Dennis DeYoung released 26 East Vol. 2

26 East Vol. 2 Dennis DeYoung

Released: June 11, 2021 Peak: -- Sales (in millions): -- Genre: classic rock veteran

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Hello Goodbye [4:26] Land of the Living [3:44] The Last Guitar Hero (with Tom Morello) [4:46] (5/11/21, --) Your Saving Grace [3:36] Proof of Heaven (with Jim Peterik) [5:27] (3/25/19, --) Made for Each Other [4:03] There's No Turning Back Time [4:47] (6/16/21, --) St. Quarantine [5:00] So Little Did We Know [4:17] Always Time [4:06] Isle of Misanthrope [6:07] (4/7/21, --) Grand Finale [1:58]

Rating: 3.156 out of 5.00 (average of 3 ratings)

About the Album: When former Styx frontman Dennis DeYoung released 26 East Vol. 1, it was his self-proclaimed last hurrah. Well, sort of. His last studio effort ballooned up to the point that it was broken into two separate releases so now, a year after the first one, we get 26 East Vol. 2. Both hint “strongly at DeYoung’s rock roots with Styx and it doesn’t get any better than this…epic music.” 519 The album offers “direct links to the classic Styx sound, as only he can provide, along with some straight ahead rock.” MR “26 East” is a reference to the street where DeYoung grew up on the south side of Chicago in Roseland, Illinois. The Panozzo twins, John and Chuck, lived across the street and formed the nucleus of Styx with DeYoung. The album was preceded by Proof of Heaven, a song written with Survivor’s Jim Peterik even before 26 East Vol. 1. It was released back in March of 2019 on Peterik’s album Wind of Change. He “compliments DeYoung in the same way Tommy Shaw and James JY Young did when Styx was at its original peak.” 519 Peterik ended up being the catalyst to get DeYoung back into the studio in the first place. Peterik, who co-writes four of the songs on this album and also plays guitar, MR insisted that the world needed DeYoung’s music. The song is “a pretty uplifting and positive piece with heavy religious undertones and an optimistic outlook. This is the type of material fans deeply love from their former Styx lead singer – songs that are very theatrical and powerful.” 519 DeYoung smartly released Isle of Misanthrope, “an eight minute masterpiece with a surprise finish,” MR as the official first single to usher in 26 East Vol. 2. The “piece de resistance” MR is reminiscent of Styx’s anthemic “Suite Madame Blue” from 1975’s Equinox. The song even explores similar themes. The earlier song keyed in on the commercialization of the impending American bicentennial while “Isle” suggests that every empire will eventually burn to the ground. He says, “The lyrics are a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma…[It] is a commentary on the contemporary state of mankind under the guise of ancient times.” MR For the album’s official second single, “the fiery, hard-rocking” BR The Last Guitar Hero, DeYoung brings in another guest. This time it’s Tom Morello, the former guitarist of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave. The song “has the power and pop sensibility to be a hit, should rock radio choose to play it. It captures the essence of the decline of the rock music, performed with a passion by one of rock’s legacy heroes.” 519 The third single is the “upbeat acoustic rocker There’s No Turning Back Time.” 519 It is a “progressive mini-epic” BR which “harks back to the poppy, progressive rock of DeYoung’s Styx heyday.” BR It features “DeYoung’s plaintive vocals,” BR “distorted power chords, sprightly keyboard riffs a dizzying synthesizer solo.” BR Elsewhere there is “the lovely Made for Each Other,” 519 “a great DeYoung ballad.” 519 That song and “Time” show typical themes DeYoung has explored in the past with the first being a sentimental, romantic song and the second being a song about reminiscing about the good ol’ days. The album ends with Grand Finale, which originally closed out the 1977 Styx album The Grand Illusion. It is “a fitting farewell to a rock and roll legend.” 519 “The recording genius of Dennis DeYoung will be sadly missed, but both volumes of 26 East are an incredible closure.” 519 He even ends the album with Grand Finale, which was originally featured on Styx’s 1977 album The Grand Illusion –

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Dennis DeYoung DMDB encyclopedia entry for Styx 519 519 Magazine MR MelodicRock.com (4/8/2021). “Dennis DeYoung Announces Final Studio Album ’26 East Vol. 2’ Due June 11” CI Ultimate Classic Rock (3/19/2021). “Dennis DeYoung Details Farewell Album ’26 East, Volume 2’” by Corey Irwin BR Ultimate Classic Rock (6/11/2021). “Dennis DeYoung Releases New Single, ‘There’s No Turning Back Time’” by Bryan Rolli Other Related DMDB Pages: Last updated 8/3/2021.

Dennis DeYoung released 26 East Vol. 1

26 East Vol. 1 Dennis DeYoung

Released: May 22, 2020 Peak: -- US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US and UK) Genre: veteran classic rock

Tracks: Song Title [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. East of Midnight [5:05] (3/9/2020, --) With All Due Respect [4:48] (6/17/2020, --) A Kingdom Ablaze [5:51] You My Love [4:00] Run for the Roses [4:32] Damn That Dream [4:13] Unbroken [4:50] The Promise of This Land [5:11] To the Good Old Days (with Julian, Lennon) [4:07] (5/11/2020, --) A.D. 2020 [0:57]

Rating: 3.269 out of 5.00 (average of 6 ratings)

About the Album: Dennis DeYoung grew up on the south side of Chicago in Roseland at 26 East, hence the name for his sixth solo studio album. DeYoung formed the band Styx in the basement of his house at 26 East in 1962 with the twins John and Chuck Panozzo, who lived across the street. AZ The three locomotives on the album cover are a reference to the three of them “leaving Chicago on their journey to the stars.” AZ Thematically, this album is DeYoung’s reflections on his past rock-and-roll life and a look at “the somewhat bleak state of the world. It all comes laced with his singular sense of humor and willingness to go for grand musical gestures, a welcome respite from the age of musical irony.” AS This was DeYoung’s first studio endeavor in more than a decade. He “couldn’t see the point in working so hard on something that might have fallen on deaf ears.” AS He noted how his “blood, sweat and tears goes into the creative process” AS but the audience wants to hear the old stuff. It took encouragement from Jim Peterik, a fellow Chicagoan and former band member of Survivor, to light the spark. DeYoung said, “He once told me the world needed my music; to which I replied, ‘Have the world text me for verification.’” AZ The pair ended up writing nine songs together, five of which show up on Volume 1. With his band Pride of Lions, Peterik’s “writing style…tends toward the theatrical in places so this…is a pretty good pairing.” MP DeYoung “certainly doesn’t sound as though his voices has suffered over the years.” MP He sounds good for a man of 73! MP In addition, the songs “are very well-constructed” MP and stand out as more than “the typical and generic AOR/melodic hard rock style.” MP “However, if Broadway musicals are not to your liking and…you like your music to rock hard, you’ll probably struggle with much of this album.” MP “East of Midnight” The first single and opening cut “is a stunning throwback to early Styx. With more pomp and circumstance than a dozen trooping the colour ceremonies, glorious 70’s prog-style keyboard sounds and with twists and turns galore in its 5 minutes and 5 seconds, this is classic pomp rock of the very highest order.” MP “With All Due Respect” The second song and single “doesn’t maintain the quality level.” MP It is “a searing direct hit on the polarizing nature of television news” AS but comes across a little silly. It finds DeYoung “ranting at the world over a fairly pedestrian rock backing track. He might well have a lot to rant about given the state of the world and America right now, but this track doesn’t quite cut it somehow.” MP “A Kingdom Ablaze” The longest song on the album isn’t “as overtly Styx-like as the opener.” MP It is “more akin to what Styx were doing…on Edge of the Century,” MP their 1990 album after a seven-year absence. It’s “a real slow burner” MP with excellent production and “many different guitar and keyboard parts popping in and out of the mix.” MP “You My Love” This is “a stunning piece of keyboard dominated theatrical balladry” MP which “recalls the great Styx ballads, but…also sounds like it could be in a Broadway show.” MP It “might alienate the traditional rock audience…but DeYoung’s vocal is superb throughout.” MP This is a rare “downbeat look at romance from DeYoung, who’s been happily married for 50 years to wife Suzanne. Watching his daughter go through a divorce, however, gave him the impetus for the track.” AS “Run for the Roses” Based on his interview with American Songwriter, it sounds like this is the song that kicked off the collaboration between Peterik and DeYoung. Peterik sent DeYoung the sketch for the song and DeYoung said, “OK, let’s get together and see what we come up with.” AS This “has all the hallmarks of the more theatrical tracks on any of Pride of Lions albums, but with DeYoung’s superb voice elevating it to be better than any any similar tracks on any of that band’s work.” MP “Damn the Dream” This is “a good uptempo rocker” MP which “storms out of the speakers with more Peterik influence in the writing and arrangement.” MP It is “slightly reminiscent of the more rocking tracks…from Styx’s back catalogue.” MP In it, DeYoung “finds both the bitter and the better.” AS He told American Songwriter “We’re all chasing that dream because we think it will fill a hole inside us…We think it will change us. It won’t.” AS “Unbroken” This has “wonderfully delicate keyboard pads and tasteful guitar.” MP It “has lots of interesting chord modulations that give it a definite Broadway feel in places.” MP “The Promise of This Land” The “intro of this song could be in any Andrew Lloyd Webber musical.” MP “The melodic structure remains very Broadway.” MP “To the Good Old Days” To the Good Old Days features Julian Lennon. DeYoung wrote it with him in mind. Originally the Beatles-inspired tune was about the effect of the Beatles on DeYoung, but he rewrote it when he realized it was his story and not Julian’s. They’d never met, but DeYoung said he’d been “an admirer since ‘Valotte.’” AZ Of the end result, DeYoung said, it was “even better than I had imagined…The moment we sang together in the studio it felt magical.” AZ “A.D. 2020” The closer revisits “A.D. 1928” and “A.D. 1958” from Styx’s 1981 Paradise Theater album. It gives the “feeling of the curtain coming down at the end of the show.” MP

Resources and Related Links: AZ Amazon AS AmericanSongwriter.com MP MetalPlanetMusic.com review by Andy Hawes First posted 5/13/2021; last updated 6/12/2021.

Survivor hit #1 with “Eye of the Tiger”

Eye of the Tiger Survivor

Writer(s): Frankie Sullivan, Jim Peterik (see lyrics here) First Charted: June 5, 1982 Peak: 16 US, 14 CB, 27 AC, 15 AR, 146 CN, 16 AU, 2 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 8.0 US, 1.87 UK, 10.07 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 959.43 video, 1070.77 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: In 1982, Sylvester Stallone was looking for a song to use in his upcoming Rocky III movie. He initially approached Queen about using their #1 hit “Another One Bites the Dust.” After they turned him down, WK he asked Survivor if he could use “Poor Man’s Son,” the group’s top 40 hit from the year before. Jim Peterik, the band’s keyboardist, watched a rough version of the movie with fight scenes still cut to “Another One Bites the Dust.” He and bandmate Frankie Sullivan thought that was going to be tough to beat, but, as Peterik said, they “started slashing those chords to the punches we saw on the screen, and the whole song took shape in the next three days.” SF The song was built around the phrase “keep the eye of the tiger” which was referenced repeatedly in the film BB and crafted lyrics to fit with the events of the film. SF The band wondered if calling the song “Eye of the Tiger” was too on the nose and played around with calling it “Survival,” to play up a rhyme with the word rival. Eventually, Peterik decided “Are we nuts? That hook is so strong and ‘rival’ doesn’t have to be a perfect rhyme with the word ‘tiger.’ We made the right choice and went with ‘Eye of the Tiger.’” SF Stallone loved the song after hearing a demo, but made some suggestions. Peterik said the band wouldn’t typically take suggestions from an actor, but that “Stallone had a good ear for a hook. Just listen to his dialogues – he wrote those scripts. He came up with…hook phrases like ‘I’m going to knock you into tomorrow.’” SF The result was a #1 song and the band’s signature hit. It wasn’t a run-of-the-mill chart topper; the song was not only one of the biggest hits of that year, but one of the biggest hits of the ‘80s. At decade’s end, “Eye of the Tiger” was in a three-way tie for #1 song which spent the most weeks in the top ten (15 weeks) along with Olivia Newton-John’s “Physical” and – surprise surprise – Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust.” WK Resources: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Survivor BB Billboard (9/08). “All-Time Hot 100” SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia First posted 4/17/2019; last updated 7/23/2023.