Bij BIR focussen we ons steeds meer op bands die opgericht zijn (of een eerste album hebben uitgebracht) na 2000. Niet dat we de 'oudjes' (of 'dinosaurussen') slecht vinden, absoluut niet en alle respect, er zijn echter zoveel straffe recentere bands die aandacht verdienen dat we simpelweg voor hen gaan. In een reeks als deze 'classics' grijpen we tijdens de maanden juli en augustus dan wel weer terug naar de jaren zestig, zeventig en tachtig. Onze medewerkers laten jullie kennis maken met gems die hen op één of andere wijze diep hebben geraakt en/of dat nog steeds doen. We proberen hierbij de platgetreden paden te mijden en hopen jullie kennis te laten maken met wat 'nieuwe' sounds.
Ondertussen kent ook iedereen hier de klassieker Don't Stop Believin' uit hun 'diamond' (= 10x platinum) album Escape (1981). Het nummer was in feite niet eens het meest populaire van dat album. Hoger in de charts eindigden Who's Cryin' Now en Open Arms. De band had echter een leven ver voor wereldzanger Steve Perry en later hit songwriter Jonathan Cain (ex-The Baby's) aan boord gehaald werden. Aanvankelijk opgericht als backing band onder de naam Golden Gate Rythm Section werden wonderkind op gitaar Neal Schon en keyboardspeler/zanger Greg Rolie uit Santana geplukt. In 1975 verscheen hun zelfgetitelde debuut o.a. met meesterdrummer Aynsley Dunbar achter de kit en Ross Valory op bass. Journey schreef drie albums met voornamelijk door prog en jazz beïnvloedde songs. Grotendeels meesterwerkjes, door muziekexperten hooggeprezen, maar de windeieren bleven uit en dus moest er verandering komen of het was ermee gedaan.
I still think some of the stuff we did then was great. Some of it was self-indulgent, just jamming for ourselves, but I also think a lot of other things hurt us in the early days. It took a while for the politics to sort of shape up. - Neal Schon
50 Jaar na hun oprichting staat Journey er nog steeds, met een nieuw album Freedom afgelopen jaar, maar vooral live. Schon is het enige origineel bandlid.
Luister ook naar: Kohoutek (live)
Lees
The original members of Journey came together in San Francisco in 1973 under the auspices of former Santana manager Herbie Herbert. Originally called the Golden Gate Rhythm Section and intended to serve as a backup group for established Bay Area artists, the band included Santana alumni Neal Schon on lead guitar and Gregg Rolie on keyboards and lead vocals. Bassist Ross Valory and rhythm guitarist George Tickner, both of Frumious Bandersnatch, rounded out the group. Prairie Prince of The Tubes served as drummer. After one performance in Hawaii, the band quickly abandoned the "backup group" concept and developed a distinctive jazz fusion style. After an unsuccessful radio contest to name the group, roadie John Villanueva suggested the name "Journey".
The band's first public appearance came at the Winterland Ballroom on New Year's Eve 1973 to an audience of 10,000. On the following day, the band flew to Hawaii to perform at the Diamond Head Crater to an audience over 100,000 strong. Prairie Prince rejoined The Tubes shortly thereafter; on February 1, 1974, after auditioning up to 28 drummers, the band hired British drummer Aynsley Dunbar, who had recently worked with David Bowie and had been a member of the second iteration of Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention. The new line-up made its debut on February 5, 1974, at the Great American Music Hall in front of Columbia Records executives, and secured a recording contract with the label. The band went on to perform at venues around the Bay Area.
Journey went into CBS Studios in November 1974 with producer Roy Halee to record its debut album, Journey. The album was released in April 1975, entering the Billboard charts at number 138. Rhythm guitarist Tickner left the band (and the music business to study medicine) due to the amount of heavy touring the band was doing in promoting the album, allowing Schon to take on full guitar duties. The band entered the studio again in late 1975 to record Look into the Future, which was released in January 1976 and entered the Billboard Top 200 charts at number 100. The band promoted the album with a two-hour performance at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, which later aired on the radio as touring continued to promote the album.
From May to October 1976, the band went to His Master's Wheels Studios to record its third studio album, Next, which—like its predecessor—was produced by the band. This album had a much more commercial sound, while keeping the band's jazz fusion and progressive rock roots intact. The album was released in February and charted on the Billboard Top 200 at number 85. However, sales did not improve, and Columbia Records was on the verge of dropping the band. (Bron: Wikipedia)
