Five years later, Steve Perry is still in a holly jolly mood. He’s expanding 2021’s The Season with six additional songs – including “What a Wonderful World,” which you can stream below.
He first began exploring Yuletide favorites with the Silver Bells EP in 2019. The Season followed as the former Journey frontman’s first new LP since 2018’s Traces, a comeback that was almost 25 years in the making. A deluxe edition expanded The Season with 10 more tracks in 2022, including Perry’s first original holiday song, “Maybe This Year.”
This latest update, now retitled The Season 3, is due on Nov. 8 from Dark Horse Records. Other new tracks include “Jingle Bell Rock,” “Let It Snow” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” and the resonant songbook classic “Call Me Irresponsible.” Preordering is already underway.
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Perry initially returned to these songs in an effort to reignite the Christmas spirit after a holiday lost to the pandemic. “The ones I recorded were the ones that touched me most when I was a child, that emotionally meant the most to me and conjured up the spirit of Christmas — that was my decision-making process,” Perry told UCR.
He said he hoped to create a very specific atmosphere: “The spirit of this record is a fireplace burning, sitting in front of it quietly, no media going on, just a cup of eggnog — with ice and a little bit of fresh nutmeg on it. That’s it.”
These sessions were again co-produced by Traces collaborator Thom Flowers, and featured multi-instrumentalist Dallas Kruse. Drummer Vinnie Colaiuta has also appeared on several songs. The animated video for “What a Wonderful World” was created by Magdalene Kennedy featuring archival family photos.
“I’ve always loved the magic in holiday songs,” Perry said in a news release for the new album. “When I was a child, I would hear them on the radio in my grandmother’s kitchen while she was cooking. Today when I hear those songs, they take me back to so many wonderful memories. The magic of music is a very emotional gift. The idea of me recording a holiday record started many years ago and now has grown into my latest collection, The Season 3.”
Nick DeRiso is author of the Amazon best-selling rock band bio ‘Journey: Worlds Apart,’ available now at all major bookseller websites.
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