Frontiers (album)

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Frontiers
Journey's studio album

Publication
(s)

1983

Label (s) Columbia Records

Format (s)

CD

Genre (s)

Adult Orientated Rock , Hard Rock

Title (number)

10

running time

approx. 44 minutes

occupation

production

Kevin Elson, Mike Stone

chronology
Escape
(1981) 		Frontiers Frontiers
(1983)

Frontiers is the eighth studio album by the US rock band Journey . It was released on February 1, 1983 via Columbia Records .

background

The album was recorded in the fall of 1982 at Fantasy Studios , Berkeley , California . It was the last album for the time being, on which bassist Ross Valory and drummer Steve Smith were involved. Valory did not return to the band until 1996.

The album was produced by Mike Stone and Kevin Elson.

Shortly before the release, two songs were swapped because they were used exclusively on different soundtracks. Ask the Lonley was part of the soundtrack for Two of the Same Kind , a comedy film starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John , and Only the Young part of Crazy for You (1985). Instead, the songs Back Talk and Troubled Child found their way onto the album. In the 2006 re-release, the two songs with Only Solutions , another film song from Tron (1982), and the B-side Liberty were used as bonus tracks.

Track list

A side

  1. Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) (5:23)
  2. Send Her My Love (3:55)
  3. Chain Reaction (4:21)
  4. After the Fall (5:01)
  5. Faithfully (4:27)

B side

  1. Edge of the Blade (4:30)
  2. Troubled Child (4:29)
  3. Back Talk (3:17)
  4. Frontiers (4:10)
  5. Rubicon (4:19)

Bonus Tracks (2006)

  1. Only the Young (4:18)
  2. Ask the Lonely (3:55)
  3. Liberty (2:54)
  4. Only Solutions (3:33)

Cover artwork

As with the previous albums, Jim Welch was responsible for the cover artwork. For the first time no scarab was used and Mouse and Kelly had no influence on the album artwork either. Instead, the cover shows a kind of alien , which, according to Welch, was designed as a kind of higher being. It was nicknamed "Elmo". The artwork is loosely based on Albert Einstein's theory of relativity .

reception

The album was positively received by Allmusic.com . The author awarded four stars out of a possible five. Nevertheless, it was criticized that many songs lack the warmth that Journey is known for ("The rest of the songs [...] lack the warmth that Journey is famous for").

The Rock Hard chose the album at number 363 of the 500 best Rock & Metal albums of all time.

Far from being a bad or commercially unsuccessful album, the album wasted much of its potential. According to critics, the reasons for this are to be found in exchanging the songs Only the Young and Ask the Lonley . For one, Only the Young became one of the band's biggest hits, but it wasn't released until 1985 due to a delay in the film's release. On the other hand, it was the first song from the upcoming album that they introduced to a stranger. At his mother's request, they visited Journey fan Kenny Sykaluk at the hospital, where the boy, who suffered from cystic fibrosis, was struggling with death. Only the Young was the last song the boy was allowed to hear on a walkman. He passed away just a day later. A tearful moment for the band that should accompany the rest of their band history. Through the exchange, that strong, emotional moment for the album was lost.

Chart placements

album

The album went platinum in the US six times for one million units sold. The album was sold more than six million times in the USA.

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
DE DE UK UK US US
1983 Frontiers DE30 (9 weeks)
DE 		UK6 (7 weeks)
UK 		US2
Six-fold platinum
× 6
Six-fold platinum

(85 weeks)US
First published: February 22, 1983
Sales: +6,000,000

Singles

year Title
album 		Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
DE DE UK UK US US
1983 Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)
Frontiers 		- - US8 (17 weeks)
US
First published: January 1983
Faithfully
Frontiers 		- - US12 (16 weeks)
US
First published: April 1983
After the Fall
Frontiers 		- - US23 (12 weeks)
US
First published: June 1983
Send Her My Love
Frontiers 		- - US23 (15 weeks)
US
First published: September 1983
1985 Chain reaction
frontiers 		- - -

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Nick DeRiso: How Journey's' Frontiers' Could Have Been Their Best '80s Album. In: Ultimateclassicrock.com. February 1, 2018, accessed May 20, 2019 .
  2. ↑ allmusic.com Review on Frontiers
  3. ↑ Rensen, Michael., Heine, Uwe., Stratmann, Holger., Villalonga, Marc .: Best of Rock & Metal: the 500 strongest records of all time . Heel, Königswinter 2005, ISBN 3-89880-517-4 , p. 65 .
  4. ↑ a b Chart sources: DE UK US
  5. ↑ Awards: RIAA.com