After Watching Oprah.....

[Ehwmatt]

I still think Perry has not done anything in years because his contract he signed that allowed him to be paid like a "mo fo" hasn't allowed him until now.

I think it's pretty clear that SP has not done much (any) singing/performing in the "post Journey" years because he has not been able to sing well enough. His "legacy" prevented him due to the inescapable comparisons to Perry circa 1980's.

My personal belief is that he has just recently "come to grips" with his understandably diminished vocal abilities and has decided to "test the waters" again. One thing I can tell you...when/if we hear SP sing again, it will sound different than what most are accustomed to hearing. He's 60 years old you know?!

Sad facts I'm afraid.

I think the diminishment in his capability is much greater to his own ears than it would be to us. There are lots of great singers around his age that whose voices have aged noticeably, but VERY gracefully. Someone who really does well is Daryl Hall. He sounds "older" and he might not be able to quite reach a few notes right at the top of the range any more, but he still sounds like Daryl, the fans still eat it up, and he still sounds great. I suspect SP is the same.

My hope (more of a pipe-dream really) is that SP will sound somewhere between ROR and TBF in terms of his vocal range / clarity. It would be awesome if the rumors turn out to be true and he had some "magical" vocal procedure which brought back alot of his range...but...I truly doubt it.

Perry is a "victim" of his own past success...he can never compare to it and, in his mind, every time he releases something...it diminishes his reputation/legacy.

In this day and age of all the digital tools we've got, I have no doubt Perry can sound INCREDIBLY good on anything he decides to release. That's not to say he'd need to be pitch-corrected all over the place or whatever else, but how could one of the greatest singers of all time not be able to sound great when people like Britney and Ashlee Simpson sound like they can carry a tune on a record?

[kgdjpubs]

I still think Perry has not done anything in years because his contract he signed that allowed him to be paid like a "mo fo" hasn't allowed him until now.

I think it's pretty clear that SP has not done much (any) singing/performing in the "post Journey" years because he has not been able to sing well enough. His "legacy" prevented him due to the inescapable comparisons to Perry circa 1980's.

My personal belief is that he has just recently "come to grips" with his understandably diminished vocal abilities and has decided to "test the waters" again. One thing I can tell you...when/if we hear SP sing again, it will sound different than what most are accustomed to hearing. He's 60 years old you know?!

Sad facts I'm afraid.

I think the diminishment in his capability is much greater to his own ears than it would be to us. There are lots of great singers around his age that whose voices have aged noticeably, but VERY gracefully. Someone who really does well is Daryl Hall. He sounds "older" and he might not be able to quite reach a few notes right at the top of the range any more, but he still sounds like Daryl, the fans still eat it up, and he still sounds great. I suspect SP is the same.

Perry's got a secondary problem though. He's stuck with performing the Journey catalogue. He can't go out there and perform 95% solo material and expect the audience to comply. That means he HAS to do a fair amount of Journey in the set. If he still has his '94 range, he can survive. If he has lost more since then (which is a legit possibility), tuning down those songs to where his range is will be pretty obvious. That's a big albatross around his neck that won't go away--and may very well be the reason nobody has heard from him in 13 years.

All the above is not counting the fact that his voice had trouble holding up on the '94 tour, and he was having problems with some songs, even tuned down. He had a bunch of very good nights, some ok nights, and the occasional meltdown which was surrounded by other good shows, oddly enough. Pittsburgh was a total disaster, bookended by New York and Toronto (both of which sounded very good). Another 15 years of inactivity won't help the problem.

I'm confident he can sound very good on a cd at whatever range he chooses. That's his strong points of finding the melody and phrasing to accentuate his voice. I'm also fairly confident he can do a short 10-15 date tour with days off. The 40-60 date tour might be a little rough however.

Good news in this though is the more success Journey has, the better chance that he will have to try and see what he's got left. With all respect due, and said in the best way possible, I'm not sure his ego will allow Journey to succeed with him in the shadows. When the band starts to experience success without him, he will want to prove he's the voice. That's good for everyone.

[Jana]

I still think Perry has not done anything in years because his contract he signed that allowed him to be paid like a "mo fo" hasn't allowed him until now.

I think it's pretty clear that SP has not done much (any) singing/performing in the "post Journey" years because he has not been able to sing well enough. His "legacy" prevented him due to the inescapable comparisons to Perry circa 1980's.

My personal belief is that he has just recently "come to grips" with his understandably diminished vocal abilities and has decided to "test the waters" again. One thing I can tell you...when/if we hear SP sing again, it will sound different than what most are accustomed to hearing. He's 60 years old you know?!

Sad facts I'm afraid.

I think the diminishment in his capability is much greater to his own ears than it would be to us. There are lots of great singers around his age that whose voices have aged noticeably, but VERY gracefully. Someone who really does well is Daryl Hall. He sounds "older" and he might not be able to quite reach a few notes right at the top of the range any more, but he still sounds like Daryl, the fans still eat it up, and he still sounds great. I suspect SP is the same.

Perry's got a secondary problem though. He's stuck with performing the Journey catalogue. He can't go out there and perform 95% solo material and expect the audience to comply. That means he HAS to do a fair amount of Journey in the set. If he still has his '94 range, he can survive. If he has lost more since then (which is a legit possibility), tuning down those songs to where his range is will be pretty obvious. That's a big albatross around his neck that won't go away--and may very well be the reason nobody has heard from him in 13 years.

All the above is not counting the fact that his voice had trouble holding up on the '94 tour, and he was having problems with some songs, even tuned down. He had a bunch of very good nights, some ok nights, and the occasional meltdown which was surrounded by other good shows, oddly enough. Pittsburgh was a total disaster, bookended by New York and Toronto (both of which sounded very good). Another 15 years of inactivity won't help the problem.

I'm confident he can sound very good on a cd at whatever range he chooses. That's his strong points of finding the melody and phrasing to accentuate his voice. I'm also fairly confident he can do a short 10-15 date tour with days off. The 40-60 date tour might be a little rough however.

Good news in this though is the more success Journey has, the better chance that he will have to try and see what he's got left. With all respect due, and said in the best way possible, I'm not sure his ego will allow Journey to succeed with him in the shadows. When the band starts to experience success without him, he will want to prove he's the voice. That's good for everyone.

I don't believe he will tour, short or long. So I hope he does one show and does a DVD. Good post.

[Ehwmatt]

I still think Perry has not done anything in years because his contract he signed that allowed him to be paid like a "mo fo" hasn't allowed him until now.

I think it's pretty clear that SP has not done much (any) singing/performing in the "post Journey" years because he has not been able to sing well enough. His "legacy" prevented him due to the inescapable comparisons to Perry circa 1980's.

My personal belief is that he has just recently "come to grips" with his understandably diminished vocal abilities and has decided to "test the waters" again. One thing I can tell you...when/if we hear SP sing again, it will sound different than what most are accustomed to hearing. He's 60 years old you know?!

Sad facts I'm afraid.

I think the diminishment in his capability is much greater to his own ears than it would be to us. There are lots of great singers around his age that whose voices have aged noticeably, but VERY gracefully. Someone who really does well is Daryl Hall. He sounds "older" and he might not be able to quite reach a few notes right at the top of the range any more, but he still sounds like Daryl, the fans still eat it up, and he still sounds great. I suspect SP is the same.

Perry's got a secondary problem though. He's stuck with performing the Journey catalogue. He can't go out there and perform 95% solo material and expect the audience to comply. That means he HAS to do a fair amount of Journey in the set. If he still has his '94 range, he can survive. If he has lost more since then (which is a legit possibility), tuning down those songs to where his range is will be pretty obvious. That's a big albatross around his neck that won't go away--and may very well be the reason nobody has heard from him in 13 years.

All the above is not counting the fact that his voice had trouble holding up on the '94 tour, and he was having problems with some songs, even tuned down. He had a bunch of very good nights, some ok nights, and the occasional meltdown which was surrounded by other good shows, oddly enough. Pittsburgh was a total disaster, bookended by New York and Toronto (both of which sounded very good). Another 15 years of inactivity won't help the problem.

I'm confident he can sound very good on a cd at whatever range he chooses. That's his strong points of finding the melody and phrasing to accentuate his voice. I'm also fairly confident he can do a short 10-15 date tour with days off. The 40-60 date tour might be a little rough however.

Good news in this though is the more success Journey has, the better chance that he will have to try and see what he's got left. With all respect due, and said in the best way possible, I'm not sure his ego will allow Journey to succeed with him in the shadows. When the band starts to experience success without him, he will want to prove he's the voice. That's good for everyone.

Yeah, good post for the most part. I'm only willing to speculate on his ability to record an album and make it sound good. Nothing more, nothing less.

There are way too many variables as far as the touring goes that I can't even begin to imagine how he'll sound. Maybe he got a hell of a lot weaker as he got older and stopped performing. Or maybe, the extended rest has allowed him to make a huge stride towards a stronger voice? Maybe he could sound damn good doing a few once-off shows in Vegas. Maybe he could pull a tour off. Maybe he could only sing short 6 song sets. Who the hell knows. Not me!

[kgdjpubs]

My hope (more of a pipe-dream really) is that SP will sound somewhere between ROR and TBF in terms of his vocal range / clarity. It would be awesome if the rumors turn out to be true and he had some "magical" vocal procedure which brought back alot of his range...but...I truly doubt it.

Perry is a "victim" of his own past success...he can never compare to it and, in his mind, every time he releases something...it diminishes his reputation/legacy.

These things are possible. Jimi Jamison of Survivor did something and got some of his voice back. He sounds a lot better on his solo cd last year than the Survivor cd from 2006. Others have done the same thing. What Perry's going to be fighting as much as anything is inactivity. By not performing, his voice has likely gotten "out of shape". THAT can be fixed, but it will take time. Whether it's up to his standards or not is another question entirely.

Also, his voice in '94/'96 sounded better live than it did in the studio. He was mentioning something about recording early in the morning to get that rasp that he liked. He would sound better in a studio simply by recording vocals later in the day once his voice is lubricated/warmed-up. I don't think anybody knows exactly what shape his voice is in other than him. The best anyone else can guess is the FTLOSM live bootlegs, and there are precious few of them that are any good. Get him on a good night though and he still sounded very good.

If he does anything, he will still sound like Steve Perry. No worries of him going Brian Johnson on us.

[Enigma869]

Come on now, the guy had one of the top 100 best male voices in music history.

Top 100? That's it? He's number one as far as the best vocalists I've ever heard...male, female, or beast

[Enigma869]

Good news in this though is the more success Journey has, the better chance that he will have to try and see what he's got left. With all respect due, and said in the best way possible, I'm not sure his ego will allow Journey to succeed with him in the shadows. When the band starts to experience success without him, he will want to prove he's the voice.

You're beyond delusional if you seriously believe Perry is motivated by what the guys calling themselves "Journey" in 2009 are doing. That's like saying Barry Sanders is going to come out of retirement because there are now other good running backs in the NFL. NOTHING with the name Journey on it in 2009 or beyond diminishes Perry's VAST shadow that the rest of these guys will forever be walking in! I realize some believe that Perry has something to prove. I've never believed that. I think anyone who actually believes that Perry can sing anywhere close to how he sang almost 30 years ago is dreaming. My hunch is that Perry's voice isn't remotely close to what it used to be and that because of that, he isn't getting near a microphone to record anything, and I'm okay with that. It doesn't make his brilliance any less astonishing. The guy was simply untouchable in his day, and he's the only vocalist I've ever said that about (maybe Ann Wilson gets close). Neal can keep rolling out a new lead singer every couple of years to sing the songs made famous by Perry's voice. Perry thanks him every time he cashes another check!

[kgdjpubs]

Good news in this though is the more success Journey has, the better chance that he will have to try and see what he's got left. With all respect due, and said in the best way possible, I'm not sure his ego will allow Journey to succeed with him in the shadows. When the band starts to experience success without him, he will want to prove he's the voice.

You're beyond delusional if you seriously believe Perry is motivated by what the guys calling themselves "Journey" in 2009 are doing. That's like saying Barry Sanders is going to come out of retirement because there are now other good running backs in the NFL. NOTHING with the name Journey on it in 2009 or beyond diminishes Perry's VAST shadow that the rest of these guys will forever be walking in!

You may be right. Then again, there is that ego thing though that most successful people have--and Perry sure has it judging by his comments over the years. Doesn't mean he will do anything, and Journey certainly hasn't got to a level where he should be worried--and they likely never will. They are coming closer though with Arnel than Augeri got, but they still haven't gotten any success on new material. That's going to be the only thing that might get Perry out of retirement. If he doesn't do something soon, chances are you'll never hear from him again. I can live with that also, but should the rumors pan out and he makes a comeback, I am not going to buy the "I just wanted to do music again" excuse for one second.

I think anyone who actually believes that Perry can sing anywhere close to how he sang almost 30 years ago is dreaming. My hunch is that Perry's voice isn't remotely close to what it used to be and that because of that, he isn't getting near a microphone to record anything, and I'm okay with that.

Agreed 100%. If Perry wanted to be out performing and recording, he would have done it 10 years ago. The fact that he hasn't speaks volumes.

It doesn't make his brilliance any less astonishing. The guy was simply untouchable in his day, and he's the only vocalist I've ever said that about (maybe Ann Wilson gets close).

I'd put John Farnham, and maybe Glenn Hughes on that level also from the rock music era---interestingly enough, the only two other than Perry that have had "the voice" title bestowed upon them that I'm aware of. Maybe one or two more like Sam Cooke, although he operated in a different time. Any way you cut it, Perry's certainly in rare company.

[journeyrock]

1. The band was not getting any younger and the window of opportunity was closing in.
2. Steve Perry gave no committments of when he would return.
3. Friendship or no friendship, you have a business to run and the rest of the band needs to make a living
4. Don't be ridiculous! They did what they had to do.

I really hate to agree with Steve here but he's right.
For whatever reason, Perry doesn't want to do all this anymore.
The band moved on and we've gotten some great years out of them.

It's some of the shady shit that has transpired over the past
2-3 years that has left a sour taste in some of our mouths.
And now we are stuck with a new singer that :
1. Is a genuine, super nice guy w/ a really great, feel-good story.
2. Sounds fantastic on his own material; Revalation is really a fantastic album.
3. Really doesn't do the older material justice; tries to hard to make them his own and winds up
ruining most of them in the process.

But hey, I guess some Journey is better than no Journey, right?

I'm still a Loon though and I still think Perry and the boys will
eventually kiss & make up, and put this beast to bed together someday

I hope so, Carl. I haven't stopped believin.

[journeyrock]

I still think Perry has not done anything in years because his contract he signed that allowed him to be paid like a "mo fo" hasn't allowed him until now.

I think you are right on that one too!!! I've said this for a while now. I think there was some sort of no compete clause in the contract.

[journeyrock]

Well how do we know he had hip surgery anyways? He's a small guy who's never been over weight and he's not gotten sloshed and injured himself like EVH did to receive his hip replacement. I'm just wondering if hip surgery is what's been claimed but in reality it was something else that has to do with his ability to sing.

I hate to be pessimistic but I don't ever believe we will ever hear SP sing again.

Look at the big picture here, the guy hasn't sang a note in public for what.....11 years plus? If he could still sing don't you think he'd be doing something like solo or project orientated? Come on now, the guy had one of the top 100 best male voices in music history. With that he'd be singing something.

He sang on the David Pack record in '05. That wasn't 11 years ago according to my calendar.

[Saint John]

He sang on the David Pack record in '05. That wasn't 11 years ago according to my calendar.

And that wasn't singing according to my ears. It sounded like his voice was coming out of a computer. There was nothing about that vocal that would give one any idea of what kind of shape his voice is in. It was a tad more difficult than breathing, but less difficult than fucking snoring.

[kgdjpubs]

I hate to be pessimistic but I don't ever believe we will ever hear SP sing again.

Look at the big picture here, the guy hasn't sang a note in public for what.....11 years plus? If he could still sing don't you think he'd be doing something like solo or project orientated? Come on now, the guy had one of the top 100 best male voices in music history. With that he'd be singing something.

He sang on the David Pack record in '05. That wasn't 11 years ago according to my calendar.

It also wasn't live, and I'm agreeing with Saint John. Nothing to determine one way or another what shape his voice is or isn't in.

His general inactions to have virtually anything to do with the music industry (barring the occasional low-profile background vocal for a friend) speaks volumes. He either doesn't want to....or can't sing at a level he wants to be at.

[The Sushi Hunter]

Come on now, the guy had one of the top 100 best male voices in music history.

Top 100? That's it? He's number one as far as the best vocalists I've ever heard...male, female, or beast

Number 76 to be exact.

[The Sushi Hunter]

He sang on the David Pack record in '05. That wasn't 11 years ago according to my calendar.

And that wasn't singing according to my ears. It sounded like his voice was coming out of a computer. There was nothing about that vocal that would give one any idea of what kind of shape his voice is in. It was a tad more difficult than breathing, but less difficult than fucking snoring.

Uggg, I hate that type of vocals. Cher was doing that in all her songs the last time as I recall in the late 90's.

[The Sushi Hunter]

I hate to be pessimistic but I don't ever believe we will ever hear SP sing again.

Look at the big picture here, the guy hasn't sang a note in public for what.....11 years plus? If he could still sing don't you think he'd be doing something like solo or project orientated? Come on now, the guy had one of the top 100 best male voices in music history. With that he'd be singing something.

He sang on the David Pack record in '05. That wasn't 11 years ago according to my calendar.

It also wasn't live, and I'm agreeing with Saint John. Nothing to determine one way or another what shape his voice is or isn't in.

His general inactions to have virtually anything to do with the music industry (barring the occasional low-profile background vocal for a friend) speaks volumes. He either doesn't want to....or can't sing at a level he wants to be at.

Wasn't there a movie some years ago about a professional baseball pitcher who (in the movie) had a very difficult time realizing that he got old and lost his ability to pitch the way he used to when he was younger? Singers would go through the same thing I would imagine.

[Ehwmatt]

He sang on the David Pack record in '05. That wasn't 11 years ago according to my calendar.

And that wasn't singing according to my ears. It sounded like his voice was coming out of a computer. There was nothing about that vocal that would give one any idea of what kind of shape his voice is in. It was a tad more difficult than breathing, but less difficult than fucking snoring.

Uggg, I hate that type of vocals. Cher was doing that in all her songs the last time as I recall in the late 90's.

SP's voice was not autotuned on that record to any audible degree. It's layered. He also sings tradeoff lines with Pack on the bridge and sounds great

[Vladan]

I'd put John Farnham, and maybe Glenn Hughes on that level also from the rock music era---interestingly enough, the only two other than Perry that have had "the voice" title bestowed upon them that I'm aware of. Maybe one or two more like Sam Cooke, although he operated in a different time. Any way you cut it, Perry's certainly in rare company.

Kenoath! Farnsy is up there with the best of them, he's touring again and sounding as good as ever. I always thought growing up Johnny Farnham was the best of them all, and I still feel that way, he is one singer that cannot be topped, they can equal the man's skills sure, even Perry in his day, but Farnham as a singer will never be out shined by anyone in my honest opinion. I think he reached what I can the pinnacle of singing, the full potential of what a singer can do on stage and on record, but not only for a couple of years, he's done it his entire lifetime, he hasn't lost his voice.

[Enigma869]

Top 100? That's it? He's number one as far as the best vocalists I've ever heard...male, female, or beast

Number 76 to be exact.

I'd love to see this list of yours of the 75 vocalists that are better than Perry, in your opinion!

[kgdjpubs]

Top 100? That's it? He's number one as far as the best vocalists I've ever heard...male, female, or beast

Number 76 to be exact.

I'd love to see this list of yours of the 75 vocalists that are better than Perry, in your opinion!

So would I. I can see a bunch of singers that were as influential, or maybe more influential than Perry. I can't see many that were better than Perry.

[kgdjpubs]

I'd put John Farnham, and maybe Glenn Hughes on that level also from the rock music era---interestingly enough, the only two other than Perry that have had "the voice" title bestowed upon them that I'm aware of. Maybe one or two more like Sam Cooke, although he operated in a different time. Any way you cut it, Perry's certainly in rare company.

Kenoath! Farnsy is up there with the best of them, he's touring again and sounding as good as ever. I always thought growing up Johnny Farnham was the best of them all, and I still feel that way, he is one singer that cannot be topped, they can equal the man's skills sure, even Perry in his day, but Farnham as a singer will never be out shined by anyone in my honest opinion. I think he reached what I can the pinnacle of singing, the full potential of what a singer can do on stage and on record, but not only for a couple of years, he's done it his entire lifetime, he hasn't lost his voice.

Yep. Perry had a higher range and arguably better phrasing (or at least more distinct phrasing) than Farnham, but that's about as far as you can go. John Farnham may well be the most consistent live singer I've ever heard--and that includes Perry. Farnham's done it all from rock to pop to vocal standards to Broadway to acapella vocal trios and duets, and his voice has hardly changed for 40 years being active in recording and performing.

The "best" usually ends up boiling down to personal preferences, but John Farnham has to be up there in the best singers list. In the live arena, the guy is just about untouchable.

[Chubby321]

A blog from JF........

InspectorClu
Monday, October 5, 2009 - 5:06 pm - InspectorClu
Arnel, I just saw and heard you and the boys on Oprah and I cannot tell you what a gift you have given me, I don't know how to thank you. My boy was also a vocalist; he introduced me to Journey by singing Open Arms for me. It was so beautiful and has become "our" song. My son was violently removed from my life in April 2003 and that song always takes me to a place only a mother can go. Full of pride, happiness, tears and sorrow; and blessed for having been part of his life. I feel so fortunate to have had him in my life for those brief 32 years.

And now here you are; and I couldn't be moved more by anyone other than you. It was enough that you sound exactly like my Sean, but your stature, your physical expression, your pure raw feeling, every move you make, right to that straight skinny beautiful hair, is my boy. Thank you Arnel, I know that somehow your mother and my son must have gotten together in heaven and added me to the gift list because now here you are keeping my son as close to me as he can be. God Bless you and yours Faithfully, Donna.

[The Sushi Hunter]

Top 100? That's it? He's number one as far as the best vocalists I've ever heard...male, female, or beast

Number 76 to be exact.

I'd love to see this list of yours of the 75 vocalists that are better than Perry, in your opinion!

I've not seen the list myself, it was according to Rolling Stone magazine that listed Perry as number 76, not I.