One of my biggest pet peeves about bands is when they continue to limp along after major players have left. Except in the case of a band member dying, it looks sad in many cases to see a group or band rolling through town with only a couple of their original members.

Immediate examples would be:  Barenaked Ladies without Stephen Page and Guns n’ Roses without at least Slash.

It was on this day May 7th back in 1998 that front man Steve Perry left the band Journey. Since his departure, they’ve been able to release a hit or two and tour. After Perry quit, Journey brought on Neal Schon, who sounds on record almost the same as Perry but he’s not. Great singer, I will say, but I still like my bands as close to the original line-up as possible.

Neal Schon with Journey. Doesn't he sound just like Steve Perry?

Journey as they were, were iconic, I mean who didn’t find a dance partner when “Open Arms” or “Faithfully” was played at a dance? The TV show ‘The Sopranos’ ended with “Don’t Stop Believin’” and the movie ‘Vision Quest’ contains one of my all time favorite Journey songs, “Only The Young.”

Steve Perry while with Journey did release a few songs, including “Oh Sherrie”, “Foolish Heart” then later, “You Better Wait.”

In the end, Journey without Steve Perry to me is watered down but I’d still go see them if it were convenient. They are part of the summer schedule at the Xfinity Center in Mansfield, MA along with Steve Miller on June 13th.

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