Any Way You Want It
Encyclopedia
"Any Way You Want It" is a popular song performed by Journey
released on the album Departure
as the opening track, as a single in 1980 and was rerecorded with Arnel Pineda
and Deen Castronovo
for their 2008 album Revelation
. The song was written by frontman Steve Perry
and guitarist Neal Schon
. It peaked at #23 on the Billboard Hot 100
chart. The band often plays it to close their concerts. It appears on all four of the band's live albums (Captured
, Greatest Hits Live
, Live in Houston 1981: The Escape Tour
, and Revelation
on DVD). Since its release, the song has continued to infiltrate public consciousness due to its use in television advertisement
s by popular brands such as Heinz
, McDonald's
, Ford
and Samsung
, and its prominent appearance in the comedy film Caddyshack
released the same year of the song. It was voted the 80th best hard rock song of all time by VH1
viewers.
, the song was heavily influenced by Irish rock band Thin Lizzy
and more particularly by bassist leader Phil Lynott
. In July 1979, Journey was touring with Thin Lizzy across the United States
when Lynott, Perry and Schon decided to share rhyme scheme exercises during a hanging out in Miami. The "basic" work on "the guitar-vocal-guitar-vocal interchange thing that happened between Phil and his lyrics and the guitarist and his arrangements, inspired the Any Way You Want It sorta give and take thing. It’s guitar-voice, guitar-voice, more guitar-guitar-guitar-voice. It be voice-voice and back and forth and that’s something that Neal and I think just instinctually picked up by hanging out with him" commented Perry. Schon and Perry would then rework on the song in the band bus, with Schon on acoustic guitar and Perry for vocals.
Lynott's contribution later influenced other songs built on the same scheme such as "Stone In Love
".
For the studio version, keyboardist Gregg Rolie
originally used a mellotron
but since it was defective, co-producer Geoff Workman decided to fix the sound by doubling it with Rolie's regular organ in the final mixing, creating the unique sounding background support for the song.
Journey (band)
Journey is an American rock band formed in 1973 in San Francisco by former members of Santana. The band has gone through several phases; its strongest commercial success occurred between the 1978 and 1987, after which it temporarily disbanded...
released on the album Departure
Departure (Journey album)
-Personnel:*Neal Schon - guitars, lead vocals on track 4, backing vocals*Steve Perry - lead vocals*Gregg Rolie - keyboards, harmonica, lead vocals on track 3, backing vocals*Steve Smith - drums and percussion*Ross Valory - bass, backing vocals-Charts:...
as the opening track, as a single in 1980 and was rerecorded with Arnel Pineda
Arnel Pineda
Arnel Pineda is a Filipino singer-songwriter who has served as the lead singer of the American rock band Journey since 2007. Pineda has had a successful musical career in the Philippines for the last 25 years.- Biography :...
and Deen Castronovo
Deen Castronovo
Deen Castronovo is an Italian American drummer who has played in various bands, including Kandles at Nine, Cacophony, Bad English, Journey, The Enemy, Wild Dogs, Dr. Mastermind, Hardline, Planet Us, Soul Sirkus, Social Distortion, and Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler's G/Z/R, as well as in...
for their 2008 album Revelation
Revelation (Journey album)
-DVD:#"Sky Light" #"Any Way You Want It" #*Originally from Departure, 1980#"Wheel in the Sky" #*Originally from Infinity, 1978#"Lights"...
. The song was written by frontman Steve Perry
Steve Perry (musician)
Stephen Ray "Steve" Perry is an American singer and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Journey from 1977–1987 and 1995–1998. Perry had a successful solo career throughout the late 1980s and early '90s.Perry's voice has garnered acclaim from musical peers and music...
and guitarist Neal Schon
Neal Schon
Neal George Joseph Schon is an American rock guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist best known for his work with the band Journey. He is the only member to have recorded on all of Journey's albums...
. It peaked at #23 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart. The band often plays it to close their concerts. It appears on all four of the band's live albums (Captured
Captured (Journey album)
This album was recorded during the band's "Departure" tour in 1980. Tracks 1-4 were taken from a performance recorded at The Forum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on August 8, 1980...
, Greatest Hits Live
Greatest Hits Live (Journey album)
-Personnel:*Steve Perry – lead vocals*Neal Schon – lead guitar, vocals*Ross Valory – bass, vocals*Steve Smith – drums, percussion*Jonathan Cain – keyboards, rhythm guitar, vocals-Production:*A&R Executive: John Kalodner*Produced & Mixed By Kevin Shirley...
, Live in Houston 1981: The Escape Tour
Live in Houston 1981: The Escape Tour
-Personnel:*Neal Schon - lead guitar, background vocals*Steve Perry - lead vocals*Jonathan Cain - keyboards, rhythm guitar, background vocals*Steve Smith - drums, percussion*Ross Valory - bass, background vocals...
, and Revelation
Revelation (Journey album)
-DVD:#"Sky Light" #"Any Way You Want It" #*Originally from Departure, 1980#"Wheel in the Sky" #*Originally from Infinity, 1978#"Lights"...
on DVD). Since its release, the song has continued to infiltrate public consciousness due to its use in television advertisement
Television advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...
s by popular brands such as Heinz
H. J. Heinz Company
The H. J. Heinz Company , commonly known as Heinz and famous for its "57 Varieties" slogan and its ketchup, is an American food company with world headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.Perhaps best known for its ketchup, the H.J...
, McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
, Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
and Samsung
Samsung Group
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
, and its prominent appearance in the comedy film Caddyshack
Caddyshack
Caddyshack is a 1980 American comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and written by Brian Doyle-Murray, Ramis, and Douglas Kenney. It stars Chevy Chase, Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Michael O'Keefe, Cindy Morgan, and Bill Murray...
released the same year of the song. It was voted the 80th best hard rock song of all time by VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
viewers.
Song information
According to cowriter Steve PerrySteve Perry (musician)
Stephen Ray "Steve" Perry is an American singer and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Journey from 1977–1987 and 1995–1998. Perry had a successful solo career throughout the late 1980s and early '90s.Perry's voice has garnered acclaim from musical peers and music...
, the song was heavily influenced by Irish rock band Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Two of the founding members, drummer Brian Downey and bass guitarist/vocalist Phil Lynott met while still in school. Lynott assumed the role of frontman and led them throughout their recording career of thirteen studio albums...
and more particularly by bassist leader Phil Lynott
Phil Lynott
Philip Parris "Phil" Lynott was an Irish musician who first came to prominence as a founding member, principal songwriter, and frontman of the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy....
. In July 1979, Journey was touring with Thin Lizzy across the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
when Lynott, Perry and Schon decided to share rhyme scheme exercises during a hanging out in Miami. The "basic" work on "the guitar-vocal-guitar-vocal interchange thing that happened between Phil and his lyrics and the guitarist and his arrangements, inspired the Any Way You Want It sorta give and take thing. It’s guitar-voice, guitar-voice, more guitar-guitar-guitar-voice. It be voice-voice and back and forth and that’s something that Neal and I think just instinctually picked up by hanging out with him" commented Perry. Schon and Perry would then rework on the song in the band bus, with Schon on acoustic guitar and Perry for vocals.
Lynott's contribution later influenced other songs built on the same scheme such as "Stone In Love
Escape (Journey album)
-Personnel:*Steve Perry - Lead Vocals*Neal Schon - Guitar, Vocals*Ross Valory - Bass, Vocals*Steve Smith - Drums, Percussion*Jonathan Cain - Keyboards, Piano, Guitar, Vocals-Additional personnel:*Wally Buck - Engineer, Assistant Engineer...
".
For the studio version, keyboardist Gregg Rolie
Gregg Rolie
Gregg Alan Rolie is an American keyboardist, organist, and singer, who is one of the founding members of the bands Santana, The Storm, Abraxas Pool and Journey, for whom he was the original lead singer. He currently performs with his Gregg Rolie Band...
originally used a mellotron
Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
but since it was defective, co-producer Geoff Workman decided to fix the sound by doubling it with Rolie's regular organ in the final mixing, creating the unique sounding background support for the song.
Music video
The video for the song opens with a man standing in front of a jukebox, his face unseen by the camera. He scrolls his finger up a list of songs and stops at "Any Way You Want It". He then reaches into his pocket and pulls out a coin which he inserts into the jukebox. He then selects the song and we see a record being flipped over and beginning to spin. This dissolves into a shot of a studio tape spinning which leads to the group performing the song in the studio. The bands performance comprises most of the video until the song ends. At this point the man at the jukebox is revealed to actually be singer Steve Perry who turns and smiles at the camera. Another video exists which is a live performance during the Departure tour. Both videos were omitted from the band's Greatest Hits DVD in favor of another live version of the song from the Escape tour.Personnel (Departure)
- Steve PerrySteve Perry (musician)Stephen Ray "Steve" Perry is an American singer and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Journey from 1977–1987 and 1995–1998. Perry had a successful solo career throughout the late 1980s and early '90s.Perry's voice has garnered acclaim from musical peers and music...
- lead vocals - Neal SchonNeal SchonNeal George Joseph Schon is an American rock guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist best known for his work with the band Journey. He is the only member to have recorded on all of Journey's albums...
- lead & rhythm guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, backing vocals - Ross ValoryRoss ValoryRoss Lamont Valory is Journey's noted bass player. He and Neal Schon are the only original members of the band still performing with the group. Aside from his termination from the group during the Raised on Radio album sessions in 1986, Ross has played on all of Journey's albums...
- bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocals - Gregg RolieGregg RolieGregg Alan Rolie is an American keyboardist, organist, and singer, who is one of the founding members of the bands Santana, The Storm, Abraxas Pool and Journey, for whom he was the original lead singer. He currently performs with his Gregg Rolie Band...
- keyboardKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
, backing vocals - Steve SmithSteve Smith (musician)Steve Elliott Smith is an American drummer who has worked with hundreds of artists in his career, but is mostly known for being the drummer of the rock band Journey during their peak years of success. Modern Drummer magazine readers voted him the #1 All-Around Drummer five years in a row...
- drums
Personnel (Revelation)
- Jonathan CainJonathan CainJonathan Cain is an American musician, best known for his work with The Babys, Journey and Bad English.-Early life:...
- keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, backing vocals - Arnel PinedaArnel PinedaArnel Pineda is a Filipino singer-songwriter who has served as the lead singer of the American rock band Journey since 2007. Pineda has had a successful musical career in the Philippines for the last 25 years.- Biography :...
- lead vocals - Neal SchonNeal SchonNeal George Joseph Schon is an American rock guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist best known for his work with the band Journey. He is the only member to have recorded on all of Journey's albums...
- guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, backing vocals - Ross ValoryRoss ValoryRoss Lamont Valory is Journey's noted bass player. He and Neal Schon are the only original members of the band still performing with the group. Aside from his termination from the group during the Raised on Radio album sessions in 1986, Ross has played on all of Journey's albums...
- bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocals - Deen CastronovoDeen CastronovoDeen Castronovo is an Italian American drummer who has played in various bands, including Kandles at Nine, Cacophony, Bad English, Journey, The Enemy, Wild Dogs, Dr. Mastermind, Hardline, Planet Us, Soul Sirkus, Social Distortion, and Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler's G/Z/R, as well as in...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, backing vocals