JY - Awful vocalist

[Toph]

Watched a bit of the GI/Po8 video (on YouTube) and JY's rendition of Great White Hope is absolutely dreadful. It is insufferable and painful on the ears. He is in my opinion the worst singer of all time.

[Boomchild]

Watched a bit of the GI/Po8 video (on YouTube) and JY's rendition of Great White Hope is absolutely dreadful. It is insufferable and painful on the ears. He is in my opinion the worst singer of all time.

You must have never listened to Yoko Ono.

[Toph]

Watched a bit of the GI/Po8 video (on YouTube) and JY's rendition of Great White Hope is absolutely dreadful. It is insufferable and painful on the ears. He is in my opinion the worst singer of all time.

You must have never listened to Yoko Ono.

No I have not, but can anything be worse that Great White Hope in 2011? Now that is cringeworthy. Sorry but it is. Better to let Gowan or Tommy sing it?

[Boomchild]

Watched a bit of the GI/Po8 video (on YouTube) and JY's rendition of Great White Hope is absolutely dreadful. It is insufferable and painful on the ears. He is in my opinion the worst singer of all time.

You must have never listened to Yoko Ono.

No I have not, but can anything be worse that Great White Hope in 2011? Now that is cringeworthy. Sorry but it is. Better to let Gowan or Tommy sing it?

Yes it is. While I think JY's vocal performances have gone down hill for sometime now, I wouldn't go as far as to say the worst in the history of rock. Also, I prefer not to hear Gowan sing anything in the Styx catalog.

[Archetype]

I can't stand how he quite literally shouts Miss America now. He has a good voice for harmonies, but singing lead? Forget it.

[Boomchild]

I can't stand how he quite literally shouts Miss America now. He has a good voice for harmonies, but singing lead? Forget it.

Maybe it's about time they consider breaking out the auto tune for JY.

[masque]

Watched a bit of the GI/Po8 video (on YouTube) and JY's rendition of Great White Hope is absolutely dreadful. It is insufferable and painful on the ears. He is in my opinion the worst singer of all time.

great observation toph......i hear that Warner Bros. records is looking for a new A & R guy and with your super astute ears and unbiased opinions of all things music I think you would be super suited for being that guy......never before have I ever been so influenced by a musical savant such as yourself toph.......I appreciate you taking the time to enlighten us all with you musical genius.....I cant speak for all others on this board......but thanks for opening my eyes.....before your post I was under the impression that JY was actually the 153rd best rock vocalist of all time.....I had no idea he was actually the worst.

I am embarrassed to say that my ears were not good enough to recognize that......so I will be forever grateful for your keen observation concerning this matter. I'm going to rush home and destroy my DVD this evening.....because there is now way I can deal with having a DVD that contains the worst vocalist in the history of rock in my collection.

once again thanks toph......you musical titan you!!!!!!!!!

[Toph]

Watched a bit of the GI/Po8 video (on YouTube) and JY's rendition of Great White Hope is absolutely dreadful. It is insufferable and painful on the ears. He is in my opinion the worst singer of all time.

great observation toph......i hear that Warner Bros. records is looking for a new A & R guy and with your super astute ears and unbiased opinions of all things music I think you would be super suited for being that guy......never before have I ever been so influenced by a musical savant such as yourself toph.......I appreciate you taking the time to enlighten us all with you musical genius.....I cant speak for all others on this board......but thanks for opening my eyes.....before your post I was under the impression that JY was actually the 153rd best rock vocalist of all time.....I had no idea he was actually the worst.

I am embarrassed to say that my ears were not good enough to recognize that......so I will be forever grateful for your keen observation concerning this matter. I'm going to rush home and destroy my DVD this evening.....because there is now way I can deal with having a DVD that contains the worst vocalist in the history of rock in my collection.

once again thanks toph......you musical titan you!!!!!!!!!

says a lot about your ability to recognize shitty-ness masque. But then again, look at your musical tastes

[masque]

Watched a bit of the GI/Po8 video (on YouTube) and JY's rendition of Great White Hope is absolutely dreadful. It is insufferable and painful on the ears. He is in my opinion the worst singer of all time.

great observation toph......i hear that Warner Bros. records is looking for a new A & R guy and with your super astute ears and unbiased opinions of all things music I think you would be super suited for being that guy......never before have I ever been so influenced by a musical savant such as yourself toph.......I appreciate you taking the time to enlighten us all with you musical genius.....I cant speak for all others on this board......but thanks for opening my eyes.....before your post I was under the impression that JY was actually the 153rd best rock vocalist of all time.....I had no idea he was actually the worst.

I am embarrassed to say that my ears were not good enough to recognize that......so I will be forever grateful for your keen observation concerning this matter. I'm going to rush home and destroy my DVD this evening.....because there is now way I can deal with having a DVD that contains the worst vocalist in the history of rock in my collection.

once again thanks toph......you musical titan you!!!!!!!!!

says a lot about your ability to recognize shitty-ness masque. But then again, look at your musical tastes

whooped me again toph......i should know better than to try to go toe to toe with a goddang musical savant genius such as yourself.........im humbled once again by your presence.

[brywool]

There are singers out there who are much worse, some of them more famous than JY. JY's voice has a LOT to do with the harmony sound of Styx and really should be appreciated. While JY's voice has weathered recently, "Great White Hope" and "Miss America" are good songs. The recorded versions are great Styx tracks. GWH is not an easy song to sing live, and if you think about it, he's not been singing it for years. The guy's much older now and it's got some higher notes in it. I remember them opening their 78 tour with GWH and it was a very cool way to open the show. Regarding autotune (or as I like to call it "That which shall not be named"), JY does NOT have a pitch issue. It's just a texture and range thing with his voice. He REALLY needs to reign in his vibrato and somehow figure out how to get back into his upper range more easily. You can see his face in the video- he knows he struggles with it a bit. If a song is too high, then he's doing what he can to "get it out" during the performance. There were times where he "got it out" just fine. It MIGHT be a good idea for them to lower the key for him if he wants to continue to sing it.

Toph, we know you hate JY, but 'the worst vocalist in the history of rock'? that's a bit much, isn't it?

The other thing to remember is that JY is there for his guitar skills and not for his lead singing voice, which he as much as admits in the October 2013 interview that was posted a few days ago. The guy knows he's not got Dennis, Tommy's, or Lawrence's vocal chops. Still- you gotta give him a helluva lot of credit if for nothing else than the great guitar break in "Renegade". That's a KILLER riff that I still can't figure out!

[masque]

There are singers out there who are much worse, some of them more famous than JY. JY's voice has a LOT to do with the harmony sound of Styx and really should be appreciated. While JY's voice has weathered recently, "Great White Hope" and "Miss America" are good songs. The recorded versions are great Styx tracks. GWH is not an easy song to sing live, and if you think about it, he's not been singing it for years. The guy's much older now and it's got some higher notes in it. I remember them opening their 78 tour with GWH and it was a very cool way to open the show. Regarding autotune (or as I like to call it "That which shall not be named"), JY does NOT have a pitch issue. It's just a texture and range thing with his voice. He REALLY needs to reign in his vibrato and somehow figure out how to get back into his upper range more easily. You can see his face in the video- he knows he struggles with it a bit. If a song is too high, then he's doing what he can to "get it out" during the performance. There were times where he "got it out" just fine. It MIGHT be a good idea for them to lower the key for him if he wants to continue to sing it.

Toph, we know you hate JY, but 'the worst vocalist in the history of rock'? that's a bit much, isn't it?

brywool, i agree with your assessment 100%....well said.....styx has never really flirted with detuning any based on when I have seen them but I have often thought it would be a great tool to help JY sing the melodies as written if they woudl lower the key to help him out.

[brywool]

By the way, I dare ANY of you to watch 20 minutes of this without thinking THIS is the worst singer in Rock History. HORRIBLE.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbsW_Dp0mpM

And NO, you won't be Rick Rolled. I promise. It's Van Halen from their last tour. Horrible.

[Baron Von Bielski]

It's not THAT bad. It's just not good. Everyone ages... some just don't carry their voice with them. Dennis and Tommy still sound great.

[brywool]

Hmmm, show me one concert video where DLR sounds good from any era. There really aren't any. I love VH's albums. Been a fan since they started. BUT when I saw them on the Diver Down tour, it was the same thing, only now, it's gotten even worse. Live, the guy cannot deliver.
If some think this isn't "that bad" then it makes it tough to relate to opinions on what those same peeps think is good.
It's no wonder that they can't finish an entire tour. Also, I don't think this is " a worn out voice". This is a guy that CLEARLY has not done his homework on the tunes, is trying to oversing his already underwhelming recorded vocal parts, and just does not belong on the same stage with VH. I cannot believe how bad it is.

Look at other shows from this tour on youtube. This isn't even the worst one. If this wasn't VH, you'd be laughing your a** off.

Watch the warmup club shows on youtube. They're almost as bad. Granted, it's "Great to have the old van halen back", but man, Dave has gotten a major second chance here and he's just blown it.

[Toph]

There are singers out there who are much worse, some of them more famous than JY. JY's voice has a LOT to do with the harmony sound of Styx and really should be appreciated. While JY's voice has weathered recently, "Great White Hope" and "Miss America" are good songs. The recorded versions are great Styx tracks. GWH is not an easy song to sing live, and if you think about it, he's not been singing it for years. The guy's much older now and it's got some higher notes in it. I remember them opening their 78 tour with GWH and it was a very cool way to open the show. Regarding autotune (or as I like to call it "That which shall not be named"), JY does NOT have a pitch issue. It's just a texture and range thing with his voice. He REALLY needs to reign in his vibrato and somehow figure out how to get back into his upper range more easily. You can see his face in the video- he knows he struggles with it a bit. If a song is too high, then he's doing what he can to "get it out" during the performance. There were times where he "got it out" just fine. It MIGHT be a good idea for them to lower the key for him if he wants to continue to sing it.

Toph, we know you hate JY, but 'the worst vocalist in the history of rock'? that's a bit much, isn't it?

The other thing to remember is that JY is there for his guitar skills and not for his lead singing voice, which he as much as admits in the October 2013 interview that was posted a few days ago. The guy knows he's not got Dennis, Tommy's, or Lawrence's vocal chops. Still- you gotta give him a helluva lot of credit if for nothing else than the great guitar break in "Renegade". That's a KILLER riff that I still can't figure out!

I would agree. Lower it down a step or 3. On the record he sounds decent, but live it is unlistenable. Lower it if you have to. Would rather hear that than the screaming screeching.

[masque]

yeh I worhsip at the alter of VH and DLR is one of the best frontmen of all time but live, he is just awful.......i saw him in 1988 and he didnt even sing half the show.

[BRETT5150]

Hes not the best vocalist ever, but hes unique in my opinion.

[Boomchild]

Hes not the best vocalist ever, but hes unique in my opinion.

Unique how?

[yogi]

I actually like JY as a vocalist. I often felt that back in the day and even in the early 2000's JY coulld have easily fronted a band like Metallica. Thought his vocals were similiar to James Hetfield. Not so much lately but cut him some slack hes like 104years old.

I truly like some of his songs. Young Man & Theses Are the times are both GREAT songs. Heavy Water and What Have They Done To You were two of the best tracks off of Brave New World. Midnight Ride, Great White Hope, and Mrs America are all very good Styx songs.

[masque]

i agree, when JY was younger he was actually a vocalist i liked alot......his performances in great white hope, put me on, midnight ride and lord of the rings I freaking love......not to mention that alot of that old wooden nickel stuff rocks with him belting it out.

i feel bad for him trying to sing stuff like great white hope now.....he just cant do it anymore.

[Toph]

I actually like JY as a vocalist. I often felt that back in the day and even in the early 2000's JY coulld have easily fronted a band like Metallica. Thought his vocals were similiar to James Hetfield. Not so much lately but cut him some slack hes like 104years old.

I truly like some of his songs. Young Man & Theses Are the times are both GREAT songs. Heavy Water and What Have They Done To You were two of the best tracks off of Brave New World. Midnight Ride, Great White Hope, and Mrs America are all very good Styx songs.

I would say my favorite JY is Half Penny, Two Penny. Chorus on that one is great.

[masque]

I actually like JY as a vocalist. I often felt that back in the day and even in the early 2000's JY coulld have easily fronted a band like Metallica. Thought his vocals were similiar to James Hetfield. Not so much lately but cut him some slack hes like 104years old.

I truly like some of his songs. Young Man & Theses Are the times are both GREAT songs. Heavy Water and What Have They Done To You were two of the best tracks off of Brave New World. Midnight Ride, Great White Hope, and Mrs America are all very good Styx songs.

I would say my favorite JY is Half Penny, Two Penny. Chorus on that one is great.

oh wow i forgot about that one….good call toph! that is one of my all time favorite jy tunes……the outro to that song just raises the hair on my arms every time.

[gr8dane]

I quite like JY's Snowblind intro.Nice and eerie.

[pinkfloyd1973]

I actually like JY as a vocalist. I often felt that back in the day and even in the early 2000's JY coulld have easily fronted a band like Metallica. Thought his vocals were similiar to James Hetfield. Not so much lately but cut him some slack hes like 104years old.

I truly like some of his songs. Young Man & Theses Are the times are both GREAT songs. Heavy Water and What Have They Done To You were two of the best tracks off of Brave New World. Midnight Ride, Great White Hope, and Mrs America are all very good Styx songs.

I would say my favorite JY is Half Penny, Two Penny. Chorus on that one is great.

oh wow i forgot about that one….good call toph! that is one of my all time favorite jy tunes……the outro to that song just raises the hair on my arms every time.

Winner Take All is my favorite

[Boomchild]

I actually like JY as a vocalist. I often felt that back in the day and even in the early 2000's JY coulld have easily fronted a band like Metallica. Thought his vocals were similiar to James Hetfield. Not so much lately but cut him some slack hes like 104years old.

I truly like some of his songs. Young Man & Theses Are the times are both GREAT songs. Heavy Water and What Have They Done To You were two of the best tracks off of Brave New World. Midnight Ride, Great White Hope, and Mrs America are all very good Styx songs.

Back in the day I enjoyed JY's vocals,even during the WN era. It's just now he is struggling to much with the material.

[yogi]

I too forgot about Half Penny/Two Penny and the intro to Snowblind - Both are GREAT songs

Someone needs to start a new Assembly Line 'James Young - Rock and Rolls Most Underated Vocalist'

AP- Today Styx lead guitarist and vocalist James JY Young turned 105 years old. Its hard to believe that it was 30 years since.....

[Toph]

I actually like JY as a vocalist. I often felt that back in the day and even in the early 2000's JY coulld have easily fronted a band like Metallica. Thought his vocals were similiar to James Hetfield. Not so much lately but cut him some slack hes like 104years old.

I truly like some of his songs. Young Man & Theses Are the times are both GREAT songs. Heavy Water and What Have They Done To You were two of the best tracks off of Brave New World. Midnight Ride, Great White Hope, and Mrs America are all very good Styx songs.

I would say my favorite JY is Half Penny, Two Penny. Chorus on that one is great.

oh wow i forgot about that one….good call toph! that is one of my all time favorite jy tunes……the outro to that song just raises the hair on my arms every time.

It ties the Paradise Theatre idea together very nicely both lyrically and melodically. You start with an angry hard pounding rock songs that transitions back into the grandiose style that started the record and then a transition into AD 1958.

Chorus is great 3 part harmony.

I will give JY credit that he could write songs to fit the thematic elements of Dennis's concepts. He made them fit lyrically. No better example than half penny two penny.

[Toph]

I quite like JY's Snowblind intro.Nice and eerie.

Song scared the hell out of me when I was a kid.

[gr8dane]

Watched a bit of the GI/Po8 video (on YouTube) and JY's rendition of Great White Hope is absolutely dreadful. It is insufferable and painful on the ears. He is in my opinion the worst singer of all time.

You confuse me tohp.
You say JY is an underrated vocalist ,and then go on to say he is the worst singer of all time.
What is it ?

Anyways,I watched some it too,and loved Gowan's intro to 'I'm OK'.
Thought he was going into a Dennis bleeding heart kinda 'Grand Illusion' intro,
for then to turn it into a hilarious intro.
What do you think ?

[Boomchild]

Watched a bit of the GI/Po8 video (on YouTube) and JY's rendition of Great White Hope is absolutely dreadful. It is insufferable and painful on the ears. He is in my opinion the worst singer of all time.

You confuse me tohp.
You say JY is an underrated vocalist ,and then go on to say he is the worst singer of all time.
What is it ?

Anyways,I watched some it too,and loved Gowan's intro to 'I'm OK'.
Thought he was going into a Dennis bleeding heart kinda 'Grand Illusion' intro,
for then to turn it into a hilarious intro.
What do you think ?

Funny thing is, I didn't see any Gowan penned songs included in this performance. Come to think of it, when is the last time they played something he has written?