Perry's Assessment Of His Performance

[Enigma869]

Asked if he was happy with his performance, he replies: "Well, I hadn’t sung in 20 years – I sounded more like Otis Redding than I did in Journey; and I love Otis, so that’s not a bad thing. But after twenty years, wherever you hit that golf ball is where it lands. I just wanted to go out there and hit the ball. I was pretty pleased with what I pulled off. I’m not the person I was thirty years ago; that person is gone."

[Memorex]

Quite a healthy viewpoint. And I think he's exactly right. Based on past interviews, I'd say he somehow found peace in just being who he is and not needing perfection.

[Enigma869]

Quite a healthy viewpoint. And I think he's exactly right. Based on past interviews, I'd say he somehow found peace in just being who he is and not needing perfection.

I couldn't agree more. I think this may be the impetus the guy needs to do what he enjoys doing. Personally, I've never needed Perry to sound like he did while he was in Journey. Hell, the dude is 65 freakin' years old! I can't think of a single singer who has been around for any length of time who sounds remotely close to what they used to sound like. Listen to Elton John 30 years ago and then now. Doesn't even sound like the same dude. Yet, he has zero issue getting people to attend his concerts and buy his material.

More information from the article I read...

http://classicrock.teamrock.com/news/20 ... st-for-fun

Perry recently confirmed he'd been writing material with a view to recording a solo album. He says his Eels experience has made him more determined than ever that his latest songs should be heard, adding: "it's very important for me. I wrote a new song just last week."

[FamilyMan]

Asked if he was happy with his performance, he replies: "Well, I hadn’t sung in 20 years – I sounded more like Otis Redding than I did in Journey; and I love Otis, so that’s not a bad thing. But after twenty years, wherever you hit that golf ball is where it lands. I just wanted to go out there and hit the ball. I was pretty pleased with what I pulled off. I’m not the person I was thirty years ago; that person is gone."

This is why he will never again front the band called Journey.

[The_Noble_Cause]

I can't think of a single singer who has been around for any length of time who sounds remotely close to what they used to sound like. Listen to Elton John 30 years ago and then now. Doesn't even sound like the same dude. Yet, he has zero issue getting people to attend his concerts and buy his material.

Mickey Thomas. Dennis DeYoung. Mike Reno on a good nite. Comparisons to Elton John are stupid. Elton tours regularly. Perry cancels tours and refills the condom bowl in The Eels backstage orgy room. Get a grip, bro.

[Enigma869]

Mickey Thomas. Dennis DeYoung. Mike Reno on a good nite. Comparisons to Elton John are stupid. Elton tours regularly. Perry cancels tours and refills the condom bowl in The Eels backstage orgy room. Get a grip, bro.

I wasn't comparing Elton to Perry! I was simply making the point that I personally haven't heard any singers who sound the same today as they did thirty years ago. You get a grip! Also, for the record, I don't believe for one second (and never have) that Perry will ever tour. I don't think he has any interest in touring, and I can't say that I blame him!

[Art Vandelay]

I can't think of a single singer who has been around for any length of time who sounds remotely close to what they used to sound like. Listen to Elton John 30 years ago and then now. Doesn't even sound like the same dude. Yet, he has zero issue getting people to attend his concerts and buy his material.

Mickey Thomas. Dennis DeYoung. Mike Reno on a good nite. Comparisons to Elton John are stupid. Elton tours regularly. Perry cancels tours and refills the condom bowl in The Eels backstage orgy room. Get a grip, bro.

Your comparisons to Mickey Thomas, Dennis DeYoung, and whoever else you want to pull out from the 80s hit machine are totally invalid. Perry's voice was changing when he was on top of his game. Listen to Infinity, then listen to Frontiers and tell me different. Whether it changed for the better is up to the listener to decide, I won't debate anyone on that. But a continuous career probably would not have made his voice sound any more like the early years...not with touring behind Journey's catalogue. The comparison to Elton John is a much more viable comparison, because he had multiple throat issues in the 70's which changed his voice (no need to insert joke here...I think we all can predict where you'll go with that one). Elton's is still fine tuned because he continues to perform, but is nothing like the higher voice of his heyday.

[The_Noble_Cause]

Your comparisons to Mickey Thomas, Dennis DeYoung, and whoever else you want to pull out from the 80s hit machine are totally invalid. Perry's voice was changing when he was on top of his game. Listen to Infinity, then listen to Frontiers and tell me different. Whether it changed for the better is up to the listener to decide, I won't debate anyone on that. But a continuous career probably would not have made his voice sound any more like the early years...not with touring behind Journey's catalogue. The comparison to Elton John is a much more viable comparison, because he had multiple throat issues in the 70's which changed his voice (no need to insert joke here...I think we all can predict where you'll go with that one). Elton's is still fine tuned because he continues to perform, but is nothing like the higher voice of his heyday.

Between this and the Schon/moving forward thread, it seems to me that reading isn't really your thing. Enigma John said he didn't know of any aged rock tenors that still sounded good. So I listed some. So you're telling me its not valid to list Dennis or Mickey, cuz Perry torched his pipes and the others did not? What sense does that make? Should i compare him to Julie Andrews whose botched vocal surgery left her with no voice? Not sure what point ur driving at.

[YoungJRNY]

Mickey Thomas. Dennis DeYoung. Mike Reno on a good nite. Comparisons to Elton John are stupid. Elton tours regularly. Perry cancels tours and refills the condom bowl in The Eels backstage orgy room. Get a grip, bro.

I wasn't comparing Elton to Perry! I was simply making the point that I personally haven't heard any singers who sound the same today as they did thirty years ago. You get a grip! Also, for the record, I don't believe for one second (and never have) that Perry will ever tour. I don't think he has any interest in touring, and I can't say that I blame him!

[Art Vandelay]

Your comparisons to Mickey Thomas, Dennis DeYoung, and whoever else you want to pull out from the 80s hit machine are totally invalid. Perry's voice was changing when he was on top of his game. Listen to Infinity, then listen to Frontiers and tell me different. Whether it changed for the better is up to the listener to decide, I won't debate anyone on that. But a continuous career probably would not have made his voice sound any more like the early years...not with touring behind Journey's catalogue. The comparison to Elton John is a much more viable comparison, because he had multiple throat issues in the 70's which changed his voice (no need to insert joke here...I think we all can predict where you'll go with that one). Elton's is still fine tuned because he continues to perform, but is nothing like the higher voice of his heyday.

Between this and the Schon/moving forward thread, it seems to me that reading isn't really your thing. Enigma John said he didn't know of any aged rock tenors that still sounded good. So I listed some. So you're telling me its not valid to list Dennis or Mickey, cuz Perry torched his pipes and the others did not? What sense does that make? Should i compare him to Julie Andrews whose botched vocal surgery left her with no voice? Not sure what point ur driving at.

Well, Julie Andrews is a little more understandable than when you said Perry was like the Kardashians....and I believe that's exactly what I read.

Seriously, my point was to debate why you kept going back to the people who you listed. You named them previously along with Steven Tyler as singers who kept on singing and didn't lose their voice. I was saying that his voice was already changing years ago, so singing and keeping active like the artists that you mentioned wouldn't have kept his voice so young. That was how I read into you naming those other singers numerous times.

[The_Noble_Cause]

Well, Julie Andrews is a little more understandable than when you said Perry was like the Kardashians....and I believe that's exactly what I read.

In other words, only compare Perry to singers who currently suck.

[Art Vandelay]

Well, Julie Andrews is a little more understandable than when you said Perry was like the Kardashians....and I believe that's exactly what I read.

In other words, only compare Perry to singers who currently suck.

Not sure how you got to that. Your comments are slicker than whale shit in an ice flow.

[brywool]

With all the interviews, he's always said he's been working on something, so I would imagine that he really HAS been singing the past 20 years, just not performing.

Now if you think of it this way - Steve's been doing what he wants for the last 20 years. NOT PERFORMING.
That tells me that he hasn't WANTED to sing for that period. So had the TBF tour happened, he wouldn't have wanted to be there. This would mean that 20 years later, Journey would still be waiting for him, does it not?

So those that complain about Perry not being there, he's been doing exactly what he wants. Everybody's happy.

[Enigma869]

Between this and the Schon/moving forward thread, it seems to me that reading isn't really your thing. Enigma John said he didn't know of any aged rock tenors that still sounded good.

Apparently, reading isn't your thing either, because I did NOT say what you attributed to me! There is a HUGE difference between what you said and what I said!

[Majestic]

I think if Perry recorded the right songs, he could be an even more popular singer with the voice he has today than the one he had at his peak in Journey. I loved his voice in Journey, but I know a lot of people who didn't like it so much as I did. They didn't like the pure tone, and if the high notes impressed, they just didn't like to hear it so much. The voice he has now is lower, more nuanced, and full of texture and character that he didn't use to have. His comparison to Otis Redding may have a little truth to it, but Redding was a great singer who probably had broader appeal than Perry of Journey. I think his cover of the EEELs "Mother..." and his cover of Cook were really good, and give a taste of what kind of artist Perry could be today, and I like it a lot. I still like the Journey legacy, and I like to dig out those old songs and hear them once in a while. Those songs are the songs of my youth and I will always treasure them. But I have grown up since then, just as Perry has, and my tastes have evolved. That means I actually like the new qualities to Perry's voice more than the younger voice, and I am also more in to the type of music he covered than I was in my youth. Anyway, I really do think if Perry makes new music in this vein and with this new sound he has, that he could quite possibly pull off a hit or two bigger than he ever did with Journey.

[Aaron]

Dude,

I seen Reno and Loverboy with Night Ranger last year. Reno was in the original key and sounded every bit as good as he did back in the day. Maybe he was on an exceptional day but was VERY GOOD.

Here's an example, listen to him put the smack down on Arnel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=os2XKB9UGqo

I can't think of a single singer who has been around for any length of time who sounds remotely close to what they used to sound like. Listen to Elton John 30 years ago and then now. Doesn't even sound like the same dude. Yet, he has zero issue getting people to attend his concerts and buy his material.

Mickey Thomas. Dennis DeYoung. Mike Reno on a good nite. Comparisons to Elton John are stupid. Elton tours regularly. Perry cancels tours and refills the condom bowl in The Eels backstage orgy room. Get a grip, bro.

[Andrew]

I can't think of a single singer who has been around for any length of time who sounds remotely close to what they used to sound like. Listen to Elton John 30 years ago and then now. Doesn't even sound like the same dude. Yet, he has zero issue getting people to attend his concerts and buy his material.

Mickey Thomas. Dennis DeYoung. Mike Reno on a good nite. Comparisons to Elton John are stupid. Elton tours regularly. Perry cancels tours and refills the condom bowl in The Eels backstage orgy room. Get a grip, bro.

Give it a REST!

Let the fans have their moment. It was good to see Steve back on stage, however brief.

[Enigma869]

I think if Perry recorded the right songs, he could be an even more popular singer with the voice he has today than the one he had at his peak in Journey. I loved his voice in Journey, but I know a lot of people who didn't like it so much as I did. They didn't like the pure tone, and if the high notes impressed, they just didn't like to hear it so much. The voice he has now is lower, more nuanced, and full of texture and character that he didn't use to have. His comparison to Otis Redding may have a little truth to it, but Redding was a great singer who probably had broader appeal than Perry of Journey. I think his cover of the EEELs "Mother..." and his cover of Cook were really good, and give a taste of what kind of artist Perry could be today, and I like it a lot. I still like the Journey legacy, and I like to dig out those old songs and hear them once in a while. Those songs are the songs of my youth and I will always treasure them. But I have grown up since then, just as Perry has, and my tastes have evolved. That means I actually like the new qualities to Perry's voice more than the younger voice, and I am also more in to the type of music he covered than I was in my youth. Anyway, I really do think if Perry makes new music in this vein and with this new sound he has, that he could quite possibly pull off a hit or two bigger than he ever did with Journey.

This is the best post I've read here in a very long time, and I couldn't agree with you more. I also treasure the old Journey music, but have been over it for decades! Like you, it's a part of my childhood, but that doesn't mean I need to listen to a different guy, every few years, sing them over, and over, and over again! If I really want to, or need to listen to them, I'll listen to the original recordings, that were absolutely flawless! I also agree with your assessment of Perry on the non-Journey songs. For me, I really didn't think the Journey songs were that good. In the interest of full disclosure, I've always hated both of those cheese ball songs. Those songs sucked when they came out and hey suck now...sort of like a VW Beetle!

That said, I was actually STUNNED by how good Perry sounded on the first two songs. The guy sounded exceptional to me, and sounded FAR better than I thought he would. I thought the tone of his voice was outstanding. Sure, his voice is different, but I'm not sure that it's different, in a bad way. Even though it's different, his voice was still VERY recognizable. There was ZERO question that it was Perry singing, when he started belting out the notes. Given that he can sound that good at an impromptu performance, I think he owes it to himself to keep on singing, and I suspect that he might.

[portland]

Can always count on this board to turn something positive into something else.

I hope that Steve moves ahead and puts out the new music that he has been working on in the past and in the present. I wish Journey well on the upcoming tour, for me as a Journey/Perry fan it's come full circle. I didn't realize how much I wanted to see him on the stage live again...very cool.

[Aaron]

Agree 100%. I hope Perry has found his place and has came to the realization that we all get older. Hopefully he's adjusted his expectations to his age. It was good to hear him again!

Quite a healthy viewpoint. And I think he's exactly right. Based on past interviews, I'd say he somehow found peace in just being who he is and not needing perfection.

[Pacfanweb]

I agree, Reno still sounds good. I was concerned that he might eat Arnel though, instead of singing with him. Dude needs to jog or something.

Dude,

I seen Reno and Loverboy with Night Ranger last year. Reno was in the original key and sounded every bit as good as he did back in the day. Maybe he was on an exceptional day but was VERY GOOD.

Here's an example, listen to him put the smack down on Arnel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=os2XKB9UGqo

I can't think of a single singer who has been around for any length of time who sounds remotely close to what they used to sound like. Listen to Elton John 30 years ago and then now. Doesn't even sound like the same dude. Yet, he has zero issue getting people to attend his concerts and buy his material.

Mickey Thomas. Dennis DeYoung. Mike Reno on a good nite. Comparisons to Elton John are stupid. Elton tours regularly. Perry cancels tours and refills the condom bowl in The Eels backstage orgy room. Get a grip, bro.

[bru87tr]

Some people here make it sound like Perry sounds nothing like he did. He sounds very much like SP to me and I think he sounds great! Not many guys at his age or less can still sound like that. I think SP sounds very much like himself.

Mike Reno and Mickey Thomas are freaks or took really good care of their voices. Unreal how good those guys still sound. That Mike Reno clip was great and wow, that scream at 3:55!

[Eric]

I seen Reno and Loverboy with Night Ranger last year. Reno was in the original key and sounded every bit as good as he did back in the day. Maybe he was on an exceptional day but was VERY GOOD.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=os2XKB9UGqo

That was awesome...hadn't seen that before. THANKS!

[Lora]

I think if Perry recorded the right songs, he could be an even more popular singer with the voice he has today than the one he had at his peak in Journey. I loved his voice in Journey, but I know a lot of people who didn't like it so much as I did. They didn't like the pure tone, and if the high notes impressed, they just didn't like to hear it so much. The voice he has now is lower, more nuanced, and full of texture and character that he didn't use to have. His comparison to Otis Redding may have a little truth to it, but Redding was a great singer who probably had broader appeal than Perry of Journey. I think his cover of the EEELs "Mother..." and his cover of Cook were really good, and give a taste of what kind of artist Perry could be today, and I like it a lot. I still like the Journey legacy, and I like to dig out those old songs and hear them once in a while. Those songs are the songs of my youth and I will always treasure them. But I have grown up since then, just as Perry has, and my tastes have evolved. That means I actually like the new qualities to Perry's voice more than the younger voice, and I am also more in to the type of music he covered than I was in my youth. Anyway, I really do think if Perry makes new music in this vein and with this new sound he has, that he could quite possibly pull off a hit or two bigger than he ever did with Journey.

Very nicely said.

[Yoda]

I most certainly hope Perry continues to do these cameos as it seems like its really helping him to get "into shape" vocally. He sounded so much better in the D.C. clip, and man, that Sam Cooke song was brilliant! I'm curious to hear what would be considered the best out of Steve Perry's voice now? Is it what we heard in D.C., or can he improve from there? I guess he's going to have to get out there and shows us either way!

[Vocalsmanvocals]

Quite a healthy viewpoint. And I think he's exactly right. Based on past interviews, I'd say he somehow found peace in just being who he is and not needing perfection.

I couldn't agree more. I think this may be the impetus the guy needs to do what he enjoys doing. Personally, I've never needed Perry to sound like he did while he was in Journey. Hell, the dude is 65 freakin' years old! I can't think of a single singer who has been around for any length of time who sounds remotely close to what they used to sound like. Listen to Elton John 30 years ago and then now. Doesn't even sound like the same dude. Yet, he has zero issue getting people to attend his concerts and buy his material.

More information from the article I read...

http://classicrock.teamrock.com/news/20 ... st-for-fun

Perry recently confirmed he'd been writing material with a view to recording a solo album. He says his Eels experience has made him more determined than ever that his latest songs should be heard, adding: "it's very important for me. I wrote a new song just last week."

Based on all the history and interviews I have ever read or seen, writing songs for Perry is a piece of cake.

[Vocalsmanvocals]

I most certainly hope Perry continues to do these cameos as it seems like its really helping him to get "into shape" vocally. He sounded so much better in the D.C. clip, and man, that Sam Cooke song was brilliant! I'm curious to hear what would be considered the best out of Steve Perry's voice now? Is it what we heard in D.C., or can he improve from there? I guess he's going to have to get out there and shows us either way!

I thought DC was the better performance too. Hell, I am just happy to see him singing. And the way the EELS played LTS, such a in your face, jazzy feel to it. You can feel that emotion coming from Steve Perry. Loved it.

[Aaron]

Dude, come on. You're killing me here, be nice.

Mike could use to lose a couple of pounds, I could too. Yes, maybe Arnel was a little concerned he might lose a leg to a snack on stage, who knows.

What I did notice is the vocal harmonies were killer and Reno took the high side every single time. The note at 3:55 is one of the best I've heard in 10 years live range wise, AWESOME.

Maybe Arnel should use the snack adrenalin rush and turn the range up a bit?

RENO RULED!

I agree, Reno still sounds good. I was concerned that he might eat Arnel though, instead of singing with him. Dude needs to jog or something.

[jrny84]

I too agree with others on here. The minute he opened his mouth, I knew right away it was Steve Perry. Perry definitely still has that distinct soulful voice that is so identifiable. I actually really like the raspy deep sounds in his voice, represented on ROR and especially TBF. The guy still has a singing and recording voice that would be really great to hear again on a regular basis.

[Aaron]

Dude, listen to Hagar and Tyler. Tyler can still hit the high note in Sweet Emotion (WTF knows what it is), he did it on Idol a couple of years ago. I about fell out of my chair. They are in the same age range and sound about the same as they did back in the 70's and 80's too. I think it's vocal muscle strength and chord flexibility. I think it takes hard work and practice to stay in shape range wise. I hope Steve continues to sing and work his pipes. I believe he will get bettter and get more range back with work and time.

Agree on Reno, 3:55 is kick arse!

Mike Reno and Mickey Thomas are freaks or took really good care of their voices. Unreal how good those guys still sound. That Mike Reno clip was great and wow, that scream at 3:55!