Former Journey Frontman Steve Perry Announces His First Album Release Since 1994
Former Journey frontman Steve Perry has announced his first album release in 24 years. To put that in perspective, Perry’s last album was released in 1994, the same year O.J. Simpson was going down the highway in his Bronco in a slow speed chase and the World Series was canceled due to a Major League Baseball player’s strike. So it’s been a while since Steve Perry released new music.
Steve Perry launched his new website to announce his return to music, as well as given a few small interviews to let everyone know he is back in business. His new album, Traces, will be available on October 5, but he is accepting pre-orders for it on his website now.
In a statement released through his website, Perry took some time to explain to fans why he has been gone from the music scene for so long, and what prompted him to return now.
“Years ago, I disappeared. There were many reasons, but mainly… My Love for Music had suddenly left me. I knew that simply stopping, was what I had to do. If music was ever to return to my heart, then and only then I would figure out what to do. If not… so be it, for I had already lived the dream of dreams.”
Pre-order Steve Perry's brand new album ‘Traces’ here!! Out October 5th https://t.co/8nEYjj4JCc
Don’t forget to head over to @YouTube to check out the new video for No Erasin’ https://t.co/IAj8fIcKuS pic.twitter.com/6XDJj7xQkD
— Steve Perry (@StevePerryMusic) August 15, 2018
Perry has focused most of his interviews on his music, shying away from personal questions and referring people back to the statement he posted on his website. He has also dodged questions regarding whether or not he would perform with or make another album with Journey again, being careful to be respectful of Journey’s current singer Amel Pineda. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Perry talked about his album and what motivated him to write songs again.
“I started writing and recording these songs with the creative freedom that I was the only one who would ever hear them. Along the way, I rediscovered my love for music. Each track represents traces of my past, but is also a hopeful look into the future. I invite you to listen with an open heart.”
He has released a video on YouTube for the first single from his album “No Erasin'” which is about a high school reunion with an old flame that he chose to walk away from. Rolling Stone describes Perry as soulful. Many of the comments on the video describe how much the track sounds like “classic Journey,” and how amazing his voice still sounds.
A veritable “who’s who” of collaborators pitched in on the album including “Oh Sherrie” co-writer Randy Goodrum, former Zappa drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, Dan Wilson of Semisonic, Booker T. Jones, and former Rob Zombie guitarist John 5. While they may seem like an odd combination on paper, they sound fantastic together. As news of the album and video have been spreading, fans can visibly watch the number of views he is receiving increase every hour, and a significant amount of buzz is building as they wait for the album to drop. Perry told Rolling Stone that this album is all about moving on and he hopes it will help his fans do that as well.
“This was not about seeking closure or moving on, but about taking it all with me, about feeling it all, and expressing it all in hopes that it might move and help other people too.”
