; 'Eclipse' isn't going to be the album that transforms me into a die hard fan overnight, but since all this comes at a time where decent albums these days are getting increasingly few and far between, and that it might have been a little longer a wait than usual for the fans since the last new material; Overall, the general consensus to me is that a solid album has resulted from this lapse of time and should mostly please all who wish to hear it.
Review by Agma
TRACKLISTING*:
1 City Of Hope 2 Edge Of The Moment 3 Chain Of Love 4 Tantra 5 Anything Is Possible 6 Resonate 7 She's A Mystery 8 Human Feel 9 Ritual 10 To Whom It May Concern 11 Someone 12 Venus
