I must confess, I had this CD pegged totally different when the Japanese release came out. It was way too mushy and didn't really rock. But, I even tried to justify the greatness of the CD with these sentiments (left on melodicrock.com): "Something to think about. Pull out Infinity (if your Journey collection goes back that far). What songs rock on that CD? Feeling That Way/Anytime (kind of, but...). LA DO DA (definitely). Wheel in the Sky (of course). Can Do (yes, but who remembers that?). That's about it. Journey really didn't start the rockin' with Perry until their second effort with him-Evolution. Let's see, what rocks there? Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin' (kind of, in a blues way). City of the Angels. When You're Alone (It Ain't Easy). Lovin' You is Easy. Just the Same Way. Do You Recall. Lady Luck. WOW! All of them rock. I think we owe it to the guys to settle in and let the shock of a new singer sink in with people. Maybe on the next disc we will hear more tunes like Remember Me. After all they have given us over the years, don't we owe them that much?

I have been a Journey fan since the beginning. And no, I don't mean Escape. I mean Journey 1 (1975). I was a fan of Santana as a kid and made the transition easy to Journey. When Steve Perry joined the band, I had a similar comment as those with Steve Augeri-"Who's this guy? This isn't Journey." But, I really liked what I heard. So much that I became a bigger fan. When I became old enough to attend concerts, I finally saw Journey on their Departure tour and their vocals and performance blew me away. Until then, I only remember seeing them on PBS's Soundstage in 1978 and was very impressed. But, nothing like seeing them in person. Now with Augeri in the band (which, by the way I was a fan of Tall Stories) it's kind of the same thing. They still have that Journey sound, but different. I like it. I am glad that Steve was singing more in his natural voice than trying to sound like Perry. I only rate this CD a 70 because I think it should have rocked a little more. They do such a kick ass job live (if you haven't seen them yet and are worried about they way Augeri sounds. Don't be-he's awesome!). When they teased people with some new material on last years tour, the music rocked. But, the two songs they played didn't even end up on the CD. Plus, they said that this is a return to their old style. The only song that is "Old-style" is Higher Place. The songs are great on the whole CD, it just doesn't really rock other than a few songs. So to summarize: Big Journey fan. Before Steve Perry. With Steve Perry and after Steve Perry. If you are a Journey fan, you are a Journey fan. Times they must change! And for those who want to live in the past-at least you have your CDs."

Now, all of that said, the additions of "World Gone Wild" and the Bad English-ish "Nothin' Comes Close" to the CD (dropped was "I'm not that way") really shake up the CD and add some more rocking to the mix. Although, still watered down by a few too many ballads, the US version of Arrival is a great CD to own. All of you Steve Perry fans, don't worry. If you were a Journey fan at all, you will want to buy this disc. You won't hear a Steve Perry clone, but you will undoubtedly hear Journey!

I rate this one a 8.5. (Slight deduction for the overuse of ballads. Otherwise would be a 9)