Yeah. I know. It’s Gowan and not DeYoung but I think Gowan is a better keyboard player that DeYoung. I’m trying to learn the intro on piano. It uses sumpin’ called an Alberti bass. Mozart was fond of that as he used it at the very beginning of his Sonata in C Major.
The funny looking bass player with the glasses and short hair is their original bass player whom they had playing with them on a few songs in this concert.
Goddamn, 1977. Just listened to this on the radio at the fire ring after dickin’ around on the boat all day. What I would give to go back to then.
I usually don’t disagree with you, but I have to here. Dennis DeYoung wrote the music and lyrics. His talent as a performer, writer and musician is unparalleled, especially when compared to Lawrence Gowan. Styx didn’t hire Gowan because he’s better than DeYoung. They hired him because he’s as close as they found to a replacement. Gowan has yet to write one noteworthy song, while DeYoung has written dozens of hit songs. Without Dennis DeYoung, Styx would not have been the most popular rock band in the world in the early 80’s after “Paradise Theater” was released. Styx were the first band ever to have 4 albums in a row sell 3 million copies. The Beatles? Nope. The Stones? Nope. Led Zeppelin? Nope. Aerosmith? Nope. Just Styx.
What I meant Rob was that Gowan is technically a better keyboard player than DeYoung, being classically trained and all. I’m not dissing DeYoung and you’re right that he wrote the songs and has much more talent as a songwriter and lyricist than Gowan.
BTW, the “original” bass player in the video is Chuck Panozzo. He’s gay and has AIDS. His brother John was the original drummer, and died in 1996 from cirrhosis of his liver after abusing alcohol for years at age 46.
Yeah. I read that on Wiki. I think Panozzo sat in on two songs in that concert. He doesn’t look very good. Twin brothers. One an alcoholic and the other gay with AIDS. They sure hit life’s lottery didn’t they?
If you want to see the real Styx, check this out from 1996. It’s awesome.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sg6ccWZJo4I
Watch the video I linked to above. Especially the song “Lady”…that was what made Styx. 🙂
Or just watch this- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR4if4ble1A I first saw Styx when I was 14 and a freshman at Niles East High School in Skokie, IL., a suburb of Chicago, where Styx originated. Since then, I’ve seen them dozens of times, all over the USA. And they’ve always been great.
I didn’t know Gary Busey played guitar.
Just kiddin’. Good sound on that tour.
That came from a performance in Memphis where they played the entire Grand Illusion and Pieces of Eight albums. I saw the entire performance on one of the music channels on Dish.
Great choice.
Denny, I can always depend on you to teach me a thing, or two. Thank you for sending me here. from your Guitar post. I have been replaying Mozart Sonata nearly everyday since you posted it a few weeks ago. And you’re perfectly right about the Alberti bass that DeYoung is using in his very interesting composition-a-la-Mozart. I love it. It’s quite easy to play. I’m doing the first page (sample) and will probably order the whole 5 pages. Also love the song lyrics.
Great that you’re planning to play it too at the piano. I keep thinking that it would have been so exciting to be part of such a group. But I doubt that I would have been able to cope as well as Gowan at the keyboard. Though I have practiced some Alberti Sonatas with his bass (and ternary concept instead of binary), and also some Haydn, I never would have had the energy to last that long and to jump up and down while using a keyboard. The finale was quite something!
Now I’m going to watch Rob Cooper’s links. Never too late to appreciate performances that Bach and Mozart would have been proud to have somehow inspired.
Easy for you.Difficult for me. I can play the right hand and I can play the left hand but I cannot put them together. AAARRRGGGHHH!
On some of the other songs from that concert Gowan shows off by playing with his back to the keyboard and other weird techniques. He’s a Canadian classical trained pianist who had a solo career before he started playing with Styx.