Journey Finally Got Its Classic Lineup Right in 1996. Then the Comeback Stopped Cold
Why Journey's 1996 Trial by Fire reunion clicked, sold a million, and still ended with the band returning without Steve Perry.
Journey's early-'80s lineup pulled off a real comeback on Oct. 22, 1996. Trial by Fire gave the band a No. 3 album, a million-selling return and a Grammy-nominated hit, but the reunion still did not last long enough to become the full revival fans expected.
The album worked because the band rebuilt itself first
Producer Kevin Shirley had Steve Perry, Neal Schon, Jonathan Cain, Steve Smith and Ross Valory rehearse hard before recording. Schon said the group spent about six weeks woodshedding the material as if it would be played live, with no overdubs, and that preparation helped Journey cut nearly complete takes together in the studio.
The idea was not just to echo the sound of Escape and Frontiers. It was to get Journey operating again like the road-tested band it had once been. Schon said the writing with Perry and Cain came together in a couple of weeks, even if some arrangements kept changing. He recalled that "When You Love a Woman" went through around 100 versions before the band settled on one. That single is the one featured in the clip below.
Trial by Fire covered a lot of familiar Journey ground, from arena rock such as "Castles Burning" to mid-tempo songs like "Message of Love" and softer moments including "Still She Cries." It also pushed a little further on "Forever in Blue" and used orchestra on "When You Love a Woman." Cain said Perry's instinct on that song was longing rather than direct passion, with the woman still somewhere out there.
What changed after release
The response was strong. "When You Love a Woman" earned a Grammy nomination, and Trial by Fire reached No. 3 on the Billboard chart. Journey also sold a million albums for the first time in a decade, a notable turnaround after the turmoil around Raised on Radio, when the band had been reduced to Perry, Schon and Cain with session players, and after a run of less-successful solo projects.
Perry said the members rediscovered musical qualities they could create together that they had not matched on their own. But the next phase never arrived as planned. Perry was stricken with a degenerative bone disease and could not decide whether to have hip surgery. Schon wanted to get back on the road, while Perry focused on finishing the video for the hit single and later said he spent the shoot icing his left side between takes.
That left the rest of the band waiting, and old fractures resurfaced. Journey did not return to touring until 1998, and by then Perry had been replaced by Steve Augeri. Smith had also gone back to his jazz career. The band continued, but the lineup that made Trial by Fire did not get a second act. Journey would not have another platinum seller until 2008's Revelation, after Arnel Pineda joined.
