Neal Schon: Journey Through Time (2023)

Here we have a live concert recorded on February 9th, 2018, at The Independent In San Francisco, CA. This is the show where Neal Schon first debuted Journey Through Time along with former Journey and Santana bandmate, Gregg Rolie, current Journey member Deen Castronovo on vocals and drums, Marco Mendoza (Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake) on bass, and John Varn on keyboards and vocals. The band played songs spanning Journey’s entire catalogue, largely focusing on the band’s 70’s repertoire, including the band’s first three albums, “Journey”, “Look Into The Future”, and “Next”, as well as throwing in some Santana numbers for good measure. I am not sure when I first got into Journey, but it was some time in the Seventies, and although they never had the success in the UK that they had in the States, I was quite a fan. My favourite album has always been 1978’s ‘Infinity’, and this set, recorded some 40 years on, features some six numbers so to say I am pleased is something of an understatement.

Schon and Rolie started working together in Santana in the early Seventies, with Schon being a guitar wunderkind, joining them at the tender age of 17 and although Journey became known as AOR kings their early albums were very different (and certainly worth discovering). One of the standouts of this set is the instrumental “Kohoutek”, originally from the debut Journey release, and it just blasts along with Schon and Rolie demonstrating the interplay they were known for and the rest of the band standing back with smiles on their faces. What is also interesting is that Schon was deliberate in his choice of material, which means no room for the likes of “Who’s Crying Now” – I cannot believe that has been left out of a Journey gig since it was written – or “Faithfully”, “Be Good To Yourself”, etc. That still leaves them plenty of room for hits such as “Lovin’ Touchin’ Squeezin’, “Wheel In The Sky”, “Lights” and so many more. I did find it strange that the set ended with the two Santana songs, “Oye Cómo Va” and “Black Magic Woman”: they are great songs, but the placement does seem somewhat strange.

For anyone who knows there was much more to Journey than just the AOR monster they became, then this is a delight.

Rating: 9/10