For the Love of Strange Medicine

For the Love of Strange Medicine is the second solo album by Steve Perry, released in 1994. After a lengthy 8-year hiatus following the breakup of Journey, and a shelved 1988 solo effort later titled Against the Wall, Perry returned to the spotlight with this album. The first single "You Better Wait" received major radio airplay and made the top 10 on the Billboard charts in the U.S.

The song "Young Hearts Forever" was written by Perry as a tribute to his late friend, Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott, who died in 1986.

The album was certified as gold (500,000) in sales by the RIAA, as of Sept. 1994.

Track listing

1. "You Better Wait" (Perry, Lincoln Brewster, Paul Taylor, Moyes Lucas, John Pierce, George Hawkins) - 4:51
2. "Young Hearts Forever" (Perry, Clif Magness) - 4:43
3. "I Am" (Perry, Taylor, Brewster) - 4:54
4. "Stand Up (Before It's Too Late)" (Perry, Brewster, Taylor, Lucas, Larry Kimpel) - 4:49
5. "For the Love of Strange Medicine" (Perry, Taylor, Lucas, Brewster) - 5:52
6. "Donna Please" (Perry, Taylor, Stephen Bishop) - 4:02
7. "Listen to Your Heart" (Perry, Taylor, Brewster, Lucas) - 3:31
8. "Tuesday Heartache" (Perry, Magness, Taylor, Brewster, Lucas) - 6:00
9. "Missing You" (Perry, Tim Miner) - 3:48
10. "Somewhere There's Hope" (Perry, Taylor, Brewster, Lucas) - 6:05
11. "Anyway" (Perry) - 4:20
12. "If You Need Me, Call Me" (Steve Perry, Craig Krampf, Richard Michaels, Steve DeLacey) - 5:50 *
13. "One More Time" (Perry, Brewster) - 3:32 *
14. "Can't Stop" (Perry, Randy Goodrum, Michael Landau) - 4:08 *
15. "Friends of Mine" (Perry, J. Leo, Goodrum, Krampf) - 3:30 *
16. "Missing You (Live in San Francisco 12/9/94)" (Perry, Miner) - 4:13 *

• Tracks 12 - 16 are bonus tracks on the 2006 CD reissue.
• Track 12 is a 1994 re-recording of a song of Perry's pre-Journey band, Alien Project.
• Track 13 is an unreleased outtake also from 1994.
• Tracks 14 and 15 are previously unreleased tracks from the 1988 unfinished Against the Wall album.

Publishing

• Steve Perry Copyright Street Talk Tunes. Lincoln Brewster Copyright Lincoln Brewster Music. Paul Taylor Copyright Paul Taylor Music Ltd. Moyes Lucas Copyright Jortunes. John Pierce Copyright Bob-A-Lew Songs. George Hawkins Copyright Ragged Music. Clif Magness Copyright Magnified Music/WB Music Corp. Larry Kimpel Copyright Jazz 'N Dance. Stephen Bishop Copyright Blue Innuendo Music & Careers-BMG Music. Tim Miner Copyright Love Jones Music.

Singles

The following singles were released from the album, with the highest charting positions listed.

Personnel

• Steve Perry - vocals
• Lincoln Brewster - guitars, background vocals
• Paul Taylor- keyboards, background vocals
• Moyes Lucas - drums, background vocals
• Larry Kimpel - bass on "You Better Wait", "Young Hearts Forever", "Stand Up", "Somewhere There's Hope"
• Mike Porcaro - bass on "Young Hearts Forever", "I Am", "For the Love of Strange Medicine", "Donna Please", "Listen to Your Heart"
• Phil Brown - bass on "Tuesday Heartache"
• Jeremy Lubbock, James Barton, Phil Brown - string arrangement on "I Am"
• Tim Miner - bass, piano, keyboards & background vocals on "Missing You", bass & piano on "Anyway"
• Larry Dalton - string arrangement & conductor on "Missing You"
• Dallas Symphony Orchestra - strings on "Missing You"
• Michael Landau - guitars on "Anyway"
• Alexander Brown, Carmen Carter, Jean McClain - backing vocals on "Stand Up" and "Somewhere There's Hope"

Production

• Produced, Recorded & Engineered By James "Jimbo" Barton, except track 5 & 6 (Produced By Barton & Steve Perry) and track 9 (Produced By Perry & Tim Miner; Recorded & Engineered By Tim Kimsay); James Barton's Production Assistant: Phil Brown
• Second Engineers (Recording): Devin Foutz, Manny Marroquin, Kyle Ross, Ulrich Wild, Rail Rogut, Bill Cooper
• Christopher C. Murphy - Assistant Engineer/Runner
• All Songs Mixed By Craig Burbidge except tracks 1, 2 & 6, which were mixed by Niko Bolas
• Digital Editing: Brian Lee
• Mastered By Bob Ludwig