You could excuse Steve Smith if he might be reluctant to play Journey songs at his own gigs.
Raised on jazz more than the radio, the virtuosic drummer’s main claim to fame is as the drummer for that famed rock group during their classic era, but his main loves are jazz and fusion jazz. So much so that while Journey was still at their apex in 1983, Smith founded the jazz-rock group Vital Information. After Smith left Journey a few years later, Vital Information became his main focus, a vehicle that showcased his skills like Journey never could and continues to this day. So playing a tune like “Open Arms” or “Anyway You Want It” would be so out of place amongst Vital Information’s more challenging fare.
Prodded by his keyboardist Manuel Valera, however, Smith has seen things in a different light. Valera got him to ponder: what if he plays these popular songs the same way he plays the ones where he gets to indulge himself with chops galore from himself and his Vital Information bandmates Valera and bassist Janek Gwizdala? It started with a reworking of the massive 1981 Journey hit “Don’t Stop Believin'” and blossomed into a whole new record based on Valera’s idea for that song. New Perspective (Drum Legacy Records) takes old numbers from the three most prominent bands in Smith’s career – Journey, Steps Ahead and his own Vital Information – and makes them new again.
This album kicks off with the most popular song ever drummed by Smith, “Don’t Stop Believin’,” and the trio recently dropped an advance video of that track that you can view above.
Valera is responsible for this re-arrangement of Journey’s signature song. He recast it as a down-the-line fusion jazz performance, devising a fresh intro (and outro) and surgically substituting in some jazz chords that don’t diminish the true intent of the melody. Valera leads the way with the ultimate classic fusion instrument, the electric piano, and Gwizdala’s funky, supple bass lines keep the harmony on track.
There’s plenty of capacity in this arrangement that allows Smith to show off his stuff on this song. The jazz drummer who happened to be in a rock band gets to play like his true self here, swinging like a mad monkey; the mid-song back-and-forth between him and Valera highlights an explosive performance.
A lot of people love “Don’t Stop Believin'” while I – full disclosure – don’t much care for it. But now I should qualify that by adding, in its original form. The heady jazz fusion treatment Steve Smith and Vital Information gave this song is just fine by me and should be for any fan of the genre.
New Perspective will be available on February 7, 2025. Get it straight from Steve Smith’s website.
*** Journey: Worlds Apart by Nick Deriso ***
*** Steve Smith & Vital Information CD’s and vinyl on Amazon ***
*** Journey CD’s and vinyl on Amazon ***
- Wolf Eyes + Anthony Braxton – ‘live at pioneer works, 26 october 2023’ (2025) - January 30, 2025
- Steve Smith and Vital Information, “Don’t Stop Believin'” (2025): One Track Mind - January 29, 2025
- Keiji Haino + Natsuki Tamura – ‘What Happened There?’ (2025) - January 15, 2025
