"Neal Schon says the upcoming Journey record will move away from their famous AOR sound and create a concept album instead.
The band behind iconic tracks Don't Stop Believin', Any Way You Want It, Who's Crying Now and many more feel they've gone as far as they can in that direction, and it's time to turn back to a more rock vibe.
Guitarist Schon tells Classic Rock Magazine: "I had a long talk with keyboard player Jonathan Cain and I said, 'We have all the AOR material we need. We've got all the hits we need and we need to play that stuff for ever. There's no getting away from it.'
"So I don't see the point of repeating the same song with different chords.
"I'm going for a conceptual record because I really feel we have the musicality to pull it off. We have everybody's attention. And the days of writing songs that are three-and-a-half minutes long for radio are over."
Schon says his instinct is built on a gut feeling for what people want to hear. He says: "I think in Europe, of not in the States, they're ready for us to come up with something on the artsy side. It's got to go up and down. It can't stay on the ceiling because there's no dynamics.
"I think it's going to be a very musical record and I have a cool thing to write about. But I don't want to reveal too much because somebody will steal it.
"But it's a one title, like most of our records are, and it's a very deep subject. Real stuff."
