Journey - Don't Stop Believin'

Your age probably determines when you first heard and loved "Don't Stop Believin'". Was  Journey's soft-rock hit in 1981 ? A recent X-factor or karaoke performance ?  The "Wedding Singer" movie in 1998 ?  In the classic final scene of The Sopranos in 2007 ? Or its pivotal use in the teentastic "Glee" the 2009 ?  Quite a feat to link "The Sopranos" and "Glee", but then it is a special song.

Let's begin at the end. Keyboardist Jonathan Cain had only recently joined Journey, but as they searched for another song, he gifted them his father's "Don't Stop Believing" rallying cry.  From there the band reverse engineered a classic pop song. Unusually they decided bury the killer chorus at the very end, even after the instrumental solo break.

But it didn't matter, as they already had us within the first few seconds, the wildly catchy piano melody and the Springsteen-like opening line "Just a small town girl / Livin' in a lonely world".  The theme is instantly revealed, as a desperate quest for love and success in a lonely world. Short evocative scenes ensue - the midnight train (a nod to Gladys Knight's hit), a sleazy nightclub ("A smell of wine and cheap perfume"),  and an evening on the boulevard ("Strangers waiting").

They have been hurt before, but anxious to try again ("Payin' anything to roll the dice / Just one more time"). Not everyone will be successful ("Some were born to sing the blues"), but we are encouraged to keep faith and not give up hope, as life always continues.

Cain's repetitive piano is integral, a constant metronome throughout. The "Axis of Awesome" comedy troop wryly pointed out that the four chord sequence is prevalent in so many pop songs.

It is also compelling to hear how the sound grows, taking a minute before the spiralling guitar motif enters and another 30 seconds until the drums mark a pseudo chorus. Finally they all come together in the memorable break. We should also not forget Steve Perry's distinctive vocals, the phrasings as important as the piano, and the whole group's vocals fleshing out the chorus.  

 "Don't Stop Believin'" was originally a top 10 US hit, but has enjoyed extraordinary afterlife, primarily due to TV exposure, becoming a pop culture standard, and co-opted by sports teams and politicians. A just reward for an inspiring and carefully constructed masterpiece.

 

Hear Now - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k8craCGpgs   and the clip from Axis of Awesome - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pidokakU4I

Hear Next -  The "Escape" album was their commercial peak, or maybe a compilation.