There are many cultural touchstones of note in Journey’s song “Faithfully” and its video, released as a single in 1983 from the album Frontiers. In this case, I will succumb to a common blog custom - the list: 1. Over time, this song became a very well-known hit for Journey though initially it only made it to #12 on the US Billboard Pop charts. 2. While it soon became a favourite of many Journey fans, it took on greater pop culture reach in recent years due to its use of the song in the 2006 movie Talladega Nights in this incredible scene with Amy Adams and Will Ferrell.
(Granted, Ferrell's character references another video from Whitesnake.) Beyond this, though there is another reason that I think the DNA of this song creeps into nearly everyone’s pop music unconscious (see #7).
3. Keyboardist Jonathan Cain claims he wrote this song in 30 minutes. He claimed divine inspiration - that he was “anointed” and that it was “supernatural.” It has 3 chords (yes 4, if you count the one that has a different bass note - let’s not fight).
4. Pop culture scribe Chuck Klosterman has a great essay “That 70′s Cruise” about going on a Classic Rock-themed cruise that has Journey as a headliner. Klosterman mentions meeting a 45-year old mechanic contractor Larry Zuccari who saw the band 31 times. Larry told Klosterman that he insisted to he wife that his wedding song be “Faithfully.” BECAUSE OF COURSE HE DID. (However, the wife didn’t accompany Larry on this cruise.)
5. This video is supposed to be “innovative” for its time for cutting from shots of performances to the “reality” of a band on the road. (It’s supposed to be taken from documentary footage of a film about Journey - but given that, even by 1983′s standards, this ain’t great.) It is true - this became an oft-utilized framework for the videos of numerous hard rock and metal bands in this era from Bon Jovi to Poison to those wacky boys from Germany...
Yeah, a lot of that hasn't aged great, Scorps. 6. But wait! Before you think the "Faithfully" video may be lacking a compelling narrative, know that there is a dramatic twist in the second act when... [SPOILER ALERT]... ...Steve Perry shaves his moustache part way through.
The tone in this is weird. It’s hard to say whether this was there for laughs? Or is it really a serious part of a "story" in this video? If the latter, the result to me is a screenplay that tries to reach for setting up an Act III transformation in its arc that never quite lands. Also, it's creepy. 7. And then there’s the connection of this song to Prince's most famous anthem. For a lot of casual Prince fans, it may not be well-understood that Journey - the band’s guitarist Neil Schon especially - was a huge influence on some of his songwriting and especially his guitar style. In fact, after 70s funk artists, it’s possible that glam rock and especially Journey was the next most important part of his stylistic pallete. Nowhere is this more evident than on “Purple Rain.” In fact, Prince was so concerned about the similarities to "Faithfully" that he actually called the band to get a go-ahead just in case - he was prepared to make adjustments if necessary. Journey gave him the go-ahead and the rest is history. Check out these guitar solos from their respective codas: Neil Schon: https://youtu.be/rj__jhmPMgI?t=201 And then 25-30 seconds into Prince’s coda boy his sound, his approach is very similar: https://youtu.be/S6Y1gohk5-A?t=281 He’s not quoting him directly but it’s there. But beyond that, the whole song’s chord structure and some of its melodic contour is definitely inspired by it. So there’s that. 8. Plus, Steve Perry has very wet hair when performing. Can that really all be sweat? Does he get hosed down just prior to performing? In any case, while you may look down upon their majesterial rock (which I grant I can't listen to often), I stand by that he is one of the greatest rock tenors of all time. That's all for today folks! Maybe next time it'll be free jazz...who knows?