new dennis article

[spaceace02038]

DENNIS DEYOUNG
Symphonic Ride On The River Styx
2006-03-23 22:55:39

Written by : By Martin Popoff


Founding Styx member - and lead vocalist and key writer for that legendary ‘70s act - Dennis DeYoung has found himself with an improbable success on his hands. Taking on the road with him (and his wife of 30+ years) a full rock band and a symphony, the smooth pop crooner has managed to draw enthusiastic crowds for his panoramic retelling of Styx hits.

“I think the best part about it is that I got a new suit,” cracks DeYoung, referring to the odd priestly garb that can be seen on the new DVD of the show, but not the accompanying two-CD set. “I had it in my closet for about five years and I had to be on TV, so I just dragged it out. I thought it was kind of cool, and I never wore it again, and when it was time for TV, hell, I had to wear something. The hardest thing about being a rock star over 30 years old is deciding what you should look like. I think there's a legislation being passed in the United States - although I don't know for sure that it's going to be enacted - it's the Jagger/Tyler law, which prohibits any man over 50 from wearing leather pants in public. So it's a tough call.”

“Seriously though, what you're going to get with this package is kind of a retrospective on my life as a singer/songwriter, because all those songs are mine. That's essentially the same with the CD. The CD is a little more comprehensive of course, because there are 20 songs on it. What it does - the CD and DVD both – is illustrate how this music could have been, or how the music has been transformed, or and least enhanced, by the use of an orchestra.”

Over time, Dennis became controversial presence in Styx, mainly as the lightning rod for turning the band poppy around the time of 1979’s Cornerstone, specifically the song ‘Babe’. This DVD, which also includes solo material and well-known classical riffs, reinforces this sense of Dennis as the pop guy, as well as a certain bombast inherent in Styx. Dennis is not so sure Styx was predominantly bombastic though…
“Well, Styx were so many different things; you take a song like ‘Babe’ – that really has no bombast in it at all. You know, it's just a straight ballad. But if you took ‘Babe’ and ‘Come Sail Away’ and ‘Mr. Roboto’, I don't think they have that much in common. So, my cookbook would say: a pinch of bombast when needed.”

“I thought art rock was finished, as an art form,” notes Dennis, addressing this transition from Pieces Of Eight to Cornerstone. “And I felt that personally as well as professionally - that art rock was finished. So I tried to lead the band toward more acoustic stuff, real horns, like ‘Boat On The River’, ‘Babe’… it was more of a pop album than anything we had ever done. Because, I knew we couldn’t make a country record (laughs). I mean, klezmer seemed to be out. So I thought we would make an album that played up the songwriting talent of Tommy and James and myself.”

“We've added lots,” says Dennis, back on the subject of the symphonic tour. “In fact, since that CD and DVD (now two and a half years on from those shows) ‘Pieces Of Eight’ has been added, with an interlude to ‘Hall Of The Mountain King’. What else? ‘I'm OK’ and ‘Queen Of Spades’ from Pieces Of Eight as well. I think I've had a 40 song repertoire over the time we've been doing this. Songs come out, go in.”

“It's going to be eclectic,” adds DeYoung, in closing, on his next project – a new studio album. “You know, there are no expectations. I'm just going to try to get the best ten or 11 songs on a CD. Nothing more. It will be eclectic, and here's my suggestion. If you don't like me, don't buy it, because I'll be all over it. I’ll be on every song. So if you don't care for me, I wouldn't buy it (laughs).”

See www.dennisdeyoung.com for more.


http://www.bravewords.com/features/1000407

[SuiteMadameBlue]

Thanks for posting SpaceAce Much appreciated!!!!

I love how this is from a heavy metal site - LOL

OH THAT'S RIGHT DENNIS DOESN'T PLAY ROCK SONGS - LOL

I'll be the first buying his new cd, hopefully this year.

[Ash]

“I thought art rock was finished, as an art form,” notes Dennis, addressing this transition from Pieces Of Eight to Cornerstone. “And I felt that personally as well as professionally - that art rock was finished. So I tried to lead the band toward more acoustic stuff, real horns, like ‘Boat On The River’, ‘Babe’… it was more of a pop album than anything we had ever done. Because, I knew we couldn’t make a country record (laughs). I mean, klezmer seemed to be out. So I thought we would make an album that played up the songwriting talent of Tommy and James and myself.”

This is profound because he was RIGHT. Some bands like Styx adapted to the death of Art Rock and because of it they had a string of successes after 1978 and in fact had reached the height of their succcess in the early 1980's. The same can be said for REO Speedwagon. A number of bands who also lived on the art-rock train did not transition well, if at all and as a result faded fast after 1979:

Aerosmith (the first incarnation)
Kansas (listen to Monolith - the follow up to Point of Know Return - which is a great art-rock record recorded in 1979 that went NOWHERE).
Rush

Here are some who did make the transition

Styx
REO Speedwagon
Yes (I think Yes was the kings of art rock)

This is the first time I've heard Dennis' rationale for the radical switch in Styx' music after 1978... and I think it shows that in many ways he was on the right side of history even if some don't like what was made after that musically or like his decision making.

[thebook]

“I thought art rock was finished, as an art form,” notes Dennis, addressing this transition from Pieces Of Eight to Cornerstone. “And I felt that personally as well as professionally - that art rock was finished. So I tried to lead the band toward more acoustic stuff, real horns, like ‘Boat On The River’, ‘Babe’… it was more of a pop album than anything we had ever done. Because, I knew we couldn’t make a country record (laughs). I mean, klezmer seemed to be out. So I thought we would make an album that played up the songwriting talent of Tommy and James and myself.”

This is the first time I've heard Dennis' rationale for the radical switch in Styx' music after 1978... and I think it shows that in many ways he was on the right side of history even if some don't like what was made after that musically or like his decision making.

I've heard Dennis say this before.
They did go in a different direction a bit. those bands really became the forerunners to the 80's type of melodic rock music that most critics hated.

[Monker]

“I thought art rock was finished, as an art form,” notes Dennis, addressing this transition from Pieces Of Eight to Cornerstone. “And I felt that personally as well as professionally - that art rock was finished. So I tried to lead the band toward more acoustic stuff, real horns, like ‘Boat On The River’, ‘Babe’… it was more of a pop album than anything we had ever done. Because, I knew we couldn’t make a country record (laughs). I mean, klezmer seemed to be out. So I thought we would make an album that played up the songwriting talent of Tommy and James and myself.”

This is the first time I've heard Dennis' rationale for the radical switch in Styx' music after 1978... and I think it shows that in many ways he was on the right side of history even if some don't like what was made after that musically or like his decision making.

I've heard Dennis say this before.
They did go in a different direction a bit. those bands really became the forerunners to the 80's type of melodic rock music that most critics hated.

WHAT?

First of all, REO wasn't Progressive rock. The pre-Perry Journey was, but I doubt V-E-R-Y much that you will find any Progressive rock fans who will accept REO into their genre.

The 'kings' of Progressive rock were:

Yes
Genesis
Pink Floyd
Styx
Kansas

80's Melodic rock came from some of the above, but also Foreigner, Survivor, REO, Boston, and Journey...none of which were Progressive rock, or did not have much success with it (in Journey's case).

[bugsymalone]

The 'kings' of Progressive rock were:

Yes
Genesis
Pink Floyd
Styx
Kansas

80's Melodic rock came from some of the above, but also Foreigner, Survivor, REO, Boston, and Journey...none of which were Progressive rock, or did not have much success with it (in Journey's case).

Totally with you on this one, Monker.

I might add Emerson, Lake and Palmer and, even earlier, maybe Spirit?

I never thought of REO or Journey, as progressive rockers.

Bugsy