Hidden Treasures - James "JY" Young

[Scott]

In bands certain members seem to always stick out and differentiate themselves from the whole of the band while at the same time remain an integral part of the whole. James "JY" Young is such a band member. Putting aside all the in-fighting that continues to this day witin Styx, theres this sub-culture of rock and roll thart gets missed in all the ballads and Top 40 radio hits. When Young and DeYoung wrote together it was magic, but also when Young wrote with others it was pure Hard Rock magic. I believe Young is the only original member of Styx to appear on every album. Lets look into a few of his contributions...


PLAYLIST --> http://www.podsnack.com/CA69EFD9E8C/a1je1qw2

	Styx The Serpent Is Rising 1974 1 - Witch Wolf With the Top Ten pop hit "Lady" under their belts, Styx continued to blend interesting conceptual progressive elements into The Serpent Is Rising, their third LP and first band-co-produced offering. Although James "J.Y." Young had contributed significantly to Styx' self-titled debut, his compositions were conspicuously absent from the John Curulewski- and Dennis DeYoung-dominated Styx II, which had been issued only months earlier. Young's upbeat and commanding opener "Witch Wolf" firmly re-establishes him as a formidable writer, not to mention an intricate and skilled instrumentalist. While their progressive leanings would remain prominent in Styx' musical evolution, perhaps eager to build upon the national exposure afforded them by "Lady," much of the disc is less arty and more straight-ahead album rock.
	Styx Equinox 1975 2 - Midnight Ride Equinox produced Styx's first single with A&M, the highly spirited "Lorelei," which found its way to number 27 on the charts. Although it was the only song to chart from Equinox, the album itself is a benchmark in the band's career since it includes an instrumental nature reminiscent of their early progressive years, yet hints toward a more commercial-sounding future in its lyrics. "Light Up" is a brilliant display of keyboard bubbliness, with De Young's vocals in full bloom, while "Lonely Child" and "Suite Madame Blue" show tighter songwriting and a slight drift toward radio amicability. Still harboring their synthesizer-led dramatics alongside Dennis De Young's exaggerated vocal approach, the material on Equinox was a firm precursor of what was to come.
	Styx Pieces of Eight 1978 3 - Great White Hope Styx's feisty, straightforward brand of album rock is represented best by "Blue Collar Man" from 1978's Pieces of Eight, an invigorating keyboard and guitar rush -- hard and heavy, yet curved by Tommy Shaw's emphasized vocals. Reaching number 21, with the frolicking romp of "Renegade" edging in at number 16 only six months later, Pieces of Eight maintained their strength as a front-running FM radio group. Even though these two tracks were both mainstream singles, the rest of the album includes tracks that rekindle some of Styx's early progressive rock sound, only cleaner. Tracks like "Sing for the Day," "Lords of the Ring," and "Aku-Aku" all contain slightly more complex instrumental foundations, and are lyrically reminiscent of the material from albums like The Serpent Is Rising or Man of Miracles, but not as intricate or instrumentally convoluted. While the writing may stray slightly from what Styx provided on The Grand Illusion, Pieces of Eight kept their established rock formula in tact quite firmly.
	Styx Paradise Theater 1981 4 - Half-Penny, Two-Penny What had once been a healthy competitive spirit within the band quickly deteriorated into bitter co-existence during the sessions for 1980's Paradise Theater. As for JY, his edgier compositions include the desolate tale of drug addiction, "Snowblind," and the rollicking opus "Half-Penny, Two-Penny," which infuses a graphic depiction of inner city decadence with a final, small glimmer of hope and redemption. The song also leads straight into the album's beautiful saxophone-led epilogue, "A.D. 1958," which once again reveals MC DeYoung alone at his piano. A resounding success, Paradise Theater would become Styx's greatest commercial triumph; and in retrospect, it remains one of the best examples of the convergence between progressive rock and AOR which typified the sound of the era's top groups (Journey, Kansas, etc.). For Styx, its success would spell both their temporary saving grace and ultimate doom, as the creative forces which had already been tearing at the band's core finally reached unbearable levels three years later.

Next week I simply must take a look at Glenn Freys songwriting, the news broke too late for me to react this week...

[Jon]

James Young is the Bruce Hall of Styx!

When Kilroy Was Here came out, the first thing I looked for was a JY song, and it was "Heavy Metal Poisoning" and that ALMOST made the album, but really didn't. That's the one track I still look forward to hearing whenever I play that album.

"Eddie" from Cornerstone was another.  Kinda like most of that album, but that song kicks ass. 

"Queen OF Spades" is one of the greatest Styx songs ever, and it comes from what might be the greatest Styx album ever, Pieces Of Eight. Think he's a co-writer on that one though. Still, you know what parts he came up on that song.

I haven't heard Edge Of The Century and Brave New World for a long time, but I can bet that the best songs on those albums were from JY. I can bet and I can win! One of those albums can actually fit into my current series, almost posted it a month ago but went a different route. Now I wanna know. 

"Snowblind" is great as well.

Yep, JY wrote the bestest Styx songs. Of course, when Gowan came in and made Styx the REAL Styx, JY became even better. Everyone knows that. Those that don't are just silly and behind the times.

But the question is, who wrote better songs, JY or BH? Someone should do a playlist of only JY and BH songs, that would be so cool.

 

[Scott]

I like Eddie also, but his early work is really cool! And, I did post a Bruce Hall list last year. Putting the two together would result in a JY landslide.

[Jon]

I know you did because it was my idea. Duh.

Now there should be a list with BOTH because I say so.

[RJhog (Admin)]

Like I said on Niels' VOTW feature for this week, I have had a "not so good" week.  So, while I listened to this, I didn't make any notes like I usually do, so I'll have to try to put a few thoughts together.

First, I'm in total agreement with this statement: 

In bands certain members seem to always stick out and differentiate themselves from the whole of the band while at the same time remain an integral part of the whole.

Young is just that.  But for a long time, I didn't really notice.  I had always noticed Tommy Shaw and Dennis DeYoung, but mostly Tommy Shaw.  I think he is a terrific song writer and a wonderful guitar  player.  And don't forget an incredible vocalist.  But form many years, I didn't see or hear the same from Young.  

But now I do.  I still don't think he's as good of a singer as Shaw, but he's got a decent enough voice.  And it's funny how he sings so many of the rockin' songs.  There is no doubt in my mind that he's the one pushing Styx to rock.  I also didn't realize how many songs he sings until recently, especially in the earlier years.

I dig all of these songs and I'd rank them this way:

1. Midnight Ride

2. Witch Wolf

3. Great White Hope

4. Half- Penny, Two-Penny

Good Job Mr. Gabbert.

[Scott]

Theres probably a handful more of these guys I could pull out of bands, like Jon correctly says - Bruce Hall is another one.  JY's early contributions are really heavy while his latter ones are bit more melodic but rock as hard in moments.

Maybe I will do this again when I stumble across another band member.

[Jon]

Roger Taylor.

[Scott]

[Jon]

No idea what that means but........Roger Taylor

Oh. Dave Davies.

[Scott]

read my comment you replied to

[Jon]

Oh. What band is he a member of?

[Niels (Mod)]

For a while, it has been my intention to listen to Styx once again, so this is nice.

1. I haven't heard this song/album before. Straight forward heavy rock, and I ain't complyning. I don't know that much about Styx, but I think James Young is the lead-guitarist, right? Not a bad track, no sir, not bad at all.

2. Thanks to RJhog, I've heard this album a few times. Still a little bit raw, compared to what Styx eventually would sound like. Not much different form the first track. Absolutely same style. Sounds like Riot a bit, I think. Or a cross between Riot and Y & T.

3. I seem to remember, that this is my favorite Styx-album. This song is not among the very best, as fa as I remember?! Much better production on this song. But again kind of the very same style, but the best song so far. Not much City Boy about these songs so far, though.

4. The most "sounding a bit like city Boy"-track of these 4. I need to listen to these albums again. Good production once again.

[RJhog (Admin)]

The Styx album has been posted as a L/FAOTW:

HERE