Former-Journey frontman Steve Perry will release a revamped version of his 2018 comeback album, Traces, on December 4th. Perry revealed to Rolling Stone the new set is titled, Traces: Alternate Versions And Sketches, explaining, “It’s eight songs from the Traces record done acoustically and I’m really proud of it. I cut the vinyl in Abbey Road. I’m really pleased with the sonics and I’m really pleased with the simplicity of the song and the lyric and the chords, which is basically what it’s stripped down to.”
Traces, which was released on October 25th, 2018, marked Perry's his first Top 10 solo album — and his first new music in 24 years. The album entered the Billboard 200 Albums Chart at Number Six and the magazine's Current Rock Album Chart at Number Two.
Regarding new music, Perry said: “I have a studio and I’m always writing and always recording stuff. I have lots of music, so much stuff.”
Fans had been hoping for at least a small string of shows to promote Traces — but Perry chose to not take the show on the road. He admitted he still thinks about performing: “It’s always been on my mind. My heart bleeds daily to be in front of people and to sing for them. . . I’ve got some physical injuries from touring. It’s a tough thing, touring. People don’t realize. It’s like sports. I’m watching baseball these days and there’s injuries. People’s backs and necks start to go out. It’s a young man’s game, but I do miss it.”
We asked Steve Perry point blank if he was aware of how much his fans were clamoring for new music from him over the past quarter century: “Honestly, no. I had to have the strength to keep walking away from it and not look back. I didn't build in a back door, like, 'If this doesn't work out, I can always go back to the band.' No, no. I kind of had to build in a strong conviction, trying to find some strong emotional, logical, and spiritual way for me to just build me up from the ground up again.”
