This Saturday, July 17, marks the 40th anniversary of the release of Journey‘s seventh studio album, Escape, which is the band’s only album ever to top the Billboard 200.
Escape is packed with memorable tunes, including four top-20 hits — “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Open Arms,” “Who’s Crying Now” and “Still They Ride” — and the classic-rock-radio staple “Stone in Love.”
Escape has just been certified Diamond for amassing 10 million sales or album equivalent units in the U.S. It becomes Journey’s second album to achieve the milestone, following the group’s 1988 Greatest Hits compilation.
Speaking with ABC Audio, founding guitarist Neal Schon gushes, “To have a greatest-hits Diamond is incredible, but to have one of your [studio] albums become a Diamond, it’s like beyond incredible to all of us.”
Reflecting on what made Escape a special album, Schon notes, “I felt definitely it was the most diversified record musically we had ever made, with many different types of music on it.”
The album was Journey’s first to feature keyboardist Jonathan Cain, who replaced founding member Gregg Rolie. Cain immediately made his presence felt, co-writing all 10 of Escape‘s tracks.
Schon, who co-wrote eight of Escape‘s tunes, notes, “[Jonathan] bought something that the band needed to move on and move forward, and better the songwriting in a different creative way.”
Of course, “Don’t Stop Believin'” has become Journey’s best-known song, although it only peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, while “Open Arms” and “Who’s Crying Now” reached #2 and #4, respectively.
Schon recalls that when “Don’t Stop Believin'” was finished, he “said to everybody in the studio, ‘I think this song has something special. I think this song is going to be one of our biggest songs ever.'”
Here’s Escape‘s full track list:
“Don’t Stop Believin'”
“Stone in Love”
“Who’s Crying Now”
“Keep On Runnin'”
“Still They Ride”
“Escape”
“Lay It Down”
“Dead or Alive”
“Mother, Father”
“Open Arms”
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