Grant, to correct you Tommy confessed that he had a drug problem when he made his first two solo albums. Dennis even said to Mitch Lafon that Tommy was dealings with his demons in drug and alcohol in the 1980s and a series of failed romances (his relationship with Linda Blair ended when he slept with her horse groomer at a horse show Linda was competing at and Linda was on probation at the time for her 1977/78 drug busts so NO DRUGS for her and then him and horse trainer he was dating imploded over DRUGS). In fact during What If was the peak of Tommy's drug addiction. He mercifully got sober when his daughter was born. Dennis and JY avoided drugs (Dennis had stability with his wife, daughter and son (who was born in 1980)). Tommy went more ballads after Dennis' Desert Moon went Top 25 on the album charts. Tommy even opened for The Kinks in 1984-85 but didn't help. Dennis was to open for Huey Lewis and the News on the latter part of the Sports Tour but Dennis injured his back filming the Don't Wait For Heroes video when he filmed the dream sequence when he did the back flip so Desert Moon (the album) lost momentum. Tommy got dropped from A&M after What If bombed and Tommy's drug addiction got worse while Dennis left A&M amicably after Back to the World and asked to leave the label after BTTW sold less (Janet Jackson's Control was huge at the time for the label). Atlantic didn't promote Ambition whilst MCA focused on New Edition, Bobby Brown and their cash cow at the time Tom Petty hence Boomchild died on the charts.
Tommy Shaw criminally underrated! Killer lead player killer acoustic player killer slide player killer vocalist killer lyricist !! The last 2 Styx albums are killer !!! Kerry Livgren DeGarmo Shaw all genius musicians !!
I saw Styx with angel opening, and before they played crystal ball he did an amazing acoustic guitar into leading into the song he's such an underrated guitar player,the solos on crystal ball are one of my favorites 😎😎😎😎😎
I really like the interplay between you Pete and Grant. I haven't listened to all Tommy Shaw albums. But the Damn Yankees ones are surely top 2. I love Ambition , yes I do, and the Shaw Blades one is decent. What if is indifferent for me. Girls with guns is good. I will listen to the other two.
His contributions to the last two Styx albums are incredible. Not a huge fan of his solo stuff but dig first Damn Yankees. Still remember hearing Shaw and Blades being interviewed on WNEW in ‘95 by Scott Muni when it dropped. Remember thinking even then what a weird time for music.
I saw Styx with REO Speedwagon and Loverboy a couple years ago, all three bands put on a great show but the main thing I came away with was that Tommy Shaw is the coolest rock star I’ve ever seen
I just did this on another channel with the five official TS solo selections, so it’s easy just to throw the three extras in. 8. The Great Divide 7. Ambition 6. What If 5. Hallucination 4. 7 Deadly Zens 3. Don’t Tread 2. Girls With Guns 1. Damn Yankees Cheers from The Big Apple. 🍎 Rock Out, Prog On and Pogo! Your perennial pal and mine, ~ The Didactic and Distinct Doppelgänger of Davey Cretin, from CRETIN CLASSICS.
I agree guys. Listening and following bands back in those days WAS magical. Like you guys, music was so huge in my life back then. You devoured the album and studied those liner notes. Lol
I was more upset about James Young working with Jan Hammer on the album City Slickers. I was disappointed he didn't have enough hard rock songs like Miss America, Great White Hope, Put Me On.
Love the Hunt album 'Back on the Hunt' especially the cd on Unidisc with an extra nine tracks. can I suggest you do other Canadian bands such as Harlequin, Toronto, Honeymoon Suite are all worth doing. Have you ranked the Babys or John Waite yet?
Wow The Michael Stanley Band finally gettuvr some love on SoT. In NE Ohio they were huge easily as popular as the big national acts of the time. They set attendance records at Blossom Music Center which is a large outdoor venue in NW Ohio and the Richfield Coliseum where the Cavs played before their current home. Highly recommend checking out their Heartland, North Coast and MSB albums.
I'm sure the record companies had some say, but I've always felt that even taking that into account, Tommy's solo 80s stuff was a giant slice of humble pie to Tommy for all the trash talk he did about Dennis.
Tale of the tape of the singles Tommy and Dennis released after Caught In the Act Live Desert Moon (#24 Billboard) vs Girls With Guns (#50 Billboard) : Desert Moon (#10) vs Girls With Guns (#33) I go with the former although the latter is a great tune ad was intended for Styx but Tommy quitting prevented from appearing on Caught In the Act. The Styx version is in the vaults and if it were to DDY he would release it. Don't Wait For Heroes (#83) vs Lonely School (#60). Both songs great but DWFH was uptempo and also motivational and the video was a hoot and heartfelt at the same time. Ironically Heroes got boatloads of airplay on MTV and got Exclusive treatment like the title cut to Desert got. Dear Darling (I'll Be There) vs Free to Love You. Former is a nice DDY ballad and the latter is eh. Back to the World (#108 Billboard, released simultaneously with Janet Jackson's Control which was suicide) Vs What If? (#87) Call Me (#54) vs What If? (failed to chart but minor rock hit) Call Me was a phenomenal ballad and has the 1980s electric piano but no electric drums. What If was eh This Is the Time (which was in The Karate Kid 2 in the scene where Daniel San's car has smoke from engine and Ali broke up with him) vs Jealousy? No brainer! Dennis FTW. Black Wall was released to AOR stations but didn't chart. Boomchild vs Ambition Boomchild vs Ever Since the World Began. Former uptempo rocker but Gen X were not ready for Boomer lesson (Billy Joel started the fire a few months on) while the latter was a weak ballad Beneath the Moon vs No Such Thing. Former was decent, latter GLAM.
Tommy Shaw would typically contribute three songs to every Styx album. On his solo albums, there were ten songs per album. That means on his solo albums, there were SEVEN songs that wouldn't be good enough for a Styx album. Enough said...
@@GrantsRockWarehaus, teenage memories mostly. I didn’t have the discriminating ear back then. Hell,…I didn’t mind Kilroy Was Here (though nowhere near Grand Illusion or Pieces Of Eight). I just liked (and still do) a damn good hook. As bouncy was the title track is, “Girls With Guns” is one big hook. Same with “What If”. Those songs just bring back emotions and feelings of this older man to his younger self.
Hey Pete, you should do a top 5 hottest women in rock episode with a few other guys. I think it would be a kind of fun break from the usual content but still sticking with the music relation. Just an idea. Enjoy your Sunday!
Great discussion guys. Very hard to place records that are so different in style and in different decades. Probably easier to rate the 80's albums against each other as they all use the same synth drums, etc. When Ambition came out I was thrilled because it was worlds better than What If in my opinion. His voice, several songs lyrically very strong, and I think his cover of the Survivor balled Ever Since the World Began is one of his best vocals ever...just listen to his singing coming out of that bridge! Also, imagine some of the better songs from Girls with Guns combined with the better tunes from DeYoung's Desert Moon and that would have been a great Styx record. Oh, and The Great Divide is amazing. That song writing, along with his voice and those classic blue grass music legends that join him make is a must own Tommy album. Way better than the Shaw/Blades stuff, which was also good, but Great Divide was next level...
Tommy got dropped from A&M while Dennis amicably left the label and he asked to be released from his third record which he did Boomchild for MCA (which was run by Styx manager from 1982-83 Irving Azoff, same man who saw The Eagles' rise to stardom and comeback and later managed Journey and as of 2001 Van Halen). Ambition was on Atlantic and was a lousy album (even Boomchild was a decent record but had some sappy songs). Back to the World was Dennis' best 1980s solo album and was released after What If (which was lousy). Desert Moon, Girls With Guns and elements of City Slicker could have made a back to basics Styx album.
Ambition rocks. Sure, it's a victim of the 80's overproduction aesthetic...but the songs are rock solid. If Tommy had opened for Bon Jovi instead of Rush this album would have done better commercially.
Fun discussion (not that I agreed with a lot of it! 🙂). Count me in as a big Tommy Shaw fan. My rankings: 1. Girls With Guns (love this album. Even if I was ranking this within Styx' catalogue, it would be in my top three) - 5/5 2. The Great Divide (I love folk as much as rock and this is a terrific folk album) - 5/5 3. Damn Yankees debut - 5/5 4. Hallucination - 5/5 5. Ambition - 4/5 6. Don't Tread - 4/5 7. What If? - 3/5 8. Seven Deadly Zens - 2/5
@@GrantsRockWarehaus For me, it's too generic, chasing the 90s zeitgeist with no great tunes and heavier than I'd like my Tommy Shaw music to be. Really glad you like it though. Of course, we're both right according to our own ears. 🙂
@@GrantsRockWarehaus Yeah for me Shaw's best solo album (easily) and for me comes in just behind the 2 Shaw Blades albums (since I don't like anything from Damn Yankees)
@@GrantsRockWarehaus How 'bout Target? The band that out-Survivored Survivor. The great Jimi Jamison in both bands of course...Cobra (First Strike/1983) was another good Jamison project, as well as One Man's Trash (History/2011). He's got some really good solo records too: Crossroads Moment, Empires, Live At Firefest, Never Too Late, When Loves Comes Down. I was honestly expecting more from his collab with Jim Peterik on Extra Moments (2010)
2nd take (the Shaw solo albums - took another listen this weekend): What If - nothing here screams "I gotta own it" to me. It's not bad, just nothing notable. Best track = probably "True Confessions" Girls With Guns - this is largely 'ballad city' - ? Best track = probably the title track Ambition - at least a bit more upbeat. Best tracks = "Dangerous Game"/"Somewhere In The Night" ("The Weight Of The World" & "Are You Ready For Me" have moments) 7 Deadly Zens - maintains the more upbeat vibe of Ambition (to some extent). Best tracks = "Ocean" (Nuge on guitar), "What Do You Want From Life" - finally gives a different vibe, "Half A Mind", "Straight Down The Line", "Inspiration (Mona Lisa)"."In This Night" has good moments. I'd have to rate this one as the top of the solo Shaw pile, just behind the two Shaw Blades records & therefore #3 overall (Damn Yankees & the other solo Shaw albums don't really chart for me and all get lumped together in all honesty) Great Divide - Shaw does folk-country/rock. Wiki calls it his ' Bluegrass debut solo album'. Check - even Jerry Douglas plays dobro & Dwight Yoakam/Alison Krauss chip in. Not for me... Overall this is 'pop rock' - I even find that calling it 'melodic hard rock' (as many label much of AOR) is a bit of a stretch, at least the earlier records - to me. The 'hard' part is just missing on most of this music. Some of it gets into AOR territory but again, it just doesn't particularly stand out to me versus the better AOR bands out there. Now as I said previously I'm not a huge Styx fan (I do appreciate the Shaw Blades albums - especially the covers album), what I do like from them is primarily from 2005 on (starting with Big Bang Theory). So factor that into the equation. Not that I think much of this sounds like Styx. IMHO there's nothing here that even comes close to touching "Renegade"...I can't help feeling like I'm missing something here, Tommy Shaw just never made that much of an impression on me... Side note re: Cheap Trick and Epic killing them...I personally like Next Position Please (a lot), One On One's not bad, same with Standing On The Edge. Lap Of Luxury is pretty good, so is Busted. Are any of these up to their 70's output? NO. But the band being 'dead' in the 80's? Also NO...Just my 2 cents
Kudos to Grant for the Charlie reference! A mostly forgotten '70s band whose album covers were more memorable than the records inside. Most famous for having a drummer named Steve Gadd who was *not* the ubiquitous session drummer named Steve Gadd.
No love on my part for Damn Yankees (and no I'm not from the South)...Also not that big on Styx, although I do own a number of their albums (Big Bang Theory/The Mission/Regeneration being my faves)...Shaw Blades = combo of Styx/Night Ranger. I actually like Night Ranger (Dawn Patrol/Midnight Madness/7 Wishes/Man In Motion/Feeding Off The Mojo/Neverland/Hole In The Sun/Somewhere In California/High Road/Don't Let Up/Atbpo), so this had potential. Only two albums (and one's a covers album), both have good moments, Steve Smith/Brian Tichy on drums. On the debut: There's some fine guitar work, I skipped the slower ballads (as I often do with AOR-style records). Some tracks have country vibes, pretty good vocal harmonies & lotsa melodic hooks. On paper I should like this more but it's not bad - I think I needed a little more 'juice' though overall. The covers album Influence is good (especially for this type of album). The cover of "Summer Breeze" is pretty cool, I also like their tributes to Yes, Steely Dan, Zombies & Buffalo Springfield. I know some hate all covers albums... Also a little weird I guess that I'd like some of Shaw Blades but basically nothing from DY since both feature Shaw/Blades - well it's the songwriting in DY mostly. Just doesn't grab me. As for Shaw solo, I listened to some of these records a while back & wasn't bowled over/not thinking these were 'must own' albums. But honestly they're a vague memory - will need to listen again...So no album rankings for me other than to say that I think Shaw Blades is worth a listen...
No such thing and The weight of the qorld are two masterpieces. I think you are mistaking "Overproduced" with "fantastic 80's production". IT was a killer sound that on Ambition. Fanstatic. Technology was at the top of its game. IT was the right sound for that album Obviously it is not the right dsound for today's music.
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Grant, to correct you Tommy confessed that he had a drug problem when he made his first two solo albums. Dennis even said to Mitch Lafon that Tommy was dealings with his demons in drug and alcohol in the 1980s and a series of failed romances (his relationship with Linda Blair ended when he slept with her horse groomer at a horse show Linda was competing at and Linda was on probation at the time for her 1977/78 drug busts so NO DRUGS for her and then him and horse trainer he was dating imploded over DRUGS). In fact during What If was the peak of Tommy's drug addiction. He mercifully got sober when his daughter was born. Dennis and JY avoided drugs (Dennis had stability with his wife, daughter and son (who was born in 1980)). Tommy went more ballads after Dennis' Desert Moon went Top 25 on the album charts. Tommy even opened for The Kinks in 1984-85 but didn't help. Dennis was to open for Huey Lewis and the News on the latter part of the Sports Tour but Dennis injured his back filming the Don't Wait For Heroes video when he filmed the dream sequence when he did the back flip so Desert Moon (the album) lost momentum. Tommy got dropped from A&M after What If bombed and Tommy's drug addiction got worse while Dennis left A&M amicably after Back to the World and asked to leave the label after BTTW sold less (Janet Jackson's Control was huge at the time for the label). Atlantic didn't promote Ambition whilst MCA focused on New Edition, Bobby Brown and their cash cow at the time Tom Petty hence Boomchild died on the charts.
Thanks for the info! This is what I love about this community!
I love Ambition. Some great vocal and guitar from Tommy.
Glad to see an April Wine album in the background..... awesome Canadian band !
Myles RIP
crushed to hear about miles. I discovered the April wine Canadian back catalouge last year. they had a lot of good records
April wine is one of our under rated bands from Canada
Observation - Back to the World by Dennis Deyoung is actually heavier than the first two Tommy albums.
Tommy Shaw criminally underrated! Killer lead player killer acoustic player killer slide player killer vocalist killer lyricist !! The last 2 Styx albums are killer !!! Kerry Livgren DeGarmo Shaw all genius musicians !!
These album ranking shows with Grant are always fun. It often results with me purchasing some of the music discussed.
🤓👍
Yeah Grant always says Schnee and, I think, another fellow, cost him money from these shows. As I await delivery of 3 cost on HIS recommendation. Lol
The song "Remo's Theme" (What If) is from the late 1985 movie "Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins" (Rated PG 13) that starred the late Fred Ward.
I saw Styx with angel opening, and before they played crystal ball he did an amazing acoustic guitar into leading into the song he's such an underrated guitar player,the solos on crystal ball are one of my favorites 😎😎😎😎😎
The song "My Hallucination" is from the 1995 movie "Tommy Boy" (with David Spade & the late Chris Farley).
I usually don't like cover albums, but Shaw Blades "Influence" does it for me. Love it!
I really like the interplay between you Pete and Grant. I haven't listened to all Tommy Shaw albums. But the Damn Yankees ones are surely top 2. I love Ambition , yes I do, and the Shaw Blades one is decent. What if is indifferent for me. Girls with guns is good. I will listen to the other two.
His contributions to the last two Styx albums are incredible. Not a huge fan of his solo stuff but dig first Damn Yankees. Still remember hearing Shaw and Blades being interviewed on WNEW in ‘95 by Scott Muni when it dropped. Remember thinking even then what a weird time for music.
I saw Styx with REO Speedwagon and Loverboy a couple years ago, all three bands put on a great show but the main thing I came away with was that Tommy Shaw is the coolest rock star I’ve ever seen
Exactly!
I saw that tour in Toronto. Styx was the clear star
1) Damn Yankees-Damn Yankees
2) Deadly Zens
3) Damn Yankees-Don’t Tread
4) Shaw-Blades-Hallucination
5) The Great Divide
6) Girls with Guns
7) What If
8) Ambition
Thanks for the Shout Out Grant about the Hunt!Pete would Like the band i think
The great Divide hit number 2 on the bluegrass chart and was nominated for a grammy. It was taken seriously
That has to mean something... right?
@@GrantsRockWarehaus and first Damn Yankees is double platinum
I do like the choice of groups picked for album rankings with Grant.
I just did this on another channel with the five official TS solo selections, so it’s easy just to throw the three extras in.
8. The Great Divide
7. Ambition
6. What If
5. Hallucination
4. 7 Deadly Zens
3. Don’t Tread
2. Girls With Guns
1. Damn Yankees
Cheers from The Big Apple. 🍎
Rock Out, Prog On and Pogo!
Your perennial pal and mine,
~ The Didactic and Distinct Doppelgänger of Davey Cretin, from CRETIN CLASSICS.
Good show, guys. Always enjoy listening to Grant and Pete even when they may stray a bit from the original topic. Thanks again.
straying from the original topic is when the fun begins! In the end it's about the discussion and the music 🙂
Tommy, Dio, Glenn Hughes, Bruce Dickinson......the 4 guys off the top of my head that could still belt it after 60 years old.
I agree guys. Listening and following bands back in those days WAS magical. Like you guys, music was so huge in my life back then. You devoured the album and studied those liner notes. Lol
the good 'ol days
I was more upset about James Young working with Jan Hammer on the album City Slickers.
I was disappointed he didn't have enough hard rock songs like Miss America, Great White Hope, Put Me On.
Love the Hunt album 'Back on the Hunt' especially the cd on Unidisc with an extra nine tracks. can I suggest you do other Canadian bands such as Harlequin, Toronto, Honeymoon Suite are all worth doing. Have you ranked the Babys or John Waite yet?
The Babys yes!
I didn't even know he had a solo catalog (or had forgotten it) outside of Damn Yankees. Think that says it all about it.
Wow The Michael Stanley Band finally gettuvr some love on SoT. In NE Ohio they were huge easily as popular as the big national acts of the time. They set attendance records at Blossom Music Center which is a large outdoor venue in NW Ohio and the Richfield Coliseum where the Cavs played before their current home. Highly recommend checking out their Heartland, North Coast and MSB albums.
Ambition is his best solo album by far. C'mon...the first side is amazing!!
I'm sure the record companies had some say, but I've always felt that even taking that into account, Tommy's solo 80s stuff was a giant slice of humble pie to Tommy for all the trash talk he did about Dennis.
Going to relisten and I came across ,shaw blades influences that's a really excellent cover cd 😎😎😎😎
oh yeah!
Tale of the tape of the singles Tommy and Dennis released after Caught In the Act Live
Desert Moon (#24 Billboard) vs Girls With Guns (#50 Billboard) :
Desert Moon (#10) vs Girls With Guns (#33) I go with the former although the latter is a great tune ad was intended for Styx but Tommy quitting prevented from appearing on Caught In the Act. The Styx version is in the vaults and if it were to DDY he would release it.
Don't Wait For Heroes (#83) vs Lonely School (#60). Both songs great but DWFH was uptempo and also motivational and the video was a hoot and heartfelt at the same time. Ironically Heroes got boatloads of airplay on MTV and got Exclusive treatment like the title cut to Desert got.
Dear Darling (I'll Be There) vs Free to Love You. Former is a nice DDY ballad and the latter is eh.
Back to the World (#108 Billboard, released simultaneously with Janet Jackson's Control which was suicide) Vs What If? (#87)
Call Me (#54) vs What If? (failed to chart but minor rock hit) Call Me was a phenomenal ballad and has the 1980s electric piano but no electric drums. What If was eh
This Is the Time (which was in The Karate Kid 2 in the scene where Daniel San's car has smoke from engine and Ali broke up with him) vs Jealousy? No brainer! Dennis FTW.
Black Wall was released to AOR stations but didn't chart.
Boomchild vs Ambition
Boomchild vs Ever Since the World Began. Former uptempo rocker but Gen X were not ready for Boomer lesson (Billy Joel started the fire a few months on) while the latter was a weak ballad
Beneath the Moon vs No Such Thing. Former was decent, latter GLAM.
Both "Hallucination" & "7 Deadly Zens" are my favorites but tied at # 1 for me!!!
Matthew... I like you quite a bit! Those albums are so good!
Tommy Shaw would typically contribute three songs to every Styx album. On his solo albums, there were ten songs per album. That means on his solo albums, there were SEVEN songs that wouldn't be good enough for a Styx album. Enough said...
Hallucination is my favourite of all these.
y’all made me put the BGO twofer cd of “what if” & “girls with guns” in my amazon wishlist
I've got the original A&M CD's from the 80's. I wonder how the BGO CDs sound...
LOL! I love both Girls With Guns and What If. I’m glad I have my ears over yours.
Awesome! So elaborate... what is it about those albums that connect with you?
@@GrantsRockWarehaus, teenage memories mostly. I didn’t have the discriminating ear back then. Hell,…I didn’t mind Kilroy Was Here (though nowhere near Grand Illusion or Pieces Of Eight). I just liked (and still do) a damn good hook. As bouncy was the title track is, “Girls With Guns” is one big hook. Same with “What If”. Those songs just bring back emotions and feelings of this older man to his younger self.
Ambition is the best AOR album ever made. Its fantastic from start to finish.
but why? I really want to know
Silly question
I’m with Pete, Damn Yankees is really where it’s at with Tommy outside of Styx.
Tommy shaw and James Young make styx great 👍. Good show Pete and Grant!
Dennis DeYoung makes them great.
There you go again: talking about cover albums. How’s the idea of show around cover albums you do like coming along 😉?
Alison Krauss has a ton of grammys ,27 😊😊😊
Hey Pete, you should do a top 5 hottest women in rock episode with a few other guys. I think it would be a kind of fun break from the usual content but still sticking with the music relation. Just an idea. Enjoy your Sunday!
5 hottest women in rock? In this day and age? Not sure that would go over well...
@@seaoftranquilityprog yeah true but I don’t think your viewers are that whiny about things like some people are.
It might be funny but it’s kind of silly and immature. I think Pete’s picks would be obvious anyways.
Great discussion guys. Very hard to place records that are so different in style and in different decades. Probably easier to rate the 80's albums against each other as they all use the same synth drums, etc. When Ambition came out I was thrilled because it was worlds better than What If in my opinion. His voice, several songs lyrically very strong, and I think his cover of the Survivor balled Ever Since the World Began is one of his best vocals ever...just listen to his singing coming out of that bridge! Also, imagine some of the better songs from Girls with Guns combined with the better tunes from DeYoung's Desert Moon and that would have been a great Styx record. Oh, and The Great Divide is amazing. That song writing, along with his voice and those classic blue grass music legends that join him make is a must own Tommy album. Way better than the Shaw/Blades stuff, which was also good, but Great Divide was next level...
Tommy got dropped from A&M while Dennis amicably left the label and he asked to be released from his third record which he did Boomchild for MCA (which was run by Styx manager from 1982-83 Irving Azoff, same man who saw The Eagles' rise to stardom and comeback and later managed Journey and as of 2001 Van Halen). Ambition was on Atlantic and was a lousy album (even Boomchild was a decent record but had some sappy songs). Back to the World was Dennis' best 1980s solo album and was released after What If (which was lousy). Desert Moon, Girls With Guns and elements of City Slicker could have made a back to basics Styx album.
Ambition rocks. Sure, it's a victim of the 80's overproduction aesthetic...but the songs are rock solid. If Tommy had opened for Bon Jovi instead of Rush this album would have done better commercially.
i now have the urge to buy Kilroy & give it another shot
Well... Martin hates it, but your mileage may vary
There are moments. “Double Life” and (especially) “Just Get Through This Night” are great tunes.
Fun discussion (not that I agreed with a lot of it! 🙂). Count me in as a big Tommy Shaw fan. My rankings:
1. Girls With Guns (love this album. Even if I was ranking this within Styx' catalogue, it would be in my top three) - 5/5
2. The Great Divide (I love folk as much as rock and this is a terrific folk album) - 5/5
3. Damn Yankees debut - 5/5
4. Hallucination - 5/5
5. Ambition - 4/5
6. Don't Tread - 4/5
7. What If? - 3/5
8. Seven Deadly Zens - 2/5
Seven Deadly Zens at #8?? I'd love to know why?
@@GrantsRockWarehaus For me, it's too generic, chasing the 90s zeitgeist with no great tunes and heavier than I'd like my Tommy Shaw music to be. Really glad you like it though. Of course, we're both right according to our own ears. 🙂
@@GrantsRockWarehaus Yeah for me Shaw's best solo album (easily) and for me comes in just behind the 2 Shaw Blades albums (since I don't like anything from Damn Yankees)
Survivor is awsome
I can't stop bringing them up! hahaha
@@GrantsRockWarehaus How 'bout Target? The band that out-Survivored Survivor. The great Jimi Jamison in both bands of course...Cobra (First Strike/1983) was another good Jamison project, as well as One Man's Trash (History/2011). He's got some really good solo records too: Crossroads Moment, Empires, Live At Firefest, Never Too Late, When Loves Comes Down. I was honestly expecting more from his collab with Jim Peterik on Extra Moments (2010)
I'm in Montgomery Alabama....Tomy Shaw was a big deal back in the day...was not a Suprise when he broke out.
Shaw Blades "Hallucianation" album is really good. That said, it's kinda Tom Petty-ish and maybe why Pete doesn't like it so much. I love it.
And the covers album is really spectacular.
I like Tom Petty.
Hit parader and circus was great for music news 😊😊😊
Those were the days...
2nd take (the Shaw solo albums - took another listen this weekend):
What If - nothing here screams "I gotta own it" to me. It's not bad, just nothing notable. Best track = probably "True Confessions"
Girls With Guns - this is largely 'ballad city' - ? Best track = probably the title track
Ambition - at least a bit more upbeat. Best tracks = "Dangerous Game"/"Somewhere In The Night" ("The Weight Of The World" & "Are You Ready For Me" have moments)
7 Deadly Zens - maintains the more upbeat vibe of Ambition (to some extent). Best tracks = "Ocean" (Nuge on guitar), "What Do You Want From Life" - finally gives a different vibe, "Half A Mind", "Straight Down The Line", "Inspiration (Mona Lisa)"."In This Night" has good moments. I'd have to rate this one as the top of the solo Shaw pile, just behind the two Shaw Blades records & therefore #3 overall (Damn Yankees & the other solo Shaw albums don't really chart for me and all get lumped together in all honesty)
Great Divide - Shaw does folk-country/rock. Wiki calls it his ' Bluegrass debut solo album'. Check - even Jerry Douglas plays dobro & Dwight Yoakam/Alison Krauss chip in. Not for me...
Overall this is 'pop rock' - I even find that calling it 'melodic hard rock' (as many label much of AOR) is a bit of a stretch, at least the earlier records - to me. The 'hard' part is just missing on most of this music. Some of it gets into AOR territory but again, it just doesn't particularly stand out to me versus the better AOR bands out there. Now as I said previously I'm not a huge Styx fan (I do appreciate the Shaw Blades albums - especially the covers album), what I do like from them is primarily from 2005 on (starting with Big Bang Theory). So factor that into the equation. Not that I think much of this sounds like Styx. IMHO there's nothing here that even comes close to touching "Renegade"...I can't help feeling like I'm missing something here, Tommy Shaw just never made that much of an impression on me...
Side note re: Cheap Trick and Epic killing them...I personally like Next Position Please (a lot), One On One's not bad, same with Standing On The Edge. Lap Of Luxury is pretty good, so is Busted. Are any of these up to their 70's output? NO. But the band being 'dead' in the 80's? Also NO...Just my 2 cents
Would love a ranking of Dennis DeYoung solo albums . Far better discography 👍
I mentioned that to Pete... hold tight
i agree with Pete’s placement of Shaw/Blades “hallucination”…it was a bit too soft & country for me
🤷🏻
Kudos to Grant for the Charlie reference! A mostly forgotten '70s band whose album covers were more memorable than the records inside. Most famous for having a drummer named Steve Gadd who was *not* the ubiquitous session drummer named Steve Gadd.
Interesting! Now you have to do a Dennis DeYoung solo album rankings!!!
It's in the works
Great job guys! You should rank the solo albums by Joe Lynn Turner!
Styx............................. Rules
No love on my part for Damn Yankees (and no I'm not from the South)...Also not that big on Styx, although I do own a number of their albums (Big Bang Theory/The Mission/Regeneration being my faves)...Shaw Blades = combo of Styx/Night Ranger. I actually like Night Ranger (Dawn Patrol/Midnight Madness/7 Wishes/Man In Motion/Feeding Off The Mojo/Neverland/Hole In The Sun/Somewhere In California/High Road/Don't Let Up/Atbpo), so this had potential. Only two albums (and one's a covers album), both have good moments, Steve Smith/Brian Tichy on drums. On the debut: There's some fine guitar work, I skipped the slower ballads (as I often do with AOR-style records). Some tracks have country vibes, pretty good vocal harmonies & lotsa melodic hooks. On paper I should like this more but it's not bad - I think I needed a little more 'juice' though overall. The covers album Influence is good (especially for this type of album). The cover of "Summer Breeze" is pretty cool, I also like their tributes to Yes, Steely Dan, Zombies & Buffalo Springfield. I know some hate all covers albums...
Also a little weird I guess that I'd like some of Shaw Blades but basically nothing from DY since both feature Shaw/Blades - well it's the songwriting in DY mostly. Just doesn't grab me. As for Shaw solo, I listened to some of these records a while back & wasn't bowled over/not thinking these were 'must own' albums. But honestly they're a vague memory - will need to listen again...So no album rankings for me other than to say that I think Shaw Blades is worth a listen...
As an aside: Martin has bizarre taste in music in general. Just saying.
"I LOOOOVE Tommy Shaw"?? Yikes!!...so creepy.
I've always thought Damn Yankees should reform with Frank Hannon to replace the Tedster.
No such thing and The weight of the qorld are two masterpieces. I think you are mistaking "Overproduced" with "fantastic 80's production". IT was a killer sound that on Ambition. Fanstatic. Technology was at the top of its game. IT was the right sound for that album Obviously it is not the right dsound for today's music.
I love Tommy too, but he isn’t great by himself he hast to be surrounded by other great songwriters and players