Please excuse my double-post. I accidentally sent it before, without
completing...
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Hello all,
this must be my first email after maybe 2-3 years, I don't know! Talking
about lurking!
Well, everytime Styx came to Europe, it was very interesting visiting various
"European" forums
to read what impression Styx left on other, "neutral" people attending these
shows
(i.e. Deep Purple fans a couple of years ago) who were not familiar with the
music.
You know, the usual thing, BotR and Babe... But still, reviews were almost
always positive, even flattering,
with a few exceptions. Even the negative comments were interesting, in a way,
sometimes pointing out some
differences between the "culture" of entertaininment in the US and Europe in
general. In this case, for example,
any comments would mostly refer to Styx' style ("pompus", posturing, "cheesy",
etc.) rather than their music,
which is good, of course ;-)
Anyway, this time, Dennis was in Germany for almost a month for the first time
in some 27 yrs or so (I think
today he is heading back home) and I convinced 5 friends living in Germany to go
see him and tell me their
impressions. The show was a super-production with stars like Tears for fears,
10cc, Kim Wilde, Robbin Gibb
and, of course, the man himself. All of them with classical orchestra. He only
sang 3 songs (which is the main
reason I decided not to fly to Munich- had it been a full Dennis' show I would
have definately been there):
BotR, Mr. Roboto and Babe... leading to his intro to Robbin Gibb's "How deep is
your love" which he played piano on!
After that, he left the stage and all artists re-appeared for the closure,
singing "Imagine". Dennis got to sing one verse :-)
He had a simple and very positive presence, according to my friends.
The sad thing is, no other Styx (or solo) song is really famous over here, I
mean FAMOUS, but that's really
another big discussion, that may have nothing to do with their music itself... I
remember one thread about the
Cornerstone singles and the A&M and Styx' aproach to the European market. In any
case, there are always those
occasional extended articles/interviews on some quality magazines (Record
Collector, Classic Rock) that
imply that Styx is still a well-respected kept secret.
So, here are some links to Dennis performances, enjoy!

Demo/Ad of the Show
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fobVG9Vp73o

Boat on the River
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=454CBe6r2Bc

Mr.Roboto
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBr8ia_XF4I

Babe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJalo1V15cE (leading to Robbin Gibb intro)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJDDFVMlguA

Imagine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bq0CwnJB1R0

Manos



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http://www.myspace.com/manostyx

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