STEVE PERRY
Street Talk [Reissue]
Columbia/Legacy Recordings 2006
www.legacyrecordings.com

What’s the 4-1-1?
The classic debut solo album from the former lead singer of Journey gets the reissue treatment with 5 bonus tracks.

Genre
Rock / pop-rock

The Good
It’s been more than 20 years since Street Talk was originally released, and Steve Perry hit the goldmine as a solo artist. On the strength of the monster hit power ballad “Oh Sherrie” and the ballad “Foolish Heart”, he stepped outside of Journey and shined brilliantly. The reissue contains the original 10 tracks on the album, and they are a well balanced collection of rockers, ballads and mid tempo numbers. The album deep tracks are just as great as the hit singles.

“Running Alone” works great as a mid tempo number. The reflective lyrics in the rocker “Captured By The Moment” make it my favorite song on the disc. The album closer “Strung Out” really ends the main portion of the disc with a bang.
The bonus track “Makes No Difference” was a sweet rocker. The R&B flavored “Don’t Tell Me Why You’re Leaving” lets Perry’s vocals venture outside of the standard arena rock sound you are used to hearing from him.

The Bad
While the music for “My My My” is pretty rocking, the lyrics are pathetic. It’s a real downer for me that this track was included on the disc. The song “Harmony” was okay, but nothing to really write home about.

The Verdict
The first 10 songs on the album are pure pop perfection. It’s always hard to find an album that is fitting of the description perfect, but Street Talk earned that title easily. I wasn’t overly crazy about two of the previously unreleased bonus tracks, but that doesn’t take away too much from my enjoyment of this reissue.
Now if only in 2007 we could get some new music from Steve Perry.

Did You Know?
Three of the bonus tracks (“My My My”, “Harmony”, and “Makes No Difference”) are from a demo that Perry recorded in 1977 when he was with a band called Alien Project.

Rating: out of 5

Related Reviews:
Journey - Live in Houston 1981: Escape Tour DVD/CD

--Jay Roberts