EXCELLENT HISTORY LESSON OF JOURNEY...
Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2007 1:43 amThis is what the Journey was about in the early stages... Most of us know this/SOME DONT... but with all the termoil regarding the last 9 years... maybe a more calmer read, will help with theropy!!
Rick
The beginning of the journey
MUSIC, MYTHS & LEGENDS
By MARTIN VENGADESAN
Journey’s best-known hits may be crowd-pleasers but there was a time when the band exuded power and originality.
Gregg Rolie
THE image of Steve Perry warbling instant karaoke classics like Open Arms, Faithfully and Who’s Cryin’ Now is generally the one that most of us have of Journey … although I must say that I’ve just been introduced to the silly simulationheavy video for Separate Ways!
Regardless of the visual antics, during its early 1980s peak, Journey was a masterful pop band guaranteed to fill the airwaves with ear candy.
However, the Journey that interests me is not the platinum-selling darlings of commercial radio but an earlier incarnation.
The original Journey was a band of power and invention, although I dare say it never truly realised its potential. Hard as it may be to believe now, Journey actually arose out of a split in Santana!
That’s right, when the Santana band was at its peak, leader Carlos plucked a 17-year-old boy wonder called Neal Schon out of obscurity.
Schon’s first recordings were on Santana III, a chart-topping album that also featured Gregg Rolie on lead vocals and organ.
Rolie is something of a forgotten man of rock. Despite the fact that he actually sang many of Santana’s earliest (and biggest) hits like Black Magic Woman and Evil Ways, Rolie was never really given his due, whether as a sensual vocalist or as an interesting Hammond organ player.
Tiring of his secondary role in Santana, Rolie teamed up with Schon and the pair roped in bassist Neal Valory, guitarist George Tickner and the unusually named drummer Prairie Prince.
When Aynsley Dunbar, who’d drummed for the likes of Jeff Beck, Frank Zappa and David Bowie, came aboard in place of Prince, the initial recording line-up was set.
Journey’s first album.
Journey’s excellent first album debuted in 1975 and opened with the stunning Of a Lifetime, a tour-de-force of guitar interplay between Schon and Tickner, with Rolie’s organ chords and plaintive vocals holding it all together.
The high energy rock and spacey vibe probably reached a peak with the concluding track Mystery Mountain.
It’s also hard to reconcile the vicious jazz rock riffing of the instrumental Kohautek, more akin to the work of Return To Forever or The Mahavishnu Orchestra, with the latter-day Journey.
Nonetheless, they were moments of soul-tinged pop (In The Morning Day and To Play Some Music) which gave an indication that early Journey wasn’t all about experimentation.
While the album and subsequent heavy touring gained Journey a faithful following, it was clear that the progressive tinges of their music weren’t about to move Journey into the big leagues.
Facing pressure from both the record company and inside the group (Tickner departed during this period), Journey moved towards a streamlined sound.
The second album Look into the Future showed a shift away from the sci-fi themed cover and lengthy instrumentals of the debut with a series of shorter tracks, including a misfiring cover of the Beatles psychedelic romp It’s All Too Much.
Still, two massive cuts, the slow-burning title track and the semi-lethal blues-rocker I’m Gonna Leave You (which boasted fine lengthy solos from both Rolie and Schon), were worthy additions to an already impressive canon of work.
By early 1977 and the release of the third Journey album Next, it was clear that the writing was on the wall. Stuck in no man’s land between the soulful pop style that Rolie occasionally churned out, and the odd burst of instrumental prowess, Journey was caught in a holding pattern.
Indeed, Next offered nothing really new, although again, songs like Spaceman and Karma were nothing to sneeze at.
Sadly, the impetus was waning and it was decided that the burden on Rolie as lead singer, keyboardist and main songwriter was getting too much.
A search for a new frontman was embarked upon, and after an abortive period with Robert Fleischman at the helm, Perry waltzed onto the scene. His very first album as the group’s lead singer was Infinity, which immediately made Journey a far more viable commercial prospect.
The slick singles of the Perry-era may have brought Journey a much wider audience, but it’s the earliest incarnation of the band that produced the most magic.
Martin Vengadesan, a music lover and history buff, combines his two passions in his fortnightly column. If you have any interesting stories you want him to research, do drop him a line.
Rick
The beginning of the journey
MUSIC, MYTHS & LEGENDS
By MARTIN VENGADESAN
Journey’s best-known hits may be crowd-pleasers but there was a time when the band exuded power and originality.
Gregg Rolie
THE image of Steve Perry warbling instant karaoke classics like Open Arms, Faithfully and Who’s Cryin’ Now is generally the one that most of us have of Journey … although I must say that I’ve just been introduced to the silly simulationheavy video for Separate Ways!
Regardless of the visual antics, during its early 1980s peak, Journey was a masterful pop band guaranteed to fill the airwaves with ear candy.
However, the Journey that interests me is not the platinum-selling darlings of commercial radio but an earlier incarnation.
The original Journey was a band of power and invention, although I dare say it never truly realised its potential. Hard as it may be to believe now, Journey actually arose out of a split in Santana!
That’s right, when the Santana band was at its peak, leader Carlos plucked a 17-year-old boy wonder called Neal Schon out of obscurity.
Schon’s first recordings were on Santana III, a chart-topping album that also featured Gregg Rolie on lead vocals and organ.
Rolie is something of a forgotten man of rock. Despite the fact that he actually sang many of Santana’s earliest (and biggest) hits like Black Magic Woman and Evil Ways, Rolie was never really given his due, whether as a sensual vocalist or as an interesting Hammond organ player.
Tiring of his secondary role in Santana, Rolie teamed up with Schon and the pair roped in bassist Neal Valory, guitarist George Tickner and the unusually named drummer Prairie Prince.
When Aynsley Dunbar, who’d drummed for the likes of Jeff Beck, Frank Zappa and David Bowie, came aboard in place of Prince, the initial recording line-up was set.
Journey’s first album.
Journey’s excellent first album debuted in 1975 and opened with the stunning Of a Lifetime, a tour-de-force of guitar interplay between Schon and Tickner, with Rolie’s organ chords and plaintive vocals holding it all together.
The high energy rock and spacey vibe probably reached a peak with the concluding track Mystery Mountain.
It’s also hard to reconcile the vicious jazz rock riffing of the instrumental Kohautek, more akin to the work of Return To Forever or The Mahavishnu Orchestra, with the latter-day Journey.
Nonetheless, they were moments of soul-tinged pop (In The Morning Day and To Play Some Music) which gave an indication that early Journey wasn’t all about experimentation.
While the album and subsequent heavy touring gained Journey a faithful following, it was clear that the progressive tinges of their music weren’t about to move Journey into the big leagues.
Facing pressure from both the record company and inside the group (Tickner departed during this period), Journey moved towards a streamlined sound.
The second album Look into the Future showed a shift away from the sci-fi themed cover and lengthy instrumentals of the debut with a series of shorter tracks, including a misfiring cover of the Beatles psychedelic romp It’s All Too Much.
Still, two massive cuts, the slow-burning title track and the semi-lethal blues-rocker I’m Gonna Leave You (which boasted fine lengthy solos from both Rolie and Schon), were worthy additions to an already impressive canon of work.
By early 1977 and the release of the third Journey album Next, it was clear that the writing was on the wall. Stuck in no man’s land between the soulful pop style that Rolie occasionally churned out, and the odd burst of instrumental prowess, Journey was caught in a holding pattern.
Indeed, Next offered nothing really new, although again, songs like Spaceman and Karma were nothing to sneeze at.
Sadly, the impetus was waning and it was decided that the burden on Rolie as lead singer, keyboardist and main songwriter was getting too much.
A search for a new frontman was embarked upon, and after an abortive period with Robert Fleischman at the helm, Perry waltzed onto the scene. His very first album as the group’s lead singer was Infinity, which immediately made Journey a far more viable commercial prospect.
The slick singles of the Perry-era may have brought Journey a much wider audience, but it’s the earliest incarnation of the band that produced the most magic.
Martin Vengadesan, a music lover and history buff, combines his two passions in his fortnightly column. If you have any interesting stories you want him to research, do drop him a line.