Saturday, August 9, 2025

The Drive - The Journey is the Reward (1987, Thrust)

How about some no frills rock 'n roll?  This is one is situated far more to the middle of the dial than what I normally give you, and in fact only about half of The Drive's lone LP really slots into Wilfully Obscure territory.  That's not to say the rest of deserves to be omitted - anything but, however The Journey is the Reward is considerably...pedestrian.  

From what little I've been able to glean on this quartet, they actually had ties to another band I introduced you to some time ago, the vaguely new-wave inflected The Lines from Boston, who dished out a wad of independently released wax in the early/mid-80s. It appears that the Drive's keyboardist/mic fiend Pat Dreier is the one who specifically had a role in both bands.  Journey's... tenor isn't far removed from the likes of the Hooters, John Cafferty, and less-so Drivin 'n Cryin' - not necessarily power pop, so to speak, but often adjacent with mid-tempo salvos "Something There," "Life Ain't Without You Baby," and "In Her Head," striking me as compulsively catchy.  The Drive weren't pompous enough to work an arena, but definitely a notch or two above your typical bar band fare. Nonetheless, this is ambitious and tight as a duck's ass, impeccably produced and engineered by the band alongside a gent named Phil Greene.  Enjoy (or not).  

01. Something There
02. In Her Head
03. Key to Heaven
04. There's a Reason
05. Goin' No Where
06. It Must Be Bedtime
07. Ain't What You Say
08. Tunnel of Love
09. Life Ain't Without You Baby
10. No Way Out

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