August Zadra

[Boomchild]

Babe might be "gay" to you, but it is their ONLY number one song ever. More people know Babe than Blue Collar Man or Miss America. People flock to the package tours; even those generally don't sell out. Though they sometimes do well. Styx alone usually draws about 2,500 people.

boat on the river has been number one 13 times

I think that is in Europe only. Which is not a recognized standard. I think that Billboard is the recognized standard world wide.

[masque]

it's real simple why the current version of styx doesnt do babe and roboto live. they were songs that dennis pushed on the band....doesnt mean they arent popular with fans etc...and they did provide chart success.

but their live success was built more on songs like renegade, blue collar man, miss america, come sail away, the grand illusion etc.......

the current styx is still able to play all they want, get invovled in package tours and have done pretty well over the last ten years doing the songs they want to do.....as long as they can make a living and still get invited to play while leaving babe out of the setlist they are gonna do it.

[Archetype]

Babe might be "gay" to you, but it is their ONLY number one song ever. More people know Babe than Blue Collar Man or Miss America. People flock to the package tours; even those generally don't sell out. Though they sometimes do well. Styx alone usually draws about 2,500 people.

boat on the river has been number one 13 times

Rammstein songs go to the top of the charts in Europe all the time. That doesn't mean anything in regards to success in the United States. Boat On The River is the same way.

[brywool]

he fore sure could do that song it's just that what would they take out to play it???? blue collar man, renegade, lady, grand illusion, sca, tmtomh??? miss america??? no, they can't take those ones out

Seriously?
Miss America could go. Or... GASP! they could play a bit longer.

music america is a concert staple

Doesn't have to be. If it was "Come Sail Away" or "Renegade", you'd have a point. It's JY and his singing that song hasn't gotten any better. They'd be better to give him another song. I'd rather hear Heavy Water, Midnight Ride, Heavy Metal Poisoning, Great White Hope, or These are the Times. I don't think Styx peeps would walk away going "Wow, they didn't play Miss America. I'm so dissapointed".

JY would be

JY should be smart enough to know that his role is the lead guitarist and backup vocalist. It is not that of lead singer. It is not that of main songwriter. I've always read how smart JY is. I'm sure he has an accurate view of where he fits into the band.
Also, they could definitely take out "High Enough". That should only be played with the DYs and the DYs need to reform.

[brywool]

Almost every recent concert review of Styx you'll see says something to the effect of "One glaring omission from their set list was Mr. Roboto"

There are probably thousands of people who know Mr. Roboto and not any other Styx songs.

Everyone goes crazy when they do the fifteen seconds of it in the medley. The crowd really gets energized when Dennis does the full song.

Now throw in The Best Of Times, Babe, Show Me The Way, Don't Let It End; some of Styx's most commercially successful songs EVER. Styx doesn't play them! It's like going to see Journey them not playing Don't Stop Believing or Faithfully. Mr. Roboto is Styx's Don't Stop Believing as far as recognition goes. To try to bring Plexiglass Toilet or Man In The Wilderness into this argument is a fallacy because those songs aren't well known.

Now look at Dennis DeYoung circa 2010-- he and his band play EVERYTHING that Styx is known for. Don't be surprised if Crystal Ball ends up in the set in the near future. They play the songs that made Styx famous. You'll hear Babe, Mr. Roboto, and Too Much Time On My Hands at the same concert performed by an extremely energetic, tight, talented band. They're truly "more Styx than Styx" There's maybe a handful of fans who would be upset about not hearing Miss America, but I think that hearing Mr. Roboto is a more than fair trade off for the fans.

If Dennis manages to get his act on a package tour, "Styx" will have MUCH to worry about. It wouldn't surprise me if he did next year; he's really making a name for himself now and the good reviews are pouring in. August Zadra is much more Tommy Shaw than Lawrence Gowan is Dennis DeYoung. Now if Styx would just lighten the hell up and play Mr. Roboto, etc. Dennis would have a much more difficult time breaking into their market. Gowan's a great singer and performer, but he is being restrained by his band mates.

The supposed Regeneration tour might change things.

I will bet money that Crystal Ball won't end up in Dennis' sets. That's pretty much Tommy's theme song.
As for Roboto, I guarantee you if Styx put it in, Critics (who gives a CRAP ABOUT THEM??) would be blasting them for playing that "Corny" , "Kitsch-ee", "dopey" song. That song has been stomped on in the press. It was when it came out, it would be now. Also, to play that song, which really divided the band and the fanbase, is not a smart move. The song isn't THAT great. To claim that that's the only song many people know by Styx is just your opinion. I guarantee you more people have heard "Babe", "Come Sail Away", and "Renegade". I think Styx and DeYoung are both safe. Styx will tour as it always has. Dennis will tour minimally because that's how he likes it. Don't forget, he's also got his Broadway shows in the works and that will distract him (as it did before) from what his main focus ALWAYS should've been.

[brywool]

Babe might be "gay" to you, but it is their ONLY number one song ever. More people know Babe than Blue Collar Man or Miss America. People flock to the package tours; even those generally don't sell out. Though they sometimes do well. Styx alone usually draws about 2,500 people.

Number one doesn't mean crap except for the time it's number one. (3 weeks? I think?)
"Paradise Theatre" was number 1 too, yet most people know Styx by "Grand Illusion".
They certainly do not know them by "Kilroy Was Here" which, by the way, sold a 1/3 of what the previous 4 albums sold... If Roboto was SO GREAT, then why is it on one of their lowest selling A&M albums?

Also, and I know this was a post about Babe, but to your other point about Roboto-

Roboto was a number 3 single. Come Sail Away was a number 8 single.

Does that mean Roboto was the better song? If you say yes, I will never speak to you again.

[Everett]

Babe might be "gay" to you, but it is their ONLY number one song ever. More people know Babe than Blue Collar Man or Miss America. People flock to the package tours; even those generally don't sell out. Though they sometimes do well. Styx alone usually draws about 2,500 people.

Number one doesn't mean crap except for the time it's number one. (3 weeks? I think?)
"Paradise Theatre" was number 1 too, yet most people know Styx by "Grand Illusion".
They certainly do not know them by "Kilroy Was Here" which, by the way, sold a 1/3 of what the previous 4 albums sold... If Roboto was SO GREAT, then why is it on one of their lowest selling A&M albums?

Also, and I know this was a post about Babe, but to your other point about Roboto-

Roboto was a number 3 single. Come Sail Away was a number 8 single.

Does that mean Roboto was the better song? If you say yes, I will never speak to you again.

CSA was the last great rock song ddy "wrote" Mr.roboto is the worst. So no roboto is not even in CSA's league.

[brywool]

Rights to the name don't mean anything. Dennis could call his band Viagara and it would still be more Styx than Styx. The "real" Styx needs to knock off the childish games and start playing ALL the classics if they want to be taken seriously. Lawrence Gowan is more than capable of singing Mr. Roboto, Show Me The Way, etc.

Supposedly, the Regeneration tour will mean drastic changes in Styx's setlist. We'll see when it happens. I wouldn't hold my breath.

I don't agree. Just because the band isn't playing the cornier songs in the Styx catalog doesn't mean they're not Styx. McCartney doesn't play "Silly Love Songs" anymore even though it was a H U G E seller (Number 1 single of 1976). He's smart enough to realize that it's a horribly dated song. Dennis needs to have a little of that mindset for crap like "Roboto". It's probably the same reason that songs like "Eddie" and "Homewrecker" and "She Cares" aren't played at Styx shows. Those songs don't stand up when put beside the others that're being played.

"Show Me the Way", on the other hand, is a great great song. I remember seeing Dennis and Styx do it accapella on the Grand Illusion Anniversary Tour. It was excellent. As decent as Gowan is (and I like him), I don't think he could pull that off. Nor do I think he would want to. It could be that the members of Styx say "You know, that's REALLY a Dennis signature song. Let's not do it." and it could be out of respect (doubtful but possible) or it could be that the band has enough stuff to do without "going there".

Dennis doesn't play "She Cares" or "Man In The Wilderness" or "Plexiglass Toilet"- by your definition, he's not Styx either, is he?

Silly argument.

So, do you feel that the current Styx is playing only the songs fans would like to hear? If so, then why is it I keep seeing people posting that they need to change their set list? Also, I am curious what songs you think are "Corny".

Corny songs to me are Roboto, First Time, Eddie, probably Music Time, though I like it. The really "dated" stuff.
I feel that current Styx is playing songs that the NOT SO hardcore fans want to hear. I do agree that the band needs to change their setlist. HOWEVER- They are drawing upon songs from only 7 albums. If they added 4 more (Edge, BNW, BBT, CYC) they'd have more songs to choose from. Styx has really already played most of the songs from those 7 albums. The only exceptions are some deep cuts and Babe, Roboto, and Best of Times, Don't Let it End, Show Me the Way. right? That's five songs. Big deal...

My choices would be to add some "deeper cuts" to keep it interesting:

Mademoiselle
Great White Hope
Midnight Ride
Born For Adventure
Cyclo stuff other than One with Everything
Superstars
Man in the Wilderness
Queen of Spades
Lights
Love in the Midnight
Best New Face
I Will Be Your Witness
etc.

Obviously, I'm not saying add ALL of these to one show. I'm saying that they're ignoring a lot of their deeper cuts in favor of all songs that were singles. Styx was NOT a singles band. They were an ALBUM band. Dennis tried to turn them into a singles band starting with Babe. While Babe was a number one single, does that mean it sold more than Come Sail Away or Renegade in the long run? The "Long Run" being - did Babe sell more Styx ALBUMS?

If you were to look at Styx sales, GI and PO8 were triple platinum albums.
Cornerstone, though it had a number one song on it, was only double platinum.
Kilroy, though it had Roboto on it, was only single platinum.

To me, that kills the "number one songs are the way to go" argument and it justifies Jy and Tommy's opinions that those singles were hurting the band. The sales figures bare that out.

Just my opinion.

[SuiteMadameBlue]

You know what's funny, in the last 5 years or more, whenever current Styx is being promoted for an upcoming concert, MOST of the promotion mentions "Styx is known for songs "Renegade", "Come Sail Away", "Mr. Roboto", "Babe" and usually another Tommy song - songs that Styx are known for. If I'm not mistaken, within this last year they took out "Mr. Roboto" and "Babe" in the promotion articles. I guess I'll have to dig those up in my free time to prove it

Speaking about "Babe" I didn't know that Styx played it at a concert in 2008. Hmmm, interesting. It also said that DeYoung, oops, they crossed that one off was on keyboards.......... Read the whole article.

http://blogs.denverpost.com/reverb/2008 ... hitheatre/

[SuiteMadameBlue]

You know what's funny, in the last 5 years or more, whenever current Styx is being promoted for an upcoming concert, MOST of the promotion mentions "Styx is known for songs "Renegade", "Come Sail Away", "Mr. Roboto", "Babe" and usually another Tommy song - songs that Styx are known for. If I'm not mistaken, within this last year they took out "Mr. Roboto" and "Babe" in the promotion articles. I guess I'll have to dig those up in my free time to prove it

Speaking about "Babe" I didn't know that Styx played it at a concert in 2008. Hmmm, interesting. It also said that DeYoung, oops, they crossed that one off was on keyboards.......... Read the whole article.

http://blogs.denverpost.com/reverb/2008 ... hitheatre/

Here's a promotion before their 2009 tour...

http://www.soundchronicle.com/concert-n ... -2009-tour


December 3, 2008
Styx Announces 2009 Tour

Styx announced tour dates for their performances and live concerts for the next year, which starts off with the New Year Bash at the Fiesta Bowl Block Party in Tempe, Arizona. The rock band will be on the road for four months from January to April, before the solitary concert in October at Biloxi, MS. The trip will see the group head over from Arizona to Illinois and then from Michigan to Oregon. From there they will be headed to Nevada, Wisconsin and Indiana to enthral fans.
Fans should be queuing up to listen to Styx and their runaway hits, which include 'Come Sail Away', 'Lady', 'Babe', 'Mr. Roboto' and 'Renegade'.

[brywool]

You know what's funny, in the last 5 years or more, whenever current Styx is being promoted for an upcoming concert, MOST of the promotion mentions "Styx is known for songs "Renegade", "Come Sail Away", "Mr. Roboto", "Babe" and usually another Tommy song - songs that Styx are known for. If I'm not mistaken, within this last year they took out "Mr. Roboto" and "Babe" in the promotion articles. I guess I'll have to dig those up in my free time to prove it

Speaking about "Babe" I didn't know that Styx played it at a concert in 2008. Hmmm, interesting. It also said that DeYoung, oops, they crossed that one off was on keyboards.......... Read the whole article.

http://blogs.denverpost.com/reverb/2008 ... hitheatre/

Here's a promotion before their 2009 tour...

http://www.soundchronicle.com/concert-n ... -2009-tour


December 3, 2008
Styx Announces 2009 Tour

Styx announced tour dates for their performances and live concerts for the next year, which starts off with the New Year Bash at the Fiesta Bowl Block Party in Tempe, Arizona. The rock band will be on the road for four months from January to April, before the solitary concert in October at Biloxi, MS. The trip will see the group head over from Arizona to Illinois and then from Michigan to Oregon. From there they will be headed to Nevada, Wisconsin and Indiana to enthral fans.
Fans should be queuing up to listen to Styx and their runaway hits, which include 'Come Sail Away', 'Lady', 'Babe', 'Mr. Roboto' and 'Renegade'.

They shouldn't be doing that...
Locally, I've seen ads on TV, they're doing a casino show locally, and it was BCM, Renegade

[Everett]

You know what's funny, in the last 5 years or more, whenever current Styx is being promoted for an upcoming concert, MOST of the promotion mentions "Styx is known for songs "Renegade", "Come Sail Away", "Mr. Roboto", "Babe" and usually another Tommy song - songs that Styx are known for. If I'm not mistaken, within this last year they took out "Mr. Roboto" and "Babe" in the promotion articles. I guess I'll have to dig those up in my free time to prove it

Speaking about "Babe" I didn't know that Styx played it at a concert in 2008. Hmmm, interesting. It also said that DeYoung, oops, they crossed that one off was on keyboards.......... Read the whole article.

http://blogs.denverpost.com/reverb/2008 ... hitheatre/

That's gotta be a typo.

[styxfanNH]

The only time they have done Babe since Dennis left was when they went to Japan.

[Boomchild]

[,Don't forget, he's also got his Broadway shows in the works and that will distract him (as it did before) from what his main focus ALWAYS should've been.

Nice to know that you know what DDY's focus should should have been. I think like most people he would prefer to make that choice himself.

[SuiteMadameBlue]

The only time they have done Babe since Dennis left was when they went to Japan.

I had to post this one because I thought that was funny how they screwed up with the names of the band and then the songs.

[Boomchild]

Styx was NOT a singles band. They were an ALBUM band. Dennis tried to turn them into a singles band starting with Babe.

I would not agree that he was trying to turn Styx into a singles band. I would say that he was trying to produce material that would be more radio friendly to further advance the band. You are correct that they were an album band. Which they focused on concept albums. According to band members the idea of concept albums was DDY's thing. To which TS has said he wasn't interested in doing anymore. They were still doing concept albums post Cornerstone and Babe so I don't think that DDY wanted them to be a singles band, he wanted them to have more exposure by getting more of their material air play.