''Evolution'' is the fifth studio album by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band Journey, released in March 1979 by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. It is the band's first album to feature drummer Steve Smith. It was the band's most successful album at the time, reaching No. 20 on the US

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a rec ...

chart, and has sold three million copies in the US. They retained

Roy Thomas Baker Roy Thomas Baker (10 November 1946 – 12 April 2025) was an English record producer, songwriter and arranger who produced rock and pop songs. Life and career Baker was born in Hampstead, London on 10 November 1946. He began his career at De ...

(best known for his work with

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

) as producer, but drummer

Aynsley Dunbar Aynsley Thomas Dunbar (born 10 January 1946) is an English drummer. He has worked with John Mayall, Frank Zappa, Jeff Beck, Journey, Jefferson Starship, Nils Lofgren, Eric Burdon, Shuggie Otis, Ian Hunter, Lou Reed, David Bowie, Mick Ron ...

was replaced with Smith, formerly with

Ronnie Montrose Ronald Douglas Montrose (November 29, 1947 – March 3, 2012) was an American musician and guitarist who founded and led the rock bands Montrose and Gamma. He also performed and did session work with a variety of musicians, including Van Morri ...

's band. ''Evolution'' features their first top 20 hit, "

Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin' "Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin" is a song by American rock group Journey released as a single in 1979 from the album ''Evolution''. Lyrically, the song is about a woman who is cheating on her boyfriend, the narrator, but at the end of the song the ...

", which was inspired by the classic

Sam Cooke Samuel Cooke (; January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter. Considered one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the "King of Soul" for his distin ...

top 20 hit "Nothin' Can Change This Love" and reached No. 16 in the US. "Just the Same Way", which reached No. 58 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

, featured original lead vocalist

Gregg Rolie Gregg Alan Rolie (born June 17, 1947) is an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter. Rolie served as lead singer of the bands Santana (band), Santana and Journey (band), Journey – both of which he co-founded. He also helmed rock group The ...

along with

Steve Perry Stephen Ray Perry (born January 22, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and frontman of the rock band Journey during their most successful years from 1977 to 1987, and again from 1995 to 1998. He wrote/co-wrote ...

Critical reception

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' said that the single "Too Late" "takes the rock ballad to new limits with a call & response hookline and

Neal Schon Neal Joseph Schon (born February 27, 1954) is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the co-founder and lead guitarist for the rock band Journey. He is the last original member to remain throughout the group's history. He was a memb ...

's dashing guitar break." The magazine called "Just the Same Way" a "hard but slick rocker." ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'' concluded that "all the songs here could well have originated at the same session as the numbers on the previous album, and that suggests stagnation."

Track listing

Personnel

;Journey *

– lead vocals *

– keyboards, piano, backing vocals, co-lead vocals (8) *

– guitars,

Roland GR-500 The Roland GR-500 is a guitar synthesizer. Manufactured by the Roland Corporation and FujiGen in 1977, it was one of the first guitar synthesizers. Overview The synthesizer module included Polyensemble, Bass, Solo Synth, and External synthesizer ...

guitar synthesizer, backing vocals *

Ross Valory Ross Lamont Valory (born February 2, 1949) is an American musician who is best known as the original bass player for the rock band Journey from 1973 to 1985 and again from 1995 to 2020. Valory was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as ...

– bass guitar,

Moog bass The Moog Taurus is a foot-operated analog synthesizer designed and manufactured by Moog Music. It was originally conceived as a part of the Constellation series of synthesizers. The initial Taurus I was manufactured from 1975 to 1981; a less pop ...

, backing vocals * Steve Smith – drums, percussion

Production

– producer, mixing * Geoff Workman – engineer * George Tutko – second engineer * Greg Schafer – production manager * Larry Noggle, Jim Welch – package design *

Alton Kelley Alton Kelley (June 17, 1940 – June 1, 2008) was an American artist known for his psychedelic art, in particular his designs for 1960s rock concert posters and album covers. Along with artists Rick Griffin, Stanley Mouse, Victor Moscoso ...

Stanley Mouse Stanley George Miller (born October 10, 1940), better known as Mouse or Stanley Mouse, is an American artist who is notable for his 1960s psychedelic rock concert poster designs and album covers for the Grateful Dead, Journey, and other bands. ...

– cover art * Sam Emerson – back cover photography, liner photography * Hiro Ito – liner photography * Pat Morrow – liner notes

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1979 albums Journey (band) albums Columbia Records albums Albums produced by Roy Thomas Baker