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by Greg Carpenter
The Ballade (or The Ballads), released in 1991, is a Sony Japan exclusive collection of Journey ballads and mid-tempo songs from Infinity to Raised On Radio. What makes this release attractive to the Japanese fans is extensive liner notes which include a short band biography and lyrics to the songs. While the biography is in Japanese text only, the lyrics are both in Japanese and English.
Another attraction is the stellar, Egyptian-themed artwork for the CD by Teji Asanuma. The artwork for The Ballade is among my favorites from the Journey discography. The final attraction is the tracklist of the CD. At the time of its release, the label picked most of the best Journey ballads and mid-tempo songs, including ballads that weren't singles including "Eyes Of A Woman." At 15 tracks, it's a fairly comprehensive collection, though at a duration of 57:30, they could have added "Winds Of March" and "Little Girl." Now, of course, we would add "When You Love A Woman" and "All The Way."
With the proliferation of CDR drives, it is possible to make your own "best of" collections, so for many people this release will not be as attractive if they own a CDR drive and most of the Journey discography. But for the fan that does not have a CDR drive or an extensive Journey collection on CD, this is a good companion to the Greatest Hits CD. completists will also want to get their hands on a copy. If Sony U.S. were smart, they would release an updated ballads CD as they did for REO Speedwagon.
Tracklist:
1. Open Arms
2. Lights
3. Too Late
4. Faithfully
5. I'll Be Alight Without You
6. Patiently
7. Who's Crying Now
8. After The Fall
9. The Eyes Of A Woman
10. Opened The Door
11. Good Morning Girl
12. Stay Awhile
13. Still They Ride
14. Send Her My Love
15. Why Can't This Night Go On Forever
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