Journey Goes on

Journey Goes on

Track Listings

1. Tonight

2. The Escape

3. The Journey Goes On

4. Silent War

5. Beast Within

6. Hold On For Love

7. If Tomorrow Never Comes

8. Lost World

9. The Voice

10. Naked (2003 Re-recorded Version)

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Long awaited seventh album for metal act featuring dual vocalists, Dougie White (Rainbow/Malmsteen) & John Sloman (Lone Star/Gary Moore), the followup to 2000's 'Nowhere To Hide'. Includes guitarist Dennis Stratton (Iron Maiden) & founding members Chris & Tino Troy. Frontiers Records. 2003.

Tracks:

The Secret Agent: Secret Agent
The Secret Agent: Winnie Remembers
The Secret Agent: Verloc And The Russian Embassy
The Secret Agent: Blood On The Stairs
The Secret Agent: The First Meridian
The Secret Agent: Emigration
The Secret Agent: Trust
The Secret Agent: Winnie?
The Secret Agent: Explosives
The Secret Agent: All The Money
The Secret Agent: Simple
The Secret Agent: Roast Beef
The Secret Agent: Safe Journey
The Secret Agent: Ossipon Is Tempted
The Secret Agent: Winnie Goes To The Sea
The Secret Agent: Secret Agent Ending

Customer Reviews:

Definitely something to remember.......1999-11-01

I watched the movie, and remembered it BECAUSE of the music. Superb !!! Exquisite combination of cello and oboe makes the central theme (and track) something to be remembered for your whole life. I really recommend it !

"The Secret Agent" by Philip Glass.......1999-06-16

This, in my humble opinion, is one of Glass' most ingenoius works. Set to the athmospheric surreality of 19th century london, this album seamlessly juxtaposes traditional melodic harmonies with colorations that are distinctively Glass. I ould recommend this record to any audionphile or Glass aficionado

Average customer rating:

Hey, wait a minute.....
hey, matthew--who was the blonde?
A personal favorite
Undeserved Obscurity
Strong Prog-Pop

Journey's End/I'll Be There
Matthew Fisher
Manufacturer: Bgo - Beat Goes on
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Progressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Matthew Fisher/Strange Days
No More Fear of Flying
Within Our House
Broken Barricades
Something Magic

ASIN: B00004W3ML
Release Date: 2000-09-11

Tracks:

Suzanne
Going for a Song
Play the Game
Separation (Theme from the Film)
Hard to Be Sure
Marie
Not This Time
Interlude
Journey's End, Pt. 1
Journey's End, Pt. 2
It's Not Too Late
Not Her Fault
Song Without Words
Taking the Easy Way Out
She Knows Me
It's So Easy
Do You Still Think About Me?
Cold Harbour Lane
I'll Be There

Album Description

Two 70's era albums by the Procol Harum keyboardist, remastered and reissued on one CD, 'Journey's End' (1973) and 'I'll Be There' (1974). Remastered from original master tapes. Additional sleeve notes. Faithfully restored artwork. 2000 release. Standard jewel case.

Album Details

1973 & 1974 RCA Albums Reissued Together on One CD (29 Tracks). Fisher is Best Remembered for his Keyboard Playing on Procol Harum's Classic 'A Whiter Shade of Pale'.

Customer Reviews:

Hey, wait a minute............2006-11-01

It figures, doesn't it? JOURNEY'S END, Matthew's first solo album, features some great tunes: "Suzanne," "Interlude" and "Journey's End" are all wonderful. However, my favorite tune on the album, "Not This Time" appears to be either an alternate version or a re-recorded version. Either way, it's certainly not as good as the original version. Why this song was replaced with an inferior version is beyond me.

Having said that, it's nice to see these albums see the light of day on CD. JOURNEY'S END is perhaps the stronger of the two, featuring nice melodies with bitter lyrics of lost love and/or contempt for his former bandmates in Procol Harum.

I'LL BE THERE continues the theme of bitterness and lost love, but this time the tunes rock a lot harder. "It's Not Too Late" is certainly the most aggressive thing Fisher's written since "Long Gone Geek" from his Procol days. "It's So Easy" and "I'll Be There" are also good.

All in all this CD is well worth hearing, especially to those of you who thought Procol Harum was entirely Gary Brooker's project.

hey, matthew--who was the blonde?.......2005-06-06

Matthew Fisher was the "especially fine organist" (cited by Lillian Roxon's Encyclopedia of Rock) who perennially played second banana to Gary Brooker in the band Procol Harum.

"Journey's End/I'll Be There" chronicles the two albums that began Fisher's solo career from 1973-4. "Journey's End" begins with "Suzanne", a sprightly number with downcast lyrics, showing Fisher's by now familiar Byronic sensitivity, spiced by a more upbeat pop accompaniment than ever would be found on a Procol Harum album.

The combination worked, because as a whole, "Journey's End" is better than many if not most of the Procol Harum albums. There is a perfectionist's ear in the fine arrangements of the songs, which form a kind of musical suite, as they fit together so seamlessly. Fisher is also revealed as a fine player, whether he is playing organ, piano, electric piano, or guitar.

"I'll Be There" is possibly even a better showcase for Fisher's diverse talents. Tracks like "It's Not Too Late" and "It's So Easy" rock out with bitter sarcasm and vocals reminiscent of John Lennon. Other songs such as "Not Her Fault" and "Do You Still Think About Me" focus on self-pity, although musically they are pretty and well composed, like 19th century paintings.

Matthew Fisher was never destined for rock stardom; with his temperament, he was probably too refined for that sort of thing. But, he created a few musical artifacts which anyone who appreciates things that are finely crafted should be able to enjoy.

A personal favorite.......2003-12-04

Probably sentimental favorite from college. Journey's End was solid and enjoyable all the way through. I'll Be There has some forgettable tracks but some very good ones as well and the title track is a hoot. I think Fisher had a real nice feel for singer-songwriter style pop. The keyboards are terrific and he writes solid lyrics. The tunes are varied and memorable. His only real drawback was the lack of a strong voice, but he covers that up with studio magic. I was delighted to find this in such good quality!

Undeserved Obscurity.......2003-08-19

For fans of the old Procol Harum, the trinity of Gary Brooker, Matthew Fisher and Keith Reid was the foundation of one of the greatest bands to come out of the 1960s. Fisher, with his captivating organ, was the heart of the band while Brooker with his incomparable vocals and piano was its soul. Reid, with his brooding, often inscrutable lyrics was its guiding spirit. When Fisher left, the heart was torn from Procol Harum and it went on to fame and fortune as a quite different kind of band.
What then happened to Matthew Fisher? I like almost all of Procol Harum's line-ups, but with Fisher gone so was the ineffable aura of baroque melancholy which surrounded the band.
When Fisher left, I watched the record stores for any solo releases and was delighted when Journey's End was issued shortly followed by I'll Be There.
I was instantly enthralled by some of the songs on each of them but was sorely disappointed in the [weak]top-40 style commerciality of some of the others. So his albums eventually languished in my record room unheard and unappreciated.
Fisher recently rejoined Procol Harum, I saw them on tour, and that re-awakened my interest in his solo material. So I purchased all of his remastered CDs as featured on this site.
Journey's End features two songs instantly evocative of his work with Procol Harum. "Separation" is a wonderful instrumental that could have come from Procol Harum's first album, while "Hard To Be Sure" is a fine bit of introspection worthy of Fisher's A Salty Dog period.
Hearing the album again today with new ears, I also really like "Suzanne", his declaration of independence and self-worth on "Play The Game", "Marie", "Not This Time", and his bitter rant directed at Gary Brooker on the glorious title track.
The whiny, self-pitying "Going For A Song" knocks a star off of an otherwise fine album. Matthew, please don't ever play that song again, I can't stand to hear it.
I'll Be There is a much edgier album though at times it too wallows in Fisher's morass of self-despair.
There are a couple of excellent rockers with "It's Not Too Late" and "It's So Easy", the obligatory instrumental on "Song Without Words", and a bitter anthem in "I'll Be There". I also like "Taking The Easy Way Out" and "Cold Harbour Lane".
The maudlin "She Knows Me" and "Do You Still Think About Me" knock a star off of this album.
Fisher is a fine musician and a talented, thoughtful writer of intelligent songs when not feeling sorry for himself. His work has suffered undeserved obscurity which may yet be remedied now that he is back where he belongs with Procol Harum and their star is once again ascendant. Perhaps the band will record some of the best of both Fisher's and Brooker's solo work.
You wouldn't be reading a review of this CD if Matthew Fisher's music did not interest you on some level, so if you don't yet own this, buy it. You won't be disappointed.

Strong Prog-Pop.......2003-06-18

As virtually everybody that might be reading this review knows, Matthew Fisher was the organist for prog pioneers Procol Harum from 1967-1969, playing on the band's first three albums, and leaving (or getting fired) right after the masterful "A Salty Dog". "Journey's End", his first solo album, was released in 1973; "I'll Be There" was released the following year.
"Journey's End" is probably the inferior of the pair, although it has its highlights, namely the beautiful instrumental "Separation", the stirring, anthemic two-part title track. The album, though, is hurt by the leaden rhythm section, especially the drummer, and Fisher's rather bland, repetitious lyrics, although it's important to remember that in 1973 he was still quite bitter about being fired from Procol, and it definitely shows. (There are some impressive invectives directed at Procol leader Gary Brooker in the title track and "Going for a Song", among others.)
"I'll Be There" is, in my opinion, better, although it's nice both albums are available on one disc. Fisher's songwriting is much stronger, in particular the rocking "It's So Easy", which has an amazingly catchy Beatlesque guitar hook. The production is somewhat rawer and more bracing than the previous album (which, to me, is an improvement, but may irritate some listeners), but there are some nice touches, such as the dreamy, delicate electric piano and chorused guitar drifting through the diaphanous ballads "Taking the Easy Way Out" and "Do You Still Think About Me?". The rhythm section is also much more limber and fluid; in particular, bassist Jim Ryan displays a Jack Bruce-like rhythmic and melodic imagination on the punchy "Cold Harbour Lane", as well as elsewhere on the album. Fisher's lyrics are also an improvement; while there are still good-sized doses of self-pitying and/or "girl don't go" songs, there's a much wider range, from the incredibly hateful title track (sample: I'll be there to watch you wriggling as you burn/I'll be there to give the knife an extra turn), supposedly written about Richard Nixon, and the melancholy introspection of "Taking the Easy Way Out", to the wry, cynical "It's So Easy". Still, there are quibbles; Fisher's reedy, choirboy tenor isn't particularly suited to the raucous "It's Not Too Late", and the lush strings on "Not Her Fault" skirt muzak territory, although Fisher's outstanding organ solo saves the song from maudlin sentimentality. Nothing on either of these two albums is up to the standards of, say, "Pilgrim's Progress" or "Wreck of the Hesperus", but it's still some damn good prog-pop from an undeservedly unknown talent, and it proves once and for all that Fisher's more than "that guy that played organ on A Whiter Shade of Pale".

Average customer rating:

MUCH BETTER THAN NOWHERE TO HIDE

Journey Goes On
Praying Mantis
Manufacturer: Frontiers Italy
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

New Wave | New Wave & Post-Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

British Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Hard Rock | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Hard Rock & Metal | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00008VFE2
Release Date: 2003-06-26

Tracks:

Tonight
Escape
Journey Goes On
Silent War
Beast Within
Hold on for Love
If Tomorrow Never Comes
Lost World
Voice
Naked [2003 Re-Recorded Version][Alternate Take][Version]

Album Description

Long awaited seventh album for metal act featuring dual vocalists, Dougie White (Rainbow/Malmsteen) & John Sloman (Lone Star/Gary Moore), the followup to 2000's 'Nowhere To Hide'. Includes guitarist Dennis Stratton (Iron Maiden) & founding members Chris & Tino Troy. Frontiers Records. 2003.

Customer Reviews:

MUCH BETTER THAN NOWHERE TO HIDE.......2003-06-03

Nowhere to Hide for one reason or another is considered some milestone for the band. I thought the album was incredibly limp wristed with the exception of the title track. Good riddence to the former vocalist Tony O'Hara as well.

The Journey Goes On is much better! This album features John Sloman and Dougie White. White has been in Rainbow, Yngwie and briefly in Praying Mantis 10 years ago. Sloman was in Uriah Heep and Gary Moore in the early 80s but after one solo album in 1986 has not been heard from until now. Sloman still sounds great. The opening track is an epic track sounding very much like Lawton-era Uriah Heep with Sloman on vocals. Very well done song. Sloman is also on the Beast Within and The Voice. Both of those songs kill anything off of Nowhere to Hide.

The Dougie White tracks are all very strong, and White's vocal on Naked makes Tony O'Hara's version pretty forgettable.

Along with the Sloman stuff, check out Silent War and Lost World. Finally Mantis adds some great guitar duels and returns to the harder sound! The melody is of course still there.