1982 · Behind the Songs
After three blockbusters, Escape’s last single slowed down and looked back.
Escape, released July 20, 1981 on Columbia, gave Journey three massive singles — and then a fourth. “Still They Ride,” side one, track five at 3:50, written by Steve Perry, Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain, was released as a single on May 22, 1982, and reached No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100. Its B-side, an alternate version of “La Raza del Sol,” was another deep cut for the faithful.
A Different Shade of Escape
Where its album-mates shouted, “Still They Ride” mourned. Cash Box called it a “bluesy lament,” praising a “sad, almost mournful” vocal over “doleful acoustic piano work” and “crying guitar notes.” Billboard heard a “soft, lyrical ballad” in the same “tone and style” as “Open Arms.” The title suggests motion, but the mood is arrival after the fact — a band that had escaped, now glancing back at the road.
