Now That Steve Perry Maybe Begins To Realize He's Wanted...

by **Jeremey** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 10:47 pm

I gotta say, over the past 6 years or so, my impression of Steve Perry has been that he kind of travels around his homes in SoCal and Hawaii, going to motorcross events, popping in at movie premieres, and maybe feeling a little down about the music business in general. I can imagine Steve playing golf or hanging out with a close circle of friends to watch Sex In The City and play Bunko, and of course going to SF Giants games.

Just kind of a weird epilogue to such an impactful career. I mean, I compare Steve Perry to people like Tony Bennet, timeless vocalists and musical interpreters that have had such an impact on the music industry that their names stand alone in defining who they are and what they've done in their lives.

So anyway, it seems that with the HWOF and later this same year being the Good Luck Charm for the World Series champions (does anyone REALLY know how big a freakin' deal that is?!??), maybe he's beginning to see what an icon he really is, and maybe he's closer to coming to terms with that. I mean, as much of an ego he's been known to have, it still has to have stung a little to see Journey out on the road for the past 6 or 7 years.

So NOW IS THE TIME! LORA BEARD, CALL STEVE PERRY AND PASS ALONG THIS GENIUS IDEA!

Steve Perry, you must release a CD of standards, produced by someone like Rick Rubin or Phil Ramone, get that out there in the 2nd quarter of next year. The boomers out there will snap it up - especially if you go ballad heavy on the 50's and 60's R&B stuff....Don't worry about the altissimos and head voice being gone, just do your groovy thing....Then, begin planning the KING OF ALL CHRISTMAS SPECIALS for next year! Your comeback will be complete and you will set the stage for the twilight of your career by becoming the Andy Williams of our time....Please save us from Nick and Jessica and (gasp) another Clay Aiken Christmas.

"Steve - YOU CAN DO IT (best Rob Schnieder voice)"

This post is only partly tongue in cheek.

by **NealIsGod** » Fri Oct 28, 2005 11:27 pm

When I think of Steve P releasing an album of 50's and 60's songs, it makes me feel so friggin' old. It seems like only yesterday Steve P was jamming onstage to Line of Fire and WITS. The fact that today's Journey is more rocking than ever makes me realize I ain't THAT old!

by **heardonthestreet** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 1:00 am

I don't want a tour or a c.d. I'll take a hit single from Perry as singer/songwriter of the ultimate song. I remember that it was his dream.

by **NealIsGod** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 1:05 am

heardonthestreet wrote:I don't want a tour or a c.d. I'll take a hit single from Perry as singer/songwriter of the ultimate song. I remember that it was his dream.

He had plenty of hits with Journey. You mean his dream is to write a hit single by himself? Hasn't he done that with Oh Sherrie? Did he write that with someone else?

by **Red13JoePa** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 1:05 am

I dunno about that "standards" well. That's been tapped pretty dry now, with Stewart just having dipped in for the 4th time. I would not buy that but I would buy another FTLOSM or ST.

by **NealIsGod** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 1:09 am

Red13JoePa wrote:I dunno about that "standards" well. That's been tapped pretty dry now, with Stewart just having dipped in for the 4th time. I would not buy that but I would buy another FTLOSM or ST.

I'm sure there is an audience of hausfraus who would gobble up anything he records, but if he wants to get that audience PLUS Journey fans who have not yet applied for Medicaid, than he heeds to do a solo CD with a few moderate rockers, at least. I am sure anything he does will be all or 90% lite tunes, which is fine if they are good songs.

by **Red13JoePa** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 1:14 am

That'd be fine by me, too bro. Some tunes along the lines of YBW. Acutally, I pulled down FTLOSM and spun it a few times after I watched the Perry Beacon show a few times. Those live version of those tracks enhanced my enjoyment of the record. I dislike ballads as a rule, but when I'm in the rare mood for them, I want a Journey or Perry ballad.

by **heardonthestreet** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 3:09 am

NealIsGod wrote:
heardonthestreet wrote:I don't want a tour or a c.d. I'll take a hit single from Perry as singer/songwriter of the ultimate song. I remember that it was his dream.

He had plenty of hits with Journey. You mean his dream is to write a hit single by himself? Hasn't he done that with Oh Sherrie? Did he write that with someone else?

.....................................

Oh Sherrie was composed with a few other guys, Nig.

Any singer/songwriter would want to write the ultimate song and if anyone can, I'd pick Perry. It would have to be his own words and music.

by **Jeremey** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 3:16 am

Woah, I don't mean standards a la Rod Stewart...Rod recorded a cover album of standards because it was a trendy thing to do and then he actually toured heavily to promote it....So it made sense to record another cover record, and another, and another....Until we're all sick and tired of seeing Rod Stewart in a tuxedo mewling his way through "My Funny Valentine," because (drum roll) THOSE SONGS MEAN NOTHING TO ROD STEWART! He may as well have recorded all 4 albums over the course of one week, because I find it hard to believe that one eighth of those songs have any personal connection to Rod Stewart at all!

I think it's a lot more meaningful for 1) Steve Perry to acknowledge his age and once and for all put a bookend on his Journey career. He's forever going to be remembered as that thirty year old dude in the yellow shirt and tails, but a lot of water has passed under the bridge....also (2) I don't care how much flack I will get for this but Steve Perry was never a rocker! He was, to me, as unlikely a rock star as could be...He does, however, have the ability to convey the meaning and emotion of a song (even with some of the most cliche lyrics you could imagine) that I would say is nearly unsurpassed by any vocalist in the past 40 years.

That being said, I think it'd be great if he recorded a record of songs that really meant something to him, as influences, as a bookend to his career that could possibly open a new audience to him. Songs like "Cry Me A River" by Sam Cooke or "Unchained Melody," or covers by Aretha or Jackie Wilson...Maybe do "Everybody Plays The Fool" as a duet with Aaron Neville.

The Christmas special would be the icing on the cake! Steve Perry in a red sweater drinking egg nog and introducing hip, current acts like Kanye West to join him in singing "Jingle Bell Rock" - The show nearly writes itself!

by **heardonthestreet** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 3:21 am

Red13JoePa wrote:That'd be fine by me, too bro. Some tunes along the lines of YBW. Acutally, I pulled down FTLOSM and spun it a few times after I watched the Perry Beacon show a few times. Those live version of those tracks enhanced my enjoyment of the record. I dislike ballads as a rule, but when I'm in the rare mood for them, I want a Journey or Perry ballad.

............................................

Is your Perry Beacon video an amateur version, Joe?

by **NealIsGod** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 3:29 am

Jeremey wrote:I don't care how much flack I will get for this but Steve Perry was never a rocker! He was, to me, as unlikely a rock star as could be...He does, however, have the ability to convey the meaning and emotion of a song (even with some of the most cliche lyrics you could imagine) that I would say is nearly unsurpassed by any vocalist in the past 40 years.

I wouldn't call him an unlikely rock star. The great thing about him was that he was a singer, not a screamer, in a rock band. And the same emotion that came out of him during Lights also came out of him during ESC4P3 and Chain Reaction. The dude had it all.

by **jrnyman28** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 4:44 am

I TOTALLY agree with Jeremey! With the RIGHT material, Perry would of course be phenominal. TNC and Monker have also echoed the sentiment that the R&B/Soul side of Perry is a path worth taking. (It's what made Street Talk good, and what was missing IMO on FTLOSM) The slight rasp in his voice would sound great, he could still sound very smooth. If the songs/artists are influences on him than Perry would really connect emotionally. And that would be HUGE, because that is Perry's strength...emotion.

by **Jeremey** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 5:07 am

By unlikely rock star, I mean it in the way that you think ROCK STAR when you think of that individual's personality and how they direct their career....as in David Lee Roth, Bono, Steven Tyler, Axl Rose, Robert Plant, Sammy Hagar, Gene Simmons...Neal Schon.....Steve Perry is really more of an outsider in a group like that....His sheer ability and melodic sense is what got him to the top. And I agree about his ability to sell a song like Chain Reaction or Edge of The Blade - It's the same emotion, but you wouldn't get that same sincerity if he was singing about banging chicks or kicking a really bad smack habit.

jrnyman, thanks for your agreement....The material is key, which means the PRODUCER is key, and the people he would surround himself with. Guys like Rick Rubin and Phil Ramone have worked wonders with singers and gotten great results based on their total assessment of a performer's individual capabilities.

And in case anyone is wondering, I was only joking about the Christmas thing. No, we don't need to see Steve Perry sipping egg nog by the yule log. :shock:

by **Greg** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 6:16 am

Anything from the man would make me very happy! Just don't let him have White Sox baseball players singing on the album! :lol:

by **NoMoreTails** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 6:29 am

If Perry wasn't motivated by having a platinum album after a ten year layoff, having a Grammy nomination, and having the millions Journey was offered for a TBF tour, I can't see this attention inspiring him to return either.

by **ohsherrie** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 6:32 am

I completely agree with you on the soul and R&B stuff. I've posted that idea on here before. In fact, that's what I asked Steve about when he had the Q&A thing on Lora's site in January. I want to hear him sing the songs that inspired him. He could blow Michael McDonald off the map with that stuff. Not necessarily the cookie cutter Motown stuff that was all over the place in the 60s, but the REAL stuff. Can you just imagine him singing Sexual Healing? :shock:

by **sngrchk04** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 8:18 am

NoMoreTails wrote:If Perry wasn't motivated by having a platinum album after a ten year layoff, having a Grammy nomination, and having the millions Journey was offered for a TBF tour, I can't see this attention inspiring him to return either.

I don't think it's a "motivation" thing:

I think he'd return if the Recording Industry would just LAY OFF and let him do what HE wants!

I mean, c'mon - he was trying to get the FTLOSM thing off the ground....and LO AND BEHOLD....there's Neal and Mgmt - from out of the blue :roll:

Here's my .02 -

Smooth jazz a la "If Only For The Moment, Girl" / "Melody"....my God...... :shock:

Nope; never saw him as the "Rocker Guy" either.....

"Sexual Healing".......uh-huh....... :wink:

by **EightyRock** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 8:54 am

Those are some interesting assessments of what Steve could be doing. Somewhere there was an interview this week of him saying this Sox thing has got him stoked into doing something. A Journey fan from England, I think posted it at BT. Of course we've heard this before, but who knows, it might happen. Hell, who would have thought today would happen? Or the WOF appearance? The R&B thing would be very appropriate for him. Unfortunately, he dislikes doing alot of cover songs and seems to prefer writing his own stuff, so that puts us somewhere into another couple of years, possibly. I saw the rocker side of him on stuff like Stone in Love, Where Were You, Line of Fire, Dixie Hwy, etc. None of Journey are the bad boys of rock, let's face it. They all cherish their Mamas & have kept their noses pretty much clean. (Hi Ross

They didn't leave a trail of women weeping in empty hotel rooms after the tour bus split, either. I guess that doesn't help the "rocker" image for any of them. Steve would be well received if he just SANG..something...anything. He should start TOMORROW! (but as someone said...not with the ballplayers singing along)

by **Rockindeano** » Sat Oct 29, 2005 9:50 am

EightyRock wrote: The R&B thing would be very appropriate for him. Unfortunately, he dislikes doing alot of cover songs and seems to prefer writing his own stuff,

I totally disagree. He LOVES the Motown sound. Kind of like Bill Clinton being Americas' first black president. I have boots where, they are playing tons of covers, and mostly Motown covers like "Reach Out" and "Stand By Me." That is cool, but when you throw in the fact He made the band also play his 3 crappy solo poppy hits, you have 5 or 6 songs in a Journey concert that aren't Journey... Hell, they have a massive catalogue to pull from, yet they play crap, and yes, it's crap, "O Sherrie, Foolish heart, Strung Out(this one ok), and then some Motown Covers...So don't tell me SP doesn't like covers...

None of Journey are the bad boys of rock, let's face it. They all cherish their Mamas & have kept their noses pretty much clean.

And THAT is not a bad thing. Have you seen how the "boys" of Journey have aged versus the "rock guys?" Journey looks and plays better than any of them..

Steve would be well received if he just SANG..something...anything.

Talk about tarnishing the bands' good name? My God, you all crack on Steve Augeri..I could have a field day with Perry's voice..It is embarrassing..And don't give me this "he didn't have time to warm up crap...".. He couldn't even sing the whooaaooo in DSB! Just awful

by **NoMoreTails** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 11:05 pm

sngrchk04 wrote:I don't think it's a "motivation" thing:

I agree at this point, I think it was a motivation thing once. After hearing him sing now, I think he knows he doesn't have it anymore, not even what he still had 10 years ago. He just doesn't have the class to admit it and wish Journey well without him.

by **ohsherrie** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 4:34 am

NoMoreTails wrote:I agree at this point, I think it was a motivation thing once. After hearing him sing now, I think he knows he doesn't have it anymore, not even what he still had 10 years ago. He just doesn't have the class to admit it and wish Journey well without him.

He may not have what you guys want to hear, I don't know what that is, but like Eightyrock said, he could deliver somthing that A LOT of people would want to hear.

Maybe the band should have had the class to refrain from the digs they've thrown around about him in interviews and concerts for the last 8 yrs. Steve has shown enough class to keep from slinging cracks about them.

by **Rockindeano** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 4:41 am

ohsherrie wrote:
Maybe the band should have had the class to refrain from the digs they've thrown around about him in interviews and concerts for the last 8 yrs. .

Now wait a minute. Name ONE time any current member has said anything derogayory about Steve Perry. I am sure Perry himself would like to know, being that there is a gag order against ill jided remarks.

I would love to hear ONE negative comment that Jon, Neal, Ross or the two newcomers have ever said about SP.

by **NoMoreTails** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 4:50 am

ohsherrie wrote:He may not have what you guys want to hear, I don't know what that is, but like Eightyrock said, he could deliver somthing that A LOT of people would want to hear..

He definitely doesn't have why I want to hear, even when he still had the ability, he hardly ever sang with the rock edge I wanted to hear.

ohsherrie wrote:Maybe the band should have had the class to refrain from the digs they've thrown around about him in interviews and concerts for the last 8 yrs. Steve has shown enough class to keep from slinging cracks about them.

I feel that the band has been more than fair concerning Perry, they haven't said as much as perhaps they should. But then again, there is the gag order which may keep them from saying what they might have otherwise.

by **yak** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 5:11 am

NealIsGod wrote:I'm sure there is an audience of hausfraus who would gobble up anything he records,

Or maybe he could do a Lounge act in Vegas.

by **boodles** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 6:24 am

I think most of us agree that we would love to hear Steve again and wouldn't care if he didn't sing Journey songs. Steve doing soul, R&B, whatever type that would be suitable for his lower register would be fine.

However, I bet Steve feels that no one would be interested in him unless he is singing some Journey songs. Probably why his FTLOSM tour had so many. So he just doesn't bother. JMO

by **ohsherrie** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 7:46 am

Rock'ndeano wrote:Now wait a minute. Name ONE time any current member has said anything derogayory about Steve Perry. I am sure Perry himself would like to know, being that there is a gag order against ill jided remarks.

I would love to hear ONE negative comment that Jon, Neal, Ross or the two newcomers have ever said about SP.

Come on Dean, this has been discussed on this and other boards enough that you know what I'm talking about. Of course there was nothing overtly critical, but Neal has made comments in several interviews that were obvious digs.

I just don't have the time to look all this stuff up and post it. It's not really necessary though because everyone knows what I'm talking about whether they'll admit it or not.

Besides that, I don't want to turn this thread in that direction. I was just answering MNT's comment about what he considers Steve's lack of class(and regretted it as soon as I did). This subject has been hashed around so much that I think we all know where the line in the sand is drawn anyway. :lol:

by **ohsherrie** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 7:57 am

NoMoreTails wrote:He definitely doesn't have why I want to hear, even when he still had the ability, he hardly ever sang with the rock edge I wanted to hear.

I don't think that rock edge is what most people would buy a Steve Perry cd for. He's about melody and emotion. That's what his fans want.

there is the gag order which may keep them from saying what they might have otherwise.

Neal has pushed it to the very edge of legal acceptability. I don't think we should talk about this though(see my reply to Deano). It would just screw up this thread and probably become another pissing match.

by **Jeremey** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 8:00 am

NoMoreTails wrote:
sngrchk04 wrote:I don't think it's a "motivation" thing:

I agree at this point, I think it was a motivation thing once. After hearing him sing now, I think he knows he doesn't have it anymore, not even what he still had 10 years ago. He just doesn't have the class to admit it and wish Journey well without him.

Come on, now...Business is business....I think the fact that Journey has been touring around for 8 years under the name of Journey is all anyone needs to know about class....Just take a look at some of the bands out there that went through major battles over names, etc...The fact that Journey replaced Perry and went on tour several months later, without months or even years of legal wrangling, is about all that anyone should expect out of Perry. He stated his misgivings about the band continuing on without him in BTM, but the band still continued, despite of that....Certainly Perry was a part of that partnership and stood to gain from the band's continued touring, but had he wanted to he could have thrown a lot more wrenches in the gears.

by **ohsherrie** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 8:04 am

Jeremey wrote:
Come on, now...Business is business....I think the fact that Journey has been touring around for 8 years under the name of Journey is all anyone needs to know about class....Just take a look at some of the bands out there that went through major battles over names, etc...The fact that Journey replaced Perry and went on tour several months later, without months or even years of legal wrangling, is about all that anyone should expect out of Perry. He stated his misgivings about the band continuing on without him in BTM, but the band still continued, despite of that....Certainly Perry was a part of that partnership and stood to gain from the band's continued touring, but had he wanted to he could have thrown a lot more wrenches in the gears.

Bless you Jeremey. Great post.

by **The_Noble_Cause** » Tue Nov 01, 2005 8:17 am

Jeremey wrote:The fact that Journey replaced Perry and went on tour several months later, without months or even years of legal wrangling, is about all that anyone should expect out of Perry.

You are making it sound like Perry submissively rolled over and signed away.
Are you forgetting what Herbie said about the guys having to give away the farm in order to tour?

MR

Now That Steve Perry Maybe Begins To Realize He's Wanted...

Now That Steve Perry Maybe Begins To Realize He's Wanted...

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