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Next (Journey album)

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Next
Studio album by
ReleasedFebruary 1977
RecordedMay–October 1976
StudioHis Masters Wheels (San Francisco)
GenreProgressive rock, pop rock
Length37:37
LabelColumbia
ProducerJourney
Journey chronology
Look into the Future
(1976)
Next
(1977)
Infinity
(1978)
Singles from Next
  1. "Spaceman"
    Released: February 28, 1977[1]

Next is the third studio album by Journey, released in February 1977.[2] The band continued the formula from 1976's Look into the Future but this album also retains some of their progressive rock style from the first album. It is the last album to feature Gregg Rolie as the primary lead singer, and the last album to feature members of the band on the cover. "Spaceman"/"Nickel and Dime" was the single released from Next.

The instrumental "Cookie Duster" was listed in very early pressings of the album, though not actually included on the album. It was later released on Journey's Time³ compilation.

Next reached No. 85 on the Billboard 200 Albums charts.[3]

Although he did not contribute to Next, lead vocalist Robert Fleischman joined Journey shortly after the album's release as a songwriter and the group's first dedicated frontman, sharing lead vocal duties with Rolie during subsequent live shows. All of the songs on the album vanished from the band's live setlist after 1979 and two ("Spaceman" and "Here We Are") have never been performed live.

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal8/10[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[6]

Retrospectively, AllMusic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that "without a forceful lead vocalist like Steve Perry, the group lacks focus and a pop sensibility and its attempts at straight-ahead pop/rock suffer considerably as a result."[4] Canadian journalist Martin Popoff praised the album's variety and the "profusion of good songs", with the musical styles ranging from prog to sophisticated balladry to pop metal.[5]

Track listing

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Side one
No.TitleLyricsMusicLead vocalsLength
1."Spaceman"Aynsley Dunbar, Gregg RolieRolieRolie4:01
2."People"DunbarRolie, Neal SchonRolie5:21
3."I Would Find You"Schon, Tena AustinSchonSchon5:54
4."Here We Are"RolieRolieRolie4:18
Side two
No.TitleLyricsMusicLead vocalsLength
5."Hustler"DunbarRolieRolie3:16
6."Next"Dunbar, Rolie, Heidi CogdellRolie, SchonRolie5:28
7."Nickel and Dime" (instrumental) Rolie, Schon, George Tickner, Ross Valory 4:13
8."Karma"DunbarRolie, SchonSchon5:07

Personnel

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Band members

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Additional personnel

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Charts

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Chart (1977) Peak
position
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[7] 47
US Billboard 200[8] 85

References

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  1. ^ "Journey - Spaceman". Dutch Charts.nl (in Dutch). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  2. ^ "Great Rock Discography". p. 445.
  3. ^ "Journey Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-07-29.
  4. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Journey - Next (1977) album review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2013-06-30.
  5. ^ a b Popoff, Martin (October 2003). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 1: The Seventies. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 153. ISBN 978-1894959025.
  6. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 383.
  7. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Journey – Next". Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  8. ^ "Journey Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
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