Eclipse (Journey album)

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Eclipse
Journey-Eclipse.jpg
Studio album by Journey
Released 24 May 2011 (see release history)
Recorded Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California,
The Blue Loft, County Q Nashville and Quad Nashville, Nashville, Tennessee,
2010–2011
Genre Hard rock, arena rock, heavy metal
Length 66:20
Label Nomota LLC (US)
Frontiers (Europe)
Universal (rest of Asia)
LOEN (South Korea)
King (Japan)
Producer Kevin Shirley, Neal Schon, Jonathan Cain
Journey chronology
Revelation
(2008)Revelation2008		 Eclipse
(2011)		 Greatest Hits 2
(2011)Greatest Hits 22011
Singles from Eclipse
  1. "City Of Hope"
    Released: April 4, 2011
  2. "Human Feel"
    Released: April 4, 2011
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 2/5 stars[1]
Rolling Stone 2/5 stars[2]

Eclipse (sometimes stylized as ECL1P53) is the 14th studio album by American rock band, Journey, and the second with Filipino lead singer, Arnel Pineda.[3] Penned by Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain with contributions from Pineda, the album was released in the United States and Canada on 24 May 2011, on 27 May 2011 in Japan, in the United Kingdom on 30 May 2011, and internationally on 3 June 2011. It is the last album to feature drummer Deen Castronovo.

Production

Eclipse was recorded in Berkeley, CA. As the album was near completion, producer Kevin Shirley ran out of time. In an effort for the band to release the album in time for the tour, Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain produced the remaining tracks in Nashville. The album was a departure, focusing on a harder rock sound rather than the formulaic pop hits and ballads. Schon, feeling the pop formula became repetitive, wanted to experiment on Eclipse and make it more guitar-oriented and less radio-friendly. Shirley had trepidation about the direction of the album, clashing with Schon creatively. Many of the tracks were re-recorded in Nashville under Schon and Cain's production.[4] Cain supported Eclipse, saying "we’d had this concept in mind from the get go. We’ve got the ballads we can play all day long. If people want to hear ballads, they can certainly find them on other records."[5]

Release and Reception

Eclipse was released on May 24, 2011. In North America it was exclusively sold at Wal-Mart.[6] Eclipse sold 21,400 copies in the United States in its debut week, reaching No. 13 on the US Billboard 200 chart.[7] Eclipse marks Journey's second straight Top 20 album with current lead singer, Arnel Pineda. Internationally, Eclipse entered the Top 40 album charts in five different countries.

Despite high chart positions it quickly descended from the charts within weeks. The departure from their pop formula alienated longtime fans. Eclipse was unable to match the success of Revelation, barely selling 100,000 copies—an 1/8th of the previous album's sales.[8]

Critical Reception and Aftermath

Eclipse received mixed to negative reviews. Rolling Stone reviewer Caryn Ganz rated the album at two stars, saying "Journey's second disc with Filipino YouTube discovery Arnel Pineda on vocals is both grand and distractingly proggy."[9] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic also rated Eclipse at two stars, praising Journey's ability to fuse their prog-rock abilities with their arena rock sound, however he goes on to say the album "pulsates with a certain insular chill that isn’t especially welcoming; this is music made for the musicians, and if anybody else happens to like it, that’s just a minor bonus."[10]

Though Journey enjoyed the process of recording Eclipse, they considered its lack of success a career setback. They became skeptical of recording a new album, focusing primarily on live performances. Jonathan Cain said "we have a great catalogue here, right now to play. We got a lot of songs that we’re not even playing. So, we’re like, ‘What’s the point of makin’ a new CD right now?'". Cain did not rule out the possibility of another album, which he says "I think we need to stay sort of closer to who we are, to who we've been -- great songs, great melodies, harmonies -- and not worry about if it's heavy or not. Our fans are getting older, man; they're not headbangers anymore. So if we do anything, I think we need to go back to the center."[11]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain except where noted. 

No. Title Writer(s) Length
1. "City of Hope"     6:02
2. "Edge of the Moment"     5:27
3. "Chain of Love"     6:10
4. "Tantra"     6:27
5. "Anything Is Possible"     5:21
6. "Resonate"     5:11
7. "She's a Mystery"   Schon, Cain, Arnel Pineda 6:41
8. "Human Feel"     6:44
9. "Ritual"     4:57
10. "To Whom It May Concern"   Pineda, Schon, Cain 5:15
11. "Someone"     4:35
12. "Venus" (instrumental) Schon 3:34

Personnel

Band members
Production
  • Kevin Shirley - producer
  • David Kalmusky - engineer, mixing, mastering[12]
  • James McCullagh, Alberto Hernandez, Jesse Nichols - engineers
  • Casey Barker, Jason Hall, Brett Lind, Alex Dolphin - assistant engineers
  • Travis Shinn - photography

Charts

Release history

Region Date Label Format
United States[3] 24 May 2011 Nomota LLC CD, digital download
South Korea[21] Evolution Music, LOEN Entertainment
Japan[22] 27 May 2011 King Records
Europe[23] Frontiers

References

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  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ The Official David Kalmusky Web-Site
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Eclipse (Journey album) (MelOn.com)
  22. ↑ Eclipse (Journey album) (mora)
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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