Open Arms

Escape gave Journey the success and recognition they had been after since the early '70s. With the addition of Steve Perry in 1978, the band started playing the kind of music radio was looking for at the time: soft rock ballads and guitar power pop. Although four singles made their way onto the charts from the album, with three of them cracking the Top Ten, none fared as well as the sincere-sounding "Open Arms," which put Perry's voice on a pedestal for all to hear. It wasn't solely his voice that gave "Open Arms" it's well-deserved number two spot (which it held for six straight weeks). The accompanying piano riffs that floated and then wisped away the song's delicate lyrics had a lot to do with the song's prosperity as well. It was Jonathan Cain's melody that won over Steve Perry, rejected earlier by John Waite of the Babys, Cain's old group. The arrival of some sweeping guitar riffs near the middle of the song gives it that rock & roll element which contrasts perfectly with the softness of the keyboards. "Open Arms" broke down the flood gates and paved the way for a new style of song, the power ballad, which radio inherited for the remainder of the decade.