DDY Styx History - Tommy's original "Crystal Ball" Recording

[SuiteMadameBlue]

This was just posted on Dennis' Facebook page. I found it very interesting and he also attached the original music when Tommy was in the band Harvest.


Hey, Kids.
Here’s some Styx history -- Tommy’s original "Crystal Ball" recording.

Tommy auditioned for Styx at my house in the fall of 1975 without ever playing guitar. He sang the "Lady" harmony part and played us tapes of songs he’d written. I asked if he was playing the acoustic guitar and were these his songs to which he answered yes. That was all I needed to know. I didn’t even know what a great performer he was.
I immediately hired him on behalf of the band. He was however pretty far from that proggie thing we were doing. He was well versed in Funk, southern rock, R&B, pop and acoustic guitar music but not “art rock” which is what it was originally called. The same was true of JY’s brand of hard rock. Truthfully he could play anything.
His working with me and JY is what lead to "Crystal Ball" being more than an “America” or CSNY-type of tune. I suggested he sing it solo and drop the 3 part harmonies (as beautiful as they were) because the lyrics sounded so personal. Getting the focus on him was my goal because of my belief in his star potential after playing with him on stage. I also told him that we needed to sing the title as a hook which led to the classic Styx harmony triads on the chorus. Synth solo, rock guitar solo, power chords...done.
This is true of "Ballerina" and "Put Me On" as well, we then progged and rocked up his tunes. I added "Claire de Lune" which proceeded "Ballerina" as my lyric evolved into a song about the sacrifices made by performers (dancers here) in balancing love and work. Tommy’s C minor to D7 chord change in the verse is straight out of classical music. Great tune. Very underrated. Play it tonight. We played some shows on the Crystal Ball tour where an actual ballerina danced in dry ice fog while I played Debussy. Anyone see it?

"Foolin' Yourself" was an acoustic guitar-based song before JY and I added the keyboard intro which was not written in its original form. But Tommy leaned quickly and was responsible for the chord progression in the instrumental GI opening. This is what groups do, they bring out the best of their members.
I mention this because while listening to "Misanthrope" on YouTube while in the shower it rolled right into T talking about "MITW" being influenced by Kansas. It didn’t surprise me because while recording the song I told him how much he sounded like Steve Walsh, whom I admired. This immediately reminded of the time Kansas opened for us at a Chicago roller rink and I met the talented Kerry Livgren. This was in '74 I believe, before Tommy joined Styx.
I was shocked when Kerry told me he really liked 'Serpent' and 'Styx II' and listened to them prior to recording their first record. Full disclosure, that night in front of our hometown crowd they blew us off the stage. Yikes they were good. I hate that when that happens. After Tommy joined that never happened again.
Below is a rather weathered recording of "Crystal Ball" as I first heard it in my front room the day he auditioned. Hearing it made me convinced he was the right guy for Styx.
Cheers, Ballerina in the Ball

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSgV__rqb5o

[yogi]

Fantastic!! Didn’t Dennis do the exact same thing with Glen when joined Styx back in 91. How dare he title a new Styx album with a song where the new member sings lead. Also releasing the first Styx single off the new Styx album(Mademoiselle( Crystal Ball)& Love Is The Ritual (Edge of the Century) showcasing their new lead singers. This truly shows the tyrant DDY is.

PPS: Here’s a question to ask Tyrant Dennis or Styx with the DDY Abused Tommy or DDY Abused JY: Did Styx ever play Crystal Ball live with the added verse?? I own a double CD where Tommy on his Girls With Guns Tour played the Styx version of Crystal Ball but with the added verse. The song was Styxed up like the version Styx fans know but the extra verse was added to the end of the song. I also heard Tommy play this live twice ( he did two shows the same night) with his band on The Girls With Guns tour. He performed these at the St Paul Auditorium performing at the St. Paul Winter Carnival. I was there and heard the added verse Crystal Ball song twice.

[ChicagoSTYX]

This was just posted on Dennis' Facebook page. I found it very interesting and he also attached the original music when Tommy was in the band Harvest.


Hey, Kids.
Here’s some Styx history -- Tommy’s original "Crystal Ball" recording.

Tommy auditioned for Styx at my house in the fall of 1975 without ever playing guitar. He sang the "Lady" harmony part and played us tapes of songs he’d written. I asked if he was playing the acoustic guitar and were these his songs to which he answered yes. That was all I needed to know. I didn’t even know what a great performer he was.
I immediately hired him on behalf of the band. He was however pretty far from that proggie thing we were doing. He was well versed in Funk, southern rock, R&B, pop and acoustic guitar music but not “art rock” which is what it was originally called. The same was true of JY’s brand of hard rock. Truthfully he could play anything.
His working with me and JY is what lead to "Crystal Ball" being more than an “America” or CSNY-type of tune. I suggested he sing it solo and drop the 3 part harmonies (as beautiful as they were) because the lyrics sounded so personal. Getting the focus on him was my goal because of my belief in his star potential after playing with him on stage. I also told him that we needed to sing the title as a hook which led to the classic Styx harmony triads on the chorus. Synth solo, rock guitar solo, power chords...done.
This is true of "Ballerina" and "Put Me On" as well, we then progged and rocked up his tunes. I added "Claire de Lune" which proceeded "Ballerina" as my lyric evolved into a song about the sacrifices made by performers (dancers here) in balancing love and work. Tommy’s C minor to D7 chord change in the verse is straight out of classical music. Great tune. Very underrated. Play it tonight. We played some shows on the Crystal Ball tour where an actual ballerina danced in dry ice fog while I played Debussy. Anyone see it?

"Foolin' Yourself" was an acoustic guitar-based song before JY and I added the keyboard intro which was not written in its original form. But Tommy leaned quickly and was responsible for the chord progression in the instrumental GI opening. This is what groups do, they bring out the best of their members.
I mention this because while listening to "Misanthrope" on YouTube while in the shower it rolled right into T talking about "MITW" being influenced by Kansas. It didn’t surprise me because while recording the song I told him how much he sounded like Steve Walsh, whom I admired. This immediately reminded of the time Kansas opened for us at a Chicago roller rink and I met the talented Kerry Livgren. This was in '74 I believe, before Tommy joined Styx.
I was shocked when Kerry told me he really liked 'Serpent' and 'Styx II' and listened to them prior to recording their first record. Full disclosure, that night in front of our hometown crowd they blew us off the stage. Yikes they were good. I hate that when that happens. After Tommy joined that never happened again.
Below is a rather weathered recording of "Crystal Ball" as I first heard it in my front room the day he auditioned. Hearing it made me convinced he was the right guy for Styx.
Cheers, Ballerina in the Ball

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSgV__rqb5o

Desperate times/former member, calls for desperate measures!

[Monker]

Fantastic!! Didn’t Dennis do the exact same thing with Glen when joined Styx back in 91. How dare he title a new Styx album with a song where the new member sings lead. Also releasing the first Styx single off the new Styx album(Mademoiselle( Crystal Ball)& Love Is The Ritual (Edge of the Century) showcasing their new lead singers. This truly shows the tyrant DDY is.

PPS: Here’s a question to ask Tyrant Dennis or Styx with the DDY Abused Tommy or DDY Abused JY: Did Styx ever play Crystal Ball live with the added verse?? I own a double CD where Tommy on his Girls With Guns Tour played the Styx version of Crystal Ball but with the added verse. The song was Styxed up like the version Styx fans know but the extra verse was added to the end of the song. I also heard Tommy play this live twice ( he did two shows the same night) with his band on The Girls With Guns tour. He performed these at the St Paul Auditorium performing at the St. Paul Winter Carnival. I was there and heard the added verse Crystal Ball song twice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7nbzmM1Gjw

[SuiteMadameBlue]

This was just posted on Dennis' Facebook page. I found it very interesting and he also attached the original music when Tommy was in the band Harvest.


Hey, Kids.
Here’s some Styx history -- Tommy’s original "Crystal Ball" recording.

Tommy auditioned for Styx at my house in the fall of 1975 without ever playing guitar. He sang the "Lady" harmony part and played us tapes of songs he’d written. I asked if he was playing the acoustic guitar and were these his songs to which he answered yes. That was all I needed to know. I didn’t even know what a great performer he was.
I immediately hired him on behalf of the band. He was however pretty far from that proggie thing we were doing. He was well versed in Funk, southern rock, R&B, pop and acoustic guitar music but not “art rock” which is what it was originally called. The same was true of JY’s brand of hard rock. Truthfully he could play anything.
His working with me and JY is what lead to "Crystal Ball" being more than an “America” or CSNY-type of tune. I suggested he sing it solo and drop the 3 part harmonies (as beautiful as they were) because the lyrics sounded so personal. Getting the focus on him was my goal because of my belief in his star potential after playing with him on stage. I also told him that we needed to sing the title as a hook which led to the classic Styx harmony triads on the chorus. Synth solo, rock guitar solo, power chords...done.
This is true of "Ballerina" and "Put Me On" as well, we then progged and rocked up his tunes. I added "Claire de Lune" which proceeded "Ballerina" as my lyric evolved into a song about the sacrifices made by performers (dancers here) in balancing love and work. Tommy’s C minor to D7 chord change in the verse is straight out of classical music. Great tune. Very underrated. Play it tonight. We played some shows on the Crystal Ball tour where an actual ballerina danced in dry ice fog while I played Debussy. Anyone see it?

"Foolin' Yourself" was an acoustic guitar-based song before JY and I added the keyboard intro which was not written in its original form. But Tommy leaned quickly and was responsible for the chord progression in the instrumental GI opening. This is what groups do, they bring out the best of their members.
I mention this because while listening to "Misanthrope" on YouTube while in the shower it rolled right into T talking about "MITW" being influenced by Kansas. It didn’t surprise me because while recording the song I told him how much he sounded like Steve Walsh, whom I admired. This immediately reminded of the time Kansas opened for us at a Chicago roller rink and I met the talented Kerry Livgren. This was in '74 I believe, before Tommy joined Styx.
I was shocked when Kerry told me he really liked 'Serpent' and 'Styx II' and listened to them prior to recording their first record. Full disclosure, that night in front of our hometown crowd they blew us off the stage. Yikes they were good. I hate that when that happens. After Tommy joined that never happened again.
Below is a rather weathered recording of "Crystal Ball" as I first heard it in my front room the day he auditioned. Hearing it made me convinced he was the right guy for Styx.
Cheers, Ballerina in the Ball

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSgV__rqb5o

Desperate times/former member, calls for desperate measures!

I was surprised to see this response what are desperate measures? I wonder if Tommy ever sings the Harvest version live without the Styx chorus.

Crystal Ball before Dennis and JY Incomplete.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSgV__rqb5o

Crystal Ball after Dennis and JY. Iconic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9b-i0XknSnM

I love this song it’s my favorite of Tommy’s. The extra verse is great but not as good as the Crystal Ball chorus. He could have sung the Harvest version with the orchestra and kids that would have been something special.

[Monker]

This was just posted on Dennis' Facebook page. I found it very interesting and he also attached the original music when Tommy was in the band Harvest.


Hey, Kids.
Here’s some Styx history -- Tommy’s original "Crystal Ball" recording.

Tommy auditioned for Styx at my house in the fall of 1975 without ever playing guitar. He sang the "Lady" harmony part and played us tapes of songs he’d written. I asked if he was playing the acoustic guitar and were these his songs to which he answered yes. That was all I needed to know. I didn’t even know what a great performer he was.
I immediately hired him on behalf of the band. He was however pretty far from that proggie thing we were doing. He was well versed in Funk, southern rock, R&B, pop and acoustic guitar music but not “art rock” which is what it was originally called. The same was true of JY’s brand of hard rock. Truthfully he could play anything.
His working with me and JY is what lead to "Crystal Ball" being more than an “America” or CSNY-type of tune. I suggested he sing it solo and drop the 3 part harmonies (as beautiful as they were) because the lyrics sounded so personal. Getting the focus on him was my goal because of my belief in his star potential after playing with him on stage. I also told him that we needed to sing the title as a hook which led to the classic Styx harmony triads on the chorus. Synth solo, rock guitar solo, power chords...done.
This is true of "Ballerina" and "Put Me On" as well, we then progged and rocked up his tunes. I added "Claire de Lune" which proceeded "Ballerina" as my lyric evolved into a song about the sacrifices made by performers (dancers here) in balancing love and work. Tommy’s C minor to D7 chord change in the verse is straight out of classical music. Great tune. Very underrated. Play it tonight. We played some shows on the Crystal Ball tour where an actual ballerina danced in dry ice fog while I played Debussy. Anyone see it?

"Foolin' Yourself" was an acoustic guitar-based song before JY and I added the keyboard intro which was not written in its original form. But Tommy leaned quickly and was responsible for the chord progression in the instrumental GI opening. This is what groups do, they bring out the best of their members.
I mention this because while listening to "Misanthrope" on YouTube while in the shower it rolled right into T talking about "MITW" being influenced by Kansas. It didn’t surprise me because while recording the song I told him how much he sounded like Steve Walsh, whom I admired. This immediately reminded of the time Kansas opened for us at a Chicago roller rink and I met the talented Kerry Livgren. This was in '74 I believe, before Tommy joined Styx.
I was shocked when Kerry told me he really liked 'Serpent' and 'Styx II' and listened to them prior to recording their first record. Full disclosure, that night in front of our hometown crowd they blew us off the stage. Yikes they were good. I hate that when that happens. After Tommy joined that never happened again.
Below is a rather weathered recording of "Crystal Ball" as I first heard it in my front room the day he auditioned. Hearing it made me convinced he was the right guy for Styx.
Cheers, Ballerina in the Ball

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSgV__rqb5o

Desperate times/former member, calls for desperate measures!

I was surprised to see this response what are desperate measures? I wonder if Tommy ever sings the Harvest version live without the Styx chorus.

Crystal Ball before Dennis and JY Incomplete.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSgV__rqb5o

Crystal Ball after Dennis and JY. Iconic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9b-i0XknSnM

I love this song it’s my favorite of Tommy’s. The extra verse is great but not as good as the Crystal Ball chorus. He could have sung the Harvest version with the orchestra and kids that would have been something special.

Judging by those kids actions, it was something special regardless of these minute details.

[Monker]

From the Tommy Shaw:Solo documentary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlNOv3x ... icClifford

[SuiteMadameBlue]

I was surprised to see this response what are desperate measures? I wonder if Tommy ever sings the Harvest version live without the Styx chorus.

Crystal Ball before Dennis and JY Incomplete.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSgV__rqb5o

Crystal Ball after Dennis and JY. Iconic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9b-i0XknSnM

I love this song it’s my favorite of Tommy’s. The extra verse is great but not as good as the Crystal Ball chorus. He could have sung the Harvest version with the orchestra and kids that would have been something special.

Judging by those kids actions, it was something special regardless of these minute details.

Lovely CSNY or America type song proving the inescapable point that the song became iconic when Dennis and JY improved it and made it a Styx song. Tommy just wants to rock?
In your view from your Nissan you don’t even comment on the remarkable transformation of the song. At the very least, Tommy sings solo. Dennis the Producer.
Most likely this is what Renegade sounded like before Dennis made it into a rock song.

Sean I see you did a post about this from your car. Very nice have you been moisturizing.

[Monker]

Do you ever NOT troll in this forum?

All I did is post other examples of Tommy singing the extra verse. If you spend any time looking, as I did, the extra verse has become a bit of a regular thing at Styx concerts nowadays.

As Dennis himself remarked about how it happened, 'that's what bands do." He no more made Crystal Ball a huge thing then Tommy did when , as Dennis said, he wrote the chord progression for GI. It's just want bands do and it's not such a big deal.

My name is not Sean and I do not post from a car.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLFbtSd ... 2NPORadio2

I was surprised to see this response what are desperate measures? I wonder if Tommy ever sings the Harvest version live without the Styx chorus.

Crystal Ball before Dennis and JY Incomplete.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSgV__rqb5o

Crystal Ball after Dennis and JY. Iconic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9b-i0XknSnM

I love this song it’s my favorite of Tommy’s. The extra verse is great but not as good as the Crystal Ball chorus. He could have sung the Harvest version with the orchestra and kids that would have been something special.

Judging by those kids actions, it was something special regardless of these minute details.

Lovely CSNY or America type song proving the inescapable point that the song became iconic when Dennis and JY improved it and made it a Styx song. Tommy just wants to rock?
In your view from your Nissan you don’t even comment on the remarkable transformation of the song. At the very least, Tommy sings solo. Dennis the Producer.
Most likely this is what Renegade sounded like before Dennis made it into a rock song.

Sean I see you did a post about this from your car. Very nice have you been moisturizing.

[SuiteMadameBlue]

Do you ever NOT troll in this forum?

All I did is post other examples of Tommy singing the extra verse. If you spend any time looking, as I did, the extra verse has become a bit of a regular thing at Styx concerts nowadays.

As Dennis himself remarked about how it happened, 'that's what bands do." He no more made Crystal Ball a huge thing then Tommy did when , as Dennis said, he wrote the chord progression for GI. It's just want bands do and it's not such a big deal.

My name is not Sean and I do not post from a car.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLFbtSd ... 2NPORadio2

Said Sean Monker Morrison from his car.
Crystal Ball would never have been a big song for Styx if it had not been changed by Dennis and JY, everyone on this site knows that, people like you would complain that it’s to cheesy to syrupy to soft and a poor mans America / CSNY. Now we’re in “Manilow”, “America” territory.
Tommy just wants to rock.

[Monker]

Crystal Ball would never have been a big song for Styx if it had not been changed by Dennis and JY

Funny how haters like you love to dive into alternate histories and just invent bullshit. You have no idea what would have happened if it was left in its original form. It's your own bias and tendency kiss Dennis' ass kissing that makes you say such things.

everyone on this site knows that

Oh, I'm sure there are some that THINK they do. But, they don't. It's an alternate history. It's made up, invented, FICTION based on bias and fantasy. Nothing more.

people like you would complain that it’s to cheesy to syrupy to soft and a poor mans America / CSNY.

I have never said anything like that about Crystal Ball...any version. It sounds more like "Dust In the Wind" than anything else.

Now we’re in “Manilow”, “America” territory.
Tommy just wants to rock.

Haters just gotta hate, don't they? You just can't help it. Tommy said that DECADES later. It had nothing to do with Crystal Ball. You know that. All your aganda is is to attack Styx at any cost.

You're a Styx hater, not a fan..you condemn yourself with every post.

Your only reason for being is to attack Styx, Tommy, JY, and Gowan, to kiss Dennis ass and spread his propaganda, and to troll for arguments regarding the previous. You are unable to even discuss Styx.

[SuiteMadameBlue]

I have never said anything like that about Crystal Ball...any version. It sounds more like "Dust In the Wind" than anything

The Harvest version is beautiful but more like “America” or Seals and Crofts and nothing at all like Dust in the Wind. Nothing. Steve Walsh sings solo on Dust and in the Harvest version it’s all harmony and very un Styx like for an entire song, there’s no rock or prog. It’s without the personality or fire of the Styx version.
It’s not a Styx song and given all you’ve said about your musical preferences Prog prog prog prog why isn’t it 15 minutes long you would have called it un prog like and cheesy.

It’s so clear here and on the description of the original Renegade that Tommy as a writer is acoustic driven and not a rocker. And he’s great at it but JY and Dennis’s influence (mostly Dennis) molded Tommy into who he is in Styx.
Dennis told Tommy to sing CB and Renegade by himself and that's huge. Plus Dennis continues to be complimentary and a gentleman and many Tommy fans have commented on his generosity towards his band mates in this post.

Haters just gotta hate, don't they? You just can't help it. Tommy said that DECADES later. It had nothing to do with Crystal Ball. You know that. All your aganda is is to attack Styx at any cost.

You're a Styx hater, not a fan..you condemn yourself with every post.

Your only reason for being is to attack Styx, Tommy, JY, and Gowan, to kiss Dennis ass and spread his propaganda, and to troll for arguments regarding the previous. You are unable to even discuss Styx.

Sean the hater Monker replies. Only it will parsed.
“No No No Never Never eff eff Dennis he’s evil” “He ruined Styx, and you Suite are a smelly Styx hater, and, and Tommy never did drugs it was all robots and he can do no wrong”. “And I can’t think of any more insults about Robots, and it’s time I self medicate”.
“AND SINCE YOU CAN’T SEE ME IN MY CAR HERE ON THIS POST I WILL BE BOLDING EVERYTHING SO YOU KNOW I’M SHOUTING REAL REAL LOUD AND MY EYES ARE BUGGING OUT”. MONKER MORRISON the Nissan king.

[yogi]

Nissan ruined their brand when they let go of Datsun.

First car was a Datsun. Far better than Nissan

[Abitaman]

Nissan ruined their brand when they let go of Datsun.

First car was a Datsun. Far better than Nissan

Datsun...I forgot about that.