Welcome again to the posts where melodies reign supreme. My thesis is and always be you cannot even remotely create coverable material without an exceptional melody. Music in a lot of instances these days has become so self stylized and contains melodies with absolutely no arc, that the prospect of covering them seems silly. This is certainly not the case with “Foolish Heart”.
Originally released in 1984, on Steve Perry’s debut solo opus Street Talk, “Foolish Heart” has all the drama and bravado that you come to expect from a Steve Perry performance. Honestly, Steve Perry is a singer’s, singer.
Sharon Bryant’s 1989 take certainly carves out it’s own space transforming the composition from a Pop/Rock power ballad into a smooth “Quiet Storm” resident. Another interesting comparison are the vocal instruments. Steve Perry is essentially a counter tenor which is a man who sings in the highest possible male register and Sharon Bryant’s low and weighty alto is a beautiful instrument which is in stark contrast to a lot of female singers today.
Ivan Orr is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, performer, and writer. A native of Charlottesville, Virginia Ivan was involved with the forming and nascent days of The Music Resource Center as its first Program Director. A graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Music, Ivan currently resides in Richmond, VA where he maintains an active performance and production schedule while serving as the Music Editor for Grown Folks Music, a position he has held since 2010.
