The 14-track GENERATIONS album-which will include a 10-page booklet with new photos and lyrics--was recorded at the Record Plant in Sausalito, CA, where the band recorded 1986's multi-platinum RAISED ON RADIO. Their first new recording since 2002's RED 13 four-song EP and 2001's full-length ARRIVAL album, it's truly what loyal Journey fans have been waiting for. "There's a real sense of harmony and melody on this album filled with heartfelt lyrics," proclaims keyboardist Jonathan Cain. "It has the ballads that people would expect from us and the rock & roll that I think has the Journey signature sound to it. There's something for everybody. There's a mix of fun, playful songs along with some solid rock tracks. I don't think it's going to disappoint anyone."

It certainly has not been disappointing to reviewers who have already had a chance to hear the album, thanks to the earlier overseas release date of August 29 on Frontiers Records. One writer declared: "GENERATIONS is present and future, and beforehand, an album from an inner musical quality that will pass the test of time." While another called it "…a must-buy for melodic rock fans."

The band turned to an old friend, Kevin Elson, to produce GENERATIONS. He's the man responsible for the band's multi-platinum ESCAPE, DEPARTURE and FRONTIERS albums, as well as their double-platinum CAPTURED live album. It was Schon's idea to enlist Michael Fraser (Metallica, AC/DC, Aerosmith) to team up with Elson to engineer the sessions.

The album title, GENERATIONS, represents the constancy of Journey's followers old and new throughout the past 30 years. "There's a whole new generation that has become fans of ours," says Valory. "For the last seven years in particular, I've been noticing that there are younger fans at the shows. Being that Journey has been popular for so long, there are at least three if not four generations of Journey concert-goers and listeners. We find people older than us and kids in the front row. So many of the lyrics on the album address the lives of these people."

In an interesting twist, GENERATIONS is the first Journey album in which all the band members get a shot at being the frontman. "Everyone is singing at least one, if not two songs on the new album," says Valory, "we've been doing that on the past few tours and the audiences love it. We're spreading the talent around. I like to think of it as a blossoming of new singers who've just been playing their instruments before."

As a sign of gratitude to their devoted fans who helped put Journey in the top 30 best-selling music groups of all time (having sold over 75 million albums worldwide), copies of GENERATIONS have been exclusively given away free with the purchase of a ticket at most of the concerts along the U.S. tour route, which is currently underway and concludes October 9 in Los Angeles at the Greek Theatre.

To make the retail release even more special, the Sanctuary version will include two new songs ("The Pride Of The Family" and "Never Too Late") that aren't on the CD being given to fans at the concerts.

Check out the band's website for the latest U.S. tour dates. Here's the complete track listing: