I always loved how Styx had 3 vocalists during their heyday. However, Dennis DeYoung was always my favorite and he had the lead on many of the hits, Come Sail Away, Don’t Let it End, Castle Walls, among many more.
The current version of Styx, without Dennis DeYoung is touring this summer along with Foreigner. I was kicking around the idea of going to the show, but I’m wondering how disappointed I’ll be in the current lineup. There’s a few songs by the other vocalists I like, Too Much Time on My Hands and Heavy Metal Poisoning.
Coincidentally, I happened to be looking at this Amazon listing of a Blu-Ray video of a concert they filmed in 2010. It has many good reviews, according to which Lawrence Gowan does a perfectly fine job filling in for Dennis DeYoung on keyboards and vocals.
I’ve seen Styx three times. Once with DeYoung (Kilroy tour) and twice with Gowan. I’ve also seen the DVD of the show mentioned directly above. Nothing against DeYoung, but Lawrence Gowan is great as a singer, player, and showman.
I’ve seen concert specials on TV with the new guy.
It sounds great . And it’s a good, fun show. But even with Tommy Shaw and James Young there, it still feels like seeing a really, really good tribute band.
I think it depends on whether you prefer the earlier, harder rocking Styx or the later, more “ballad-y” Styx. I believe his departure from the band resulted from his attempts to take the band in a more pop radio friendly direction. I prefer early Styx.
There was a concert on cable (VH1?) a couple years back of Styx with a backing high-school orchestra that was brilliant, I DVR’d it and have probably watched it a half-dozen times. I think this is the same one..
I’ve seen Styx live in concert thrice as well. One review is part of the Worst Concerts Ever thread somewhere around here. The other two were years later, as part of their tour with Journey when both had new albums (and musicians) after a notable dormancy. They played the last JuneFest in the Las Vegas area and made it to San Diego to play an amphitheater at Southwestern College, later that summer. The thing is that, while Brave New World was a decent Styx album with all the right elements (including DeYoung) the tour went on with Gowan replacing DeYoung on-stage and for some reason it just didn’t provide quite the right feel. CycloRama was their next studio album and it feels like an experiment (and, IMHO, a failed experiment). The characteristic synergy that epitomized their music just isn’t there. I haven’t looked at their offerings since.
I also happened to record a concert broadcast of the current line-up performing the Grand Illusion and Pieces of Eight albums, in track order, back-to-back. Those albums were produced at the height of the band’s popularity and the performance is wonderful to experience, even with Gowan replacing DeYoung on the keyboards and Sucherman replacing the late John Panozzo on drums. For that matter, Chuck Panozzo appears mainly as a guest spot for a couple songs, with Ricky Phillips doing most of the bass work in concert.
Gowan has a fine voice and does a good job hitting the notes on the songs, but there’s a tonal quality that seems to be missing in his performances. Plus, while the spinning keyboard pedestal is a neat technological gimmick, the WOW factor has faded and it can no longer distract audiences from the player’s ‘not Dennis’ shortcomings. He really needs to get a regular rack and prove he can play and sing better than his role model – but those are pretty big shoes to fill.
I’m glad I saw the special concert and wish I could have attended the original concerts for Grand Illusion and/or Pieces of Eight. What I was able to see (a reunion tour and two concerts in support of Brave New World) was not impressive enough for me to seek tickets to future performances – though I’d probably attend if passes were dropped in my lap.:dubious:
–G!
…I want you to know
Jus’ how much I miss you
So I got to let go
…–Dennis DeYoung (Styx)
…Goodbye to Roseland
…Brave New World
Never saw Styx in any incarnation, but don’t forget John Curulewski, who left the band early on and died in the late 1980s. He sang on this novelty gem, which was a “Dr. Demento” hit for many years.
On the flip side, I saw Dennis DeYoung perform with his band and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra last year, and it was EXCELLENT. For someone singing his thirty year old songs, his voice still sounds great.
Will Foreigner have Lou Gramm fronting them, or someone else? He’s in very poor health, and has been in and out of the band in recent years.
I recently read his autobiography, “Juke Box Hero”. Pretty good book; my favorite story was the one about them performing, in recent years no less, at a nudist colony. :eek: The promoter said they were clothing-optional too, and some of them said they might have considered it 20 or 30 years ago, but not now, and yes, they were the only people there wearing clothes. He said most of the audience was NOT a pretty sight.
Well, this isn’t The Highlander. There can be more than one. And yes, a good singer who doesn’t abuse the voice can keep going longer than a lot of people think.
Lou Gramm hasn’t been a member of Foreigner for over 10 years; however, he bills his own band nowadays as “The Voice of Foreigner.” Foreigner’s lead singer since 2003 is Kelly Hansen.
You know, Gowan has been the Styx frontman for 15 years. You really think he suddenly needs a new gimmick* to distract from the “not Dennis shortcomings”?
And you really think he needs to prove he can play just as well? That’s just odd to me. While he wasn’t America famous, he had a very successful Canadian career for 10 years or so before joining Styx. He’s also a graduate of the The Royal Conservatory of Music. The guy can play the frigging piano.
*gimmick or “his thing”?
Actually, his first solo album release was in 1982, with his most famous song (A Criminal Mind) coming out on his second album, in 1985. He’s been in the Canadian limelight for well over 30 years.
I’ve been watching the Styx Return to Paradise concert with Dennis DeYoung. I’m furious with the band’s rendition of Grand Illusion, one of my favorite songs. I was quite glad to hear the version of Grand Illusion on the Gowan Grand Illusion/Pieces of Eight show was similar to the album cut.
Yeah, I almost said “for decades” but I thought I’d cut it off to before he joined Styx. They apparently play “Criminal Mind” at some of their shows still.
The idea that he has to prove he’s as good a keyboard player is still peculiar to me. Gowan was classically trained and playing his whole life. Is DeYoung considered a Master or something? I’ve never heard/thought that.
