Greatest Hits Volume 2 (2011)
1. Stone in Love
2. After the Fall
3. Chain Reaction
4. The Party's Over (Hopelessy in Love)
5. Escape
6. Still They Ride
7. Good Morning Girl
8. Stay Awhile
9. Suzanne
10.Feeling That Way
11.Anytime
12.Walks Like a Lady
13.Little Girl
14.Just the Same Way
15.Patiently
16.When I Think of You
17.Mother, Father (Live)
Entirely surplus to requirements, yet when has that ever stopped a record label from gilding the lily? The original Greatest Hits contained, without ambiguity, the hits. This volume, then, is less the victory lap and more the mop-up operation: the also-rans, the almosts, and the fan favorites that never quite dented the charts with the same ferocity. But credit where it's due—the track selection is sensible. There’s no attempt to oversell or reframe. This is a companion piece, pure and simple.
As with the first volume, there is no material here from the years before or after Steve Perry. It’s a frozen snapshot of the band from 1978 to 1996—a time capsule neatly divided across two discs. One could argue (and many have) that once you’ve secured both volumes, your "Journey" is complete. Anything further is ephemera.
A close track-by-track comparison hasn't been undertaken, but it would be a surprise if the contents of these two releases didn’t significantly overlap with The Essential Journey from 2001. That earlier double-disc set was similarly structured: the first disc, all fire and swagger; the second, a slower burn of deep cuts and cult favorites. In essence, Greatest Hits Volume 2 exists less as a necessity than as a confirmation—just in case anyone needed reminding—of how much sonic territory Journey managed to chart beyond their most obvious anthems.
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