Former JOURNEY singer Steve Perry will release a holiday record, “The Season”, on November 5. The LP features eight holiday standards, including “Winter Wonderland”, “Silver Bells”, “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town”, “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” and leadoff single “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”, which can be streamed below.
Earlier today (Monday, September 20), Perry gave an interview to the KNBR radio station in which he discussed his reasons for making a holiday album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I was literally teleported back to times when I was a child because I had always loved these timeless classic songs. So I thought, ‘Well, let me try to record and sing some of those.’ And it was a challenge emotionally to walk through those moments because there were times when [singing line from ‘I’ll Be Home For Christmas’], ‘Please have snow and mistletoe, and presents under the tree,’ that stuff like that would happen, when I was singing that line, all of a sudden, I was teleported to my grandmother’s kitchen, looking through the door into the living room where she used to put the tree up. And I had to stop ’cause it got emotional, and I realized I was there for a second. So, that kind of freaked me out a little bit. Because the classic Christmas songs — which, by the way, because of the pandemic, we’ve all been just hungry for those moments to touch those songs once again. And so I got the opportunity myself to touch those songs for the first time in my life, and they really changed me. And I’m so looking forward to the holidays coming. And so I finished ’em, and here they are.”
Co-produced by Perry and engineer Thom Flowers, “The Season” embodies an immaculately arranged and richly nuanced sound inspired by such time-honored holiday albums as Nat King Cole‘s “The Magic Of Christmas”.
Mainly recorded at Perry‘s home studio, “The Season” came to life in collaboration with drummer Vinnie Colaiuta (Sting, Joni Mitchell, Frank Zappa) and Dallas Kruse (a multi-instrumentalist who also worked with Perry on his acclaimed 2018 album “Traces”). While most of the album encompasses an understated sonic palette — piano, strings, upright bass — each track leaves an indelible impact thanks to the soulful sincerity of Perry‘s vocal work.
“The Season” track listing:
01. The Christmas Song
02. I’ll Be Home For Christmas
03. Auld Lang Syne
04. Winter Wonderland
05. What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve
06. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
07. Silver Bells
08. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Perry‘s first solo album in more than two decades, “Traces”, was released in October 2018 via Fantasy Records (a division of Concord Records/UMG). He credited his late girlfriend, psychologist Kellie Nash, who died more than seven years ago, with helping him want to sing again; she’d made him promise he wouldn’t go back into isolation when she passed.
Perry dated Nash for nearly two years before she died in December 2012 after being diagnosed with breast cancer. He mourned for two years, and then began recording again.
Upon its release, “Traces” was met with wide acclaim and tremendous excitement from fans and critics all over the world. The album entered the Billboard 200 Albums chart at No. 6, Perry‘s highest debut as a solo artist and earned the Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer his best-ever chart entries in the U.K., Germany, Canada and Japan.
Perry reunited with JOURNEY for the first time in years as they were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in April 2017. The iconic singer appeared onstage with his former bandmates as they each gave speeches, but did not perform with the group later in the event.
