Infinity (album) 

Infinity
Infinity cover
Studio album by Journey
Released January 20, 1978 (1978-01-20)
Recorded His Master's Wheels Studio, San Francisco, and Cherokee Studios, Los Angeles, California, Oct-Dec 1977
Genre Rock
Length 36:30
Label Columbia
Producer Roy Thomas Baker
Professional reviews
Journey chronology
Next
(1977)
Infinity
(1978)
Evolution
(1979)
Singles from Infinity
  1. "Wheel in the Sky"
    Released: 1978
  2. "Feeling That Way / Anytime"
    Released: 1978
  3. "Lights"
    Released: 1978

Journey's fourth album, Infinity, was released in May 1978 on the Columbia Records label.

Looking for a stronger lead vocalist, Journey briefly enlisted front man Robert Fleischman and even recorded one track, "For You", which would later appear on the Time3 collection, and Fleischman's solo album, Perfect Stranger. Fleischman was soon replaced by Steve Perry. With "Feeling That Way", Perry would share the vocals with former singer of the band and keyboardist Gregg Rolie.

Perry and Neal Schon penned their first song together, "Patiently", which would appear on the new studio album. Other popular singles include "Lights" and "Wheel in the Sky", the latter written by temporary front man Fleischman.

Journey's manager, Herbie Herbert, enlisted producer Roy Thomas Baker to engineer Infinity. This produced a layered sound approach, similar to his work with Queen, as demonstrated on tracks such as "Winds of March". In addition, Baker's method of stacked harmonies, notable on several other albums he produced, would become trademarks of Journey's sound. Baker achieved this by having each vocalist (usually Perry and Rolie, sometimes joined by Valory and/or Schon) sing each harmony part in unison. This had the effect of making three or four voices sound like sixteen to twenty, and is notable on the songs "Feeling that Way" and "Anytime," which are often played consecutively on radio stations.

The addition of Perry solidified their more mainstream sound and helped Journey attain their highest chart success to date. Infinity also marked the last appearance of drummer Aynsley Dunbar as a member of the band - he was fired for he was unhappy with the musical change and didn't get along with Perry and after being fired he joined Jefferson Starship.

Track listing

  1. "Lights" (Steve Perry, Neal Schon) – 3:10
  2. "Feeling that Way" (Aynsley Dunbar, Perry, Gregg Rolie) – 3:27
  3. "Anytime" (Robert Fleischman, Rolie, Schon, R. Silver, Ross Valory) – 3:28
  4. "Lă Do Dā" (Perry, Schon) – 2:58
  5. "Patiently" (Perry, Schon) – 3:20
  6. "Wheel in the Sky" (Fleischman, Schon, Valory) – 4:12
  7. "Somethin' to Hide" (Perry, Schon) – 3:26
  8. "Winds of March" (N. Schon, M. Schon, Fleischman, Perry, Rolie) – 5:04
  9. "Can Do" (Perry, Valory) – 2:39
  10. "Opened the Door" (Perry, Rolie, Schon) – 4:34

Personnel

Chart performance

Year Chart Peak
position
1978 US Billboard 200 21