CoronaVinyl Day 462 (J): Evolution by Journey

For an explanation of CoronaVinyl, click here.

Today's CoronaVinyl category is "J," and it's all repeat artists for J, so I went with Journey's fifth studio album, 1979's Evolution.

The album title proved to be prescient, as it was the band's most successful album to date, reaching #20 on the Billboard album chart, and it eventually went triple platinum in the U.S. -- the second in a string of six multi-platinum albums in a row.  It was their second with lead singer Steve Perry, who wrote or co-wrote all but one of the eleven tracks on the album.  It was also the first album with Steve Smith, who replaced Aynlsey Dunbar on the drums.

Evolution featured the band's first Top 40 and Top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 -- "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'," which went to #16.  In addition, "Just the Same Way" (with original lead singer and keyboardist Gregg Rolie on co-lead vocals) and "Too Late" were minor hits, reaching #70 and #58, respectively, with the former getting more AOR play on radio over the years.

Favorite Song on Side 1:  "When You're Alone (It Ain't Easy)"
I picked this one because I feel like it's one of the better representations of the sound the band was cultivating.  It's kind of poppy, but also has moments of pure rock and roll, like Neal Schon's mini guitar solos, and when Perry unleashes his voice a few times.

Favorite Song on Side 2:  "Lady Luck"
It was a tough choice between this and "Just the Same Way," since I do love the interplay between Perry and Rolie on the vocals in that one, but I gave "Lady Luck" the slight edge.  It's kind of a grittier rocker, with Rolie ripping it up on the organ, Perry wailing, and Schon filling things in with the guitar before kicking ass on the solo.