Street Talk

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

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

All tracks written by Steve Perry with additional writers noted

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Oh Sherrie"Bill Cuomo, Randy Goodrum, Craig Krampf3:48
2."I Believe"Goodrum, Duane Hitchings, Krampf4:12
3."Go Away"Cuomo, Goodrum4:05
4."Foolish Heart"Goodrum3:39
5."It's Only Love"Goodrum3:47
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."She's Mine"Goodrum4:26
2."You Should Be Happy"Goodrum3:20
3."Running Alone"John Bettis, Hitchings, Krampf4:05
4."Captured by the Moment"Cuomo, Goodrum3:47
5."Strung Out"Krampf, Billy Steele3:51
2006 CD reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
11."My My My" ('Alien Project' demo)Krampf, Richard Michaels Haddad, Steve DeLacey2:24
12."Harmony" ('Alien Project' demo) 3:58
13."Makes No Difference" ('Alien Project' demo)Krampf, Haddad, DeLacey4:53
14."Don't Tell Me Why You're Leaving" (B-side to Oh Sherrie)Danny Kortchmar, Krampf3:13
15."If Only for the Moment, Girl" (Originally released on We Are the World (1985))Goodrum4:09

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 piano (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

Charts

Chart (1984) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[9] 79
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[10] 11
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[11] 63
UK Albums (OCC)[12] 59
US Billboard 200[13] 12

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[14] Platinum 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[15] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6785a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  11. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Steve Perry – Street Talk" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  12. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  13. ^ "Steve Perry Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  14. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Steve Perry – Street Talk". Music Canada.
  15. ^ "American album certifications – Steve Perry – Street Talk". Recording Industry Association of America.
  • "Street Talk" (Liner Notes); Steve Perry CD, Columbia Records 1984.