Separate Ways

The song operates in E minor using a descending progression that both Schon and Cain traced back to Motown and R&B — the harmonic language is straightforward, but the tension comes from the relentless forward momentum and the V chord (B major) that never quite settles. The synthesizer riff functions as the main melodic hook rather than the guitar, which was unusual for a band built around Schon's playing.

Steve Perry and Jonathan Cain wrote the song backstage during Journey's 1982 Escape tour. Perry had been working on a bass line while Cain had a guitar; the melody came together that same night, with lyrics following the next afternoon. Journey road-tested it live before entering the studio — an unusual move for the band. Cain later told Hit Parader Magazine in June 1983: 'Usually we don't write songs that far in advance of an album. But on that occasion, Steve and I were just working an idea backstage and it all came together.'

Released in January 1983 as the lead single from Frontiers, 'Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)' fused Steve Perry's soaring vocals with Neal Schon's heavy guitar and a keyboard riff that lodged itself permanently in the decade's sonic memory. It peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Top Tracks chart for four weeks. Its use in Stranger Things season 4 introduced it to a new generation who had no idea it was nearly 40 years old.