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| From | Jonathan Rundman <rundman@msn.com> |
| Subject | Re: Too Much Time On My Hands....Styx |
| Date | Mon, 18 Oct 2004 14:03:41 -0500 |
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Hey folks,
I always enjoy when the Audities list shares its thoughts regarding AOR
bands. There's quite a lot of overlap with the power pop world, in my
opinion. I enjoyed Jaimie's review of the Styx show.
>
> I went in expecting the typical half-baked reunion effort (only Tommy Shaw
> and James "JY" Young remain as pseudo-original members) only to find that
> after a powerful 2 1/2 hour show -- with Gowan being back in his native
> Canada for the first time in a year they played an hour longer than the
> Casino would have liked -- they kicked ass.
I totally agree with Jaimie, the current incarnation of Styx totally rocks,
and they're probably playing better now then even in their 70s/80s heyday.
>
> Styx also seemed to me the Air Supply of pomp rock bands in the '70s because
> Dennis DeYoung was so over-the-top and fey in his theatrics that I couldn't
> stand looking at him prancing around like some Cirque de So-Late ringmaster.
>
The curious side of me wanted to see how Dennis' solo show stands up to the
new Styx, but then I saw a Dennis concert special on my local PBS station
(during fundraising week), and now I know I don't need to buy tickets for
that. He's really doing the "Dennis dinner theater in Branson, MO" kinda
thing.
>
> But they did not disappoint the fans as Larry Gowan not only nailed the
> Dennis DeYoung classics -- , "Lorelei", "Lady", "Suite Madame Blue", "The
> Grand Illusion" and the capper "Come Sail Away" [all of which eerily
> mimicked DeYoung's phrasing and tone] -- but he did a phenomenal version of
> his biggest solo hit "A Criminal Mind" (complete with Tommy Shaw's Spinal
> Tappian inclusion of mandolin).
Gowan never fails to blow me away. He does Dennis better than Dennis, and is
a fantastic instrumentalist and performer. His songs on the newest Styx
record are really interesting and cool...sorta Queen-like, with a bit of
McCartney, but still sounding like prime Paradise Theater-era Styx. Plus
Gowan occasionally switches to guitar during the Styx shows, giving them
even more instrumental flexibility.
>
> A bigger highlight still was the inclusion of a 14 song medley covering
> segments of tunes from "Styx", "Styx II", "Equinox", "The Serpeant Is
> Rising", "Man Of Miracles", "Paradise Theater" and a very abbreviated nod to
> "Mr. Roboto (off "Kilroy Was Here"). Curiously, there were no songs at all
> from Cornerstone the entire night [not even the obvious hit "Babe"].
I haven't seen the new Styx for a couple years, but they always include a
really good old song or two, in full, or in medley form. And they ignore
their annoying songs like "Roboto" and "Babe."
>
> I was actually quite impressed how routinely the three new songs from
> 'Cyclorama' fit in.
Power pop fans should check out Cyclorama. Glen Burtnik's contributions are
great power pop, Gowan's songs are excellent, like I mentioned, and Tommy
Shaw has some great poppy moments as well. James Young's songs on Cyclorama
are the best he's ever written.
>
> And the encore was refreshing in that they did three cover tunes as an "ode
> to fallen heroes". A truly convincing Ray Charles raver in "That's What I
> Say" featuring Tommy Shaw on vocals (!!!). Gowan does one of the most
> to-die-for takes on Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard to this day so these
> were incorporated as well; JY doing Hendrix's "Manic Depression". I never
> realized what a great guitarist he was before this [never gave it much
> thought, actually]. And Gowan's bang-on reading of The Beatles' "I Am The
> Walrus" complete with mellotrons, horns, et al.
I've heard about this, but haven't seen it. Sounds really fun!
>
> Chuck did double bass duty with current touring bassist Ricky Phillips (The
> Babys, Bad Englosh). Drums were supplied by a rather awesome unknown by the
> name of Todd Sucherman.
Haven't seen the band with Phillips, but I'm sure he's fine. Todd Sucherman
is an amazing rock drummer. Not very musically subtle, but hey, it's Styx.
In a final note of shameless self-promotion, last year I executive-produced
a Styx Tribute Album featuring Power Pop and Americana bands. It was a fun
project, and features some excellent interpretations from such cool pop
bands like Alva Star (doing "Lady"), Beki Hemingway (doing "Don't Let it
End"), and Dag Juhlin of Poi Dog Pondering and the Slugs (doing "Too Much
Time..."). Check it out here:
http://www.saltlady.com/tribute.htm
Jonathan Rundman
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