Don't Stop Believin' - The Untold Story Of Journey [Paperback]

I stopped counting typos and grammatical errors after a while.

"we attained a huger audience because new were playing so much."

"take a peak."

'of' instead of 'off,' 'you're' instead of 'your,' 'reigns' instead of 'reins.'

"we hung together through thick and thing" - I'm no journalist but I am a Journey fan and as far as I know, Thing from The Addams family was never in the band.
For me, any published book which is being sold for hard earned cash should be typo free and grammatically and factually correct.

A factual error stood out loud and clear - in the section covering Steve Augeri's tenure as lead singer, the author states "after time off Augeri restarted Talisman." 'Talisman' was the band Jeff Scott Soto fronted. Steve Augeri's band was called 'Tall Stories'

When there are factual errors like this, it makes the book less credible.
If these are incorrect then what else is?

The tone of the book and the coverage of the big split between Steve Perry and the line up at that time comes over as biased against Perry and in favour of Schon. Same with the appalling treatment of Jeff Scott Soto, ie his appointment as stand-in singer, worldwide press statement of his appointment as permanent singer and then sly removal from the band website and subsequent removal from the position. All biased in favour of Schon.
I would have preferred the author to be more neutral and to just print the facts of what happened and leave the reader to make up their own minds about what went down rather than put his spin on it about who is the bad guy.

Remember, this is an UNOFFICIAL biography and the selected quotes from band members can be found on the internet etc. And they can all be printed out of context and spun.
The author has kindly collected them all together and written them in chronological order which is great. Saves time trawling online yourself to find who said what way back when.
Regarding his own opinion as to who is the bad guy etc. Fair enough, he wrote the book, but I would have preferred him not to put that particular spin on it.
It's ok as far as this kind of book goes, but there is nothing in it that I haven't already read in the music press and on the internet. So it isn't really a must have or must read page turner. And it's quite expensive for what it is.

However, I did rather the like the "where are they now" section at the end.

Overall, it's ok but it won't be joining the ranks of classic rock biographies any time soon.

I'm familiar with Neil Daniels' work from his multi-volume "All Pens Blazing" series, in which he collected a dizzying array of rock themed interviews, ranging from professionals to editors of fanzines. "Don't Stop Believin' - The Untold Story Of Journey" is an equally exhaustive look at the evolution of these AOR icons.

It's all here - the genesis of the band in the pot-fuelled West Coast rock scene, the changes to line-ups, the triumphs and disappointments of a band that seems to have been around forever, yet is only now fully enjoying "classic" status.

Those new fans (perhaps only familiar with that song used in "Glee") will no doubt be keen to find out about the band's history. Perhaps they will also be looking for a conveniently organised discography. They will find both here, but so much more.

Details of the contracts, the deals, the tours are covered, as well as the personal (and in some case psychological) trials endured. There is analysis too, of the all important product. If a band had kept a ship's log, this would be it.

You could do far worse than to put your all-time Journey play list on repeat and spend an evening (or several - there's really too much to digest at one sitting) with "Don't Stop Believin'". On this trip smoking is not only permitted, but expected, and you'll find much to interest you on the way.

You'd be forgiven if you didn't know of the band Journey before the cast of a TV show called `Glee' performed their most recognised number- you know, the one this book is named after- in 2010. Now, everybody should get in on the act: and this book is a really good place to start. It still astounds me that a band that has sold more than 80 million albums (and probably more than that by now) has never had a book published about them before now. Well worth the money, the book contains as complete a chronicle of the band's history from 1973 to 2010 as is legal to print.

There is a large amount on former front man Steve Perry (there actually is a chapter dedicated to his solo career), as well as a `Where Are They Now?'. (The quotes from former manager Herbier Herbert make for great reading themselves). Worth a look for anyone who is a fan of the rock genre; and an absolute must fro any Journey fan. Highly recommended.