Mercury and Perry

[Saint John]

Perry was better then Mercury in every facet of the live experience imaginable...stage antics included. When your voice is truly one of the greatest of all-time you certainly don't need to run around the stage like you're in a fucking Chinese fire drill. You need to, for the most part, stand there and pour every ounce of your God given talent into the songs...which is exactly what Perry did. I'll take Perry's 80's voice standing still singing over Mercury gliding around the stage like Tinkerbell, any day.

[RedWingFan]

Perry was better then Mercury in every facet of the live experience imaginable...stage antics included. When your voice is truly one of the greatest of all-time you certainly don't need to run around the stage like you're in a fucking Chinese fire drill. You need to, for the most part, stand there and pour every ounce of your God given talent into the songs...which is exactly what Perry did. I'll take Perry's 80's voice standing still singing over Mercury gliding around the stage like Tinkerbell, any day.

Perry was great for a very short time. By that standard you could say Timmy Smith is one of the all time great running backs because of his performance in a Super Bowl. Mercury was great for 20 years even on his death bed.

[Saint John]

Perry was better then Mercury in every facet of the live experience imaginable...stage antics included. When your voice is truly one of the greatest of all-time you certainly don't need to run around the stage like you're in a fucking Chinese fire drill. You need to, for the most part, stand there and pour every ounce of your God given talent into the songs...which is exactly what Perry did. I'll take Perry's 80's voice standing still singing over Mercury gliding around the stage like Tinkerbell, any day.

Perry was great for a very short time. By that standard you could say Timmy Smith is one of the all time great running backs because of his performance in a Super Bowl. Mercury was great for 20 years even on his death bed.

I'll take Sandy Koufax over Don Sutton any day.

[RedWingFan]

Perry was better then Mercury in every facet of the live experience imaginable...stage antics included. When your voice is truly one of the greatest of all-time you certainly don't need to run around the stage like you're in a fucking Chinese fire drill. You need to, for the most part, stand there and pour every ounce of your God given talent into the songs...which is exactly what Perry did. I'll take Perry's 80's voice standing still singing over Mercury gliding around the stage like Tinkerbell, any day.

Perry was great for a very short time. By that standard you could say Timmy Smith is one of the all time great running backs because of his performance in a Super Bowl. Mercury was great for 20 years even on his death bed.

I'll take Sandy Koufax over Don Sutton any day.

Screw baseball!

[Enigma869]

Perry was great for a very short time. By that standard you could say Timmy Smith is one of the all time great running backs because of his performance in a Super Bowl. Mercury was great for 20 years even on his death bed.

Terrible example RedWing. While longevity counts to a degree, it's ridiculous to suggest that Timmy Smith's ONE game (204 yards to be exact, against a bad Denver defense) in a Super Bowl is the same as Perry's body of work, over a 7-9 year period! For the record, Timmy Smith had 602 yards rushing in his ENTIRE CAREER!!!!!! Perry was good for more than one album, and he certainly didn't have to hang around for another 20 years for me to consider his voice legendary.

The reality is that even if Perry's voice was as good as ever in 2008, it's HIGHLY unlikely that Journey would still be relevant. There are no bands that I can think of from Journey's era or genre who are even remotely relevant today.


John from Boston

[Journey/Survivor]

in my honest opinion, i think vocally Freddie Mercury is too over-rated. Why does he keep getting these best singer titles. Perry sings and still sings circles around Mercury. Freddie barely can hit the notes Perry hits live. Perry's range is far superior to Mercury's. Mercurys high notes really arent that impressive. They are just loud, because he had vocal nodules.HE often sang in high falsetto, which to be honest really isnt too hard once you understand how to do it. Perry had the soul to captivate the audience, singing loudly but in tune, or even soft like in winds of march. I dont mean to offend any Queen fans, but vocally i believe Perry is the one who should be getting all the recognition.

Mercury was a great singer, but both Steve Perry and Jimi Jamison are better than him. I'm always surprised when I see Mercury at #1 on so many lists. IMO there are at least 10 singers I'd rank ahead of Mercury.

[RedWingFan]

Perry was great for a very short time. By that standard you could say Timmy Smith is one of the all time great running backs because of his performance in a Super Bowl. Mercury was great for 20 years even on his death bed.

Terrible example RedWing. While longevity counts to a degree, it's ridiculous to suggest that Timmy Smith's ONE game (204 yards to be exact, against a bad Denver defense) in a Super Bowl is the same as Perry's body of work, over a 7-9 year period! For the record, Timmy Smith had 602 yards rushing in his ENTIRE CAREER!!!!!! Perry was good for more than one album, and he certainly didn't have to hang around for another 20 years for me to consider his voice legendary.

The reality is that even if Perry's voice was as good as ever in 2008, it's HIGHLY unlikely that Journey would still be relevant. There are no bands that I can think of from Journey's era or genre who are even remotely relevant today.


John from Boston

Okay well I consider Perry great from 78-83. 6 years is 30% of Mercury's greatness. Find a "great" back that had 30% length of a career and put them up against Peyton or Sanders, if you want a more comparable comparison.

[Journey/Survivor]

Perry was great for a very short time. By that standard you could say Timmy Smith is one of the all time great running backs because of his performance in a Super Bowl. Mercury was great for 20 years even on his death bed.

Terrible example RedWing. While longevity counts to a degree, it's ridiculous to suggest that Timmy Smith's ONE game (204 yards to be exact, against a bad Denver defense) in a Super Bowl is the same as Perry's body of work, over a 7-9 year period! For the record, Timmy Smith had 602 yards rushing in his ENTIRE CAREER!!!!!! Perry was good for more than one album, and he certainly didn't have to hang around for another 20 years for me to consider his voice legendary.

The reality is that even if Perry's voice was as good as ever in 2008, it's HIGHLY unlikely that Journey would still be relevant. There are no bands that I can think of from Journey's era or genre who are even remotely relevant today.


John from Boston

Okay well I consider Perry great from 78-83. 6 years is 30% of Mercury's greatness. Find a "great" back that had 30% length of a career and put them up against Peyton or Sanders, if you want a more comparable comparison.

Jim Brown is the greatest running back of all time. Brown only played 9 years, whereas Peyton had a longer career and therefore broke the all time rushing record that Brown had held. I don't remember off hand how many years Sanders played for, but I know he left several years earlier than he had to. But the bottom line is that no-one was as great in their career as Jim Brown was for the 9 years he played in professional Football.

[Enigma869]

Perry was great for a very short time. By that standard you could say Timmy Smith is one of the all time great running backs because of his performance in a Super Bowl. Mercury was great for 20 years even on his death bed.

Terrible example RedWing. While longevity counts to a degree, it's ridiculous to suggest that Timmy Smith's ONE game (204 yards to be exact, against a bad Denver defense) in a Super Bowl is the same as Perry's body of work, over a 7-9 year period! For the record, Timmy Smith had 602 yards rushing in his ENTIRE CAREER!!!!!! Perry was good for more than one album, and he certainly didn't have to hang around for another 20 years for me to consider his voice legendary.

The reality is that even if Perry's voice was as good as ever in 2008, it's HIGHLY unlikely that Journey would still be relevant. There are no bands that I can think of from Journey's era or genre who are even remotely relevant today.


John from Boston

Okay well I consider Perry great from 78-83. 6 years is 30% of Mercury's greatness. Find a "great" back that had 30% length of a career and put them up against Peyton or Sanders, if you want a more comparable comparison.

Now you're in my "sweet spot" talking about the greatest back that I ever saw...Barry Sanders Listen, I'm not here to bash Freddie. As I said, I think the guy was VERY, VERY good! In fact, I think just calling the guy a "great showman" isn't really giving him enough credit. I can tell you this...I never saw Freddie or Perry live (Not seeing Perry live will FOREVER be my biggest regret)! I have heard from MANY people that Freddie was VERY hit or miss on the live stage, while I never heard the same about Perry. As I said, even if Perry were still on his game, I still don't think Journey would be musically relevant. The years you cited (78-83)...the only band I can think of who is even still around from that time period is Aerosmith, and I don't think Journey and Aerosmith are close to the same genre of music.

The measure for "greatness" for me has NEVER, EVER been longevity. My litmus test is this...Were you the best at what you did for that moment in time? My answer for Perry is a resounding YES! If someone wants to say Freddie was on the same level, I certainly wouldn't argue, because I have a ton of respect for Freddie Mercury, but Perry isn't taking a back seat to anyone!


John from Boston

[RedWingFan]

Perry was great for a very short time. By that standard you could say Timmy Smith is one of the all time great running backs because of his performance in a Super Bowl. Mercury was great for 20 years even on his death bed.

Terrible example RedWing. While longevity counts to a degree, it's ridiculous to suggest that Timmy Smith's ONE game (204 yards to be exact, against a bad Denver defense) in a Super Bowl is the same as Perry's body of work, over a 7-9 year period! For the record, Timmy Smith had 602 yards rushing in his ENTIRE CAREER!!!!!! Perry was good for more than one album, and he certainly didn't have to hang around for another 20 years for me to consider his voice legendary.

The reality is that even if Perry's voice was as good as ever in 2008, it's HIGHLY unlikely that Journey would still be relevant. There are no bands that I can think of from Journey's era or genre who are even remotely relevant today.


John from Boston

Okay well I consider Perry great from 78-83. 6 years is 30% of Mercury's greatness. Find a "great" back that had 30% length of a career and put them up against Peyton or Sanders, if you want a more comparable comparison.

Now you're in my "sweet spot" talking about the greatest back ever...Barry Sanders Listen, I'm not here to bash Freddie. As I said, I think the guy was VERY, VERY good! In fact, I think just calling the guy a "great showman" isn't really giving him enough credit. I can tell you this...I never saw Freddie or Perry live (Not seeing Perry live will FOREVER be my biggest regret)! I have heard from MANY people that Freddie was VERY hit or miss on the live stage, while I never heard the same about Perry. As I said, even if Perry were still on his game, I still don't think Journey would be musically relevant. The years you cited (78-83)...the only band I can think of who is even still around from that time period is Aerosmith, and I don't think Journey and Aerosmith are close to the same genre of music.

The measure for "greatness" for me has NEVER, EVER been longevity. My litmus test is this...Were you the best at what you did for that moment in time? My answer for Perry is a resounding YES! If someone wants to say Freddie was on the same level, I certainly wouldn't argue, because I have a ton of respect for Freddie Mercury, but Perry isn't taking a back seat to anyone!


John from Boston

Well if that's the litmus test, then Timmy Smith would have to be in the running. Does he still hold the SB record?

[Enigma869]

Well if that's the litmus test, then Timmy Smith would have to be in the running. Does he still hold the SB record?

Yes, Timmy Smith still holds the single game Super Bowl record (Franco Harris has the career Super Bowl rushing record). Marcus Allen is second on the list with 191 yards against the Redskins, in Super Bowl 18. The reason Timmy Smith isn't in the running, AT ALL, even by my standards is quite simple...The guy was a NOTHING running back, who simply had ONE good game! Like I said, the guy had 600 yards in his entire career! If Perry only released one album with Journey, perhaps the analogy would work, but I don't think you'd even find a Redskin fan who would tell you that Timmy Smith was one of the best of his time, because he wasn't! In fact, I suspect most football fans have probably never heard of the guy!


John from Boston

[RedWingFan]

Well if that's the litmus test, then Timmy Smith would have to be in the running. Does he still hold the SB record?

Yes, Timmy Smith still holds the single game Super Bowl record (Franco Harris has the career Super Bowl rushing record). Marcus Allen is second on the list with 191 yards against the Redskins, in Super Bowl 18. The reason Timmy Smith isn't in the running, AT ALL, even by my standards is quite simple...The guy was a NOTHING running back, who simply had ONE good game! Like I said, the guy had 600 yards in his entire career! If Perry only released one album with Journey, perhaps the analogy would work, but I don't think you'd even find a Redskin fan who would tell you that Timmy Smith was one of the best of his time, because he wasn't! In fact, I suspect most football fans have probably never heard of the guy!


John from Boston

I agree with you. Like I said take a guy who had 3 great years and put them up against Barry's (what 10?)
Even if the guy, Terrell Davis for example, he played 3 or 4 years. Won 2 SB's. Even for the sake of argument TD was better for those 3 years. Barry was consistently strong for a decade. That has to factor in.
Your litmus test of, "Were you the best at what you did for that moment in time?" is contradicted by, "simply had one good game." That game was the biggest moment in his career and he did it better than any other. See what I'm sayin?

[ohsherrie]

Mercury was a novelty. Perry is an icon.

[RedWingFan]

Mercury was a novelty. Perry is an icon.

Yeah a 20 year worldwide novelty. Better stick to politics.

[ohsherrie]

Mercury was a novelty. Perry is an icon.

Yeah a 20 year worldwide novelty. Better stick to politics.

Well thank you RWF, I had no idea you had that much respect for my political acumen.

[RedWingFan]

Mercury was a novelty. Perry is an icon.

Yeah a 20 year worldwide novelty. Better stick to politics.

Well thank you RWF, I had no idea you had that much respect for my political acumen.

Political acumen? Is that what they're calling BDS these days? My politics comment was just meant to magnify your ridiculous "novelty" comment.

[ohsherrie]

Mercury was a novelty. Perry is an icon.

Yeah a 20 year worldwide novelty. Better stick to politics.

Well thank you RWF, I had no idea you had that much respect for my political acumen.

Political acumen? Is that what they're calling BDS these days? My politics comment was just meant to magnify your ridiculous "novelty" comment.

Gee, I'm sorry. All you did was magnify your _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ fill in the blanks.

[Rick]

acumen.

For folks like me

a·cu·men /əˈkyumən, ˈækyə-/ Pronunciation Key [uh-kyoo-muhn, ak-yuh-]

–noun

keen insight; shrewdness: remarkable acumen in business matters.

[Origin: 1525–35; < L acūmen sharpness, equiv. to acū- (s. of acuere to sharpen; see acute) + -men n. suffix]

[ohsherrie]

acumen.

For folks like me

a·cu·men /əˈkyumən, ˈækyə-/ Pronunciation Key [uh-kyoo-muhn, ak-yuh-]

–noun

keen insight; shrewdness: remarkable acumen in business matters.

[Origin: 1525–35; < L acūmen sharpness, equiv. to acū- (s. of acuere to sharpen; see acute) + -men n. suffix]

And there ya go.

[Rick]

acumen.

For folks like me

a·cu·men /əˈkyumən, ˈækyə-/ Pronunciation Key [uh-kyoo-muhn, ak-yuh-]

–noun

keen insight; shrewdness: remarkable acumen in business matters.

[Origin: 1525–35; < L acūmen sharpness, equiv. to acū- (s. of acuere to sharpen; see acute) + -men n. suffix]

And there ya go.

[Enigma869]

acumen.

For folks like me

a·cu·men /əˈkyumən, ˈækyə-/ Pronunciation Key [uh-kyoo-muhn, ak-yuh-]

–noun

keen insight; shrewdness: remarkable acumen in business matters.

[Origin: 1525–35; < L acūmen sharpness, equiv. to acū- (s. of acuere to sharpen; see acute) + -men n. suffix]

I love this dude! Keep those dictionary references coming, Rick


John from Boston

[Enigma869]

Mercury was a novelty. Perry is an icon.

Listen...I'm the biggest Perry supporter on the planet, but calling Freddie Mercury a "novelty" is flat out ridiculous! Do I think he is on Perry's level, vocally? No, I don't think he was ever quite there, but a "novelty" he wasn't!


John from Boston

[Enigma869]

Your litmus test of, "Were you the best at what you did for that moment in time?" is contradicted by, "simply had one good game." That game was the biggest moment in his career and he did it better than any other. See what I'm sayin?

I asbolutely agree with what you're saying, and frankly, I think your Terrell Davis analogy is MUCH more apropos! In my opinion, my statements aren't contradictory, at all. I just don't view a moment in time as one single game. As I said, this guy isn't ranked in the top 1000 running backs who ever played in the NFL! I'm pretty sure even non-Perry fans can't deny the guy was a force to be reckoned with, during his years of dominating the music scene with his voice! I realize you think Perry's career ended in 1983. Some of us don't agree. I didn't love Trial By Fire, but, I'm not someone who came away from listening to TBF thinking "Jesus, this Perry guy can't sing any longer". When I heard some saying Perry lost his voice and his singing ability, I couldn't quite figure out what they were listening to! In fact, I thought on "When You Love A Woman", he sounded as good as he has on anything else I've ever listened to from the guy.


John from Boston

p.s. Thanks for working in some football talk for me, as my withdrawal is already kicking in, and it's quite painful

[RedWingFan]

Your litmus test of, "Were you the best at what you did for that moment in time?" is contradicted by, "simply had one good game." That game was the biggest moment in his career and he did it better than any other. See what I'm sayin?

I asbolutely agree with what you're saying, and frankly, I think your Terrell Davis analogy is MUCH more apropos! In my opinion, my statements aren't contradictory, at all. I just don't view a moment in time as one single game. As I said, this guy isn't ranked in the top 1000 running backs who ever played in the NFL! I'm pretty sure even non-Perry fans can't deny the guy was a force to be reckoned with, during his years of dominating the music scene with his voice! I realize you think Perry's career ended in 1983. Some of us don't agree. I didn't love Trial By Fire, but, I'm not someone who came away from listening to TBF thinking "Jesus, this Perry guy can't sing any longer". When I heard some saying Perry lost his voice and his singing ability, I couldn't quite figure out what they were listening to! In fact, I thought on "When You Love A Woman", he sounded as good as he has on anything else I've ever listened to from the guy.


John from Boston

p.s. Thanks for working in some football talk for me, as my withdrawal is already kicking in, and it's quite painful

True. One of my fav. Journey songs is "Easy to Fall". At that point his voice wasn't "Sweet and Simple" great. It was a good voice on a great song. That's where I'm coming from.
Another analogy would be a great car you had. Would you rather have the best handling smoothest ride that broke down after 6 years? Or another great car that gave you 20 great years and was dependable right til the end?
I've been feeling the football withdrawl since 2002 Raiders pick 3rd or 4th though, and Al Davis can't live forever.

[Enigma869]

Would you rather have the best handling smoothest ride that broke down after 6 years? Or another great car that gave you 20 great years and was dependable right til the end?
I've been feeling the football withdrawl since 2002 Raiders pick 3rd or 4th though, and Al Davis can't live forever.

That's a REALLY easy answer for me...I'll take those best 6 years of my life over the 20 dependable years! I understand what you're saying, but remember, most of us don't think Perry only had a 6 year career! Even if he did...It's the most remarkable 6 years that ANYONE has EVER had in ANY profession!

As for Davis...I'm not so sure about that! That fucker just won't go away. If that dude was running my team, I think I'd have to plot a coup to overtake him! I think he's officially risen to the absolute worst owner in the NFL!


John from Boston

[RedWingFan]

Would you rather have the best handling smoothest ride that broke down after 6 years? Or another great car that gave you 20 great years and was dependable right til the end?
I've been feeling the football withdrawl since 2002 Raiders pick 3rd or 4th though, and Al Davis can't live forever.

That's a REALLY easy answer for me...I'll take those best 6 years of my life over the 20 dependable years! I understand what you're saying, but remember, most of us don't think Perry only had a 6 year career! Even if he did...It's the most remarkable 6 years that ANYONE has EVER had in ANY profession!

As for Davis...I'm not so sure about that! That fucker just won't go away. If that dude was running my team, I think I'd have to plot a coup to overtake him! I think he's officially risen to the absolute worst owner in the NFL!


John from Boston

Considering that the ONLY success they've had is when he did surrender control to Gruden, and the fact that no decent coach would take the job, I'm starting to agree.

[RedWingFan]

Would you rather have the best handling smoothest ride that broke down after 6 years? Or another great car that gave you 20 great years and was dependable right til the end?
I've been feeling the football withdrawl since 2002 Raiders pick 3rd or 4th though, and Al Davis can't live forever.

That's a REALLY easy answer for me...I'll take those best 6 years of my life over the 20 dependable years! I understand what you're saying, but remember, most of us don't think Perry only had a 6 year career!

You'd also have to admit that Mercury had a far more powerful voice. Perry would do a nice job on the beginning of "Bohemian Rhapsody" but couldn't compare to Freddie when it starts rocking in the later part.

[Deb]

Yeah, Freddie had more passion for singing than Perry, no doubt. Being sick and dying probably gave Freddie an appreciation for his gift that healthy people don't have.

I'll NEVER agree that ANYONE had more "passion" than Perry had for singing. I've also NEVER believed that Perry stopped singing, just because he felt like it! I have to tell you...I picked up some internet boots of Perry from back in the late 90's (after he had officially left Journey), and he sounded AWFUL! I couldn't even believe it was Perry! I certainly understand that an internet boot isn't always the best barometer to judge the quality of someone's voice. That said, the guy's voice sounded like it was fried!

The reality is that some guys have a whole lot of pride, and don't want to be remembered for being a shell of themselves, or making a mockery out of their body of work. I think Perry's body of work, as the frontman of Journey, is unmatched. I also think that Perry has FAR more respect for the name Journey than ANY other member of that band has ever had! I believe that Perry simply knew he just didn't have it any longer, and made a VERY intelligent decision to walk away. Just because a guy can't sing any longer (and by sing...I mean singing at the level that he was known for) doesn't mean that somehow he is lacking passion and heart. I realize that any premise advanced by ANYONE is pure speculation. I just believe that his vocal ability going south on him makes more sense than anything else I've heard!


John from Boston

LOL, do you have any idea how many times I've went to post something.........and decided to finish reading the thread first, only to see you've already posted pretty much what I was going to say. Far too many times!

[Journey/Survivor]

Would you rather have the best handling smoothest ride that broke down after 6 years? Or another great car that gave you 20 great years and was dependable right til the end?
I've been feeling the football withdrawl since 2002 Raiders pick 3rd or 4th though, and Al Davis can't live forever.

That's a REALLY easy answer for me...I'll take those best 6 years of my life over the 20 dependable years! I understand what you're saying, but remember, most of us don't think Perry only had a 6 year career!

You'd also have to admit that Mercury had a far more powerful voice. Perry would do a nice job on the beginning of "Bohemian Rhapsody" but couldn't compare to Freddie when it starts rocking in the later part.

Mercury was a great singer, no doubt about it. But I don't know how well he would have done singing "Separate Ways?"

[ohsherrie]

Mercury was a great singer, no doubt about it. But I don't know how well he would have done singing "Separate Ways?"