Street Talk

Street Talk is Steve Perry's first solo studio album, released in April 1984.

For the 2005 album, see Street Talk (D.I.T.C. album). For the Kathy Mattea song, see Street Talk (song).
Street Talk
Studio album by
Steve Perry
ReleasedApril 1984 (1984-04)
RecordedRecord One (Los Angeles)
GenreAOR
Length39:20
LabelColumbia
ProducerSteve Perry, Bruce Botnick
Steve Perry chronology
Street Talk
(1984)		 For the Love of Strange Medicine
(1994)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[3]
The Village VoiceC[4]

Street Talk contains Perry's biggest hit as a solo artist, "Oh Sherrie", written for his then-girlfriend Sherrie Swafford.[5] The song hit #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on Billboard's Rock chart, and the accompanying music video (also featuring Swafford) was a hit on MTV. Other singles included "Foolish Heart" (peaked at #18), "She's Mine" (peaked at #21), and "Strung Out" (peaked at #40).

There were a number of nods to Perry's pre-Journey band Alien Project on this album—in fact, that band was originally going to be called Street Talk.[6] In the liner notes, Perry dedicates the album to Richard Michaels (the bassist for Alien Project). Also, drummer Craig Krampf was a member of Alien Project later in the 1970s.

In addition to launching Perry's solo career, the cover photo for Street Talk served as a career launchpad for music photographer John Scarpati, who met Perry during the album's recording sessions at a studio in Sherman Oaks.[7]

Street Talk is certified as 2× Platinum (2,000,000) in sales by the RIAA.[8]

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Oh Sherrie"Bill Cuomo, Randy Goodrum, Craig Krampf, Perry3:48
2."I Believe"Goodrum, Duane Hitchings, Krampf, Perry4:12
3."Go Away"Cuomo, Goodrum, Perry4:05
4."Foolish Heart"Goodrum, Perry3:39
5."It's Only Love"Goodrum, Perry3:47
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."She's Mine"Goodrum, Perry4:26
2."You Should Be Happy"Goodrum, Perry3:20
3."Running Alone"John Bettis, Hitchings, Krampf, Perry4:05
4."Captured by the Moment"Cuomo, Goodrum, Perry3:47
5."Strung Out"Krampf, Perry, Billy Steele3:51
2006 CD reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."My My My" ('Alien Project' demo)Perry, Krampf, Richard Michaels Haddad, Steve DeLacey2:24
12."Harmony" ('Alien Project' demo)Perry3:58
13."Makes No Difference" ('Alien Project' demo)Perry, Krampf, Haddad, DeLacey4:53
14."Don't Tell Me Why You're Leaving" (B-side to Oh Sherrie)Perry, Danny Kortchmar, Krampf3:13
15."If Only for the Moment, Girl" (Originally released on We Are the World (1985))Perry, Goodrum4:09

Charts
Chart (1984) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[9] 79
United Kingdom (Official Charts Company) 59
United States (Billboard 200)[10] 12

Personnel
  • Steve Perry – lead vocals, backing vocals (1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10)
  • Bill Cuomo – synthesizers (1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9), acoustic piano and synth bells (2), keyboards (3, 6), synth solo (3)
  • Randy Goodrum – Rhodes (1-6, 9), drum programming (4), piano (15)
  • Duane Hitchings – synthesizers (8)
  • Steve Goldstein – keyboards (10)
  • Sterling Smith – keyboards (10)
  • Michael Landau – guitars (1-5, 7, 15), guitar solo (6, 9)
  • Waddy Wachtel – guitar solo (1), rhythm guitar solo (5)
  • Craig Hull – guitars (8, 10)
  • Billy Steele – guitars (10)
  • Bob Glaub – bass guitar (1-7, 9, 15)
  • Chuck Domanico – string bass (3)
  • Kevin McCormick – bass guitar (8)
  • Bryan Garofalo – bass guitar (10)
  • Larrie Londin – drums (1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9), percussion (1, 2, 3, 7)
  • Craig Krampf – drums (8, 10)
  • John Robinson – drums (15)
  • Robert Greenidge – steel drums (5)
  • Paulinho da Costa – percussion (15)
  • Steve Douglas – saxophone solo (2), tenor saxophone (6)
  • Joel Peskin – saxophone (15)

Production
  • Bruce Botnick – executive producer
  • Steve Perry – producer, cover concept
  • Niko Bolas – recording, mixing
  • Richard Bosworth – recording assistant, additional engineer
  • Denny Densmore – recording assistant (10)
  • Mike Reese – mastering at The Mastering Lab (Hollywood, California)
  • Jim Welch – art direction
  • John Scarpati – cover photography
  • Herbie Herbert – personal management

References
  1. Allmusic review
  2. Larkin, Colin (2006). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 494. ISBN 0195313739.
  3. DeCurtis, Anthony; Henke, James; George-Warren, Holly, eds. (1992). The Rolling Stone Album Guide (3rd ed.). Random House. p. 541. ISBN 0679737294.
  4. Christgau, Robert (May 28, 1985). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  5. Steve Perry talks about the recording of "Oh Sherrie" and Street Talk singles.
  6. Steve Perry discusses the Alien Project story and Street Talk.
  7. Platania, Mike (30 September 2019). "Back in the spotlight: Retired rock photographer adds some shine to Short Pump side gig". Richmond BizSense. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  8. "Recording Industry Association of America". RIAA. Archived from the original on 2007-06-26. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
  9. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 232. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  10. "Steve Perry - Chart History - Billboard 200". billboard. billboard.com. Archived from the original on September 14, 2018. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  • "Street Talk" (Liner Notes); Steve Perry CD, Columbia Records 1984.
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