Journey
Original Album Classics

This San Francisco band was formed in 1973 by former Santana members Neal Schon (b. February 27, 1954; guitar) and Greg Rowley (keyboards). The original Journey lineup also included Ross Valory (b. February 2, 1949; bass, ex-Frumious Bandersnatch), George Tickner (rhythm guitar, vocals; ex-Frumious Bandersnatch) and Prairie Prince (b. 7 May 1950; drums, ex-"Tubes"). The band played their first concert on New Year's Eve in front of an audience of 10,000, and the very next day "Journey" performed in front of 100,000 spectators at the Crater Festival, held in Hawaii. In February 1974, Prince returned to the Tubes and was replaced by veteran drummer Ainsley Dunbar (b. January 10, 1946). At first, the group performed prog-jazz-rock with plenty of solo improvisation, which was reflected in the first three albums made for Columbia Records.

Three CD set containing a trio of early albums from the AOR giants: Journey, Look Into the Future and Next. While these albums pre-dated the arrival of vocalist Steve Perry and the band's commercial success, they offer great insight into how the band musically evolved from Santana sidemen to AOR superstars.