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Escape (Journey album)

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Escape
Cover art by Stanley Mouse
Studio album by
ReleasedJuly 20, 1981
RecordedApril–June 1981
StudioFantasy (Berkeley)
GenreRock[1]
Length42:46
LabelColumbia
ProducerMike Stone · Kevin Elson
Journey chronology
Captured
(1981)
Escape
(1981)
Frontiers
(1983)
Singles from Escape
  1. "Who's Crying Now"
    Released: July 9, 1981[2]
  2. "Don't Stop Believin'"
    Released: October 19, 1981
  3. "Open Arms"
    Released: January 8, 1982
  4. "Still They Ride"
    Released: May 1982[3]
  5. "Stone in Love"
    Released: October 29, 1982 (UK)[4]

Escape (stylized as E5C4P3 on the album cover) is the seventh studio album by American rock band Journey, released on July 20, 1981, by Columbia Records.[5] It topped the US Billboard 200 chart[6] and featured four hit Billboard Hot 100 singles – "Don't Stop Believin'" (No. 9), "Who's Crying Now" (No. 4), "Still They Ride" (No. 19) and "Open Arms" (No. 2)[7] – plus rock radio staple "Stone in Love". In July 2021, it was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry of America (RIAA) for at least ten million sales in the US, making it the band's most successful studio album and second most successful album overall behind Greatest Hits. Escape was the fifth-highest selling album of 1981, just behind Bella Donna from Stevie Nicks.

Background and writing

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Escape was the band's first album with keyboardist Jonathan Cain, who replaced founding member Gregg Rolie after he left the band at the end of 1980. The album was co-produced by former Lynyrd Skynyrd sound technician Kevin Elson and one-time Queen engineer Mike Stone, who also engineered the album.

Reception and legacy

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[9]
The Great Rock Discography8/10[10]
Rolling Stone[11]

Mike DeGagne of AllMusic retrospectively awarded Escape four-and-a-half stars out of five, writing, "The songs are timeless, and as a whole, they have a way of rekindling the innocence of youthful romance and the rebelliousness of growing up, built from heartfelt songwriting and sturdy musicianship."[8] Colin Larkin awarded the album four out of five stars in the 2002 edition of the Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music.[9] Contemporary Rolling Stone reviews were less favorable. The first review of 1981 by Deborah Frost marked Journey as heavy metal posers and the music in the album as easily playable by any session musician. In the 2004 edition of their album guide, Rolling Stone awarded the album two-and-a-half stars out of five, which was nonetheless an improvement from Dave Marsh's one star rating in the 1983 edition of the publication.[12]

In 1988, Kerrang! readers voted Escape the greatest AOR album of all time[13]Classic Rock expressed the same opinion in 2008.[14] In 1989, Kerrang! ranked Escape number 32 in "The 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time".[15] A 2000 Virgin poll saw the album voted the 24th greatest heavy metal/alternative rock album of all time.[16] In 2001, Classic Rock ranked the album no. 22 in "The 100 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time".[17] In 2006, the same publication included it in their "200 Greatest Albums of the 80s", as one of the twenty greatest albums of 1981.[citation needed] Q magazine ranked Escape 15th among its "Records it's OK to Love" in 2006.[18]

Cash Box described "Still They Ride" as a "bluesy lament" with a "sad, almost mournful" vocal, "doleful acoustic piano work" and "crying guitar notes."[19] Billboard called "Still They Ride" a "soft, lyrical ballad" with similar "tone and style" to "Open Arms".[20]

An Atari 2600 game based on the album, Journey Escape, was released in 1982.

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Steve Perry, Neal Schon, and Jonathan Cain, except where noted.

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Don't Stop Believin'" 4:11
2."Stone in Love" 4:26
3."Who's Crying Now"
  • Perry
  • Cain
5:01
4."Keep On Runnin'" 3:40
5."Still They Ride" 3:50
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Escape" 5:17
7."Lay It Down" 4:13
8."Dead or Alive" 3:21
9."Mother, Father"
  • N. Schon
  • Perry
  • Cain
  • Matt Schon
5:29
10."Open Arms"
  • Perry
  • Cain
3:23
Total length:42:46
2006 Remastered edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."La Raza del Sol" (B-side of "Still They Ride" (Alternate Version))
  • Perry
  • Cain
3:26
12."Don't Stop Believin'" (Live at The Summit, Houston, Texas, November 6, 1981; from Live in Houston 1981: The Escape Tour) 4:19
13."Who's Crying Now" (Live at The Summit, Houston, Texas, November 6, 1981; from Live in Houston 1981: The Escape Tour) 5:44
14."Open Arms" (Live at The Summit, Houston, Texas, November 6, 1981; from Live in Houston 1981: The Escape Tour) 3:23
Total length:59:38

Personnel

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Journey

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Production

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Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[30] 3× Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[31] Diamond 10,000,000

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ DeGagne, Mike. "Journey Escape - AllMusic Review". AllMusic. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  2. ^ "RIAA Certification". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  3. ^ "Journey singles".
  4. ^ "Journey singles".
  5. ^ "FMQB" (PDF). p. 35.
  6. ^ "Escape Billboard Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  7. ^ "Escape Billboard Singles". AllMusic. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  8. ^ a b Mike, DeGagne. "Journey Escape review". AllMusic. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
  9. ^ a b Larkin, Colin. Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (2002)
  10. ^ Strong, Martin C. (2004). The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). Canongate Books.
  11. ^ Frost, Deborah (October 29, 1981). "Album Reviews: Journey – Escape". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 17, 2007. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  12. ^ Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004)
  13. ^ The Best AOR Albums Of All Time. Kerrang!. October 29, 1988. Archived at rocklistmusic.co.uk
  14. ^ Elliott, Paul (August 20, 2008). "Journey: a guide to their best (and worst) albums". Classic Rock. Louder. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  15. ^ "The 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Albums of All Time". Kerrang!. January 1989. Archived at rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved September 8, 2010.
  16. ^ Heavy Metal/Alternative Rock – All Time Top 50. Virgin. 2000. Archived at rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved September 8, 2010.
  17. ^ "The 100 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time". Classic Rock. Christmas 2001.
  18. ^ Guilty Pleasures!: Essential Playlist of the 115 Records it's OK to Love. Q magazine. September 2006. Archived at rocklistmusic.co.uk
  19. ^ "Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. May 29, 1982. p. 8. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  20. ^ "Top Single Picks". Billboard. May 22, 1982. p. 70. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  21. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0399". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  22. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Journey – Escape" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  23. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  24. ^ "Charts.nz – Journey – Escape". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  25. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  26. ^ "Journey Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  27. ^ ジャーニー – クイーンズライクのアルバム売り上げランキング (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
  28. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1982". Billboard. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  29. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1983". Billboard. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  30. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Journey – Escape". Music Canada. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  31. ^ "American album certifications – Journey – Escape". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved April 28, 2023.