Regeneration : Crystal Ball

[froy]

"SuiteMadameBlue

Are you coming to Wisconsin?

Yep Jet ski action
wanna come up ?

You should stop by when you come up.

Dells action not Milwaukee

It's on the way

94 all the way past Madison

[Everett]

check your inbox froy

[Babyblue]

check your inbox froy

Oh boy Fred is so in trouble now.

[froy]

check your inbox froy

Oh boy Fred is so in trouble now.

yea he wants to meet the famous me

[Babyblue]

check your inbox froy

Oh boy Fred is so in trouble now.

yea he wants to meet the famous me

So you have your own stalker now So go meet him

[Everett]

check your inbox froy

Oh boy Fred is so in trouble now.

yea he wants to meet the famous me

You ain't that famous

[Babyblue]

check your inbox froy

Oh boy Fred is so in trouble now.

yea he wants to meet the famous me

You ain't that famous

Only in his mind.

[froy]

check your inbox froy

Oh boy Fred is so in trouble now.

yea he wants to meet the famous me

You ain't that famous

Only in his mind.

that's all that counts

[Babyblue]

check your inbox froy

Oh boy Fred is so in trouble now.

yea he wants to meet the famous me

You ain't that famous

Only in his mind.

that's all that counts

gUESS SO

[SuiteMadameBlue]

Froy, thanks for the invite. It's suppose to be in the 60's this weekend, what a bummer. Today was about 90 out here. All the kids still talk about the great time we had up there.

Okay, back to the loony bin talk............

[Everett]

Froy, thanks for the invite. It's suppose to be in the 60's this weekend, what a bummer. Today was about 90 out here. All the kids still talk about the great time we had up there.

Okay, back to the loony bin talk............

You can always see styx in sheboygan on sunday.

[SuiteMadameBlue]

Froy, thanks for the invite. It's suppose to be in the 60's this weekend, what a bummer. Today was about 90 out here. All the kids still talk about the great time we had up there.

Okay, back to the loony bin talk............

You can always see styx in sheboygan on sunday.

Brewer Game - Fan Appreciation Day, we're going with a few other families.

Are you going?

[Boomchild]

Dennis is a good keyboard player.
Gowan is better. It's a fact.

This whole discussion about DDY's keyboard playing abilities is pointless. DDY himself has said that he does not consider himself to be an exceptional player. It doesn't seem to bother him so why should it bother others? His abilities seemed to suit the band just fine.

[Boomchild]

Why would anyone listen to this over the original?

That's pretty much the question for all of these. Why try to recreate mag

It's because they are stuck in their past. That's when their music was relevant.

It's a moot point. These will do nothing (and probably aren't intended) to "erase" what has already been released.
It was just "something to do".

It has the ability to make them look like washed up fools. What is it that they are trying to prove anyway? I would be willing to bet that this stuff will disappear just as quickly as it appears. You couldn't get me to take it even if they were giving it away for free.

[Everett]

Froy, thanks for the invite. It's suppose to be in the 60's this weekend, what a bummer. Today was about 90 out here. All the kids still talk about the great time we had up there.

Okay, back to the loony bin talk............

You can always see styx in sheboygan on sunday.

Brewer Game - Fan Appreciation Day, we're going with a few other families.

Are you going?

Sorry laurie i wouldn't be caught dead @ a brewers game. Besides styx @ sheboygan would be more entertaining.

[Rockwriter]

Doesn't say much about Dennis does it?

It can say one of two things:
1. They didn't want to radically change the arrangement (which is most likely the case) to keep in the spirit of what they did with the other tracks.
2. Good, bad, or indifferent, there's a reason they stuck to the original. You may think DDY is a bad keyboard player (he's not) but to call into a question a solo done nearly 35 years ago is a bit ridiculous.

And talk to Tommy Shaw - he had a hell of a time finding someone to play those Fooling Yourself parts when he went solo in the 80s. So Dennis may not be "the best evah", but he's far from suck ass. Guys like Emerson and Wakeman may be able to outplay Dennis, but Dennis did what was right for the tunes in the limited space dictated by the arrangement.

Good God, man, have you ever heard any of the bootlegs from the 'Ambition' tour? The guy he had on keys on that tour butchered "Fooling Yourself" so badly that it didn't even sound like a professional musician was playing the parts. Tommy must have known it, too, because he shortened the instrumental sections substantially.

I always figured that's why Tommy returned to playing "Crystal Ball" acoustically, to avoid having to have his keyboard player cop that solo. The notion that just anyone could handle Dennis' parts is patently false. His right hand is amazing. His left hand, less so, by his own admission.

Gowan is a great player, and I have always thought he made the right choice in honoring the fans by playing Dennis' parts more or less verbatim. He's always very complimentary when he talks about Dennis' playing on those records.


Sterling

[StyxCollector]

Good God, man, have you ever heard any of the bootlegs from the 'Ambition' tour? The guy he had on keys on that tour butchered "Fooling Yourself" so badly that it didn't even sound like a professional musician was playing the parts. Tommy must have known it, too, because he shortened the instrumental sections substantially.

I saw it live!

Believe it or not, it's Wix (Paul Wickens) who has gone onto Paul McCartney fame (and is his musical director).

As I said, Tommy has said more than once he hasn't found a lot of people who can do Dennis' parts. Not that they're so insanely hard, but still. If the guy who plays with Macca can't get it right ...

Gowan is a great player, and I have always thought he made the right choice in honoring the fans by playing Dennis' parts more or less verbatim. He's always very complimentary when he talks about Dennis' playing on those records.

For all the shit Gowan gets for his vocals on DDY's tunes (and I know I don't love 'em all), no one should have an issue with his keyboard and/or piano playing.

[Rockwriter]

Good God, man, have you ever heard any of the bootlegs from the 'Ambition' tour? The guy he had on keys on that tour butchered "Fooling Yourself" so badly that it didn't even sound like a professional musician was playing the parts. Tommy must have known it, too, because he shortened the instrumental sections substantially.

I saw it live!

Believe it or not, it's Wix (Paul Wickens) who has gone onto Paul McCartney fame (and is his musical director).

As I said, Tommy has said more than once he hasn't found a lot of people who can do Dennis' parts. Not that they're so insanely hard, but still. If the guy who plays with Macca can't get it right ...

Gowan is a great player, and I have always thought he made the right choice in honoring the fans by playing Dennis' parts more or less verbatim. He's always very complimentary when he talks about Dennis' playing on those records.

For all the shit Gowan gets for his vocals on DDY's tunes (and I know I don't love 'em all), no one should have an issue with his keyboard and/or piano playing.

I know, the crazy part was that it was Wix! That floored me! You know the guy can play, so why did he suck so hard at that? It's just hard to fathom how truly suck-ass it really was. Like a drunk monkey was playing the parts.


Sterling

[StyxCollector]

I know, the crazy part was that it was Wix! That floored me! You know the guy can play, so why did he suck so hard at that? It's just hard to fathom how truly suck-ass it really was. Like a drunk monkey was playing the parts.

I'd love to interview him for various reasons. I bet he doesn't remember much because he was doing Macca not two or three years later, and has been there I think ever since.

Although nice Styx trivia question - Tommy has played with two Macca sidemen (Wix and Steve Holley).

[froy]

Rockwriter"

It's just hard to fathom how truly suck-ass it really was. Like a drunk monkey was playing the parts.


Sterling

I guess Shaw has a way of picking drunk monkeys to try and replace Dennis,
Now he picks drunk goats

[Monker]

All that Gowan is better at is coping people so what.

So what? That's why Dennis is out of the band...they couldn't cope with him.

[Monker]

Here is the problem with how you guys are arguing this:

And I don't necessarily agree that Gowan is the better keyboard player. Is he better trained? Yes. But does that make him better?

THAT is the question. Is he the better PLAYER.

In defense of Dennis most of you are arguing this:

Because Dennis has come up with some incredible sounds over the years that are pretty impressive from someone who had to "make things up as he went along."

That is WRITING...not PLAYING. Dennis can write his parts with all of the coolest sounds he wants...But, that does NOT mean he is a better PLAYER.

Gowan is hands down the better player. Arguing against this is as fruitless as arguing against the fact that Dennis is the better vocalist. Get over it all ready.

[Monker]

check your inbox froy

Oh boy Fred is so in trouble now.

yea he wants to meet the famous me

You ain't that famous

Only in his mind.

Well, at least something exists there.

[Rockwriter]

Not that much different from the original and so far, the best of the bunch.
Shaw's voice is in great shape. I do notice a bit of faltering at the end of a few lines in the acoustic part.
He's also singing it lighter than he did in 76 (dang! I was 13).

Where the electric guitar comes in is a bit weird.
Again, the doubling effect- at least it was saved for the harmonies instead of the solo vocal.
Gowan sticks to the Dennis solo and does a good job. Say what you want about him, the guy's a great player.

A decent and pretty true to form remake. For me, the best version of this is the Roadie Soundtrack version.
Not sure why, I just have always liked it.

The guitar solo outro on this version actually has some of the licks from that 'Roadie' version!

I actually like Tommy's vocal performance on this better than the original. That version sounded sped up to me, like he recorded it slower in a lower key and it was sped up for the record. It sounds weird and weak. This vocal is better, as was the vocal on 'Roadie,' and my favorite vocal performance of this song was from 'Caught In The Act.' That slower, more deliberate tempo suited the song well, I thought.

Interesting that he should fall back on some of those old 'Roadie' licks for this version! One of them is a Jimmy Page cop that I play all the time. Of course, Jimmy and Tommy probably both copped it from some older blues guy, but I swiped it from Page!


Sterling

[Babyblue]

check your inbox froy

Oh boy Fred is so in trouble now.

yea he wants to meet the famous me

You ain't that famous

Only in his mind.

Well, at least something exists there.

Well i am not so sure if but little exists in his mind.