MR

Hey all...

I was watching the Frontiers boot of Japan 1983 (Classicrocklady ROCKS!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!! ) and I couldn't help but to notice the change in SP from "Escape"...

...which was only 2 years before.

All of a sudden, it seemed really ODD to see the Frontier-era-lower-register-Steve cranking up to a higher register to sing the Escape songs. It looked like he just completely changed everything about himself, including how he delivers a song...the slightly lower-register gut-emotion on "Open Arms", for example...it was no longer a "happy-here-I-am-with-OPEN ARMS!!" delivery....it was something altogether "darker"...

For those of you who have seen this....have you noticed this?

Good catch Nora. I thought the sam eexact thing when I saw it too 3 years ago. He was something wasn't he?

RockinDeano wrote:Good catch Nora. I thought the sam eexact thing when I saw it too 3 years ago. He was something wasn't he?

You alright, man? You actually agree with me.....?

I vaguely remember SP reporting that he would be singing in a lower register after Escape. Actually a friend of mine way back then told me about what he had said. I was disappointed with Frontiers at the onset, but grew to like it a lot better after some listening. It just wasn't the Perry sound I was used to.

tragchk wrote: It looked like he just completely changed everything about himself, including how he delivers a song...

I believe he was forced to change everything in order to survive the cruel tour schedule.I also think he had a very smart vocal coach(heard it was Judy Davis) who taught him exactly what to do and how to do it.
Regardless,he was a phenomenon.I mean you can have God as a vocal coach,but if there's no "material" to work on,if you know what I mean...

Thanx for the replies...

I mean, seriously...does this look like the same person to you?

Escape:


Frontiers:

Definitely had better hair during ESCAPE...OYYY, those mullets!

Escape was Steve's final grand show of his original voice. After that, and understandably, he had to make some changes. Fuck, who wouldn't? He blew it out for 5 years, plus age was playing a factor too. He did Frontiers in his mid 30's after screaming it out for 5 years. He's lucky he could sing at all.

tragchk wrote:Thanx for the replies...

I mean, seriously...does this look like the same person to you?

Escape:


Frontiers:

No wonder the man is so missed. So many different looks and vocal styles all wrapped up in one frontman!

You have me curious now Nora, I'm not sure I noticed the difference when he went from Escape songs to Frontier songs in that show. Mind you I'm not sure I have watched any of the other songs besides Still They Ride more than once or twice. Keep getting stuck on STR, simply stunning. Going to have to pull that dvd out and watch it again and report back. Damn, such hard work!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jubogiBaUhQ

i like the frontiers voice best of all,, but street talk just might be his best vocals on record.. on radio he was able to get a really cool raspy response .. like it too.. the perfect singer.. he grew with style.. except for the frontiers short hair cut and stache..

Imagine what it was like for me to rediscover SP after 25 yrs or so. I only remembered his look from the Infinity album - what a trip to watch him on the GH DVD and see so many "different Steves" - whoa! Such a chameleon in look & voice.
When I first watched the Japan '83 boot I noticed too a "toned down" delivery. I figured it was because of the reserved Japanese audience - the band gets amped by an energetic audience & maybe that could be the reason - not enough juice. I actually prefer this LIVE version of "Still They Ride" over all others I've heard (not that many, 'tho), so it works for me.

silverblue wrote:Imagine what it was like for me to rediscover SP after 25 yrs or so. I only remembered his look from the Infinity album - what a trip to watch him on the GH DVD and see so many "different Steves" - whoa! Such a chameleon in look & voice.
When I first watched the Japan '83 boot I noticed too a "toned down" delivery. I figured it was because of the reserved Japanese audience - the band gets amped by an energetic audience & maybe that could be the reason - not enough juice.

Yeah, the reserved audience...Noticed that, too...not at ALL the crazed "PHIL-A-DEL-PHIA!!" Stadium crowd from F&B. At some points, Steve even looked "pre-occupied".

I actually prefer this LIVE version of "Still They Ride" over all others I've heard (not that many, 'tho), so it works for me.

Man, I saw that on our big-screen TV for the first time today - NOT on that dinky thing on YouTube.....insane...GOD I miss him....

Oh, I hear ya, Nora...I had another SP dream the other night if which he was at a table signing! Signing what? Maybe, CDs Tonight I had to take a drive to McDonald's for the Happy meal toy (not for the food but for the cute Wizard of Oz dolls) and I was behind a car with the license plate 4USP### and then on the way back I was behind another car with a lic plate #SRP### --- (all his intials) now, tell me those aren't signs - within 20 min. even.!

There is something almost mythological about Perry during the Escape days.

Sure, his voice had the best range on Infinity and Evolution, and my favorite album is Departure, but during the Escape tour, with the tails, leopard shirt, long black hair, jeans and sneakers, Perry was almost a caricature of himself (in a good way).

I am in the minority in that I didn't care for Frontiers. Something about it just wasn't Journey to me, and it all centered around Perry and his decisions.

His hair was shorter.
His voice was deeper.
No Scarab on the album cover.
The song styles changed.
The live songs that I heard were WAY too fast (this clip of Still They Ride suprises me).


I know Frontiers is the favorite album of lots of people, but it just didn't do it for me. I am just now able to enjoy Seperate Ways because of the Live Video that is out. For years I couldn't dis-associate the worst video of all time with that song.

My Journey has always been Infinity - Escape.