"They're still the real McCoy without Steve Perry. There were several candidates that could do that job. Let's say, for the sake of argument, that Steve Perry- because he's the original and because he was a great, great talent-is at his prime better than Steve Augeri, or better than Kevin Chalfant. What you're dealing with there is you're comparing the current reality of Kevin Chalfant or the current reality of Steve Augeri to the memory of Steve Perry. And trust me, that memory is jaded, and dead- ass wrong."
Herbie nailed that one perfectly. There are certain people in the world who only accept the memory of Perry prior to 1987. They do not wish to accept the limitations that developed in his voice. So, when comparing him to Chalfant, or Augeri, or any of a number of other singers, they cannot accept that Perry's voice became much more limited in range and clarity then many others...and they will still say Perry is better because of their memories of Perry prior to 1987.
Also, when he says the memory is 'jaded', he is not only talking about vocal ability. He is talking about the entire Steve Perry personna that some of his fans have invented. I'm not sure where this quote came from, but if it is from the "Castles Burning" interview, it was at a time where a LOT of fallacies were being spread about regarding Perry and Journey's relationship. Perry was put into such a lofty position of power and influence that no other member, or Herbie, was given the credit for Journey's success that they deserve. It was happening even more then today. He did NOT have control over the band in 1978-1984 as he did in 1985-1987...and does NOT deserve any more credit for Journey's success then any other member of the band, or Herbie.
The fans were also giving him this personna of perfection. Like he somehow did nothing wrong, or very little, and everything 'bad' was coming from rest of the band. Herbie KNOWS this to be false and that is part of what he is saying in the above, and in the Castles Burning interview.
People put their idols in a very lofty position in their minds and it is not a realistic place.