Why Journey is more successful than Styx

[Higgy]

l
Heavy Water

You might also try "Top of the World", "Prisoner of War", and "Homewrecker". All songs not only better than anything Journey has done, but actually the greatest songs ever performed of all time.


Really??? Heavy Water??!

[cittadeeno23]

Yes, I like Heavy Water.
And Aren't you the one who said Styx has "Awful" harmonies??? That was the first time I ever heard ANYONE say that. Ever.

[Higgy]

Yes, I like Heavy Water.
And Aren't you the one who said Styx has "Awful" harmonies??? That was the first time I ever heard ANYONE say that. Ever.

Happy to widen your world.

With your musical tastes of late period JY songs and blaring Styx harmonies, I might suggest some other recordings that you might also like:
1. Bushbaby screaming
2. Dog food being plopped out of the can
3. Old woman farting
4. Radio tuned slightly off station
5. Drunk guy singing at bad party
6. "Ambition"

[Don]

Cain is the difference, not just in his songwriting abilities but what he brought instrumentally. Styx and Journey both seemed to use the organ quite a bit early on, sort of like the Doors. When Cain came to Journey, while not making them New Wave, he used a lot of the newer keys and synths I think like a lot of young British bands were doing at that time, bringing basically a 'pop' sound into the mix. Jon also wasn't hesitant about strapping on the rhythm guitar either (Keep on running, Stone In Love, the extended jam on Wheel in The Sky, etc.)

When you hear the beginning notes of Be Good To Your Self, Separate Ways or Who's Crying Now, it sounds just a relevant today as it did 30 years ago.

[cittadeeno23]

Higgy,
do you work for Rolling Stone??? You would fit in perfectly.

[Don]

Styx just doesn't have much of anything from the 80s that can still get this type of response from a foreign crowd while sounding like it was just released last year (which it was, as a re-tread). I'm not the biggest Arnel fan out there but when you are working with material this good, you don't have to be great.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqKgkmvuz8w

[Monker]

The difference is very simple:

Herbie was an awesome manager. And, Perry took over, dominated, and destroyed Journey a lot later then when Dennis did the same thing to Styx...so Journey was able to stay in the game through almost all of the 80's.

[shaka]

Schon is a monster guitarist but he's not particularly versatile. Tommy can tear it up on an electric, acoustic, mando, and probably several other fretted instruments. Plus Tommy is an excellent slide player. Ted Nugent called Tommy an extremely underrated guitarist in the Damn Yankees days. I love Schon but many of you do not grasp Tommy's talent on the instrument.

Personally I think Tommy sings every bit as well as Dennis. Dennis has a more distinctive voice but that doesn't equal better. I've seen Perry a couple of times and neither performance, from a singing standpoint, was as good some of the performances I've seen out of both Tommy and Dennis. Also Perry's voice is shredded while the voices of Styx have aged incredibly well.

Calling Styx harmonies with JY unlistenable is preposterous. JY does not get enough credit as a singer and is an essential ingredient in the signature harmonies of Styx.

[Ehwmatt]

Schon is a monster guitarist but he's not particularly versatile. Tommy can tear it up on an electric, acoustic, mando, and probably several other fretted instruments. Plus Tommy is an excellent slide player. Ted Nugent called Tommy an extremely underrated guitarist in the Damn Yankees days. I love Schon but many of you do not grasp Tommy's talent on the instrument.

Personally I think Tommy sings every bit as well as Dennis. Dennis has a more distinctive voice but that doesn't equal better. I've seen Perry a couple of times and neither performance, from a singing standpoint, was as good some of the performances I've seen out of both Tommy and Dennis. Also Perry's voice is shredded while the voices of Styx have aged incredibly well.

Calling Styx harmonies with JY unlistenable is preposterous. JY does not get enough credit as a singer and is an essential ingredient in the signature harmonies of Styx.

Schon does not display his versatility in Journey, but he definitely is versatile.

Here's an acoustic piece: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd-QucDMz9I

Here's a jazzy/porn-type piece: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34D_9tOgCSg

Here's him playing some nice MIDI guitar... and some more beautiful clean type stuff: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ht0pWjEHIaU

Another MIDI guitar piece: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvZCrUKx1tI

... And that's all from ONE solo album. Neal is just head and shoulders above Tommy as a guitar player. There's a reason Neal has played guitar for so many people and Tommy hasn't. Don't get me wrong, Tommy has definitely written some GREAT, memorable riffs (especially acoustic stuff) and can play the hell out of the guitar. But if I were choosing between Neal and Tommy to enter a guitar riff-off and my life was on the line, I'm taking Neal in a heartbeat.

[Seven Wishes2]

Neal can do ANYTHING and is extremely diverse.

I LOVE Tommy and all his work, but there's no comparison. But Tommy has a MUCH better voice than Neal, and his hair looks better, too.

[pinkfloyd1973]

The difference is very simple:

Herbie was an awesome manager. And, Perry took over, dominated, and destroyed Journey a lot later then when Dennis did the same thing to Styx...so Journey was able to stay in the game through almost all of the 80's.

Consistent as always, eh Monker? You still sound like a broken record

[Boomchild]

The difference is very simple:

Herbie was an awesome manager. And, Perry took over, dominated, and destroyed Journey a lot later then when Dennis did the same thing to Styx...so Journey was able to stay in the game through almost all of the 80's.

Consistent as always, eh Monker? You still sound like a broken record

Monker's record must be stuck on a JY or Tommy song.

[cittadeeno23]

Great post Shaka. I agree with everything you said. Especially the part about Styx' harmonies.

[Toph]

Schon is a monster guitarist but he's not particularly versatile. Tommy can tear it up on an electric, acoustic, mando, and probably several other fretted instruments. Plus Tommy is an excellent slide player. Ted Nugent called Tommy an extremely underrated guitarist in the Damn Yankees days. I love Schon but many of you do not grasp Tommy's talent on the instrument.

Personally I think Tommy sings every bit as well as Dennis. Dennis has a more distinctive voice but that doesn't equal better. I've seen Perry a couple of times and neither performance, from a singing standpoint, was as good some of the performances I've seen out of both Tommy and Dennis. Also Perry's voice is shredded while the voices of Styx have aged incredibly well.

Calling Styx harmonies with JY unlistenable is preposterous. JY does not get enough credit as a singer and is an essential ingredient in the signature harmonies of Styx.

And we have a winner of the Tommy Shaw suck up award!!!
Congrats Shaka!

Clearly you are so smitten with Tommy that you make delusional statements like he is good of a guitarist as Neal Schon and as good as a singer as Dennis DeYoung.

So, congrats to you. You win a gallon of Tommy's bathwater....drink up!

[Boomchild]

Also Perry's voice is shredded while the voices of Styx have aged incredibly well.

Yeah, in JY's case when you start so close to the bottom you don't have to go that far to reach it.

[Monker]

The difference is very simple:

Herbie was an awesome manager. And, Perry took over, dominated, and destroyed Journey a lot later then when Dennis did the same thing to Styx...so Journey was able to stay in the game through almost all of the 80's.

Consistent as always, eh Monker? You still sound like a broken record

The simple fact is that Dennis caused Styx to breakup a few years earlier then Perry caused Journey to break up. And, after that, Journey still had 'new' music to market to soundtracks almost to the end of the 80's. Herbie did the band good.

[Monker]

The difference is very simple:

Herbie was an awesome manager. And, Perry took over, dominated, and destroyed Journey a lot later then when Dennis did the same thing to Styx...so Journey was able to stay in the game through almost all of the 80's.

Consistent as always, eh Monker? You still sound like a broken record

Monker's record must be stuck on a JY or Tommy song.

And, your whining still hasn't stopped.

[Monker]

Also Perry's voice is shredded while the voices of Styx have aged incredibly well.

Yeah, in JY's case when you start so close to the bottom you don't have to go that far to reach it.

For what JY sings for Styx, he does fine. There is a reason why Neal and Jonathan do not really sing much lead vocals...only on obscure tracks and Generations - they do not have the vocal abilities to sing Journey style music. They are not that great of singers. Even JY sings better then they do.

And, anybody who says that Journey's vocal harmony is better then Styx just doesn't know what they are talking about. The only thing Journey has going for them right now in that category is Deen....but even then...having two Perry style vocalists in a band does not equal the harmony in Styx.

I agree that Tommy is very underrated. But, that does not make him as talented as Neal. Ted praised Neal's guitar back during the DY days as well. I also agree that Neal has become very one dimensional. He critiqued Eric Clapton for this very same thing a while back....now he is falling into that same trap.

[Monker]

Schon is a monster guitarist but he's not particularly versatile. Tommy can tear it up on an electric, acoustic, mando, and probably several other fretted instruments. Plus Tommy is an excellent slide player. Ted Nugent called Tommy an extremely underrated guitarist in the Damn Yankees days. I love Schon but many of you do not grasp Tommy's talent on the instrument.

Personally I think Tommy sings every bit as well as Dennis. Dennis has a more distinctive voice but that doesn't equal better. I've seen Perry a couple of times and neither performance, from a singing standpoint, was as good some of the performances I've seen out of both Tommy and Dennis. Also Perry's voice is shredded while the voices of Styx have aged incredibly well.

Calling Styx harmonies with JY unlistenable is preposterous. JY does not get enough credit as a singer and is an essential ingredient in the signature harmonies of Styx.

And we have a winner of the Tommy Shaw suck up award!!!
Congrats Shaka!

Clearly you are so smitten with Tommy that you make delusional statements like he is good of a guitarist as Neal Schon and as good as a singer as Dennis DeYoung.

So, congrats to you. You win a gallon of Tommy's bathwater....drink up!

Funny that you say this but do not argue against a single point that was made.

Probably because iyou can't argue against the truth.

[Toph]

Schon is a monster guitarist but he's not particularly versatile. Tommy can tear it up on an electric, acoustic, mando, and probably several other fretted instruments. Plus Tommy is an excellent slide player. Ted Nugent called Tommy an extremely underrated guitarist in the Damn Yankees days. I love Schon but many of you do not grasp Tommy's talent on the instrument.

Personally I think Tommy sings every bit as well as Dennis. Dennis has a more distinctive voice but that doesn't equal better. I've seen Perry a couple of times and neither performance, from a singing standpoint, was as good some of the performances I've seen out of both Tommy and Dennis. Also Perry's voice is shredded while the voices of Styx have aged incredibly well.

Calling Styx harmonies with JY unlistenable is preposterous. JY does not get enough credit as a singer and is an essential ingredient in the signature harmonies of Styx.

And we have a winner of the Tommy Shaw suck up award!!!
Congrats Shaka!

Clearly you are so smitten with Tommy that you make delusional statements like he is good of a guitarist as Neal Schon and as good as a singer as Dennis DeYoung.

So, congrats to you. You win a gallon of Tommy's bathwater....drink up!

Funny that you say this but do not argue against a single point that was made.

Probably because iyou can't argue against the truth.

You are an idiot. Happy to spell it out for you.

Tommy Shaw has neither the vocal range, depth, tone quality/uniqueness, or vibrato anywhere near Dennis DeYoung

Tommy Shaw has neither the flexibility, shredding ability, dexterity, or soul to come close to Neal Schon.

Happy?

[Everett]

Schon is a monster guitarist but he's not particularly versatile. Tommy can tear it up on an electric, acoustic, mando, and probably several other fretted instruments. Plus Tommy is an excellent slide player. Ted Nugent called Tommy an extremely underrated guitarist in the Damn Yankees days. I love Schon but many of you do not grasp Tommy's talent on the instrument.

Personally I think Tommy sings every bit as well as Dennis. Dennis has a more distinctive voice but that doesn't equal better. I've seen Perry a couple of times and neither performance, from a singing standpoint, was as good some of the performances I've seen out of both Tommy and Dennis. Also Perry's voice is shredded while the voices of Styx have aged incredibly well.

Calling Styx harmonies with JY unlistenable is preposterous. JY does not get enough credit as a singer and is an essential ingredient in the signature harmonies of Styx.

And we have a winner of the Tommy Shaw suck up award!!!
Congrats Shaka!

Clearly you are so smitten with Tommy that you make delusional statements like he is good of a guitarist as Neal Schon and as good as a singer as Dennis DeYoung.

So, congrats to you. You win a gallon of Tommy's bathwater....drink up!

Funny that you say this but do not argue against a single point that was made.

Probably because iyou can't argue against the truth.

You are an idiot. Happy to spell it out for you.

Tommy Shaw has neither the vocal range, depth, tone quality/uniqueness, or vibrato anywhere near Dennis DeYoung

Tommy Shaw has neither the flexibility, shredding ability, dexterity, or soul to come close to Neal Schon.

Happy?

Lay off the bathwater tophie. Glen's gonna kick my ass now right?

[Boomchild]

The difference is very simple:

Herbie was an awesome manager. And, Perry took over, dominated, and destroyed Journey a lot later then when Dennis did the same thing to Styx...so Journey was able to stay in the game through almost all of the 80's.

Consistent as always, eh Monker? You still sound like a broken record

The simple fact is that Dennis caused Styx to breakup a few years earlier then Perry caused Journey to break up. And, after that, Journey still had 'new' music to market to soundtracks almost to the end of the 80's. Herbie did the band good.

Actually, JY, Tommy and Dennis caused the breakup of Styx.

[Boomchild]

The difference is very simple:

Herbie was an awesome manager. And, Perry took over, dominated, and destroyed Journey a lot later then when Dennis did the same thing to Styx...so Journey was able to stay in the game through almost all of the 80's.

Consistent as always, eh Monker? You still sound like a broken record

Monker's record must be stuck on a JY or Tommy song.

And, your whining still hasn't stopped.

My opinion of things hasn't changed. Your right. If you consider that whining well then I guess thats it. Now What?

[StyxCollector]

The difference is very simple:

Herbie was an awesome manager. And, Perry took over, dominated, and destroyed Journey a lot later then when Dennis did the same thing to Styx...so Journey was able to stay in the game through almost all of the 80's.

Consistent as always, eh Monker? You still sound like a broken record

The simple fact is that Dennis caused Styx to breakup a few years earlier then Perry caused Journey to break up. And, after that, Journey still had 'new' music to market to soundtracks almost to the end of the 80's. Herbie did the band good.

Actually, JY, Tommy and Dennis caused the breakup of Styx.

Really quick timeline:
Styx fires Dennis in 1979. Takes him back.

Tommy quits Styx during the KWH tour. Finishes tour, but is done. (So at this point, technically TOmmy busts up Styx.)

Styx attempts to get back together in 87/88, doesn't happen because Dennis has already committed to Boomchild and lots of legal agreements for it. By the time he's clear to do Styx, Tommy was in DY. Cue Glen and EOTC.

Styx goes away after EOTC and does Lady '95. Good feelings ensure, GH sells well, and the next year we get GH 2 and a tour. Everything seemingly OK, but we know now that the cracks were starting to appear again (i.e. the stories that JY/TS wanted to tour longer, and DDY nixed it).

1997 20th GI tour happens ... and then all hell breaks loose after TS' 7DZ tour culminating in DDY being replaced and the CMN telethon being his last gig with them.

A band is like a marriage. There's good, there's bad, but at some point if you can't do it for the business (see: Aerosmith) even if you don't all get along, it's going to break. This was not all Dennis' fault by any stretch of the imagination. It took all of them to say, "Fuck you" and we have what we have.

[Monker]

Schon is a monster guitarist but he's not particularly versatile. Tommy can tear it up on an electric, acoustic, mando, and probably several other fretted instruments. Plus Tommy is an excellent slide player. Ted Nugent called Tommy an extremely underrated guitarist in the Damn Yankees days. I love Schon but many of you do not grasp Tommy's talent on the instrument.

Personally I think Tommy sings every bit as well as Dennis. Dennis has a more distinctive voice but that doesn't equal better. I've seen Perry a couple of times and neither performance, from a singing standpoint, was as good some of the performances I've seen out of both Tommy and Dennis. Also Perry's voice is shredded while the voices of Styx have aged incredibly well.

Calling Styx harmonies with JY unlistenable is preposterous. JY does not get enough credit as a singer and is an essential ingredient in the signature harmonies of Styx.

And we have a winner of the Tommy Shaw suck up award!!!
Congrats Shaka!

Clearly you are so smitten with Tommy that you make delusional statements like he is good of a guitarist as Neal Schon and as good as a singer as Dennis DeYoung.

So, congrats to you. You win a gallon of Tommy's bathwater....drink up!

Funny that you say this but do not argue against a single point that was made.

Probably because iyou can't argue against the truth.

You are an idiot. Happy to spell it out for you.

Tommy Shaw has neither the vocal range, depth, tone quality/uniqueness, or vibrato anywhere near Dennis DeYoung

Tommy Shaw has neither the flexibility, shredding ability, dexterity, or soul to come close to Neal Schon.

Happy?

No, you are the idiot for not knowing how to argue against the points in a post.

The original post gave an OPINION of LIKING Tommy's voice better. That's not something you can argue against, and you are an idiot for picking this out of all of the points in that post and attempting to make an argument against it. Their voices are apples and oranges...and I appreciate both for what they are.

The original post admitted that Schon is a "monster on guitar" and stated that many do not grasp Tommy's skills on guitar...ie: under appreciated. Obviously, that means you. Tommy can do all of the things you listed, and more. He's not Neal, so what...I can appreciate what Tommy does on songs Crystal Ball and Come Again, for example, more then much of what Neal has done, especially lately. Neal has forgotten how to simplify things for the song's sake. He should be thinking of "Wheel In the Sky" and Lights more then the "B" side of Frontiers. for his new Journey stuff.

[shaka]

Schon is a monster guitarist but he's not particularly versatile. Tommy can tear it up on an electric, acoustic, mando, and probably several other fretted instruments. Plus Tommy is an excellent slide player. Ted Nugent called Tommy an extremely underrated guitarist in the Damn Yankees days. I love Schon but many of you do not grasp Tommy's talent on the instrument.

Personally I think Tommy sings every bit as well as Dennis. Dennis has a more distinctive voice but that doesn't equal better. I've seen Perry a couple of times and neither performance, from a singing standpoint, was as good some of the performances I've seen out of both Tommy and Dennis. Also Perry's voice is shredded while the voices of Styx have aged incredibly well.

Calling Styx harmonies with JY unlistenable is preposterous. JY does not get enough credit as a singer and is an essential ingredient in the signature harmonies of Styx.

And we have a winner of the Tommy Shaw suck up award!!!
Congrats Shaka!

Clearly you are so smitten with Tommy that you make delusional statements like he is good of a guitarist as Neal Schon and as good as a singer as Dennis DeYoung.

So, congrats to you. You win a gallon of Tommy's bathwater....drink up!

Oh geez, do you try to be a douchenozzle or does it come naturally? I like both Tommy and Dennis. I'm very familiar with the capabilities of both Shaw and Schon. I said Neal is a monster but that Tommy is a lot better than most think.

[Michigan Girl]

I've seen/heard the three above listed as well and I'm having a hard time
w/Tommy being better than SP ...sorry, no!! Dennis is great, but
not even better in my book ...but that's what opinion will get you!!

[Hippie]

Calling Styx harmonies with JY unlistenable is preposterous. JY does not get enough credit as a singer and is an essential ingredient in the signature harmonies of Styx.

Hahah! Another JY fan in the midst!
That makes two of us now! Our numbers are growing!
Muahahahahah!!!

JY gives Styx their JUEVOS! Without him, Styx would've been Air Supply!

And yes! He is very much the backbone of Styx harmonies (whether people want to admit it or not). DDY and Tommy are awesome, but Styx wouldn't have been Styx without The Beast!

Now if you'll excuse me, I must run! I can hear Froy bounding toward me with a large wet noodle!

[Everett]

Calling Styx harmonies with JY unlistenable is preposterous. JY does not get enough credit as a singer and is an essential ingredient in the signature harmonies of Styx.

Hahah! Another JY fan in the midst!
That makes two of us now! Our numbers are growing!
Muahahahahah!!!

JY gives Styx their JUEVOS! Without him, Styx would've been Air Supply!

And yes! He is very much the backbone of Styx harmonies (whether people want to admit it or not). DDY and Tommy are awesome, but Styx wouldn't have been Styx without The Beast!

Now if you'll excuse me, I must run! I can hear Froy bounding toward me with a large wet noodle!

Make it 3

[Monker]

I've seen/heard the three above listed as well and I'm having a hard time
w/Tommy being better than SP ...sorry, no!! Dennis is great, but
not even better in my book ...but that's what opinion will get you!!

Of course Tommy is better then Perry. Augeri is better then Perry. JY is better then Perry.

They are better because Perry no longer releases new music or tours...and hasn't for a VERY LONG TIME.