Journey - Charge Of The Light Brigade (1973)

In 1973 guitarist Neal Schon and lead vocalist/keyboardist Gregg Rolie left Santana, and with ex-Frumious Bandersnatch members Ross Valory and George Tickner joining them, they formed a progressive rock/jazz fusion group, as yet un-named. Prairie Prince, who had just left The Tubes for a while, became Journey’s first drummer, and together they recorded a demo tape that was known under the title 'Charge Of The Light Brigade'. Many of the songs eventually ended up on the band's debut album under the name Journey, but these are different versions, some of which were incomplete and had no vocals dubbed onto them, and other were abandoned when they recorded their debut album proper. The reason why the band never bothered releasing this album or anything from it was simple: the drumming style of Prairie Prince was way too complex for Journey’s music, which is why he left shortly after this demo tape was recorded, in order to focus on recording and performing with The Tubes, and he was replaced by Aynsley Dunbar, fresh from a stint with Frank Zappa. Of the tracks on this album, 'Mystery Mountain' is pretty much the same as the track of the same name from the first album, but this was an unfinished studio mix. 'In the Morning Day', 'In My Lonely Feelings/Conversations', and 'To Make Some Music' are instrumental versions of the songs from 'Journey', and although 'Kohoutek' is also on that album, this is a very different take, having more in common with another track 'Topaz'. The rest of the tracks are unique to this release, with the title track featuring blazing guitar riffing, killer solos, and amazing organ work. This bootleg CD has been around for a while, but it's just too good to keep hidden, and while the original disc included alternate versions of 'To Make Some Music' and 'Charge Of The Light Brigade', I've kept just the best takes of each song, and removed the three live tracks by Birthday from a 1973 concert in Hawaii in order to make a concise 46 minute album. I've also given it some new artwork as I was never that keen on the front cover, with the back being much better, so it's based on that.

Track listing

01 Mystery Mountain
02 In The Morning Day
03 Charge Of The Light Brigade
04 Still Lovers
05 To Make Some Music
06 In My Lonely Feeling/Conversations
07 Angels from Heaven
08 Can You Hear Me?
09 Kohoutek
10 Out of Control
11 See the Light