Traces

[ebake02]

I really want to hear the song he wrote with John 5, it seems like they're on opposite ends of the musical spectrum.

[ebake02]

Just glad he's done SOMETHING. I'm enjoying it.

The question I have is HOW will he be relevant to radio with the way that radio is so fragmented and screwed up format wise? Just like any band from that era, they can't get played on the radio. He might be an exception to that, but I'm not sure. I hope he is. But Journey had a tough time with that, Styx had a tough time with that, etc. I don't think it's because 'it's not all original members', I think it's due to a record company having the clout to do that. I dunno. Hope it does well for him.

I would think there are enough avenues via social media and digital/satellite radio that will help spread the word on his new album....even moreso than any exposure he could ever get on radio these days. From the launch of his website and social media feeds, I think he'll do alright!

Almost 470,000 views on YouTube today alone.

[steveo777]

I really hope this doesn't end up being considered the best song on the record.

Everyone has different reasons/feelings as to what songs speak to them. I enjoyed this song, but it is not my favorite from the entire collection of 15 songs. I think people will find there is something there for everyone.

Lora, my critique of it, didn't mean I don't like it. I'm not sure what I was expecting, really. 15 songs? I was early enough to get my pre-order in before Amazon took it down. I only saw 10 songs listed. Is there going to be a surprise, where I get more?

Is You Belong To Me a remake of the Ronstadt song?

[Memorex]

I really hope this doesn't end up being considered the best song on the record.

Everyone has different reasons/feelings as to what songs speak to them. I enjoyed this song, but it is not my favorite from the entire collection of 15 songs. I think people will find there is something there for everyone.

Lora, my critique of it, didn't mean I don't like it. I'm not sure what I was expecting, really. 15 songs? I was early enough to get my pre-order in before Amazon took it down. I only saw 10 songs listed. Is there going to be a surprise, where I get more?

Is You Belong To Me a remake of the Ronstadt song?

Target has the 15 song CD.

[steveo777]

I really hope this doesn't end up being considered the best song on the record.

Target has the 15 song CD.

Cool! I'm still leaving my Amazon order in, because I want the digital download in my music app. I'll figure out how to get the bonus tracks later. Heck, maybe, by the time Amazon has it available, it will include those tracks.

[JourneyHard]

Steve Perry,
Bravo! Don't listen to the naysayers. I am happy you are back with a new album. It is going to be awesome regardless of what anybody says. Thank you so much for sharing your heart and soul with us one more time.

Side Notes: I love the way Steve Perry put on the hat and then took it off and threw it. Perry is still cool.

Also, the new album is one word. I thought Perry loved multi-word titles such as Raised on Radio, Street Talk, For The Love Of Strange Medicine, and Trial By Fire. Is naming his new solo album one word a nod to Journey?

Next, pre-Journey did a cover of It's All Too Much, a George Harrison song. Now, Perry does I Need You, a George Harrison song. Is this another nod to Journey?

Finally, No Erasin' has no guitar solo. This makes it the perfect candidate to be played on the radio on many different formats. I wonder if Classic Rock stations will start playing it. Perhaps on Twofer Tuesday, they can play No Erasin' followed by Oh Sherrie.

[The_Noble_Cause]

I pre-ordered the target version already. Can't wait.

[Archetype]

I really want to hear the song he wrote with John 5, it seems like they're on opposite ends of the musical spectrum.

John 5 doesn’t have a specific place on the spectrum. The guy is incredibly versatile. Metal, country, jazz, flamenco, he does a bit of everything.

[JourneyHard]

And now the wait begins.

Come on, October. Come on, October.

[Gideon]

Steve Perry,
Bravo! Don't listen to the naysayers. I am happy you are back with a new album. It is going to be awesome regardless of what anybody says..

Lol what naysayers?

[JourneyHard]

Steve Perry,
Bravo! Don't listen to the naysayers. I am happy you are back with a new album. It is going to be awesome regardless of what anybody says..

Lol what naysayers?

The naysayers are the people who say, "He doesn't sound like Steve Perry" and "He lost his voice."

The funny thing is the same people say, "When you close your eyes, Arnel sounds like Perry."

I love both of them, but Arnel sounds like Arnel, and Perry sounds like Perry.

[Lora]

One song that stuck with me is "I Need You" - a cover of a Beatles song that George Harrison wrote and sang. It is my favorite GH song so it was amazing to hear how Steve re-worked it.

I'm really looking forward to hearing this one!
I love George Harrison, almost fell over when I saw this on the list.
I liked the way Tom Petty did this one, too - there are a couple live version videos of it on YouTube.

I just listened to the TP version. Nice and pretty true to the original. Steve's version is much different.

[Lora]

I really hope this doesn't end up being considered the best song on the record.

Everyone has different reasons/feelings as to what songs speak to them. I enjoyed this song, but it is not my favorite from the entire collection of 15 songs. I think people will find there is something there for everyone.

Lora, my critique of it, didn't mean I don't like it. I'm not sure what I was expecting, really. 15 songs? I was early enough to get my pre-order in before Amazon took it down. I only saw 10 songs listed. Is there going to be a surprise, where I get more?

Is You Belong To Me a remake of the Ronstadt song?

No worries. I just wanted to let you know there are many different kinds of songs on the album. I think someone already mentioned this, but Target has the bonus tracks so you have to pre-order through them. I don't think Ronstadt did "You Belong To Me" - think it was Carly Simon, but no, it's not the same song. It's an original song written by Steve and Barry Eastmond.

Here are all the writers, if no one has already posted this:

01. No Erasin' 04:07
Writers: Steve Perry, David Spreng

02. We're Still Here 04:06
Writers: Steve Perry, Brian West

03. Most Of All 04:23
Writers: Steve Perry, Randy Goodrum

04. No More Cryin' 04:29
Writers: Dan Wilson, Steve Perry

05. In The Rain 04:06
Writers: Steve Perry, David Spreng

06. Sun Shines Gray 03:57
Writers: Steve Perry, John 5, Thom Flowers

07. You Belong To Me 04:07
Writers: Steve Perry, Barry Eastmond

08. Easy To Love 04:03
Writers: Steve Perry, Thom Flowers

09. I Need You 02:59
Writers: George Harrison

10. We Fly 03:56
Writers: Steve Perry, Jeff Babko

[Rhiannon]

Nicely said. Anyone expecting a 1978 Steve Perry is going to miss out on how truly wonderful he is today.

Serendipitously, my Mom was in town for a few days with a tour group (she does bus tours of North America) and I played the new song for her at the hotel and she lost it with giddiness over how amazing he sounds. "Just like he used to! I can't believe how well his voice has held up! Oh, my high school crush!"

So, to a fan who is just happy to be here, there's nothing more that matters than he's shared himself. And I think that's the real take away from this for those of us who have sat wondering if this day would come. He didn't owe us anything. He'd already given so much music. Enough for a lifetime. For some, it was our lifetime. To her it's 1978 all over again and she's pleased. As am I.

[brywool]

One song that stuck with me is "I Need You" - a cover of a Beatles song that George Harrison wrote and sang. It is my favorite GH song so it was amazing to hear how Steve re-worked it.

Looking forward to hearing this one. Huge fan of the "Help!" album from which that is from. It'll be interesting to see what he does with it. Heard him talking today and he was saying that it's reworked as an R&B song. Interesting for sure.

[Gideon]

Steve Perry,
Bravo! Don't listen to the naysayers. I am happy you are back with a new album. It is going to be awesome regardless of what anybody says..

Lol what naysayers?

The naysayers are the people who say, "He doesn't sound like Steve Perry" and "He lost his voice."

The funny thing is the same people say, "When you close your eyes, Arnel sounds like Perry."

I love both of them, but Arnel sounds like Arnel, and Perry sounds like Perry.

Hmm... interesting. Everything I've seen has been nothing but tremendous praise for SP here. The Youtube video currently has 17k likes to only 500 dislikes for 850k views. That's a staggeringly flattering ratio.

Nicely said. Anyone expecting a 1978 Steve Perry is going to miss out on how truly wonderful he is today.

Serendipitously, my Mom was in town for a few days with a tour group (she does bus tours of North America) and I played the new song for her at the hotel and she lost it with giddiness over how amazing he sounds. "Just like he used to! I can't believe how well his voice has held up! Oh, my high school crush!"

So, to a fan who is just happy to be here, there's nothing more that matters than he's shared himself. And I think that's the real take away from this for those of us who have sat wondering if this day would come. He didn't owe us anything. He'd already given so much music. Enough for a lifetime. For some, it was our lifetime. To her it's 1978 all over again and she's pleased. As am I.

Same here.

I've always been one of the few around here willing to unapologetically criticize SP creatively, but I literally listened to "No Erasin'" on a continuous loop for hours on end. I had goosebumps and more than once, glassy eyes (from tears, not weed ). It's been a fascinating personal metamorphosis for me.

I was born in '91; when my parents introduced me to Journey, I was enthralled. My dad bought Arrival for me when I was about 13 years old and it collected dust, unopened, for at least a year because he told me SP wasn't singing on it. I eventually cracked it open, loved it, and made my peace with the fact that I loved Journey as a unit far more than any single member, SP included.

So when a lot of the "older" fans all these years kept saying they wanted a Journey-SP reunion and it seemed apparent to me that he couldn't sing those songs like he used to, I chafed: why have him back when we have someone like Arnel or Soto or Augeri who could hit the notes more faithfully and reliably?

But the announcement that SP was releasing new material changed my mind in the most unexpected way. I've been to 12 Journey shows or so since 2005 and have been so very privileged to have experienced multiple iterations of the band. Arnel is amazing vocally and personally; SP's kind words about him are proof enough of that.

However, it seems to me that Journey is winding down. Neal's sanity is rapidly decaying, Jonathan's heart is in his spiritual music, Arnel's had one foot out the door since the Revelation tour due to distance, demand, and a shrewd understanding of how ruthless the Journey brand can be, and Smitty and Ross are just collecting the fattest paycheck possible (and I mean that without its cynical implications).

Can SP sing like he used to? Nope. But "No Erasin'" is definitely proof that he can still sing damn well. And SP himself said in one of the new interviews that he's confident he could sing the material if it were detuned a bit.

If Journey is coming to an end, it would be an extraordinary blessing if it did so with Perry, Schon, Cain, Ross, and Smitty.

[r@y]

Never thought I'd saw this day come.....20 years plus....man....loved No Erasin'. Great chorus, great band and groove.

And his tone......that tone. Who cares about his range or rasp or whatever....you hear that, and you know right away there is only one

Ordered the deluxe CD from the website. Can't wait till Sept 5th for the next track for download No More Cryin' !

[JourneyHard]

If Journey is coming to an end, it would be an extraordinary blessing if it did so with Perry, Schon, Cain, Ross, and Smitty.

That is my nightmare. Perry tours with Journey for one final tour and all the stupid casual fans buy up all the tickets and hardcore fans like us can't go.

[annie89509]

Catching up with all the talk about Steve's new album. Now how is it I happened to check in tonight?
I listened to the new song a few times. Like posters said ... I think it's pure SP, the vocals, the emoting. Reminds me a lot of FTLOSM.
But, just as I liked TBF better, I strongly feel a writing collaboration with Neal/Jon would bring the song(s) to another stratosphere.
At any rate, can't wait to hear rest of the songs.

[The_Noble_Cause]

I wish interviewers would stop asking him about touring (solo, Journey, or whatever). Let's just enjoy what we have.

[Art Vandelay]

I wish interviewers would stop asking him about touring (solo, Journey, or whatever). Let's just enjoy what we have.

I totally agree with you. I guess that we have to keep in mind that we as hard core fans are on top of every interview, so we are hearing a lot of the same softball questions thrown at him. Although we have access to almost every interview on this board after they're recorded (thanks Tater!), they are first being broadcasted live to local markets...most likely to many people who had no idea that ANY of this was going down.

It really is fun listening to some of the deeper interviews though, isn't it? He's been more open and honest, and comfortable about it, than any of us have ever heard. It's brought us all to a happier place.

[FamilyMan]

I wish interviewers would stop asking him about touring (solo, Journey, or whatever). Let's just enjoy what we have.

Perfectly logical question, though. Those who've followed Perry closely (most of us here) are well aware that the tour factor is what fractured Journey after TBF. And he was one of the best live performers ever in his day. It was encouraging to hear him tell Trunk that he's talking about the idea of some live shows - though I'm not convinced that's serious.

[brywool]

I wish interviewers would stop asking him about touring (solo, Journey, or whatever). Let's just enjoy what we have.

Because each interviewer is asking that, I'm wondering if there've been a few topics that Steve's people had the interviewers ask him. Maybe, maybe not. Because they've ALL asked him about touring, about getting back with Journey, etc. and his answers have been pretty much the same throughout. It could just be that everyone wants to know the answer to those questions (of course, they do- they want to see him singing).

The answer that Steve's giving about "would you go back to your old boyfriend/girlfriend" regarding Journey, that's gotta be tough for Neal to hear that. But I think that Perry's always taken the high road regarding that topic and he still talks about Neal's musicality as a huge connection for him. That's cool to hear. I saw fans dogging Neal online about his interpretation of the strat/dove/infinity thing on the cover of the album. If that's what Neal thinks it is (and it does seem like it was planned) man, let him think that. Why jump on him for that?

Personally, I'd like to see him do a VERY few shows and release a BluRay of them. I can't see him doing a monster tour, but who knows? Man, he could do a pay per view show and clean up. That'd be cool and I'd pay for it in a second. I'd rather see him keep putting out new music than out there letting shows beat his voice up.

I'm really happy at how he's handling the whole "Arnel" topic. Nothing but good things to say about him and even 'Hey, maybe I'll sing on some of his stuff one day, maybe he'll sing on some of my stuff someday'. He doesn't HAVE to say ANYTHING about Pineda. But the fact that he's so gracious about it (as Arnel has been about the entire thing from day 1) is cool. Be you a fan of Pineda or not, you can't miss the hero worship he has for Steve (and I don't mean "imitation", as I'm sure the cynical and haters out there will say- yeah, whatever). Nothing but respect from both of them. That's nice to see, being a super fan of both.

Glad to see so many of us were wrong about him doing anything again.

[FamilyMan]

With SP heaping praise on Arnel, I do wonder how Augeri is processing all this. SP seems to have a genuine fondness and respect for Arnel, and always did. But has he ever commented on Augeri? I sensed a distance between them at the Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony. And I could be wrong - forgive me if i am - but I thought I heard SP refer to Arnel as Journey's "3rd singer" in the Trunk interview (which would omit Augeri).

[Lora]

I saw fans dogging Neal online about his interpretation of the strat/dove/infinity thing on the cover of the album. If that's what Neal thinks it is (and it does seem like it was planned) man, let him think that. Why jump on him for that?

So Steve puts an image of Neal's white Infinity Strat on the cover of his album, with a dove holding an olive branch and people are questioning the message behind it?

[perryfan61]

I saw fans dogging Neal online about his interpretation of the strat/dove/infinity thing on the cover of the album. If that's what Neal thinks it is (and it does seem like it was planned) man, let him think that. Why jump on him for that?

So Steve puts an image of Neal's white Infinity Strat on the cover of his album, with a dove holding an olive branch and people are questioning the message behind it?

[brywool]

I saw fans dogging Neal online about his interpretation of the strat/dove/infinity thing on the cover of the album. If that's what Neal thinks it is (and it does seem like it was planned) man, let him think that. Why jump on him for that?

So Steve puts an image of Neal's white Infinity Strat on the cover of his album, with a dove holding an olive branch and people are questioning the message behind it?

Not so much questioning the imagery (sorry if I explained that poorly)- Neal was commenting on the imagery on his Twitter account and after Steve's comments about 'going back to an old flame, would you do that?' there were a few "anti-Nealish" posts about 'He'll never have coffee with you, blah, blah, blah'. . It's ridiculous. God forbid people like both Steve and Neal. Jeez, just enjoy it people. I'm sure Neal is.

Found it, Took a screen shot but it's not worth uploading to a server.
From the 15th:

Neal, @StevePerryMusic wants NOTHING to do with you!! Listen to his recent interviews. You screwed him over and over and over. Give it a rest. You’ll NEVER perform with “The Voice” again. Remember, #NOMOTA #LookInTheMirror

Let it go people... It's like the Styx deal I guess. Some can only like one side. It'd be cool to see that stuff go.

[slucero]

I think there's an honest kinship between Neal and Steve. I think they both are realizing they are no longer young lions, and the window for doing something together again is short.

Neal is just more open about it, and Steve is a bit more reserved in his answers.

This is absolutely in line with how they've always spoken about each other, I see nothing different here.


Logically though, Steve is looking at about a year supporting this new album... so even the possibility of working with Neal again has to take a back seat to the demands of supporting his music, as it should.

[The_Noble_Cause]

Given his recent online behavior, I can't imagine anyone (much less Perry) wanting to work with Neal. It would be cool if it happened tho. I also think Perry's expressionism is pure. Having to collaborate with Neal's playing would probably be musically/creatively restrictive in a way.

[DCD]

I wish interviewers would stop asking him about touring (solo, Journey, or whatever). Let's just enjoy what we have.

1000% agree! It makes me crazy when interviewers, reviews, anyone really, goes for the "now wouldn't it be great if" BS. It's been YEARS, enjoy it, embrace it!

Sorry, had to jump in! Long time lurker...