Journey Gets Steered Away From Ballads by Neal Schon on New Album ‘Eclipse’

Journey's ballads are a beloved and critical portion of their extensive catalog, but guitarist Neal Schon told Pulse of Radio that the band made a concerted effort to move away from those tear-jerkers on their new album, 'Eclipse.'

Despite the band proving they have a deft hand with slow, emotionally resonant songs, the guitarist revealed that when keyboardist Jonathan Cain whipped up a few ballads for the band's latest album 'Eclipse,' Schon felt they didn't quite fit the vibe he was after. As he recalls, "Jon, y'know, he had brought in some ballads and they were good, but I felt that we had other stuff that was more relevant for this record."

As a result, Schon suggested that Cain to return to a creative place that served him well in the past: "I said, 'Y'know, you wrote 'Separate Ways', man, with [Steve] Perry.' I said, 'Go grab one of those. I know you have one of those sitting somewhere. And so he brought in 'Resonate,' and I went, 'That's frickin' great!' Y'know, I love that."

Speaking of prodigal son Perry, what is the word on relations between Schon and the man that many Journey fans wish would make a return for at least one more tour? Well, Neal recently said he would welcome Perry as a special guest on a Journey tour. Is that frost we see melting in this particular frozen tundra?

Journey are on tour with Foreigner and Night Ranger through Oct. 21, and despite Schon's recent statements, of course they're gonna play those classic slow songs we all know so well. Come on, you know you crank 'Open Arms' and 'Faithfully' in the car and sing along at the top of your lungs when you think no one is looking, right?