Welcome To The Official Press Release!
This is the official press release from Raven Records concerning the new Joe Perry Project album "The Best Of The Joe Perry Project."
Greetings from Australia and Raven Records
Australia's premier reissues label Raven is proud to present on CD The Best of The Joe Perry Project.
Out now! (through DNA - Distribution North America)
Raven Records RVCD-98
Hard rock aficionados the world over know Joe Perry as the nimble-fingeredguitar master with the multi-platinum, multifarious Aerosmith, one of the all-time great outlaw rock 'n' roll bands of the age. A lesser-known aspect of Perry’s
30-year journey from hopeful young guitar hero to world-renowned musician is his brief solo career as leader of his own band, the Joe Perry Project. Throughout the 1970s, Aerosmith had established a position as the USA's pre-eminent hard rock attraction. Then, in October 1979, with Aerosmith's career at something of a creative impasse and relationships within the band strained to breaking point, Perry struck out on his own.
With no band, no recording contract and no management to back him, Perry set about getting his solo career off the ground. He assembled a crack backing band, which he dubbed, inevitably, the Joe Perry Project, and launched himself on the college and club touring circuit. Over the course of four years, and through
four different line-ups, the Joe Perry Project issued three albums of exuberant, swaggering, funky rock 'n' roll. The debut, "Let The Music Do The Talking" (1980), fared well, selling a more-than-respectable 250,000 copies in the US. The
subsequent albums, "I've Got The Rock 'N' Rolls Again" (1981) and "Once A Rocker, Always A Rocker" (1983) maintained the quality, but sold significantly less copies. By early 1984, Perry and his old sparring partner, Steven Tyler, had patched up their differences and reformed Aerosmith.
As for the Joe Perry Project, all that remains are three underrated albums, a bunch of tightly coiled, energetic rock songs and, no doubt, a mess of faded memories. In customary fashion, Raven has now culled the best material from those albums for release on one action-packed, 20-track, 75-minute collection. From the arrogant swagger of "Let The Music Do The Talking" and "Discount Dogs" (off the debut album), through the blazing "East Coast, West Coast" and "South Station Blues" (from album #2) on to the raw and playful "Black Velvet Pants" and
"Never Wanna Stop" (album #3), this is gritty, street-level 1980s rock at its finest.
Naturally enough, as the band’s resident guitar godhead, Perry pulled out all stops throughout with his fiery licks, most notably on the whiplash instrumental "Break Song." His various backing musicians responded with appropriate vigour, and if some of the material here echoes Aerosmith’s brash take on arena rock,
then the songs are all the more exciting for their fluent dynamics and barely contained rock energy. As an added bonus, there's the rare non-album B-side "Bone To Bone" (from 1980, and transferred directly from a long-lost master tape
discovered in the vaults at Sony Records Australia) that has never before appeared on CD.
For a myriad of reasons, the Joe Perry Project missed out on long-term success. Yet, no lesser a person than Joe Perry himself would be proud of hisachievements throughout that challenging time circa 1980-1984. The Best of The Joe Perry
Project will serve to fill a gap in any self-respecting hard rock fan’s music collection.
1} "Let The Music Do The Talking" (Joe Perry)
† Non-album B-side – Never before on CD
THE JOE PERRY PROJECT
The Best of The Joe Perry Project
(The Music Still Does The Talking)
(Bar Code 6 12657 00982 6)
2} "Conflict Of Interest" (Joe Perry)
3} "Discount Dogs" (Joe Perry/Ralph Morman)
4} "Shooting Star" (Joe Perry)
5} "Break Song" (Joe Perry/Dave Hull/Ronnie Stewart)
6} "Rockin' Train" (Joe Perry/Ralph Morman)
7} "Life At A Glance" (Joe Perry)
8} "Bone To Bone" (Joe Perry/Steven Tyler) †
9} "East Coast, West Coast" (Charlie Farren)
10} "I've Got The Rock 'N' Rolls Again" (Charlie Farren/Joe Perry)
11} "No Substitute For Arrogance" (Charlie Farren/Joe Perry)
12} "Buzz Buzz" (David Hull/Karp/Resnick)
13} "Soldier Of Fortune" (Joe Perry)
14} "South Station Blues" (Joe Perry)
15} "Once A Rocker, Always A Rocker (Joe Perry/Mach Bell)
16} "Black Velvet Pants" (Joe Perry)
17} "King Of The Kings" (Joe Perry)
18} "Bang A Gong" (Marc Bolan)
19} "Walk With Me Sally" (Joe Perry)
20} "Never Wanna Stop" (Joe Perry)
