MR

I am a music listening hack. I guess most people have a better ear hearing certain aspects of music. I guess this comes from me NEVER being able to play or sing a note.

Here is my question, who plays closer to John Panozzo, Todd Sucherman or Tom Sharpe?

yogi wrote:I am a music listening hack. I guess most people have a better ear hearing certain aspects of music. I guess this comes from me NEVER being able to play or sing a note.

Here is my question, who plays closer to John Panozzo, Todd Sucherman or Tom Sharpe?

I would have to say Tom. He seems to stick closer to the original drum parts while Todd seems to embellish more.

I think in general DDY and his band stay more true to the Styx songs as to how they were recorded than the band calling themselves Styx. The band calling themselves Styx tends to ellaborate more. But that is how DDY is trying to differentiate himself - he plays the Styx songs you remember, the way you remember them.

Outside of the Paradise Theater Tours(original & Return) why doesn't Dennis or current Styx start the song 'Rockin The Paradise' off with 'Tonight's the night we'll make history"? For me that's what made the album flow so well. It is what made the concept work.

I was very happy that on DDY's recent release he ended 'The Best Of Times' with 'AD 1958'. If he is staying true to the albums he should have opened 'Rockin The Paradise' with 'AD 1928'.

yogi wrote:Outside of the Paradise Theater Tours(original & Return) why doesn't Dennis or current Styx start the song 'Rockin The Paradise' off with 'Tonight's the night we'll make history"? For me that's what made the album flow so well. It is what made the concept work.

I was very happy that on DDY's recent release he ended 'The Best Of Times' with 'AD 1958'. If he is staying true to the albums he should have opened 'Rockin The Paradise' with 'AD 1928'.

I always assumed that Dennis doesn't sing it, because he vocally cannot handle it anymore. As for the others, my guess is that Gowan cannot do it any justice, so they avoid it.

Toph wrote:I think in general DDY and his band stay more true to the Styx songs as to how they were recorded than the band calling themselves Styx. The band calling themselves Styx tends to ellaborate more. But that is how DDY is trying to differentiate himself - he plays the Styx songs you remember, the way you remember them.

Well that seems to be the reason JY wanted to put out the re-records on those Reguritation albums. To show how much better the current Styx' versions of those songs are. I am not so sure it proved anything.

RumTumJM wrote:I always assumed that Dennis doesn't sing it, because he vocally cannot handle it anymore. As for the others, my guess is that Gowan cannot do it any justice, so they avoid it.

Regarding DDY, I don't think that is the case. If you have seen him recently, it's clear that his vocal range is just as good as it always has been.

I was watching Bostyx last night and that drummer is pretty true to John's style too.

FormerDJMike wrote:I was watching Bostyx last night and that drummer is pretty true to John's style too.

except that the drummer from bostyx played the songs like he was running a race wayyyyyy too fast at times.

here's my question.......do you guys that are familiar with current styx really feel that they have strayed significantly from the original songs?

i know the original songs probably as well as anybody anywhere.......so when they do change something or a part is different I instantly recognize it.

so when I see them I understand and hear the changes, but I have never felt that any of the changes have been significant enough for me to feel "jilted" of asking why they did that because it wasn't cool.

to me the majority of the differences I hear have been mostly related to small changes that almost any band goes through after touring for years and years.

im not advocating for or against what they have or have not done......im just wondering if you guys think that what they have done is significant?

Personally, I like the way John plays the drums on this live version of RTP. Much more like the album and much better than the drumming on Caught In The Act.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODqxUgDP4Q0

masque wrote:here's my question.......do you guys that are familiar with current styx really feel that they have strayed significantly from the original songs?

i know the original songs probably as well as anybody anywhere.......so when they do change something or a part is different I instantly recognize it.

so when I see them I understand and hear the changes, but I have never felt that any of the changes have been significant enough for me to feel "jilted" of asking why they did that because it wasn't cool.

to me the majority of the differences I hear have been mostly related to small changes that almost any band goes through after touring for years and years.

im not advocating for or against what they have or have not done......im just wondering if you guys think that what they have done is significant?

Well, I can can't really say since I have not been seeing or following them for years. My only comment is that from what I have seen and heard I would not say that the performances are the best versions or better then prior to the ousting of DDY. That is what some existing members of Styx tend to infer.

I follow and are familiar with current styx, classic styx and former DDY and now current DDY.

to me the band that strayed the furthest away from the original songs was DDY's old band......when i saw him play live i thought DDY himself was fantastic......but his band was weak and with only one guitar player the guitar parts were a shadow of what they were on the albums.

the current version of styx is likely the best styx related band that has ever existed.......when you factor in the sheer talent of the players coupled with the amount of shows they have played while apparently being drug free it creates a pretty potent and extremely tight band. don't confuse that statement with the current version of styx being what i prefer.....it isn't....i prefer the classic lineup.....however, if we are being honest they are the tightest and most well oiled machine of the bunch. Jy''s current vocal ability and Gowan being so beneath DDY vocally doesn't help their cause but from a stand point of can they bring the heat as a band then the answer is a solid YES.......they are tighter and do a better job of controlling the groove and ensuring correct tempos of any band I have seen in a long long time.

DDY's current band is good.......but they are a LONG way from being the quality of band that current styx is......I think they are trying to play the original songs pretty close to the originals.....although i have certainly heard differences in the guitar solos that I am not too keen about. and if he is able to keep this band together for several years and they play a lot of shows then they may have the potential to turn into a machine.......but it will take time.....because the only thing that gets a band to that point is time and shows. they just don't have the mileage yet.

classic styx was great, and I have heard many things live from them......but they had their moments where they weren't quite as consistent as current styx......likely due to drug issues.

to me the best I ever saw any combination of everyone mentioned above was the 96 reunion tour......they were awesome on that tour.....I saw it multiple times in person and then as we know the DVD is great. to bad john was unable to be there but todd was a beast on that tour and did a fantastic job. but this is my far because it combines the band being great.....out to prove something, along with them sounding great from a vocal standpoint as well......and also this version of the band is closer to my heart than anything they are doing now.

yogi wrote:Outside of the Paradise Theater Tours(original & Return) why doesn't Dennis or current Styx start the song 'Rockin The Paradise' off with 'Tonight's the night we'll make history"? For me that's what made the album flow so well. It is what made the concept work.

I was very happy that on DDY's recent release he ended 'The Best Of Times' with 'AD 1958'. If he is staying true to the albums he should have opened 'Rockin The Paradise' with 'AD 1928'.

He opened one of the Epcot concerts a couple of weeks ago at Disney that way. Its on Youtube. But, because the band did not preactice it, they accidentially went on to a verse from Best of Times. He had to stop, crack a joke and then pick up where he left off.

blt man wrote:He opened one of the Epcot concerts a couple of weeks ago at Disney that way. Its on Youtube. But, because the band did not preactice it, they accidentially went on to a verse from Best of Times. He had to stop, crack a joke and then pick up where he left off.

I saw that clip too. It was kind of comical. You could see them all chuckling when they realized it.