Raised on Radio

Raised on Radio was released three years after Frontiers (1983). In 1984, both lead guitarist Neal Schon and lead singer Steve Perry released albums on their own; Schon in the band HSAS (Through the Fire), and Perry with his debut solo album, Street Talk. Perry considered leaving Journey following the release of Street Talk which he has referred to as "one of the most fun experiences I've had". Perry decided to return to working with Journey when he received a call from keyboardist Jonathan Cain, who wanted him to work on some unfinished songs.{{cite magazine|date=25 October 1986|first=Steve|last=Gett|title=Journey Glad To Be On Lond & Winding Tour Road|magazine=Billboard|publisher=Nielsen Business Media|volume=98|issue=43|pages=26, 28|issn=0006-2510}}

Following Perry's return to Journey, he began to take more control over the band's direction. Bassist Ross Valory and drummer Steve Smith were fired from the band, against the wishes of manager Herbie Herbert. According to Perry, Valory and Smith "weren't pleased with the kind of music we were playing and weren't too keen on touring". Smith later said of the initial recording process: "There was a lot of pressure to do it the way Steve Perry wanted, which I had a lot of problems with because I felt it should be a group record, like all the other records."{{cite magazine|date=22 November 1986|first=Steve|last=Gett|title=Smith Steps Ahead After Leaving Journey|magazine=Billboard|publisher=Nielsen Business Media|volume=98|issue=47|page=35|issn=0006-2510}} Valory was replaced by Randy Jackson (bass guitar) and Smith was replaced by session musician Larrie Londin (drums). In the VH-1 Behind the Music episode featuring the band, Perry expressed regret over his decision, stating if he could do it over, he'd have done things differently. Smith did record three tracks with Journey on the album, and he and Valory still received revenues from the record and subsequent tour. Both returned to Journey in 1995.

The band decided that Perry, who had proved his production capabilities on Street Talk, was the best fit to produce the album. According to Perry, this gave the rest of the band members as much creative control as possible: "Journey knows what it should sound like, so we all agreed I would be a good, safe, nondictator-type producer."

Perry changed the original title of this project from Freedom to Raised on Radio, which drew the ire of Herbert and some of the band members, as it varied from the one-word general theme in most of their previous albums.{{cite web | url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/journey-raised-on-radio-freedom/ | title=Journey's 'Raised on Radio' Was Almost Called 'Freedom' }} The band would end up using the Freedom title 36 years later for their fifteenth studio album.

The subsequent tour featured Schon, Perry, Cain, and Jackson, with drummer Mike Baird.

The cover of the album (by Prairie Prince, an early member of the band) was modeled after the studios and antennas for KNGS in Hanford, California, which was owned by Perry's parents, Ray and Mary Perry.{{cite web | url = http://www.valleyvoicenewspaper.com/tvarc/2006/july52006.htm | title = Portuguese Radio Station Stands the Test of Time | access-date = 2013-07-17 | last = Kaufman | first = Robin | date = 5 July 2006 | work = Valley Voice Archives | publisher = Tulare Voice Newspaper | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120620110032/http://www.valleyvoicenewspaper.com/tvarc/2006/july52006.htm | archive-date = 20 June 2012}}

Cash Box said of "Suzanne" that "Somewhat brooding verses give way to explosive choruses which feature Steve Perry’s potent singing" and that "Journey has captured the essence of teen romance."{{cite magazine|title=Single Releases|magazine=Cash Box|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/80s/1986/CB-1986-06-21.pdf|date=June 21, 1986|accessdate=2022-08-04|page=11}} Billboard said of it that Journey's "power rock style gets adapted just a bit here toward the techno-dance idiom."{{cite magazine|magazine=Billboard|date=June 21, 1986|accessdate=2022-08-04|page=73|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gyQEAAAAMBAJ|title=Reviews}}

Cash Box said of "Why Can't This Night Go On Forever" that it's a "rousing, emotional ballad is pure Journey" with a "bracing, high-wire vocal" from Steve Perry.{{cite magazine|title=Single Releases|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/80s/1987/CB-1987-04-18.pdf|magazine=Cash Box|date=April 18, 1987|accessdate=2022-08-08|page=9}}

{{track listing

| headline = Side one

| all_lyrics = Steve Perry and Jonathan Cain

| all_music = Perry, Cain, and Neal Schon, except songs with asterisks, which are by Perry and Cain.

| title1 = Girl Can't Help It

| length1 = 3:50

| title2 = Positive Touch

| length2 = 4:16

| title3 = Suzanne

| music3 = {{hlist|Perry|Cain}}

| length3 = 3:38

| title4 = Be Good to Yourself

| length4 = 3:51

| title5 = Once You Love Somebody

| length5 = 4:40

| title6 = Happy to Give

| music6 = *

| length6 = 3:49

}}

{{track listing

| headline = Side two

| title7 = Raised on Radio

| length7 = 3:49

| title8 = I'll Be Alright Without You

| length8 = 4:49

| title9 = It Could Have Been You

| length9 = 3:37

| title10 = The Eyes of a Woman

| length10 = 4:32

| title11 = Why Can't This Night Go on Forever

| music11 = *

| length11 = 3:43

}}

{{track listing

| headline = 2006 CD reissue bonus tracks

| title12 = Girl Can't Help It

| note12 = live

| length12 = 4:17

| title13 = I'll Be Alright Without You

| note13 = live

| length13 = 4:57

}}

Credits for Raised on Radio adapted from liner notes.(1986). "Raised on Radio liner notes". In Raised on Radio [LP sleeve]. Columbia.

Journey

• Steve Perry – lead vocals
• Neal Schon – guitar, guitar synthesizer, backing vocals, keyboards (10)
• Jonathan Cain – keyboards, backing vocals

Additional musicians

• Randy Jackson – bass (all tracks except 2, 10 and 11), backing vocals (2){{Cite web|url=https://ew.com/article/2009/01/28/randy-jackson-j/|title=Randy Jackson's Journey days: If ya don't know, now ya know...|author=Mike Bruno|website=Ew.com|access-date=31 December 2021}}
• Bob Glaub – bass (2, 10 and 11)
• Larrie Londin – drums (all tracks except 2, 10 and 11)
• Steve Smith – drums (2, 10 and 11)
• Mike Baird – drums (12 and 13) (2006 CD reissue only)
• Steve Minkins – percussion (3)
• Danny Hull (credited as Dan Hull) – saxophone (2 and 7), harp (7)

Production

• Steve Perry – producer
• Jonathan Cain – additional vocal co-production
• Randy Goodrum – additional vocal co-production
• Jim Gaines – associate producer, engineer
• Mark McKenna – engineer
• Steve Rinkoff – engineer
• Robert Missbach – assistant engineer
• Bob Clearmountain – mixing at Bearsville Studios and The Power Station (New York, NY)
• Bob Ludwig – mastering at Masterdisk (New York, NY), remastering
• Brian Lee – remastering

{{Certification Table Top}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|title=Raised on Radio |artist=Journey|type=album|award=Gold|relyear=1986|certyear=1986|access-date=July 25, 2022}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|title=Raised on Radio|artist=Journey|type=album|award=Platinum|number=2|relyear=1986|certyear=1989|access-date=July 25, 2022}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Journey}}

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Category:Journey (band) albums

Category:1986 albums

Category:Columbia Records albums

Category:Albums produced by Jonathan Cain

Category:Songs about radio