INFLUENCE - Wow...

[rajah2165]

IMO, Can I just say that Tommy is SO MUCH BETTER when he plays to his acoustic sensibilities like is depicted in the "Influence" samplers. It sounds great to me. Not sure why he has this desire to potray himself as big bad rock and roll dude when his acoustic sound is so much better than his rock sound. Even his Styx songs in this vein - Crystal Ball, Foolin Yourself, Lights, Boat On the River are much stronger than the way overplayed and way overrated Blue Collar Mans of the world..

I am really looking forward to INFLUENCE.

[Abitaman]

when will this be out?-ERIC

[Zan]

IMO, Can I just say that Tommy is SO MUCH BETTER when he plays to his acoustic sensibilities like is depicted in the "Influence" samplers. It sounds great to me. Not sure why he has this desire to potray himself as big bad rock and roll dude when his acoustic sound is so much better than his rock sound. Even his Styx songs in this vein - Crystal Ball, Foolin Yourself, Lights, Boat On the River are much stronger than the way overplayed and way overrated Blue Collar Mans of the world..

I am really looking forward to INFLUENCE.

I'm impressed! No, really. I'm looking forward to it as well. I loved the first album.

[StyxCollector]

IMO, Can I just say that Tommy is SO MUCH BETTER when he plays to his acoustic sensibilities like is depicted in the "Influence" samplers. It sounds great to me. Not sure why he has this desire to potray himself as big bad rock and roll dude when his acoustic sound is so much better than his rock sound. Even his Styx songs in this vein - Crystal Ball, Foolin Yourself, Lights, Boat On the River are much stronger than the way overplayed and way overrated Blue Collar Mans of the world..

I am really looking forward to INFLUENCE.

I've said this for awhile, and I know Sterling has also said this. Tommy is much more "at home" behind an acoustic, or when he's doing some down home slide guitar a la "Shooz".

[brywool]

I dunno...
I think Tommy is pretty darned versatile. Whether it's rock or acoustic stuff.

For Rock- One word: RENEGADE.

That song is (to me) THE best ROCK song Styx EVER did and any of the Damn Yankee tracks stand up as well. Having said that, I also love Tommy's acoustic pieces too. I think he's just a great songwriter. There are some that I don't care for as much as others, but usually, I find that's more of a production deal. I know a lot of people have reamed the "What If" album. I love that album of songs... BUT I HATE the production. That album could've sounded so much better.

I just think the guy's a hell of a songwriter/singer and yeah, a KILLER slide player. Much more versatile as a songwriter than some others.
To me, there aren't many songs that he's done that don't stand up songwise (production wise, I could complain about more)
She Cares (Paradise Theatre) and Never Say Never (Cornerstone) are probably the only Styx tunes he's done that I haven't just loved. They always seemed like filler to me. I like the two new ones from the CYO album much better. Just Be may not be a big... "hooky" rock song, but I like the sentiment of it and I think it's a decent song. Very Pink Floyd which is definitely a departure for Styx. I think Tommy is an amazing talent.

[rajah2165]

IMO, Can I just say that Tommy is SO MUCH BETTER when he plays to his acoustic sensibilities like is depicted in the "Influence" samplers. It sounds great to me. Not sure why he has this desire to potray himself as big bad rock and roll dude when his acoustic sound is so much better than his rock sound. Even his Styx songs in this vein - Crystal Ball, Foolin Yourself, Lights, Boat On the River are much stronger than the way overplayed and way overrated Blue Collar Mans of the world..

I am really looking forward to INFLUENCE.

I've said this for awhile, and I know Sterling has also said this. Tommy is much more "at home" behind an acoustic, or when he's doing some down home slide guitar a la "Shooz".

To me the Styx sound really feels right when its Tommy's acoustic guitar combined with Dennis's soaring synths.

[Angiekay]

when will this be out?-ERIC

Feb 20th

[yogi]

It sounds DAMN good!!!

[brywool]

when will this be out?-ERIC

Feb 20th

pushed out to March in the US

[shaka]

I thought the samples sounded great.

I think Tommy is a very versatile player and equally adept at acoustic driven tunes and raging rockers. The dude is flat out talented and that's all there is to it. I don't see how anyone could discount his rock credentials after songs like Renegade, Blue Collar Man (overplayed and recorded but never under-rated simply a great song), Shoes, and the two Damn Yankees records. He even co-wrote one of Vince Neil's only decent songs: You're Invited But Your Friend Can't Come. That tune was a raging rocker.

Then there's the Shaw Blades album Hallucination. This album splits the difference between Tommy's rock and acoustic sides and is very rootsy. I love this gem of an album.

Eric

[stmonkeys]

IMO, Can I just say that Tommy is SO MUCH BETTER when he plays to his acoustic sensibilities like is depicted in the "Influence" samplers. It sounds great to me. Not sure why he has this desire to potray himself as big bad rock and roll dude when his acoustic sound is so much better than his rock sound. Even his Styx songs in this vein - Crystal Ball, Foolin Yourself, Lights, Boat On the River are much stronger than the way overplayed and way overrated Blue Collar Mans of the world..

I am really looking forward to INFLUENCE.

:::checking calendar to see if its april:::

[styxfanNH]

The album release date for Influence (VH1 Classic Records) by Shaw Blades -- led by Styx/**** Yankees guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw and Night Ranger/**** Yankees bassist/vocalist Jack Blades --has been moved to March 6.

Originally scheduled for February 20, Influence is the duo’s first album since their recently re-released 1995 debut, Hallucination. Like the debut -- and unlike their history-carving decades as icons in the more hard-rock minded Styx, Night Ranger and **** Yankees -- the latest release is rooted in acoustic guitar and organic production, harvesting a decade of musical influences into 11 tracks (on which Blades and Shaw played all the music except for drums and the occasional keyboards). With classics from the ‘60s and ‘70s including the Mamas and the Papas’ “California Dreamin’,” Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth” and Steely Dan’s “Dirty Work,” Influence offers a track-by-track chronology of the musical era that helped define modern rock.

One of the most prolific duos in the history of hard rock, Shaw and Blades have sold more than 50 million albums amongst their three bands, scored 12 Top 10 singles on the Billboard “Hot 100” chart, debuted 16 albums in the Billboard “Top 200” albums chart, and share joint songwriting credits for the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, Aerosmith, Cher and Alice Cooper.

Stay tuned for news about the band’s upcoming U.S. tour, which is currently being confirmed for March and April.

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Also the album cover is on www.tommyshaw.com too big to drop in here