Perfect Stranger - the hit 1990s band

Perfect Stranger's humble origins started in 1986, when they were founded by lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist Steve Murray, drummer Andy Ginn, bassist Shayne Morrison and lead guitarist Richard Raines. Becoming one of the hardest working groups in the business, Perfect Stranger maintained a rigorous touring schedule in North America, playing clubs almost every night and releasing an independent album in 1994.

Curb Records caught wind and picked up the album, re-releasing it in 1995 with a new title and artwork. The same year, their single 'You Have The Right To Remain Silent' became a top 5 hit single as the band reached stardom. The album included 2 other hit songs which were overshadowed by this single.

Despite releasing several more singles, the band was unable to match the success of their self-titled album and single and left Curb Records during the late 1990s. Some critics and listeners were quick to classify the band as a one hit wonder, despite their quality recordings and live shows. Despite these challenges, Perfect Stranger returned to Curb Records, releasing a new album entitled "The Hits" in 2001. It wouldn't surprise me if @Rick Bartlett owned a copy of this album, as it was a terrific follow-up to their first record.

This album picked up where the band left off in 1995, with a solid country-rock sound paying tribute to classic country artists such as Vern Gosdin at a time when country music trends were changing direction due to rowdy songs by artists such as Toby Keith and overtly commercial pop-oriented acts such as Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban and Tim Mcgraw.

Despite average sales, "The Hits" received positive responses from music critics and enabled the band to continue as a touring entity. They recorded a follow-up album with lead vocalist Steve Murray, which was ultimately shelved. The band later confirmed that these new recordings were ultimately never released. Anyone who saw the group during this period heard them speak to the audience about the upcoming album in addition to performing some of the new material which was included in their live sets.

The band experienced significant lineup changes and Murray left the group, being replaced by two unknown co-lead vocalists named Clint Williams and Marcus Eldridge who appeared to be much younger than the original members. This forgettable version of Perfect Stranger released an album of new material in 2009 entitled "Shake The World," which failed to maintain the authentic country sound of their previous recordings.

Imperfect Stranger: Perfect Stranger without Steve Murray or the authentic country sound had the right to remain silent.

"Shake The World" probably could've been considered a commercial failure as an album, it was also a painful listen with a generic modern country sound too far removed from the original band and it's authentic country flavor. By 2010, Perfect Stranger was re-established with original lead vocalist Steve Murray.

Steve Murray reunited with Perfect Stranger

 

'I'm A Stranger Here Myself' music video

 

Very interesting @melstapler.
Another band that didn't reach my ears at the time I guess.
I've not heard of the them....
Great post and neat history of the band.
I notice there are copies on the Aussie eBay site, so they obviously made some noise here at some point.
The album cover doesn't even look familiar to me.
Thanks for posting!

 

'It's Up To You' is another enjoyable song by Perfect Stranger which is perfect for a dancehall

 

'The Hits' is a nice nod to the classic country music many of us enjoy.

 

I bet they were a great live band!
They remind me of that period of The Mavericks' 'What a Crying Shame' period.
Honky Tonkin'!!

 

Definitely, Rick. You should hear their version of 'I Ain't Never,' which they often included in their sets in addition to recording a stellar studio version as well.

 

Did they ever take a group photo where they weren't all looking in different directions?

 

'Never In A Million Tears' is an unreleased song Perfect Stranger recorded for the album which was ultimately shelved. One of the lead guitarists for Perfect Stranger was Richard Raines and he posted the studio version of this song on his official Soundcloud page:

Never In A Million Tears

 

I opened this thread because thought it was about Deep Purple - Perfect Strangers:



Such a great, great album.

Nevermind...

 

Never heard of "Perfect Stranger", probably because they didn't actually seem to make much commercial impact.

They had one single that made the US Country top 10, and one album that made the US Country top 10... and that was that.

Their one hit got to #68 on the Hot 100, so it didn't do much...