http://www.popeater.com/2009/11/23/stev ... -sopranos/
Exclusive: Just how good was 'Glee''s version of the Journey classic 'Don't Stop Believin''? That was the question that castmember Corey Monteith asked Popeater last week, wondering if Journey lead-singer Steve Perry felt that they "crapped" on the iconic anthem. 'Glee' asked and PopEater answered, tracking down Perry even as he recovered from a nasty flu ("I don't think it was the pig thing. But it was definitely bad," he says.) Perry's verdict on the "Glee" version? Find Out After the Jump!
"I would give it an A," Perry tells PopEater exclusively. "I think they did a good job." He then added, laughing along the way, that "A+ is reserved for the original. That's a little shameless promotion, forgive me."
When asked directly if 'Glee' "crapped on" the song, the singer answered honestly. "No. They did a really nice heartfelt high school interpretation of a song," Perry tells PopEater.
Perry has maintained vigilance with projects using his former-group's classic song, making sure they "don't degrade the music" -- even insisting on knowing how the 'Sopranos' producers were going to use the song to end that iconic series. "I didn't want to see Tony Soprano get whacked during Just a Small Town Girl," Perry tells us.
For 'Glee,' Perry was shown a rough cut of the wildly popular show's finale before it aired and was blown away. "I thought it was edgy writing and I was impressed," he says. "That was before we got to the song."
He's not alone in loving the revamped version, which hit gold certification for digital sales in excess of 500,000 downloads.
The new take on the tune didn't exactly bring back high school memories for the rocker who didn't do the glee-club. Not surprisingly, he rocked drums in an R&B band. "The jocks didn't like us and the glee club didn't like us," Perry admits. "We were admired by the people who went to the after-game dances. They could dance to our music."
The dancing continues. Perry even heard that whole new generations of "Believin'" fans were belting out the tune as 'Glee' producers accepted the gold plaque for the song. "There were people around the area singing during the ceremony," Perry says. "Can I ask you one thing? What is possibly wrong with that?"