day 1 - no froy- what could he be up to???

[SuiteMadameBlue]

Same thing with STYX - there may be 2 guys on stage (JY & TS) but without Dennis, the show is so stale & the setlist so dated, that it ain't STYX.

Funny, Dennis' set is ALL older Styx songs and is even MORE dated.

At least Styx performs "One With Everything" and Walrus.

Just listen to 100 years

Just don't expect to listen to it in concert. He would rather perform Tommy's Styx songs then his own solo work.

Here's part of the article.........

He'll be playing a few songs from 100 years next week...

DDY: I have many songs from my solo catalogue that are great songs and I would love to play them live. From '100 Years From Now' we played six of them live over the last few years, but I dropped everything when I added August Zadra in the band and we really started playing the music of Styx. Songs that August sings like "Renegade," "Too Much Time on My Hands" and "Fooling Yourself" have taken up spots in my set list that I once used for solo material. We have done "Private Jones," "Turn off CNN," "Crossing the Rubicon," "100 Years From Now" and "This Time Next Year" live and we will be playing those songs next week in Quebec because it was a number one record up there.

[SuiteMadameBlue]

Monker and other DDY haters, if you don't like the music he's playing or who he added in the band, then don't go to his concert, sheesh. Stop fricken bitching for those that like going to see him live in concert. I know that could be said for those that bitch and complain about the current Styx concerts too.

At least he's been mixing up his concerts over the years, unlike many other bands and musicians that were on top of the charts and touring during their hey-days.

Here's the other part of the article that explains why he's playing the songs on this tour.

DDY: For 95% of the people in the audience, those are the songs they love.For ten years, if you went to see Styx or me, you never really got the complete picture, because there were songs that Styx was not doing and there were songs that I was not doing. But now we have that, and people are embracing this show more than I ever thought they would. It really made a difference to people, which surprised me. It shouldn't have surprised me, but it did.

[Babyblue]

Monker and other DDY haters, if you don't like the music he's playing or who he added in the band, then don't go to his concert, sheesh. Stop fricken bitching for those that like going to see him live in concert. I know that could be said for those that bitch and complain about the current Styx concerts too.

At least he's been mixing up his concerts over the years, unlike many other bands and musicians that were on top of the charts and touring during their hey-days.

Here's the other part of the article that explains why he's playing the songs on this tour.

DDY: For 95% of the people in the audience, those are the songs they love.For ten years, if you went to see Styx or me, you never really got the complete picture, because there were songs that Styx was not doing and there were songs that I was not doing. But now we have that, and people are embracing this show more than I ever thought they would. It really made a difference to people, which surprised me. It shouldn't have surprised me, but it did.

I like some of his solo stuff.

[Monker]

Monker and other DDY haters, if you don't like the music he's playing or who he added in the band, then don't go to his concert, sheesh. Stop fricken bitching for those that like going to see him live in concert. I know that could be said for those that bitch and complain about the current Styx concerts too.

I don't 'hate' DDY. If you read my last note, I was commenting on the hypocrisy of critiquing the Styx set list and calling it 'stale' while DDY has consistently moved further and further from his own solo material and into doing more Styx. Not only that, but some of these same people will critique Styx for allowing Gowan to perform Dennis' songs but praise DDY for adding members to cover Tommy's songs. That is incredibly hypocritical.

DDY: For 95% of the people in the audience, those are the songs they love.For ten years, if you went to see Styx or me, you never really got the complete picture, because there were songs that Styx was not doing and there were songs that I was not doing. But now we have that, and people are embracing this show more than I ever thought they would. It really made a difference to people, which surprised me. It shouldn't have surprised me, but it did.

So what?

[StyxCollector]

I don't 'hate' DDY. If you read my last note, I was commenting on the hypocrisy of critiquing the Styx set list and calling it 'stale' while DDY has consistently moved further and further from his own solo material and into doing more Styx. Not only that, but some of these same people will critique Styx for allowing Gowan to perform Dennis' songs but praise DDY for adding members to cover Tommy's songs. That is incredibly hypocritical.

You need to get your facts straight. He hasn't moved towards Styx anymore OTHER than the new Tommy songs. So you're talking anywhere from 2 - 4 songs per set. That's it. What he's stopped playing is the Broadway stuff, and that was years ago. It's been at least 3 or 4 years (if not longer) that he hasn't done any of that stuff (including Hunchback which he may have just gotten out of his system when it ran in Chicago). His only constant solo tune since starting 10 years ago has been "Desert Moon". "Harry's Hands" was played early on. He did "Black Wall" a few times. He played 100 Years tunes for quite awhile, so he did promote it fairly well. It's an older release at this point.

Outside of that, Dennis has had the same core set list of hits of Styx tunes he wrote and sang, added and subtracted a few Styx gems (such as "Castle Walls" - he's dug deeper over the years more often than Styx has; I've seen both enough to have seen a lot of the changes), and has now added the TS songs which he himself had nothing to do with for 10 years since the CMN gig. So his set has ALWAYS been Styx-centric. Period.

The main difference is that Dennis' set has changed minimally to incorporate TS songs; Dennis wrote and performed a lot of the hits (with TS making up the rest). Not going to argue that ad nauseum because it's just the way it is. Using DDY songs other than what Styx does now would fundamentally change their set in a way Styx does not seem to want. Adding "Babe", "The Best of Times" (both of which probably will never come back ... well, most likely never) and others "softens" their set. It's not about erasing Dennis. It's about Styx doing what THEY want to do, and they choose generally NOT to play any ballads or slower or mid-tempo tunes.

For 95% of the people in the audience, those are the songs they love.For ten years, if you went to see Styx or me, you never really got the complete picture, because there were songs that Styx was not doing and there were songs that I was not doing. But now we have that, and people are embracing this show more than I ever thought they would. It really made a difference to people, which surprised me. It shouldn't have surprised me, but it did.

So what?

As has been said a million times and Dennis is just saying it himself - 95%+ of the audience for ANY legacy act (including himself) is about memories. It's not about new shit. What Dennis is doing is the old Styx set + Desert Moon and the occasional other solo tune (like the 100 Years stuff which I saw in RI this year and what he'll be doing in Quebec). He's giving the audience paying their ticket money exactly what they want to hear. That's what.

[Boomchild]

It is certainly called Styx but that is about as far as it goes. It's nowhere near the "Classic Line Up" and the diversity in music that they had. To me that is what made them great. With the current line up it's like only getting part of the picture. They have limited themselves by steering away from a lot of DDY's material. As far as OYFN, it does have parts to it that feel very much like "Classic Styx".

And, if they relied more on DDY's songs, his fans would complain that Gowan is singing Dennis' songs. So, I don't see any reason to try to please his fans. You'll whine no matter what they do.

Sure, some fans of DDY would complain and others would not. You would expect that. However, it would show the different styles of music that made Styx a great band. Just by playing more of the songs performed by DDY doesn't mean they would be pleasing just DDY fans. I am sure that there are plenty of fans coming to their shows that are fans of all the members of Styx, not just the ones that are there now.

[Monker]

I don't 'hate' DDY. If you read my last note, I was commenting on the hypocrisy of critiquing the Styx set list and calling it 'stale' while DDY has consistently moved further and further from his own solo material and into doing more Styx. Not only that, but some of these same people will critique Styx for allowing Gowan to perform Dennis' songs but praise DDY for adding members to cover Tommy's songs. That is incredibly hypocritical.

You need to get your facts straight.

No, you need to stop being so myopic.

I saw Dennis on his first tour. He did the Hunchback songs, Desert Moon, All total, he did AT LEAST 4-5 solo songs. Nowadays he does ONE. He has now adding Tommy's Styx songs. He is now performing a Styx concert....it is not about DDY any longer, as it was in the beginning, it is about Styx, and only Styx.

As has been said a million times and Dennis is just saying it himself - 95%+ of the audience for ANY legacy act (including himself) is about memories.

So what? I've already said this myself...hundreds of times over the past 10yrs.

He's giving the audience paying their ticket money exactly what they want to hear. That's what.

Which is Styx, not DDY.

[StyxCollector]

No, you need to stop being so myopic.

I saw Dennis on his first tour. He did the Hunchback songs, Desert Moon, All total, he did AT LEAST 4-5 solo songs. Nowadays he does ONE. He has now adding Tommy's Styx songs. He is now performing a Styx concert....it is not about DDY any longer, as it was in the beginning, it is about Styx, and only Styx.

You want a cookie for seeing him in 2001?

You really can't divorce Styx from DDY in terms of material - it's impossible. Dennis always had two main shows - one more rock and one with the orchestra. He's all but stopped doing the orchestral shows, and in the solo rock shows, has gotten away from Hunchback and Broadway (he used to do "Summertime" occasionally early on). The rock shows have become more Styx-like, so if you haven't seen him in 10 years, the evolution from A to B may seem jarring. I think with the 100 Years from Now album and things like my interview, Dennis has finally become OK with whatever has nagged him about doing a more Styx-like project.

Styx doesn't promote their new shit now either - so what? They've got a new album coming out with a new song they've already released to the web, and instead they're doing "High Enough" - not even a Styx song. Dennis adds songs he was involved with and people cry foul. Whatever.

Let's also not forget - a lot of people seeing the DDY show didn't like things like the Hunchback songs, and wished DDY would drop them. Now that he has, people are complaining. Like Styx and not doing any of their newer material, it's really a no win situation for some who want to judge.

So what? I've already said this myself...hundreds of times over the past 10yrs.

So why are your panties in a knot over a few TS songs in a set?

Which is Styx, not DDY.

Again, Styx isn't promoting their newer songs and they're doing a Damn Yankees tune. How nis that any different? Dennis wrote, co-wrote, or played on all of the songs he's doing live. Again, we're talking about a few songs in DEnnis' set that has fundamentally been the same core set for awhile. You're making a mountain out of a molehill.

[Monker]

No, you need to stop being so myopic.

I saw Dennis on his first tour. He did the Hunchback songs, Desert Moon, All total, he did AT LEAST 4-5 solo songs. Nowadays he does ONE. He has now adding Tommy's Styx songs. He is now performing a Styx concert....it is not about DDY any longer, as it was in the beginning, it is about Styx, and only Styx.

You want a cookie for seeing him in 2001?

No, I want you to recognize the FACT that DDY started off having many solo songs in his set and now he only plays one.

You really can't divorce Styx from DDY in terms of material - it's impossible.

Not my argument. I am simply saying that it is hypocritical to critique Styx for having a 'stale' set list when Dennis latest songs are from Edge, almost 20yrs ago.

Styx doesn't promote their new shit now either - so what?

Then don't be a hypocrit and only critique Styx when Dennis is doing the exact same thing.

Let's also not forget - a lot of people seeing the DDY show didn't like things like the Hunchback songs, and wished DDY would drop them. Now that he has, people are complaining.

You expect people to not complain about the hypocrisy of Dennis fans whining about Gowan singing Dennis songs....when Dennis hires a Tommy imitator to perform Tommy songs? Please...

Again, Styx isn't promoting their newer songs and they're doing a Damn Yankees tune. How nis that any different?

I didn't say it was...I'm saying if you are going to critique one, only a hypocrit would not critique the ohter.

[StyxCollector]

No, I want you to recognize the FACT that DDY started off having many solo songs in his set and now he only plays one.

Er, I've stated it many times already. I've seen him for 10 years ... as I have Styx. Do you have reading comprehension problems?

Not my argument. I am simply saying that it is hypocritical to critique Styx for having a 'stale' set list when Dennis latest songs are from Edge, almost 20yrs ago.

Styx doesn't promote their new shit now either - so what?

Then don't be a hypocrit and only critique Styx when Dennis is doing the exact same thing.

I've critiqued BOTH Styx and Dennis on this board for their sets over the years. Maybe you need to learn how to use the search function. I've been equally critical. I've gone for periods of not seeing both because of it. Well documented.

You expect people to not complain about the hypocrisy of Dennis fans whining about Gowan singing Dennis songs....when Dennis hires a Tommy imitator to perform Tommy songs? Please...

I think you are confused here. I'm not complaining about Gowan being in Styx and doing Dennis songs. I may not care for his voice on some of them, but I enjoy him when I see Styx and I'm on record many times with stating his contributions to Styx on record post-BNW are some of the strongest.

I didn't say it was...I'm saying if you are going to critique one, only a hypocrit would not critique the other.

As I said, look at my history. I'm an equal opportunity offender here. I'll critique both Dennis and Styx. If something I feel is good, I'll say it. If not, I'll say it. I'm in Camp Allan, not Camp Dennis or Camp Styx.

[Monker]

No, I want you to recognize the FACT that DDY started off having many solo songs in his set and now he only plays one.

Er, I've stated it many times already. I've seen him for 10 years ... as I have Styx. Do you have reading comprehension problems?

No. You have a problem admitting that Dennis used to do many solo songs and now only does one...So, if Styx' set is 'stale', Dennis' is even more 'stale'.

I've critiqued BOTH Styx and Dennis on this board for their sets over the years. Maybe you need to learn how to use the search function. I've been equally critical. I've gone for periods of not seeing both because of it. Well documented.

Oh, sorry, since you have been replying to my posts which repeatedly clearly state that Dennis is now performing a Styx set and deserves to be called 'stale' just as much as Styx, I assumed you disagreed with that.

You expect people to not complain about the hypocrisy of Dennis fans whining about Gowan singing Dennis songs....when Dennis hires a Tommy imitator to perform Tommy songs? Please...

I think you are confused here. I'm not complaining about Gowan being in Styx and doing Dennis songs. I may not care for his voice on some of them, but I enjoy him when I see Styx and I'm on record many times with stating his contributions to Styx on record post-BNW are some of the strongest.

Read what you quoted above. I did not say you complained about anything. Do you not read this forum and consistently see whiners complain about Gowan singing Dennis songs? Those are who I am talking about. So, Dennis adds a guy who sings Tommy songs...and these very same people seem to praise that decision and embrace it. They are hypocrites and deserve the critique. You mentioned people complaining about this decision by Dennis, well, that is why it happened...and they deserve to be pointed out as hypocrites.

As I said, look at my history. I'm an equal opportunity offender here. I'll critique both Dennis and Styx. If something I feel is good, I'll say it. If not, I'll say it. I'm in Camp Allan, not Camp Dennis or Camp Styx.

If you are going to enter a debate with me where I say that if Styx set is 'stale', then so is Dennis', then you obviously approve of one side over the other. You try to appear unbiased, but when you let your guard down, it seems very clear to me that you approve of Dennis and not so much Styx. If you were unbiased, IMO, you would have let my posts in this thread scroll by.

[StyxCollector]

No. You have a problem admitting that Dennis used to do many solo songs and now only does one...So, if Styx' set is 'stale', Dennis' is even more 'stale'.

You're acting like 50% of Dennis' set or more was solo material. It NEVER HAS BEEN. The swing (depending on set length) has always been 2 - 5 songs, which is about 20 minutes of a set at most even in the 2-set orchestral shows. Dennis' set - even going back to the Rye Playland show. Here's the set for that first solo show post-Styx:
Grand Illusion
Rockin' The Paradise
Lady
Desert Moon
Summertime
Show Me The Way (A Capella)
Lorelei
Suite Madame Blue
Mr. Roboto
Don't Let It End
Babe
Light Up
The Best Of Times/AD 1958
Come Sail Away

It's ONE solo song and ONE cover which he did on 10 on Broadway - so 2 out of 14 songs. Compare that to this 2010 show I saw:
Grand Illusion
Lady (with Piano intro played by Dennis)
Lorelei
Blue Collar Man (with organ intro played by Dennis)
Light Up
Don't Let It End
Too Much Time On My Hands
One Hundred Years From Now
Desert Moon
Mr. Roboto
Rockin' the Paradise (with extended guitar solos)
Band Introductions
Babe (DDY played keyboard intro)
Suite Madame Blue
Renegade
The Best of Times/A.D. 1958/In The End (Beatles)
Come Sail Away

Oh, sorry, since you have been replying to my posts which repeatedly clearly state that Dennis is now performing a Styx set and deserves to be called 'stale' just as much as Styx, I assumed you disagreed with that.

Not completely. What DDY has done is swap up the rare/older tunes from time to time which Styx has not done much of (but has done more recently). At least he's done stuff like "Best Thing", "Pieces of Eight", "Castle Walls", etc. His core set - like Styx - has been in place since about 1978.

Read what you quoted above. I did not say you complained about anything. Do you not read this forum and consistently see whiners complain about Gowan singing Dennis songs? Those are who I am talking about. So, Dennis adds a guy who sings Tommy songs...and these very same people seem to praise that decision and embrace it. They are hypocrites and deserve the critique. You mentioned people complaining about this decision by Dennis, well, that is why it happened...and they deserve to be pointed out as hypocrites.

I'm not praising or damning him. It is what it is. Smart business move, though. It does add some songs you want to hear to the show, but if he went back to his "old" set without Tommy songs I wouldn't cry, either. Dennis getting to this point has been an evolution, not a revolution. People here damning him for it are acting like it came out of the blue. I understand the criticism, but it's no better or worse than anything Styx or any other band which no longer has all of its core "original" band members is doing *cough* Journey *cough*.

If you are going to enter a debate with me where I say that if Styx set is 'stale', then so is Dennis', then you obviously approve of one side over the other. You try to appear unbiased, but when you let your guard down, it seems very clear to me that you approve of Dennis and not so much Styx. If you were unbiased, IMO, you would have let my posts in this thread scroll by.

Wow, you're just dense. The bitching and moaning has been going on since Dennis left Styx, and will continue. Clearly you don't see that - the virtiol from some is just as heavy today as it was in 1999/2000. I think you need to go back to the Journey forum. You're making a mountain out of a molehill at this point. BOTH sides of the Styx equation are catering to the casual fan. It took 10 years for Dennis to get there completely to do Tommy songs. I think people are bitching more about it because had Dennis done his total version of Styx in 2000/2001, it would have been a total him vs. them (which it already was) and ratcheded up the heat on the fanbase. For the few on this forum (and elsewhere) that give a shit about such things and want to obsess over it, let them. Dennis adding Tommy songs isn't the end of the world, just like Gowan singing other Dennis songs if they come back in the Styx set.

[brywool]

Just a point to clarify- Dennis did not leave Styx. He was fired.

Although I haven't been following this whole argument, to me, both shows are kind of canceling each other out. Seriously for there to be essentially 2 Styx's out there is silly.
I must agree with Monker about those that cried about Gowan singing Dennis songs are the same ones praising DDY for having his guitarist sing Tommy songs. It IS hypocritical. But who cares?

The problem is, now there are two bands out there that are kind of the same band. If they're smart, they will coordinate their tours so that they are miles and months apart from each other. Otherwise, there will just be too much Styx stuff out there and it will really damage both parties.

I agree that Dennis should be doing more Dennis solo stuff. Not a whole show of it, but more than he is. His new album has about 4 excellent songs that he should be doing (Breathe Again- AIN'T one of em- blech).

By the same token, Styx needs to play and promote their new material. Not re-records, but their new-NON Dennis material if they want to be taken seriously.
If both are trying to just please the 'casual fan', then we will basically never have any new music from either camp and if that's the case, I've lost interest in both. Been a fan since 1977 but am super tired of hearing the same songs done to death...

[Monker]

No. You have a problem admitting that Dennis used to do many solo songs and now only does one...So, if Styx' set is 'stale', Dennis' is even more 'stale'.

You're acting like 50% of Dennis' set or more was solo material. It NEVER HAS BEEN.

Wrong. You are acting as if you are not even reading the posts you are replying to.

I specificaly said in a previous post that he did 4-5 solo songs in the orchestra tour. now he only does one.

it's no better or worse than anything Styx or any other band which no longer has all of its core "original" band members is doing *cough* Journey *cough*.

When Journey replaced Steve Perry, they didn't exactly have much choice then to perform mostly Steve Perry songs. It is loony to suggest they do.

When Perry went on tour for FTLOSM, I absolutely wrote probably hundreds of posts to various forums critiquing his decision to do mostly Journey songs, and not make it a Perry solo concert with few featured Journey songs. If Perry would have done any shows with only ONE solo song, say "Foolish Heart", you can bet I would have been blasting him MUCH harder then I have been doing Dennis for doing the exact same thing...at least Perry wasn't lame enough to hire somebody to sing Gregg Rolie songs.l

If you are going to enter a debate with me where I say that if Styx set is 'stale', then so is Dennis', then you obviously approve of one side over the other. You try to appear unbiased, but when you let your guard down, it seems very clear to me that you approve of Dennis and not so much Styx. If you were unbiased, IMO, you would have let my posts in this thread scroll by.

Wow, you're just dense. The bitching and moaning has been going on since Dennis left Styx, and will continue.

That doesn't even address my point. I am making a simple point that Dennis has gone from 4-5 solo songs down to one...and that means his set is just as stale as Styx....and you continue to argue with me. Obviously, I now assume you are biased in favor of Dennis, because THAT IS HOW YOU ARE ACTING.

And, the bitching has been going on since Styx replaced Tommy for Edge. You know that.

I think people are bitching more about it because had Dennis done his total version of Styx in 2000/2001, it would have been a total him vs. them (which it already was) and ratcheded up the heat on the fanbase. For the few on this forum (and elsewhere) that give a shit about such things and want to obsess over it, let them. Dennis adding Tommy songs isn't the end of the world, just like Gowan singing other Dennis songs if they come back in the Styx set.

And, those who critique Styx for having Gowan sing Dennis song, but praise Dennis for the decision to hire somebody to sing Tommy songs are hypcrits.

[brywool]

One other thing...


If both bands are just going to play the old hits, why not just reform and do that? The problem always seemed to be the direction of the band when creating NEW music. One faction wanted to make harder rocking songs while the other wanted to make softer stuff.

Well, if the band is not creating new music, then they should just reform and play the old stuff. Makes no sense to have 2 bands out there playing the same stuff. I prefer Gowan's performance persona to Dennis', but seriously, if the band is going to just play stuff that THESE 5 GUYS created, what's to argue about?

[Monker]

One other thing...


If both bands are just going to play the old hits, why not just reform and do that?

Because Dennis sued the band. As long as Styx can tour without Dennis, IMO, they will. And, if LRB can still tour without anybody from LRB, Styx will be doing this a long time without Dennis.

[bugsymalone]

And, those who critique Styx for having Gowan sing Dennis song, but praise Dennis for the decision to hire somebody to sing Tommy songs are hypcrits.

I think you misinterpret what many of us DDY fans are critiquing regarding Gowan in Styx and the songs he sings. Our objection to it is not so much THAT he "sings" them, but rather HOW he "sings" them. Which is to say, horribly.

Bugsy

[pinkfloyd1973]

And, those who critique Styx for having Gowan sing Dennis song, but praise Dennis for the decision to hire somebody to sing Tommy songs are hypcrits.

I think you misinterpret what many of us DDY fans are critiquing regarding Gowan in Styx and the songs he sings. Our objection to it is not so much THAT he "sings" them, but rather HOW he "sings" them. Which is to say, horribly.

Bugsy

Kinda like a smurf being strangled (3..2..1 here comes comment by Babyblue)


Robin

[Boomchild]

And, those who critique Styx for having Gowan sing Dennis song, but praise Dennis for the decision to hire somebody to sing Tommy songs are hypcrits.

I think you misinterpret what many of us DDY fans are critiquing regarding Gowan in Styx and the songs he sings. Our objection to it is not so much THAT he "sings" them, but rather HOW he "sings" them. Which is to say, horribly.

Bugsy

I think that you are on point here. While i am not one to say it's horrible, it's just not my to my liking.

[Boomchild]

When Perry went on tour for FTLOSM, I absolutely wrote probably hundreds of posts to various forums critiquing his decision to do mostly Journey songs, and not make it a Perry solo concert with few featured Journey songs. If Perry would have done any shows with only ONE solo song, say "Foolish Heart", you can bet I would have been blasting him MUCH harder then I have been doing Dennis for doing the exact same thing...at least Perry wasn't lame enough to hire somebody to sing Gregg Rolie songs.

Can't say I would totally agree. Dennis is billing his tour as "The Music of Styx" and not a tour of just Dennis DeYoung. As far as DDY hiring someone to sing the TS songs, some would argue the same thing with Styx hiring Larry Gowan. They could just omit the songs that DDY sang lead on. But of course they can't, WHY? Because it's those songs that people associate with who Styx is. DDY is doing them for the same reason. Which he has a right to do. Even though he may not be in Styx anymore, he is a major part of who Styx is. It may matter to some that it's not the original but it seems the ones that could care less are greater then the ones that do.

[Boomchild]

One other thing...


If both bands are just going to play the old hits, why not just reform and do that?

Because Dennis sued the band. As long as Styx can tour without Dennis, IMO, they will. And, if LRB can still tour without anybody from LRB, Styx will be doing this a long time without Dennis.

There are examples out there where members of a band have sued each other in the past and still reformed after. So you just never know.

[Boomchild]

If both are trying to just please the 'casual fan', then we will basically never have any new music from either camp and if that's the case, I've lost interest in both. Been a fan since 1977 but am super tired of hearing the same songs done to death...

It appears that is what they are trying to do. That's what controls the market. I don't see that changing anytime soon. Sad but true.