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"We took a triangle, which is simply a frame and moved it up and down the fretboard. And ended up playing only those notes that came within the space in the centre of the triangle! It gave us a different tone"
—Arthur Brown explaining how he used a triangle to guide the guitar playing in "Triangles". [5]
Side two begins with the three-part suite "Superficial Roadblocks" contains a "celestial quasi-choral tone of sections." [7] One reviewer said it "soars in with brass and choir providing the main chordal backdrop. This track has to be one of the most Mellotron-heavy ever, with an unaccompanied choir section on Corpora Supercelestia." [10] Another said it was "gorgeous, ethereal; indeed, its some of the best choral ‘tron this side of Aguirre, joined as it is by rolling timpani." [9] “Conception” crawls into "earshot fantastically, with a deadbeat dole-queue flanged bass," [9] whilst “Spirit of Joy” is "features that rarest of M400 sounds, the Mellotron Hammond (along with some strings), only distinguishable when Peraino attempts some organ 'chops'." [10] "Come Alive" is "an 8 minute space-prog epic. Clipped bass, fat fizzing synthesiser, and a blues riff that they bring down into the depths, betraying their 60s psych roots, as Arthur riffs on some semi-improvised poetry which he lays over the top." [9] The song, "earthier" and riff-driven, [7] was the album's only attempt to create a "proper song", as Goodge had referred to it; Goodge suggested the song before his departure and created the start of the development of the song. [5]
The album was released in 1973 in the UK by Polydor Records and in the US by Passport Records. Explaining the album title, Arthur Brown said "I had this song which had the line ‘I’m going on a journey/I’m not coming back’, and it was Phil [Curtis] who suggested we call the album Journey – and we never really did come back." [5] As with the album, the live tour that accompanied the album used the Bentley Rhythm Ace for all the percussion instead of a live drummer, which was similarly innovative as it "went against what people knew." [5] Brown hoped to take the drum machine into areas that were both remarkable and interactive, saying that "Charlie Charles and I wanted to have a flexible machine that could literally respond like a drummer. In fact, I think it was when drummers eventually got hold of the machine that things opened up in terms of the possibilities. I also had the idea of using dance movements and feeding these into a drum machine, to see what comes out". [5] A single version of "Spirit of Joy" was released as a single in the UK by Polydor Records in 1973, featuring the previously unreleased B-side "Come Alive". [11] The band also recorded three of its songs in a live Peel Session for the John Peel BBC Radio 1 show on 25 September 1972. [8]
Journey was Kingdom Come's last album, as Brown departed to India to discover his "inner journey". [12] The album was re-released by Gull in Germany in 1976, [13] and has been remastered for CD in several occasions, each time with bonus tracks; it was first remastered in Arnies Shack in 1993 by Voiceprint Records with four bonus alternate takes of songs, none of which were titled on the release [14] then in 2003 by Castle Music with the same bonus tracks and two BBC live sessions, [8] and most recently in 2010 by Esoteric Recordings, [15] which came with a bonus disc of the alternative takes and a John Peel session from the period. [2]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Freq | (very favourable) [2] |
Head Heritage | (very favourable) [9] |
Planet Mellotron | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Journey was largely ignored on the release, but retrospectively had received generally positive reviews from critics. Richie Unterberger of AllMusic rated the album two stars out of five and said "it's a Kingdom Come record, which by definition is an uneven experience, dwelling in the darker side of early-'70s prog rock, but also touching on heavy metal, jazz, science fiction electronics, and blues from time to time. The cold electronic touches (including synthesizer and mellotron) and the bleak time-of-reckoning-has-come melodies limited its appeal. But there were gleams of other more tuneful pastures occasionally." [7] However, Planet Mellotron gave the album four and a half stars out of five and said "Journey's a Mellotron classic. Buy," [10] and Head Heritage said the album is "a drum-machine propelled space-glam masterpiece that positively gushed with transcendent energy and light. It shows just how complex you can get your grooves (even with a Bentley Rhythm Ace in charge of the drums) and how space-rock and progressive rock moves need not be a block to great tunesmithery and can be gainfully mixed with soul-revue ecstatic(s) and proto-Glam Rock glam descends." [9] Prog Archives were also favourable, saying it was "the band's most accomplished work, featuring new musicians, plenty of mellotron and synths — a highly entertaining space prog rock album altogether." [6]
Journey is considered to be a widely innovative release that was "ahead of its time," and is considered underrated. Mark Paytress said the album "remains a classic of pioneering electronic rock, up there with Kraftwerk and assorted krautrock trailblazers." [8] Alan Holmes of Freq said that "Journey was so far ahead of its time that you have to keep checking the sleeve to make sure that it really does say 1973 and not 1983. Nowhere is this more apparent than on opening track “Time Captives"– imagine the shock of playing this record for the first time in 1973 and being faced with a full minute of minimal drum machine before a one note bass and guitar riff enter and proceed to speed up and slow down while atonal electronics swirl around for a further three minutes. Taken on its own, this opening section could easily be passed off as a lost Cabaret Voltaire or RBE track from a decade later, but this is only one aspect of Journey, and as the name suggests, we are taken on a unique trip that had no obvious precedents at the time." [2] He said "it's astonishing to think that Journey was recorded at the same time as Dark Side of the Moon , so much more advanced is it than the more well known work" and commented after the release of the 2010 remaster that "now that this milestone is once more available, maybe it stands a chance of being reassessed not only as Arthur Brown's masterpiece, but also as one of the truly great albums of the seventies." [2] Space rock band Hawkwind named a song "Journey" on their twentieth studio album Alien 4 (1995) in what is believed to be a reference to their guitarist Dave Brock's enthusiasm for Arthur Brown and Journey. [17] In 2002 Arthur Brown did a guest appearance in the Hawkwind video Out of the Shadows covering the song Time Captives.
All songs written by Kingdom Come.
Arthur Wilton Brown is an English singer and songwriter best known for his flamboyant and theatrical performances, eclectic work and his powerful, wide-ranging operatic voice, in particular his high pitched banshee screams. He is also notable for his unique stage persona, featuring extreme facepaint and a burning helmet.
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Frehley's Comet was an American rock band formed and led by ex-Kiss lead guitarist Ace Frehley. The group released two studio albums and one live EP before Frehley left the band to release his 1989 solo album, Trouble Walkin'.
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Kingdom Come were a British rock band fronted by Arthur Brown. The band was recognized for Brown's theatrical and operatic singing, and a sound that drew from psychedelic and progressive rock. This combination made the band a hit on Britain's festival circuit, but lack of record sales, indifference from music critics, and poor record label promotion led to its eventual demise in 1974.
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Sir Army Suit is the third album recorded by the Canadian rock band Klaatu.
Please Don't Touch! is the second studio album by English guitarist and songwriter Steve Hackett. It was released in April 1978 on Charisma Records, and it is his first album released after leaving the progressive rock band Genesis in 1977. Hackett had released Voyage of the Acolyte (1975) during his time in Genesis. For his next solo release he recorded in the United States and hired various guest artists, including singers Randy Crawford, Richie Havens, and Steve Walsh, drummers Phil Ehart and Chester Thompson, bassist Tom Fowler, with Van der Graaf Generator violinist Graham Smith.
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