As Journey's front man, Perry was the scenery-chewing Jack Nicholson of rock. Back for the first time since Journey disbanded in 1986, the voice that launched the critically reviled group's eight platinum albums hasn't lost that melodrama or luster. Some of Perry's new tunes ("Young Hearts Forever," "Listen To Your Heart") sound like the last eight years never happened, but he's wise to rely on convention and strong singing rather than trend-hopping. (No grunge licks or gratuitous unplugged offerings here.) Perry still stretches six-letter words into a half dozen syllables, and just when you think his voice might crack, he polishes it to a seemingly unreachable note. Such operatics make Strange Medicine the perfect antidote to this summer's dinosaur-rock blahs.
(Columbia) Jeremy Belligar