The Journey That Time Forgot
A significant musical journey began in 1975 with the release of an eponymous debut album.
The band responsible for the album would go on to become a household name in melodic rock and a feature of the ‘80s Billboard charts and arena shows.
But, unlike the more common occurrence these days where we have countless remastered or re-released versions of early albums by classic bands, there was to be no updated reissue for that debut album in 2010, thirty-five years on from its original appearance.
Nor had there been any special treatment for Journey in 2005 when the album celebrated its 30th birthday, even though songs from the album featured in Journey set lists during the Generations 30th Anniversary tour.
Sadly, those early tunes were not well received on the tour and had been met by most American concert going fans with extreme apathy, confusion or even complete ignorance of the material.
The early fusion songs were long gone from the set by the time the Generations tour got to Europe.
That's a shame, but maybe not a surprise when you consider Journey’s greatest musical successes (and the line-ups that achieved those successes) were far removed from the Journey that time forgot…
When Journey was released it showcased the precocious talents of guitarist Neal Schon, who had already played live alongside Eric Clapton and had been part of the Santana band for around two years.
Manager Herbie Herbert had hand-picked the musicians he wanted for his post-Santana management project and ex-Santana musos Schon and vocalist/ keyboard player Gregg Rolie were major components of the Journey that began in 1973.
Aiding and abetting Schon and Rolie were bass player Ross Valory, second/ rhythm guitarist George Tickner and drummer Prairie Prince.
The material Journey originally wrote and performed took its lead from the more fusion-istic pieces that featured on the early ‘70s Santana albums III and Caravanserai.
But Journey took the sound a little further – the album incorporated progressive and jazz-rock structures, long instrumental pieces and non-standard time signatures.
The songs featured on Journey were honed on stage and in studio rehearsals throughout 1973 and 1974, but by the time recordings took place for the album Prarie Prince had jumped ship permanently to The Tubes.
Aynsley Dunbar replaced Prarie Prince behind the kit and was a great fit, technically proficient and more progressive than mainstream in musicality.
He became the final piece of the jigsaw in Journey’s original progressive-fusion period.
Journey was released in April 1975 but didn’t set the charts alight, with estimates of around 100,000 sales in its first year.
It was however a critical success and featured some blistering six-string work from Neal Schon.
But sales should never be taken as a measure of quality and Journey’s debut album is so much more than just a footnote in the discography of the band…
The seven tracks served up a feast of fusion delights, with the opening number ‘Of a Lifetime’ setting the tone.
Beginning with a soft intro featuring a Gregg Rolie vocal and Neal Schon melody line, it lulls the listener into a false sense of security as it builds to a heavy rock chorus before stepping up the tempo for a Schon solo run backed by some synth remarks by Rolie.
The song finishes with a heavier version of the melody line that opened the song.
The more mainstream musicality of Journey could be found on songs such as ‘In the Morning Day’ and ‘To Play Some Music.’
‘In the Morning Day’ starts innocently enough with an almost balladeering feel as Gregg Rolie sings over a piano and organ backing before the song kicks into gear featuring great Hammond organ runs from Rolie and a relatively short but blistering Neal Schon solo.
‘To Play Some Music’ opened side two in old record vinyl terms and was Journey’s statement of intent.
It's a great little rock number, with the title self-explanatory.
The closer ‘Mystery Mountain’ cranks up the fusion vibe again over a standard rock tempo.
Gregg Rolie almost spits out some of the volcanic lyrics, George Tickner delivers big chunky guitar chords and Neal Schon and Aynsley Dunbar drive the latter half of the song to its fade-out finish.
But Journey was no one trick fusion pony.
‘In My Lonely Feeling/ Conversations’ starts as a heavy blues number before the song segues to a slowly building instrumental section written by Ross Valory, who plays piano on the track.
(The melodic theme of ‘Conversations’ would be revisited and orchestrated to form part of an instrumental piece for Journey’s Dream after Dream soundtrack album five years later).
The final two numbers to mention are the pick of the Journey bunch.
‘Kohoutek’ and ‘Topaz’ are classic progressive-fusion instrumentals and both were highlights of early Journey shows.
‘Kohoutek,’ like ‘Of a Lifetime,’ starts quietly before stepping up both in power and tempo and features duelling instruments between the fret burning of Neal Schon and the synth-runs of Gregg Rolie.
Ross Valory and George Tickner hold down the riff of the song while Aynsley Dunbar throws a few fills and runs of his own in for good measure before the song returns to its opening remarks.
‘Kohoutek’ was still a feature of Journey shows in 1980, well after the band's transformation to exponents of quality melodic rock.
‘Topaz,’ the other instrumental on Journey, beats out ‘Kohoutek’ as not just the best instrumental on the album, but also as the best track on the album.
It's also one of the most creative songs Journey ever recorded or performed.
Another song starting innocently enough with an atmospheric build up and almost eastern feel, 'Topaz' shifts to a rock shuffle before mixing some fine grooving work from Neal Schon and an almost funky rhythm held down by George Tickner.
Aynsley Dunbar again has his moments with big beefy fills and Ross Valory gets to spread some little bursts of funk around when the song is in its highest gear.
'Topaz' was written by George Tickner and Journey's 'other' guitarist deserves special mention...
George Tickner was the foil to Neal Schon’s rapier like six-string work, but he brought so much more to Journey – he knew more chords than most guitarists out there and was a superb arranger and songwriter.
The usual comment attributed to George Tickner’s departure – that he didn’t like touring and left to pursue medical studies – is correct, but it’s only half the story.
George Tickner was throwing such clever and sometimes complex chord shapes around there were times Neal Schon didn’t know when or where to come down after his solos or guitar work.
They just didn’t gel, Schon was unhappy and Tickner was dropped.
With Neal Schon being such a talent and huge part of the sound it’s perhaps not surprising there was a clash when he was met with another creative force bringing different shapes to the table.
In Neal Schon’s defence it can be argued, in hindsight, George Ticker was perhaps the fifth wheel.
With such a solid rhythm section as Ross Valory and Aynsley Dunbar, along with Gregg Rolie’s ability to put a layer behind Schon’s solos or match/ duel with those solos, Tickner became redundant.
Be that as it may, the part George Tickner played in the sound of that original Journey should not be forgotten or underestimated.
He may also have been the best songwriter/ arranger of the band in that fusion era and George Tickner
co-writing credits appeared on the two fusion based albums that followed the debut.
And as regards the talents of Neal Schon?
The guitarist will always be known, first and foremost, for six-string work such as the beautifully simple solo on ‘Who’s Crying Now’ and his other outstanding melodic deliveries on those later Journeys.
Yet the fact remains that while Schon's most noted solos are associated with the post-fusion Journey era some of his best, unfettered works are in the grooves of albums such as Journey.
As just about every rock fan knows, by the late ‘70s it was a very different Journey and one that became incredibly successful; but where that Journey started should not be forgotten.
Journey is one of the best rock-fusion albums of the era, holding its own against some true classics such as Billy Cobham’s Spectrum and releases by British fusion band Colosseum II (featuring such luminaries as drummer Jon Hiseman, keyboard player Don Airey and a guitarist by the name of Gary Moore).
Journey is not just a great rock-fusion album – it’s a great Journey album.
Ross Muir
March 2011
The band responsible for the album would go on to become a household name in melodic rock and a feature of the ‘80s Billboard charts and arena shows.
But, unlike the more common occurrence these days where we have countless remastered or re-released versions of early albums by classic bands, there was to be no updated reissue for that debut album in 2010, thirty-five years on from its original appearance.
Nor had there been any special treatment for Journey in 2005 when the album celebrated its 30th birthday, even though songs from the album featured in Journey set lists during the Generations 30th Anniversary tour.
Sadly, those early tunes were not well received on the tour and had been met by most American concert going fans with extreme apathy, confusion or even complete ignorance of the material.
The early fusion songs were long gone from the set by the time the Generations tour got to Europe.
That's a shame, but maybe not a surprise when you consider Journey’s greatest musical successes (and the line-ups that achieved those successes) were far removed from the Journey that time forgot…
When Journey was released it showcased the precocious talents of guitarist Neal Schon, who had already played live alongside Eric Clapton and had been part of the Santana band for around two years.
Manager Herbie Herbert had hand-picked the musicians he wanted for his post-Santana management project and ex-Santana musos Schon and vocalist/ keyboard player Gregg Rolie were major components of the Journey that began in 1973.
Aiding and abetting Schon and Rolie were bass player Ross Valory, second/ rhythm guitarist George Tickner and drummer Prairie Prince.
The material Journey originally wrote and performed took its lead from the more fusion-istic pieces that featured on the early ‘70s Santana albums III and Caravanserai.
But Journey took the sound a little further – the album incorporated progressive and jazz-rock structures, long instrumental pieces and non-standard time signatures.
The songs featured on Journey were honed on stage and in studio rehearsals throughout 1973 and 1974, but by the time recordings took place for the album Prarie Prince had jumped ship permanently to The Tubes.
Aynsley Dunbar replaced Prarie Prince behind the kit and was a great fit, technically proficient and more progressive than mainstream in musicality.
He became the final piece of the jigsaw in Journey’s original progressive-fusion period.
Journey was released in April 1975 but didn’t set the charts alight, with estimates of around 100,000 sales in its first year.
It was however a critical success and featured some blistering six-string work from Neal Schon.
But sales should never be taken as a measure of quality and Journey’s debut album is so much more than just a footnote in the discography of the band…
The seven tracks served up a feast of fusion delights, with the opening number ‘Of a Lifetime’ setting the tone.
Beginning with a soft intro featuring a Gregg Rolie vocal and Neal Schon melody line, it lulls the listener into a false sense of security as it builds to a heavy rock chorus before stepping up the tempo for a Schon solo run backed by some synth remarks by Rolie.
The song finishes with a heavier version of the melody line that opened the song.
The more mainstream musicality of Journey could be found on songs such as ‘In the Morning Day’ and ‘To Play Some Music.’
‘In the Morning Day’ starts innocently enough with an almost balladeering feel as Gregg Rolie sings over a piano and organ backing before the song kicks into gear featuring great Hammond organ runs from Rolie and a relatively short but blistering Neal Schon solo.
‘To Play Some Music’ opened side two in old record vinyl terms and was Journey’s statement of intent.
It's a great little rock number, with the title self-explanatory.
The closer ‘Mystery Mountain’ cranks up the fusion vibe again over a standard rock tempo.
Gregg Rolie almost spits out some of the volcanic lyrics, George Tickner delivers big chunky guitar chords and Neal Schon and Aynsley Dunbar drive the latter half of the song to its fade-out finish.
But Journey was no one trick fusion pony.
‘In My Lonely Feeling/ Conversations’ starts as a heavy blues number before the song segues to a slowly building instrumental section written by Ross Valory, who plays piano on the track.
(The melodic theme of ‘Conversations’ would be revisited and orchestrated to form part of an instrumental piece for Journey’s Dream after Dream soundtrack album five years later).
The final two numbers to mention are the pick of the Journey bunch.
‘Kohoutek’ and ‘Topaz’ are classic progressive-fusion instrumentals and both were highlights of early Journey shows.
‘Kohoutek,’ like ‘Of a Lifetime,’ starts quietly before stepping up both in power and tempo and features duelling instruments between the fret burning of Neal Schon and the synth-runs of Gregg Rolie.
Ross Valory and George Tickner hold down the riff of the song while Aynsley Dunbar throws a few fills and runs of his own in for good measure before the song returns to its opening remarks.
‘Kohoutek’ was still a feature of Journey shows in 1980, well after the band's transformation to exponents of quality melodic rock.
‘Topaz,’ the other instrumental on Journey, beats out ‘Kohoutek’ as not just the best instrumental on the album, but also as the best track on the album.
It's also one of the most creative songs Journey ever recorded or performed.
Another song starting innocently enough with an atmospheric build up and almost eastern feel, 'Topaz' shifts to a rock shuffle before mixing some fine grooving work from Neal Schon and an almost funky rhythm held down by George Tickner.
Aynsley Dunbar again has his moments with big beefy fills and Ross Valory gets to spread some little bursts of funk around when the song is in its highest gear.
'Topaz' was written by George Tickner and Journey's 'other' guitarist deserves special mention...
George Tickner was the foil to Neal Schon’s rapier like six-string work, but he brought so much more to Journey – he knew more chords than most guitarists out there and was a superb arranger and songwriter.
The usual comment attributed to George Tickner’s departure – that he didn’t like touring and left to pursue medical studies – is correct, but it’s only half the story.
George Tickner was throwing such clever and sometimes complex chord shapes around there were times Neal Schon didn’t know when or where to come down after his solos or guitar work.
They just didn’t gel, Schon was unhappy and Tickner was dropped.
With Neal Schon being such a talent and huge part of the sound it’s perhaps not surprising there was a clash when he was met with another creative force bringing different shapes to the table.
In Neal Schon’s defence it can be argued, in hindsight, George Ticker was perhaps the fifth wheel.
With such a solid rhythm section as Ross Valory and Aynsley Dunbar, along with Gregg Rolie’s ability to put a layer behind Schon’s solos or match/ duel with those solos, Tickner became redundant.
Be that as it may, the part George Tickner played in the sound of that original Journey should not be forgotten or underestimated.
He may also have been the best songwriter/ arranger of the band in that fusion era and George Tickner
co-writing credits appeared on the two fusion based albums that followed the debut.
And as regards the talents of Neal Schon?
The guitarist will always be known, first and foremost, for six-string work such as the beautifully simple solo on ‘Who’s Crying Now’ and his other outstanding melodic deliveries on those later Journeys.
Yet the fact remains that while Schon's most noted solos are associated with the post-fusion Journey era some of his best, unfettered works are in the grooves of albums such as Journey.
As just about every rock fan knows, by the late ‘70s it was a very different Journey and one that became incredibly successful; but where that Journey started should not be forgotten.
Journey is one of the best rock-fusion albums of the era, holding its own against some true classics such as Billy Cobham’s Spectrum and releases by British fusion band Colosseum II (featuring such luminaries as drummer Jon Hiseman, keyboard player Don Airey and a guitarist by the name of Gary Moore).
Journey is not just a great rock-fusion album – it’s a great Journey album.
Ross Muir
March 2011