Moderator: Andrew
SuiteMadameBlue wrote:This was just posted on Dennis' Facebook page. I found it very interesting and he also attached the original music when Tommy was in the band Harvest.
Hey, Kids.
Here’s some Styx history -- Tommy’s original "Crystal Ball" recording.
Tommy auditioned for Styx at my house in the fall of 1975 without ever playing guitar. He sang the "Lady" harmony part and played us tapes of songs he’d written. I asked if he was playing the acoustic guitar and were these his songs to which he answered yes. That was all I needed to know. I didn’t even know what a great performer he was.
I immediately hired him on behalf of the band. He was however pretty far from that proggie thing we were doing. He was well versed in Funk, southern rock, R&B, pop and acoustic guitar music but not “art rock” which is what it was originally called. The same was true of JY’s brand of hard rock. Truthfully he could play anything.
His working with me and JY is what lead to "Crystal Ball" being more than an “America” or CSNY-type of tune. I suggested he sing it solo and drop the 3 part harmonies (as beautiful as they were) because the lyrics sounded so personal. Getting the focus on him was my goal because of my belief in his star potential after playing with him on stage. I also told him that we needed to sing the title as a hook which led to the classic Styx harmony triads on the chorus. Synth solo, rock guitar solo, power chords...done.
This is true of "Ballerina" and "Put Me On" as well, we then progged and rocked up his tunes. I added "Claire de Lune" which proceeded "Ballerina" as my lyric evolved into a song about the sacrifices made by performers (dancers here) in balancing love and work. Tommy’s C minor to D7 chord change in the verse is straight out of classical music. Great tune. Very underrated. Play it tonight. We played some shows on the Crystal Ball tour where an actual ballerina danced in dry ice fog while I played Debussy. Anyone see it?
"Foolin' Yourself" was an acoustic guitar-based song before JY and I added the keyboard intro which was not written in its original form. But Tommy leaned quickly and was responsible for the chord progression in the instrumental GI opening. This is what groups do, they bring out the best of their members.
I mention this because while listening to "Misanthrope" on YouTube while in the shower it rolled right into T talking about "MITW" being influenced by Kansas. It didn’t surprise me because while recording the song I told him how much he sounded like Steve Walsh, whom I admired. This immediately reminded of the time Kansas opened for us at a Chicago roller rink and I met the talented Kerry Livgren. This was in '74 I believe, before Tommy joined Styx.
I was shocked when Kerry told me he really liked 'Serpent' and 'Styx II' and listened to them prior to recording their first record. Full disclosure, that night in front of our hometown crowd they blew us off the stage. Yikes they were good. I hate that when that happens. After Tommy joined that never happened again.
Below is a rather weathered recording of "Crystal Ball" as I first heard it in my front room the day he auditioned. Hearing it made me convinced he was the right guy for Styx.
Cheers, Ballerina in the Ball
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSgV__rqb5o
yogi wrote:Fantastic!! Didn’t Dennis do the exact same thing with Glen when joined Styx back in 91. How dare he title a new Styx album with a song where the new member sings lead. Also releasing the first Styx single off the new Styx album(Mademoiselle( Crystal Ball)& Love Is The Ritual (Edge of the Century) showcasing their new lead singers. This truly shows the tyrant DDY is.
PPS: Here’s a question to ask Tyrant Dennis or Styx with the DDY Abused Tommy or DDY Abused JY: Did Styx ever play Crystal Ball live with the added verse?? I own a double CD where Tommy on his Girls With Guns Tour played the Styx version of Crystal Ball but with the added verse. The song was Styxed up like the version Styx fans know but the extra verse was added to the end of the song. I also heard Tommy play this live twice ( he did two shows the same night) with his band on The Girls With Guns tour. He performed these at the St Paul Auditorium performing at the St. Paul Winter Carnival. I was there and heard the added verse Crystal Ball song twice.
ChicagoSTYX wrote:SuiteMadameBlue wrote:This was just posted on Dennis' Facebook page. I found it very interesting and he also attached the original music when Tommy was in the band Harvest.
Hey, Kids.
Here’s some Styx history -- Tommy’s original "Crystal Ball" recording.
Tommy auditioned for Styx at my house in the fall of 1975 without ever playing guitar. He sang the "Lady" harmony part and played us tapes of songs he’d written. I asked if he was playing the acoustic guitar and were these his songs to which he answered yes. That was all I needed to know. I didn’t even know what a great performer he was.
I immediately hired him on behalf of the band. He was however pretty far from that proggie thing we were doing. He was well versed in Funk, southern rock, R&B, pop and acoustic guitar music but not “art rock” which is what it was originally called. The same was true of JY’s brand of hard rock. Truthfully he could play anything.
His working with me and JY is what lead to "Crystal Ball" being more than an “America” or CSNY-type of tune. I suggested he sing it solo and drop the 3 part harmonies (as beautiful as they were) because the lyrics sounded so personal. Getting the focus on him was my goal because of my belief in his star potential after playing with him on stage. I also told him that we needed to sing the title as a hook which led to the classic Styx harmony triads on the chorus. Synth solo, rock guitar solo, power chords...done.
This is true of "Ballerina" and "Put Me On" as well, we then progged and rocked up his tunes. I added "Claire de Lune" which proceeded "Ballerina" as my lyric evolved into a song about the sacrifices made by performers (dancers here) in balancing love and work. Tommy’s C minor to D7 chord change in the verse is straight out of classical music. Great tune. Very underrated. Play it tonight. We played some shows on the Crystal Ball tour where an actual ballerina danced in dry ice fog while I played Debussy. Anyone see it?
"Foolin' Yourself" was an acoustic guitar-based song before JY and I added the keyboard intro which was not written in its original form. But Tommy leaned quickly and was responsible for the chord progression in the instrumental GI opening. This is what groups do, they bring out the best of their members.
I mention this because while listening to "Misanthrope" on YouTube while in the shower it rolled right into T talking about "MITW" being influenced by Kansas. It didn’t surprise me because while recording the song I told him how much he sounded like Steve Walsh, whom I admired. This immediately reminded of the time Kansas opened for us at a Chicago roller rink and I met the talented Kerry Livgren. This was in '74 I believe, before Tommy joined Styx.
I was shocked when Kerry told me he really liked 'Serpent' and 'Styx II' and listened to them prior to recording their first record. Full disclosure, that night in front of our hometown crowd they blew us off the stage. Yikes they were good. I hate that when that happens. After Tommy joined that never happened again.
Below is a rather weathered recording of "Crystal Ball" as I first heard it in my front room the day he auditioned. Hearing it made me convinced he was the right guy for Styx.
Cheers, Ballerina in the Ball
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSgV__rqb5o
Desperate times/former member, calls for desperate measures!
SuiteMadameBlue wrote:ChicagoSTYX wrote:SuiteMadameBlue wrote:This was just posted on Dennis' Facebook page. I found it very interesting and he also attached the original music when Tommy was in the band Harvest.
Hey, Kids.
Here’s some Styx history -- Tommy’s original "Crystal Ball" recording.
Tommy auditioned for Styx at my house in the fall of 1975 without ever playing guitar. He sang the "Lady" harmony part and played us tapes of songs he’d written. I asked if he was playing the acoustic guitar and were these his songs to which he answered yes. That was all I needed to know. I didn’t even know what a great performer he was.
I immediately hired him on behalf of the band. He was however pretty far from that proggie thing we were doing. He was well versed in Funk, southern rock, R&B, pop and acoustic guitar music but not “art rock” which is what it was originally called. The same was true of JY’s brand of hard rock. Truthfully he could play anything.
His working with me and JY is what lead to "Crystal Ball" being more than an “America” or CSNY-type of tune. I suggested he sing it solo and drop the 3 part harmonies (as beautiful as they were) because the lyrics sounded so personal. Getting the focus on him was my goal because of my belief in his star potential after playing with him on stage. I also told him that we needed to sing the title as a hook which led to the classic Styx harmony triads on the chorus. Synth solo, rock guitar solo, power chords...done.
This is true of "Ballerina" and "Put Me On" as well, we then progged and rocked up his tunes. I added "Claire de Lune" which proceeded "Ballerina" as my lyric evolved into a song about the sacrifices made by performers (dancers here) in balancing love and work. Tommy’s C minor to D7 chord change in the verse is straight out of classical music. Great tune. Very underrated. Play it tonight. We played some shows on the Crystal Ball tour where an actual ballerina danced in dry ice fog while I played Debussy. Anyone see it?
"Foolin' Yourself" was an acoustic guitar-based song before JY and I added the keyboard intro which was not written in its original form. But Tommy leaned quickly and was responsible for the chord progression in the instrumental GI opening. This is what groups do, they bring out the best of their members.
I mention this because while listening to "Misanthrope" on YouTube while in the shower it rolled right into T talking about "MITW" being influenced by Kansas. It didn’t surprise me because while recording the song I told him how much he sounded like Steve Walsh, whom I admired. This immediately reminded of the time Kansas opened for us at a Chicago roller rink and I met the talented Kerry Livgren. This was in '74 I believe, before Tommy joined Styx.
I was shocked when Kerry told me he really liked 'Serpent' and 'Styx II' and listened to them prior to recording their first record. Full disclosure, that night in front of our hometown crowd they blew us off the stage. Yikes they were good. I hate that when that happens. After Tommy joined that never happened again.
Below is a rather weathered recording of "Crystal Ball" as I first heard it in my front room the day he auditioned. Hearing it made me convinced he was the right guy for Styx.
Cheers, Ballerina in the Ball
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSgV__rqb5o
Desperate times/former member, calls for desperate measures!
I was surprised to see this response what are desperate measures? I wonder if Tommy ever sings the Harvest version live without the Styx chorus.
Crystal Ball before Dennis and JY Incomplete.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSgV__rqb5o
Crystal Ball after Dennis and JY. Iconic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9b-i0XknSnM
I love this song it’s my favorite of Tommy’s. The extra verse is great but not as good as the Crystal Ball chorus. He could have sung the Harvest version with the orchestra and kids that would have been something special.
SuiteMadameBlue wrote:
I was surprised to see this response what are desperate measures? I wonder if Tommy ever sings the Harvest version live without the Styx chorus.
Crystal Ball before Dennis and JY Incomplete.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSgV__rqb5o
Crystal Ball after Dennis and JY. Iconic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9b-i0XknSnM
I love this song it’s my favorite of Tommy’s. The extra verse is great but not as good as the Crystal Ball chorus. He could have sung the Harvest version with the orchestra and kids that would have been something special.
Monker wrote:Judging by those kids actions, it was something special regardless of these minute details.
SuiteMadameBlue wrote:SuiteMadameBlue wrote:
I was surprised to see this response what are desperate measures? I wonder if Tommy ever sings the Harvest version live without the Styx chorus.
Crystal Ball before Dennis and JY Incomplete.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSgV__rqb5o
Crystal Ball after Dennis and JY. Iconic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9b-i0XknSnM
I love this song it’s my favorite of Tommy’s. The extra verse is great but not as good as the Crystal Ball chorus. He could have sung the Harvest version with the orchestra and kids that would have been something special.Monker wrote:Judging by those kids actions, it was something special regardless of these minute details.
Lovely CSNY or America type song proving the inescapable point that the song became iconic when Dennis and JY improved it and made it a Styx song. Tommy just wants to rock?
In your view from your Nissan you don’t even comment on the remarkable transformation of the song. At the very least, Tommy sings solo. Dennis the Producer.
Most likely this is what Renegade sounded like before Dennis made it into a rock song.
Sean I see you did a post about this from your car. Very nice have you been moisturizing.
Monker wrote:Do you ever NOT troll in this forum?
All I did is post other examples of Tommy singing the extra verse. If you spend any time looking, as I did, the extra verse has become a bit of a regular thing at Styx concerts nowadays.
As Dennis himself remarked about how it happened, 'that's what bands do." He no more made Crystal Ball a huge thing then Tommy did when , as Dennis said, he wrote the chord progression for GI. It's just want bands do and it's not such a big deal.
My name is not Sean and I do not post from a car.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLFbtSd ... 2NPORadio2
SuiteMadameBlue wrote:Crystal Ball would never have been a big song for Styx if it had not been changed by Dennis and JY
everyone on this site knows that
people like you would complain that it’s to cheesy to syrupy to soft and a poor mans America / CSNY.
Now we’re in “Manilow”, “America” territory.
Tommy just wants to rock.
Monker wrote:I have never said anything like that about Crystal Ball...any version. It sounds more like "Dust In the Wind" than anything
Monker wrote:Haters just gotta hate, don't they? You just can't help it. Tommy said that DECADES later. It had nothing to do with Crystal Ball. You know that. All your aganda is is to attack Styx at any cost.
You're a Styx hater, not a fan..you condemn yourself with every post.
Your only reason for being is to attack Styx, Tommy, JY, and Gowan, to kiss Dennis ass and spread his propaganda, and to troll for arguments regarding the previous. You are unable to even discuss Styx.
yogi wrote:Nissan ruined their brand when they let go of Datsun.
First car was a Datsun. Far better than Nissan
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