MR

Seeing Aynsley with the boys again made me want to search out more of his stuff. What an incredible talent. Much different style than Smith, but equally impressive.

I found this version of La Do Da that he recorded a few years back. Much different that Journey's version. More bluesy-rock. I'm too used to Perry's vocals to really dig this guy singing, but overall not bad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIsI-z2oI9Y

Sounds like Glenn Frey's guitar from "Smugglers Blues" - different... prefer the original, but worth a listen.

Aynsley is/was a great drummer and fit the criteria for early Journey's style, and was a huge part of it. As for his leaving I've heard/read two versions. 1) Perry was sick of his style, the constant fills throughout songs, and with the band moving away from the prog style, he was becoming obsolete. 2) the groupies visiting him were getting younger & younger at each city and he was asked to leave.

You can decide. But either way, his drumming is great. There used to be a video of Jefferson Airplanes Find your way back with him on drums, I think it's been removed from YT. The other one is a great version of Dream Genie by Bowie with him on the skins.

I've heard/read both of those versions as well. I've also read Aynsley's perspective (maybe in Robyn Flans' book?) that he was getting bored playing the newer, more structured material. The songs were just becoming a warm-up for his solos, and the heavier date schedule was making him lose money from teaching clinics. Might not be word for word, but along those lines.

Probably a combination of all the reasons.

His playing was more rhythmic and thunderous that Smith's (at the time). But no doubt that Smith's more melodic playing worked much better with Perry's vocals.

Aynsley was probably the perfect drummer for the first 3 albums. Especially the debut album. Before I picked up the guitar I played drums, and I tried drumming along to the album and hoooo boy my arms were ready to break off after "Kohoutek". His work on Infinity is solid (the drum fill before the solo in "Anytime" is of course iconic) but his style wouldn't have worked going forward from Evolution.

If I were to judge them based strictly on their drumming in Journey, I would say that Dunbar is even better than Smith.

However, if you listen to Smith with his Vital Information band or the Vital Tech Tones band, you realize that Smith is the even better drummer.