Journey: Time (Sony). * * Fleetwood Mac: 25 Years: The Chain (Warner Music). * * * JOURNEY was one of the premiere, safe, stadium rock bands of the early '80s. Beginning with the multi-platinum Escape, which spawned the album oriented rock classics Who's Crying Now and Don't Stop Believin, the group struck an emotional chord with those who believed in love on the wrong side of the tracks.
The wailings of Steve Perry, Neil Schon's endless power chords and Jonathan Cain's emotionally charged keyboards mined the same territory again and again until the band's breakup at the end of the '80s.
Its string of successes are well-documented on the relatively recent Greatest Hits album. The release of the sprawling three-CD box set Time, therefore, is a mystery. What else can the band offer musically? Not much.
To be fair, the group's career is thoroughly analysed, from the Santana-inspired atmospheric rhythms of its beginnings through to its hit factory end.
As a package, though, Time is one of the best around for band insights as the group reveals the circumstances behind every song - usually romantic breakups and disappointing studio improvisations. The demo quality sound of post-Escape studio songs like Liberty also makes one wonder if Journey could have transcended its commercial tag with more time spent on music and less on gloss.
The four-CD Fleetwood Mac box set, 25 Years: The Chain, is virtually the opposite of Journey's. With a vast array of quality music, the group's problem was what to leave out.