Guitar Solo's

[classicstyxfan]

OK all you Styx geeks out there, Identify Yourselves !!!!!

Here are my questions to you.....

1. Can you tell which Styx guitarist is playing which Guitar solo on
any or all particular songs "by ear" ( No cheating here...if you know because you've seen it on a video, that does not count ! )

2. If yes to #1......how ? can you describe the differences in JY and TS's guitar solo's ?

I was thinking about this question, and to tell you the truth, I cant really tell who is palying which solo in ANY songs. I'm ready to relegate myself to Styx fan 2nd class compared to any of you who say they can tell the difference !

[GaryS]

First difference is Tommy's solos tend to be bluseier. They don't resolve musically the way JYs do. A good example is listen to the first and second solos in the Grand Illusion... Tommy and then JY.
JY also "shreds" more... A good example of this is Renegade.
Tommy also seems to like having the wah wah pedal ON even if he is not using it. If you set a wah pedal ON and put it a bit more than midway down you get this throaty sound that Tommy uses a lot.
I don't think I could guess all of them but I bet I would score pretty good. I am going to (when I get a chance) go through Cyclo and give my song by song guess.

[classicstyxfan]

Gary, I bow to your superior knowledge.....you play guitar though, dont you ?

[GaryS]

Yeah I do play guitar that is why (to me) the difference in tone is as pronounced as the difference in WHAT they play.
Here is a good one... who plays the guitar line at the start and throughout She Cares from PT. I have a guess but I want to see what ya'll think.
p.s. A good way to get a feel for JYs style would be listening to the first few albums before Tommy joined.
Maybe you would disagree but I would say that Lady (the jamming at the end) is the definitive JY solo and Grand Illusion would be Tommy's.

[kansas666]

A really good example is "More Love for the Money" Tommy plays the first part of the lead and JY the second. Tommy's is more melodic while JY rips more.

[classicstyxfan]

I guess I'm more into the nuances of vocals then Guitars....they are both great soloists IMO.

[GaryS]

Classic, that is because you hear voices more than guitars. If you play guitar a lot you can indentify a guitarist almost as easily as you can identify a friend's voice over the telephone.

[bugsymalone]

If I just sat down and listened to each song, I could probably say "That's Tommy" or "That's JY" and probably be right some of the time. There are subtle differences, to me in their styles of playing and the sounds of their guitars.
Closest I can come to a description is JY's seems to have more "edge" to his sound, Tommy a bit mellower.

I think Tommy and JY are very, very good guitarists, but not great guitarists. I liked the way the two of them worked within the band, personally. I also liked the fact that they never went over-the-top with their solos, but gave the various songs just the right amount of punch that they needed.

Some of my favorite work is the harmonies they did together on songs like Castle Walls and Madamoiselle. I love that stuff.

My .02 here.

Bugsy

[GaryS]

I am almost positive that Castle Walls is Tommy harmonizing with himself.
I always felt that JY is giving it all he has and Tommy is always going for the "soul". I bet Tommy can play faster than s### if he wants. Actually on the RTP video they are doing that very fast harmony thing on Renegade at the end... or CSA I can't remember.