Rockwriter wrote:LOL, I am forced to agree. It seems kinda obvious to me that, for the most part, the songs Dennis brought to the table from 'Equinox' through 'Pieces of Eight' are the ones that most readily lend themselves to the classification "progressive rock". Of course JY had a hand in the arranging/producing of those songs, so let's not discount him in that. He wrote the prog-like middle section to "Come Sail Away" by most accounts, and I think he wrote the guitar solo section of "Suite Madame Blue", so he DID actually have a stronger influence than the credits might reflect. I wonder if JY did not write the chords to the guitar solo section of "Castle Walls" as well. He sure played a great solo there. So when their tastes overlapped, they did so in a really amazing way.
Actually, JY in early versions sang the last bit ("I thought that they were Angels ..."); by the time they recorded the final version, it was all DDY.
Anyway, we're having yet another go around on this one, too. Years ago I also brought up the fact that Styx was never really progressive sans maybe Styx I with songs like "Movement for the Common Man". How many Styx fans have heard that ditty? lol Heck, "Krakatoa" is more progressive than most Styx output by its nature. Think about it - I don't know if anyone remembers that picture they once posted on the old paradisetheater.com site, but it was an early setlist and they were covering songs like "21st Century Schitzoid Man" by King Crimson (oh how I'd love a boot of that!).
So I'm not saying JY is off base if he's comparing to EARLY Styx, but the Styx of 1975 and later? No.
Rockwriter wrote:Maybe part of JY's seeming bitterness is simply the way the credits read for some of that stuff, who knows? I always hear from people close to the band that JY feels he simply hasn't ever gotten the credit he deserves, and perhaps he hasn't. That's a frustration in and of itself. Then add to that the decades-long simmering tension when his tastes gradually got pushed more and more to the side by the commercial success of some of Dennis' later work that was NOT their shared taste, and it becomes easier to see why he might harbor some resentment. I still feel it's a mistake to spill all of that in public, though. As I always say, bitterness and animosity are NOT what inspire people, LOL. And that's what giving interviews is supposed to be about, is inspiring people to get on board with what you're doing now . . . not to get off board with what you USED to do. The past is what it is.
Look, Ringo and George only got a couple of tunes a piece, but when they went solo, shall we say JY's albums didn't even approach All Good Things Must Pass which by some is the best Beatles solo project (my vote is Macca's first one). Now, George had his share of klunkers, too. I have no doubt that the band was more democratic up to and including Pieces of Eight. It's evident on Cornerstone the band took a detour which kinda got back on track with Paradise Theater but then took a left and never came back. I'm not saying it's bad or good, it is what it is.
