Journey's Top 20 Post-Steve Perry Songs

For fans from their radio-ready zenith, there simply can be no Journey without Steve Perry. Yet the truth of the matter is, Journey was started without him – and the band has continued in the same way since his departure in 1998.

In fact, Perry has been gone for far longer than he ever was actually in Journey, a stint that began with 1978's Infinity. More than a half dozen others have fronted Journey songs along the way.

Of course, the decade that followed Perry's arrival would see the group reign supreme on the charts, making his association with Journey complete. They'd never had a gold record before Steve Perry. They never had an album sell fewer than a million copies with him.

But what of the time since his departure? Journey saw two frontmen come and go – Steve Augeri (1998–2006) and Jeff Scott Soto (2006-07) – before settling in with current singer Arnel Pineda, a partnership that finally got the group back on track with Billboard. Journey's 2008 LP Revelation was the first platinum seller of the post-Perry era. Their talented drummer Deen Castronovo has also shown an affinity for lead vocals, beginning with 2005's Generations.

So, there's a lot to consider for those who never made it past Perry's last appearances with the Neal Schon-led group on 1987's Raised on Radio and 1996's Trial by Fire? Let's narrow it down with a list of the Top 20 Post-Steve Perry Journey songs:

No. 20. "After Glow"
From: Freedom (2022)

Deen Castronovo began his second stint in Journey too late to contribute to the rhythm tracks for this pandemic-era return to recording, but he wasn't absent from the finished LP. Initially, Castronovo only planned on adding some backgrounds. Then Neal Schon suggested that he try singing lead on this surging ballad. "After Glow" came alive.

No. 19. "Walkin' Away from the Edge"
From: Red 13 (2002)

Before being felled by vocal issues, Steve Augeri was able to convey a depth, a relative darkness, that no other Journey singer since Gregg Rolie could touch. Here's your proof.

No. 18. "Loved by You"
From: Arrival (2001)

Augeri updates the patented Journey ballad model by staying modulated, singing with a steadier, quieter certitude. That showed no small amount of guts. Problem: This was not what Journey fans wanted. Arrival stalled at No. 56, the group's worst finish since Next in 1977.

No. 17. "In Self-Defense"
From: Generations (2005)

"In Self-Defense" actually dates back to Schon's 1982 Here to Stay collaboration with Jan Hammer. The original version showcased Journey's early-'80s lineup (minus Jonathan Cain) at the peak of their increasingly rare heavy-rocking form. Same here, with Castronovo in place of Steve Smith. If only they'd had Augeri provide his own version of Perry's elevating vocals during the solo.

No. 16. "She's a Mystery"
From Eclipse (2011)

Schon had long hoped for a return to the wide-open heavy fusion of Journey's original '70s-era records. He got his wish with Eclipse, which so boldly reanimated an era when he pulled and stretched his muse. But it wasn't all guitar histrionics. A lovely Arnel Pineda co-written acoustic aside, "She's a Mystery" finds Journey taking their foot off the gas without swerving into power-ballad cliche.

No. 15. "All the Way"
From: Arrival (2001)

In their first album without Perry, Journey obviously had an eye on recapturing the successes they found when Jonathan Cain joined the band in the '80s. Cain was game, co-writing this instantly familiar love song with Schon, Michael Rhodes and the recently installed Augeri. "All the Way" may not have been a big hit, but it showed Journey could still be Journey even without their famous former frontman.

No. 14. "Anything Is Possible"
From: Eclipse (2011)

Pineda got the chance to showcase his pop-star sensibilities as Eclipse became his second consecutive Top 20 album with Journey. There's a feeling of soaring expectancy about "Anything Is Possible" that balances the tough, guitar-focused tracks found elsewhere on Eclipse.

No. 13. "Together We Run"
From: Freedom (2022)

Pineda begins in a darker vocal place before soaring into his highest highs, setting the stage for a classic Journey narrative filled with big possibilities and bigger dreams. In this way, quietly determined verses set the stage for the kind of heart-filling choruses that once poured out of every passing car window.

No. 12. "Like a Sunshower"
From: Revelation (2008)

Schon couldn't have done a better job of smoothing the way for the just-arrived Pineda than he did on "Like a Sunshower," which begins with a lick straight out of "Stay Awhile" from Departure. It apparently worked: Revelation Journey's first platinum-selling project since Trial by Fire, their last with Perry.

No. 11. "Out of Harms Way"
From: Generations (2005)

A hard-nosed war song, "Out of Harms Way" was handled with an eye-opening aggression unique to Journey, thanks to the gone-too-soon Augeri.

No. 10. "Beyond the Clouds"
From: Generations (2005)

A slow burner co-written by Steve Augeri in his final outing with the band, "Beyond the Clouds" illustrates why he was such a good initial fit. Augeri's ability to elevate, as this track zooms into the stratosphere, and then to wind down into a whispery vulnerability certainly recalls a Certain Other Steve. But then Augeri makes it his own.

No. 9. "Red 13 / State of Grace"
From: Red 13 (2002)

They followed the soft rock-dominated Arrival with a scorching, fusion-kissed EP-opening song. But that's not the way it started. Instead, Journey spent two minutes easing into things before launching into a wrecking-ball groove – and Augeri is with them, step for breathless step.

No. 8. "City of Hope"
From: Eclipse (2011)

You could say Schon is an unstoppable force on this song, except that Pineda – in one of his most impressive vocal performances – is every bit the equal of his molten riffs. At least at first. Eventually, Schon and company step forward for a floorboard-rattling, song-closing jam that edges all the way into fusion. Journey hadn't sounded this wide open since the Jimmy Carter administration.

No. 7. "A Better Life"
From: Generations (2005)

As Augeri struggled with the vocal problems that would end his tenure in Journey, they turned to a then-surprising figure for help: Drummer Deen Castronovo had never sung lead during tenures with the Journey offshoot bands Bad English or Hardline, but quickly took command at the mic. This surprising career turn was confirmed by "A Better Life," which showed Castronovo was more than a temporary fill-in. This delicately conveyed track, featuring one of Schon's more restrained turns, is one of the very best moments on Generations. Within a few years, he'd be leading his own offshoot band.

No. 6. "Edge of the Moment"
From: Eclipse (2011)

Castronovo and Ross Valory create a foundation-rattling rhythm, while the big-voiced Pineda ably conveys the fiery sense of sensuality required by this song. But "Edge of the Moment" will always belong to Neal Schon, who's by turns melodic, out there, gurgling, eruptive. Long after their hit single-making days, and a couple of albums into Pineda's tenure, Journey finally found their rock-music mojo again on this track, emerging with a sense of furious third-act abandon.

No. 5. "The Way We Used to Be"
From: Freedom (2022)

Journey's COVID-themed video for "The Way We Used to Be" reflected its beginnings as a loop created by Schon while Journey was separated by quarantines. He added some guitar then shared the skeletal results over to Jonathan Cain, but questions remained. After all, the band hadn't released a new song in more than a decade. "He sent it back very shortly after with demo vocals and lyrics," Schon later enthused, "and I said to myself with a smile, 'We’ve still got it!'" Co-producer Narada Michael Walden's R&B-leaning influences then nudged the song into a entirely different space.

No. 4. "Higher Place"
From: Arrival (2001)

Journey again moved beyond Augeri's similarities with Perry on this composition by Schon and Jack Blades, which at one point has an almost a proggy feel. In that way, "Higher Place" references previous successes but ultimately uses them as a foundation for something different.

No. 3. "Faith in the Heartland"
From: Generations (2005)

The urge to return to an everyday working-stiff theme has been almost unavoidable for a group that, in no small way, is best remembered for "Don't Stop Believin.'" And yet "Faith in the Heartland" never slips into tribute – or, worse still, parody. Credit goes most of all to Steve Augeri, who strikes a visceral pose on upbeat tracks like this one, singing every line as if his whole heart is in it. Unfortunately, Generations went nowhere, and Augeri was gone after just two albums with Journey.

No. 2. "Where Did I Lose Your Love"
From: Revelation (2008)

Very familiar but even more fun, "Where Did I Lose Your Love" is a welcome return to Journey's arena-ballad sound. Sure, it's very much in the style of their Escape / Frontiers era. Castronovo and Cain, who co-wrote this track with Schon, even close things out with a fierce entanglement that also must have brought older fans right back to "Separate Ways." But Pineda added a few new wrinkles along the way and Journey began to move past the same old Perry comparisons.

No. 1. "We Will Meet Again"
From: Arrival (2001)

Deen Castronovo's inventively layered rhythm gives "We Will Meet Again" a distinct character among Journey's more anthemic-leaning tunes, setting the stage for a moment of controlled fury from Augeri. It all builds toward a sweeping vista reminiscent of Journey's classic Roy Thomas Baker-helmed sides like "Winds of March" and "Opened the Door," a welcome development indeed. And as with those two 1978 tracks, "We Will Meet Again" serves as an emotionally resonant side-closing moment. Questions about whether they could continue into a new era were now answered.

Nick DeRiso is author of the Amazon best-selling rock band bio 'Journey: Worlds Apart,' available now at all major bookseller websites.