Journey › Arrival [Import]

The centerpiece of the Paul-is-dead conspiracy theory was that McCartney had died in 1966 and been replaced by a sound-alike augmented with plastic surgery. Journey is hardly the Beatles, but Arrival, the zillion-selling band's first studio album in nearly five years, puts a fitting twist on the scenario by hiding its Steve Perry doppelgänger in plain sight. New lead singer Steve Augeri has not only the voice, but all its inflections--notably Perry's trademark "wo-oh-oh" Sam Cooke homage--down pat, and getting it down pat is what this collection is all about. The opening "Higher Place" thumps with a rock! melodrama so familiar it should be titled "Separate Ways, Part 2," while the power ballads that follow recall the pre-Bon Jovi days when Journey ruled as a kind of high school parking lot Air Supply. Arrival is one of those records you already know you love or hate before you hear it, but even fans might feel a lack of heat compared to the Perry-era outfit's greatest-hits disc. --Rickey Wright

Genre:

• Pop / Rock