With his roots dug deep into the JOURNEY tree, it should come as no surprise that veteran rocker Kevin Chalfant’s latest release is a tribute to the melodic rock Gods themselves… JOURNEY! Yes, we’ve all heard “tribute” albums before and for the most part, they can be pretty scary with artists trying to put their own spin on classic songs from just about anyone you can think of. So what’s different about this one? There are no weird twists or spins! “Fly 2 Freedom” is a true “tribute” release and the songs all sound exactly how you remember them… only performed by the very Perry-esque vocal stylings of Kevin Chalfant and his band.

Right from his early beginnings with the band 707 and their hit single “Mega Force” (which would later be re-worked to become Ace Frehley’s “Calling To You”) to his most notable work with the band THE STORM, Chalfant has always carried the “Perry label… something he has worn proudly. Hell, with the exception of lead guitarist Josh Ramos, THE STORM was composed of all ex-JOURNEY members in Ross Valory, Gregg Rolie and Steve Smith! So it was only fitting that upon the release of THE STORM’s self-titled, debut release back in 1991, they were almost immediately dubbed “the new JOURNEY.” But it wasn’t the music itself or even the fact that Rolie, Valory and Smith were all in the band… it was the amazing vocals of Chalfant which really earned them that title.

We’ve all heard a lot of Perry imitators over the years… even some that do a pretty good job but, as we all know, there’s only one STEVE PERRY! But no one, and I mean NO ONE quite captures the energy, emotion or passion of Perry’s style like Chalfant. Whether he’s singing JOURNEY or his own original material, the heavy influence of Steve Perry is always apparent. But with his own unique interpretation of Perry’s technique, Chalfant is able to fashion a sound uniquely his own which fits his music, as well as the music of JOURNEY, to a “T.” Never before has this been more apparent then on his latest release “Fly 2 Freedom: The Songs of JOURNEY.”

I had the chance to speak with Kevin briefly about the release backstage at the “Melodicrock.com 10th Anniversary” concert in Indiana and he was telling me how he has always gotten letters or emails from his fans saying, “We love to hear you sing those old JOURNEY songs!” This was the inspiration behind “Fly To Freedom.” And not only is Chalfant able to capture the music just as we remember it, but even the cover itself just screams JOURNEY, only the familiar “scarab” logo we’ve become all too familiar with is replaced with a fly.

With ease, Chalfant cranks out hit after hit after hit. Some highlights of the release include some powerful versions of “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Stone In Love” and “Any Way You Want It” as well as very heart-felt renditions of “Faithfully,” “Who’s Crying Now” and what JOURNEY tribute album would be complete without “Open Arms.” I also completely love what he did with the more classic tunes like “Feeling That Way,” “Just The Same Way,” “Anytime,” and “Where Were You.”

Other songs of note include an absolutely stellar interpretation of “Lights” and a gripping and emotional version of “Send Her My Love” which really captures all the heart-felt sentiment of the original.

What about “Separate Ways” you wonder after looking at the track list? Chalfant sings it brilliantly (as always), the music is just as strong as the original and the guitar solo is simply superb. However, the keyboards are “just” a bit too echoey for me as oppose to the strong, clear chords of the original making it sound just a “tad” karaoke. But other than that, I haven’t a bad comment or critique to say about “Fly 2 Freedom.” It is what it is… “PURE JOURNEY!”

If you’re a fan of JOURNEY or melodic rock (but then again, how can you be one without the other…LOL!), then you NEED this CD in your collection. It’s a nice break from listening to the originals over and over again and is a true “tribute” album in every sense of the word. Great job Kevin and all the musicians associated with this release! Can’t wait to hear your next solo effort!