Steve Perry, the reclusive former Journey frontman who hasn’t put out a new album in nearly a quarter century, will return this fall with a new LP, Traces. The record, which Perry coproduced with Thom Flowers, contains nine original songs and a cover of the Beatles’ “I Need You.” It’s due out October 5th. The first single, “No Erasin’,” tells the story of a school reunion with an ex-flame but its words also fit his story of walking away. “I know it’s been a long time comin’ since I saw your face,” he sings in a soulful tone over an urgent backdrop built from drums, piano and acoustic guitars. It builds as the song goes on, adding synths and heavier guitars. “My soul’s burning, just like it was before,” he howls in the chorus. “Putting 30 years into 10 songs has certainly been an emotional experience for me,” the singer said in a statement. “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 went into greater detail in statements on his website, claiming he had thought he was done with music. “I just wasn’t feeling it anymore,” he said. By the late Nineties, he could “barely even listen to music.” Subsequently, he stopped singing and began “living life on its own terms.” He met a woman named Dr. Kellie Nash who was battling breast cancer in 2011 and fell in love with her. She died the next year. “When Kellie was very ill, she made me promise not to keep isolating myself anymore,” Perry said. So he revisited some songs he’d written before they met and later recorded them for Traces. “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,” Perry wrote. “She told me one night, ‘If something happens to me, promise me that you won’t go back into isolation because I feel that it would make this all for naught.’ In the years after her passing, that conversation never left me, and my love for music slowly returned.” Perry’s songwriting collaborators on the album are his “Oh Sherrie” co-writer Randy Goodrum, Rob Zombie guitarist John 5 and former Semisonic member and songwriter Dan Wilson, among others. Its musicians include Booker T. Jones and onetime Zappa drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, among others. He said he’d like to perform live again but revealed no details about when he would do so. Perry made his first step toward public reemergence in 2014 when he joined the band Eels onstage in St. Paul, Minnesota for performances of Journey’s “Open Arms” and “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin'” and a few other songs. It was his first time in front of an audience in decades. He reunited with his Journey bandmates last year when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, though he chose only to give a speech in lieu of performing with the group. But it was around that time he felt comfortable talking about his work on Traces and the loss of Nash. Traces Track List 1. “No Erasin'” 2. “We’re Still Here” 3. “Most of All” 4. “No More Cryin'” 5. “In the Rain” 6. “Sun Shines Gray” 7. “You Belong to Me” 8. “Easy to Love” 9. “I Need You” 10. “We Fly”<doc-sep>Steve Perry has released a studio video for his brand new single No Erasin’. The track has been lifted from the former Journey vocalist’s first solo album in 24 years, Traces, which is set to arrive on October 5 via Concord Records. It’ll be the singer’s first solo outing since 1994’s For The Love Of Strange Medicine. Perry says on his website: “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. “Many years passed. One day, I began sketching some musical ideas with the creative freedom that I was the only one who would ever hear them. One song led to many – my love for music had returned." He adds: “Then another beautiful thing happened. I found love. My precious Kellie gave me a life I never knew I had. I lost her December of 2012. “I now deeply understand the meaning of ‘It’s better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all.’ May of 2015, I began recording. These songs are special to me. "I respectfully ask that you please listen to them, and whatever they make you feel, I thank you for listening.” Speaking back in 2014, Perry hinted that he would make his long-awaited return to music, saying: “I’ve just been writing music and seeing what I could find. It’s such a new cool world of music when you’re mixing electric music with rock like Muse and Imagine Dragons. It’s such a cool direction.” The vocalist enjoyed two stints with Journey and left the band for good in 1998. Traces is now available for pre-order. Find details below. Steve Perry - Traces 1. No Erasin’ 2. We’re Still Here 3. Most Of All 4. No More Cryin’ 5. In The Rain 6. Sun Shines Gray 7. You Belong To Me 8. Easy To Love 9. I Need You 10. We Fly<doc-sep>
Legendary singer-songwriter and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Steve Perry makes his long-awaited return with Traces, his first new album in nearly a quarter of a century, which is released on Friday, 5 October on Concord/Virgin EMI. The famed singer introduces Traces with lead track ‘No Erasin’’ and reassuringly greets fans with the opening line “I know it’s been a long time comin’.” You can listen to the track below. The track is an emotional homecoming, a familiar welcome from the iconic voice and writer of Journey’s timeless, global hits including ‘Don’t Stop Believin’,’ ‘Faithfully,’ and ‘Open Arms,’ as well as the significant solo success of ‘Oh Sherrie’ and ‘Foolish Heart.’ ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Perry says, “Putting 30 years into 10 songs has certainly been an emotional experience for me. 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.” Produced by Steve Perry alongside co-producer Thom Flowers, Traces is the artist’s most vulnerable and honest recording to date, balancing tremendous loss with enduring hope and beauty. The album is a collection of nine original tracks that encompass the spectrum of human emotion, and also features a reimagined cover of The Beatles’ ‘I Need You”. It is the work of an artist who has reconnected with his music in a new way. Traces is out on 5 October. Scroll down to read the full tracklist and buy it here. Traces: ‘No Erasin’ ‘We’re Still Here’ ‘Most Of All ‘No More Cryin’ ‘In The Rain’ ‘Sun Shines Gray’ ‘You Belong To Me’ ‘Easy To Love’ ‘I Need You’ ‘We Fly’