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Tuesday, June 10, 2014

"Open Arms" by Journey

Top 10 Alert!
Gold Record Alert!
Song#:  0881
Date:  01/16/1982
Debut:  57
Peak:  2
Weeks:  18
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  Journey was not a group known for power ballads, so it came as a bit of a surprise when this song found its way on their "Escape" album and then was released as the third single. The original version was written by Jonathan Cain for his previous group The Babys, but they rejected the sentimental tune. Now with Journey, Cain revived it with Steve Perry as co-writer and once again, band members balked. The song was almost left off the album, but luckily it got on as the closing track. Concert audiences ate it up and soon record buyers would too and it became the biggest single of their chart career spending six weeks at #2 and going gold.

ReduxReview:  Okay everyone, get out yer lighters, raise 'em high, and shed a tear! Arguably one of the most famous power ballads of the decade, it was just too delicious to deny. Yeah its treacly, but with Perry wringing every drop of emotion from the lyrics, the song just soars. If anyone tells me that they hate this song, I won't call them a liar, but I won't believe them either.

ReduxRating:  9/10

Trivia:  This song was covered by pop star Mariah Carey for her 1995 album "Daydream." The song was not issued as a single in the US mainly due to Journey's version being so iconic. However, in the UK where Journey's original release was barely a blip on the chart, Carey's version was released and it became a #4 hit.

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