‘Dream After Dream’ was Journey’s only Soundtrack album, it was mostly instrumental, though you’ll hear some searing guitar amidst the orchestration. Definitely different by Journey’s standards.
Written by: Eric
ARTIST: Journey
ALBUM: Dream After Dream
LABEL: CBS
SERIAL: PC 37998
YEAR: 1980
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Steve Perry – vocals * Gregg Rolie – keyboards, vocals * Neal Schon – guitars * Ross Valory – bass * Steve Smith – drums, percussion * Matthew Schon – arrangments
TRACK LISTING: 01 Destiny * 02 Snow Theme * 03 Sandcastles * 04 A Few Coins * 05 Moon Theme * 06 When The Love Has Gone * 07 Festival Dance * 08 The Rape * 09 Little Girl
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
Like prog rockers Genesis who everyone seems to have a favourite version of (I prefer post Peter Gabriel ‘Trick of the Tail’ period if you must know), Journey has fans or ‘hippies’ depending on your viewpoint. Some still lament the addition of Steve Perry to the line-up, there are those who worship everything between 1978 and 1983 ‘just because’ and even a scattered few who are brave enough to ‘come out’ and say they like the band’s post ‘Trial By Fire’ work.
Brave souls indeed, but I tend to fall somewhere between the first three albums and Perry’s work up to ‘Departure’. By the time old leather lungs shouted out ‘Bonjour Montreal!’ on the opening track of the ‘Captured’ album, I had seriously lost interest in the band.
It was around this time that ‘Dream After Dream’ a soundtrack to an obscure Japanese film started popping up in the import bins at some of the better record stores with a price tag that induced stick shock for those who hadn’t come across Japanese imports before. I passed over it several times not knowing what to think, until I read a review in an electronic/stereo magazine and wasted no time securing a copy for myself, bank account be damned!
The Songs
From what I gather, following the ‘Evolution’ tour, Journey jetted off to Japan to record the soundtrack to the film. Japan was a hotbed of popularity in the late 70’s so it should be no surprise something like this was offered but details are sketchy as to how it came together.
Even more interesting Neal Schon’s late father Matthew Schon arranged much of the orchestration which should be another good indicator that this is not your average Journey album. Largely instrumental, Perry appears on just three tracks ‘Destiny’, ‘Sandcastles’ and ‘Little Girl’, the later is the better of the three and the most typical Journey song on the record. Should have been a single and a hit at that.
‘Moon Theme’ and When The Love Has Gone’; both instrumentals are Neal Schon’s show and the interplay between his searing guitar work and the orchestral elements are astounding. Personally, I wish he had explored this territory more, but so far no such luck.
‘Snow Theme’ is a gorgeous classical instrumental showing Schon’s father knew his stuff, and while ‘A Few Coins’, ‘Festival Dance’ and ‘The Rape’ are brief and purely atmospheric, they are creative snippets and necessary to the overall cinematic feel of the album although I wonder how much of the soundtrack didn’t make it to the record having never seen the movie myself.
In Summary
Still, Journey’s other appearances in the film world haven’t been as ‘high brow’ or successful as this album. Who could forget ‘Caddyshack’ and Rodney Dangerfield dancing to ten seconds of ‘Anyway You Want It’ on a golf course? Wish I could.
How about the dreadful ‘Only Solutions’ buried at the very end of the ‘Tron’ soundtrack where Perry sounded like he just came off an all night bender? The last episode of ‘The Sopranos’ aside, Journey probably could have taken better care of their TV and Film career with a little more thought after the beauty and artful grace of ‘Dream After Dream’.
Video
Entire Album (Select Tracks)
