Steve Perry always felt inspired to sing with Journey because the band’s live audiences wanted him to – except when they recorded their first live album, Captured.

The 1980 LP sold more than 2 million copies and reached No. 9 on the chart, but Perry never felt comfortable with the whole concept, as he told Uncle Joe Benson on the Ultimate Classic Rock Nights radio show.

“Honestly, I didn’t like recording music live, and I didn’t like filming the show live,” he explained. “I was young, and it used to put a sort of requirement on me vocally – a concern, let’s call it that. Everything had to be perfect. And when I did that, I wouldn’t have almost as much fun as I could have if there was nobody watching except the audience.”

He said he "was there for the audience, and I sang because they wanted me to. Without them, I can’t sing that way. It’s just that simple. I sing in my car, in the shower, but I don’t sing like I am when I’m in front of people. And no, all those people, you can’t join me in the car, you can’t join me in the shower! The point is, they bring that out of you.”

Asked if he’d been “on edge” during the recording, Perry replied that he "wasn’t on edge as much as I was concerned that it be perfect.”

Be sure to listen to Ultimate Classic Rock Nights on more than 50 stations across the U.S. from 7PM until midnight, Monday through Friday. You can see the list of radio stations where it airs here.

 

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