Girls With Guns

[StyxCollector]

Dragged this CD out today for the first time in awhile. Still holds up for me. Some of the production is a bit dated (hello Simmons drums) - no denying that - but it's cohesive end to end. The title track is still one of my favorite Styx-related songs, period. Some of the songs were at least demoed by Styx around KWH, but didn't wind up making the cut (and probably led to some of his frustration).

Ambition is arguably a better written and played album in many ways, partially due to the fact he got sober prior to doing it. Songs like "No Such Thing" have great hooks, and "Ever Since The World Began" is a great ballad. The DY stuff which came after makes even more sense if you listen to that album. 7DZ is definitely a mature Tommy. What If ... well, it's What If - nuff said.

It's always fun re-discovering old "friends".

[froy]

Dragged this CD out today for the first time in awhile. Still holds up for me. Some of the production is a bit dated (hello Simmons drums) - no denying that - but it's cohesive end to end. The title track is still one of my favorite Styx-related songs, period. Some of the songs were at least demoed by Styx around KWH, but didn't wind up making the cut (and probably led to some of his frustration).

Ambition is arguably a better written and played album in many ways, partially due to the fact he got sober prior to doing it. Songs like "No Such Thing" have great hooks, and "Ever Since The World Began" is a great ballad. The DY stuff which came after makes even more sense if you listen to that album. 7DZ is definitely a mature Tommy. What If ... well, it's What If - nuff said.

It's always fun re-discovering old "friends".

Compared to 7 zens its a joke

[StyxCollector]

Compared to 7 zens its a joke

I still prefer GWG. I pulled out 7DZ recently and there were parts that were OK and better than I remembered, but not much love for that one here. Ambition is a better album IMHO than 7DZ.

[froy]

Compared to 7 zens its a joke

I still prefer GWG. I pulled out 7DZ recently and there were parts that were OK and better than I remembered, but not much love for that one here. Ambition is a better album IMHO than 7DZ.

Wow differnce of O here
Ambition is better than Guns but not better than 7
The Ocean Rocks
Call Someone awesome
Place To call My Own great tune
I really love the feel of 7
Shaws best solo cd IMO

[brywool]

I like What If. Just hate the production. Yup, lame drum sounds...

[Moon Beam]

I bought GWG when I was a teen and haven't found it
on cd round here, my fave was always Little Girl World
and Kiss Me Hello.

[stmonkeys]

I like GWG much better than Ambition. i really didn't like that album at all. yeah, it was a harder rockin' album, but it just doesn't do it for me. the songs were pretty lackluster, and the production just seemed way to sterile for me. Cheesy 80s production aside, I think GWG was much better written- the songs are a heck of a lot more catchy (hooky?). 7DZ is by far tommy's best solo album (IMO), and I would put What If as his worst. So, here's my order:

7DZ
GWG
Ambition
WI

if we were to add Shaw/Blades into the equation, i'd have to tie 7DZ w/ Hallucination. Still waiting for next week's INFLUENCE release, which should make me a VERY happy camper!

[Rockwriter]

I like GWG much better than Ambition. i really didn't like that album at all. yeah, it was a harder rockin' album, but it just doesn't do it for me. the songs were pretty lackluster, and the production just seemed way to sterile for me. Cheesy 80s production aside, I think GWG was much better written- the songs are a heck of a lot more catchy (hooky?). 7DZ is by far tommy's best solo album (IMO), and I would put What If as his worst. So, here's my order:

7DZ
GWG
Ambition
WI

if we were to add Shaw/Blades into the equation, i'd have to tie 7DZ w/ Hallucination. Still waiting for next week's INFLUENCE release, which should make me a VERY happy camper!

If I were to put Tommy's albums in order, I would say 'Ambition' first, 'Girls With Guns' second, '7 Deadly Zens' third, and 'What If' I refuse to dignify with a rating at all, LOL.

I think 'What If' is the single worst, most embarrassing major label release from a major artist that I have ever heard in my life. It's really just some incomplete, really shitty demos that got overdubbed on top of and released. Particularly bad are "Friendly Advice" and "True Confessions". Even the few good songs in the collection are badly recorded for the most part. It's just indicative of where Tommy was at that time in his personal life.

Now if we add in Shaw Blades 'Hallucination', then it becomes number one, hands down. It's still the best I think I've ever heard Tommy sound, including Styx. I love that record!


Sterling

[stabbim]

I think 'What If' is the single worst, most embarrassing major label release from a major artist that I have ever heard in my life.

I wouldn't go that far, but yeah, What If would be ranked bottom of the TS solo catalog, if I was a ranking sort of guy.

That said, "Reach For The Bottle" is an exception, and a damn fine song IMO. Soulful, atmospheric, good groove, and some of the rawest emotion he ever put on record vocally/lyrically. Foreshadows the better DY-S/B-7DZ stuff nicely.

Now if we add in Shaw Blades 'Hallucination', then it becomes number one, hands down. It's still the best I think I've ever heard Tommy sound, including Styx. I love that record!

Absolutamente, si.

[froy]

I think 'What If' is the single worst, most embarrassing major label release from a major artist that I have ever heard in my life.

Makes me laugh harder when Shaw bitches about Dennis music and then he puts out shit like What If.
Your right its the worst of the worst,

[shaka]

Yeah, I like Reach for the Bottle as well.

I must admit that I like the bridge on Friendly Advice.

[Rockwriter]

I think 'What If' is the single worst, most embarrassing major label release from a major artist that I have ever heard in my life.

I wouldn't go that far, but yeah, What If would be ranked bottom of the TS solo catalog, if I was a ranking sort of guy.

That said, "Reach For The Bottle" is an exception, and a damn fine song IMO. Soulful, atmospheric, good groove, and some of the rawest emotion he ever put on record vocally/lyrically. Foreshadows the better DY-S/B-7DZ stuff nicely.

Now if we add in Shaw Blades 'Hallucination', then it becomes number one, hands down. It's still the best I think I've ever heard Tommy sound, including Styx. I love that record!

Absolutamente, si.

You know what, I forgot about "Reach For The Bottle". I agree, that's a good track among the crap, LOL. That's also, not coincidentally, the only track on there with live tracking by the actual band. They played together on that and it shows. The rest of the album consists of the demos Tommy and Richie Canatta made with drum and bass sequencing, on top of which the real musicians simply dubbed their parts, and it shows badly. There are actually a few good songs, but the production does them no justice in my view. Tommy has some very funny things to say about those songs in my book, LOL. I won't give it away other than to say that he's not such a fan of that stuff, either, in retrospect.

I hope all is well.

Sterling

[stabbim]

Tommy has some very funny things to say about those songs in my book, LOL. I won't give it away other than to say that he's not such a fan of that stuff, either, in retrospect.

Heh. I remember the way "Friendly Advice" got treated on the re-release. Pretty funny. Makes me wonder why he didn't just leave it off altogether.