Dennis DeYoung, mentor and all-round mannequin impersonator of Styx has done the predictable and released his debut solo album.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Dennis DeYoung
ALBUM: Desert Moon
LABEL: A&M
SERIAL: DIDX82 (LP), CD 5006 (CD)
YEAR: 1984
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Dennis DeYoung – vocals, keyboards, percussion * Tom Dziallo – guitars; percussion, bass * Tom Radtke – drums * Dennis Johnson – bass * Steve Eisen – saxophones
TRACK LISTING: 01 Don’t Wait For Heroes * 02 Please * 03 Boys Will Be Boys * 04 Fire * 05 Desert Moon * 06 Suspicious * 07 Gravity * 08 Dear Darling (I’ll Be There)
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
Dennis DeYoung, mentor and all-round mannequin impersonator of Styx has done the predictable and released his debut solo album. As it is, I had real fun dissecting this album for two reasons. First, I hadn’t heard Dennis outside of Styx, and two, this was diversity on a grand scale, even more so than Steve Perry‘s ‘Street Talk’ during the year. It’s a radical departure for DeYoung where some songs work brilliantly while others, well not so.
The Songs
The single ‘Desert Moon’ got quite a lot of airplay. It’s a tempered ballad, which is indecisive, and leaves one confused as to whether it’s likeable or not. ‘Don’t Wait For Heroes’ is the nearest thing to Styx. ‘Gravity’ despite it’s name and intention soars into serenity on it’s keyboard introduction, but it then comes back to earth and settles pretty much into Supertramp territory.
On the other hand, the jazz flavoured ‘Suspicious’ is excellent. There’s a delightful harmonica solo, and it’s laziness and mellowness puts the song a notch ahead of anything else. Probably the two heaviest songs are a sleazy workout of Jimi Hendrix‘s ‘Fire’, and a track called ‘Please’. The latter features a duet with one Rosemary Butler, and for a moment I though they were covering Irene Cara‘s ‘Call Me’ but it must have been my overworked imagination!
No doubt the weirdest song on offer is ‘Boys Will Be Boys’. It’s offbeat presentation could go down well on the ‘Grease’ soundtrack. Yuck I hear you say, but this one is quite a catchy number. Fans of the band Tantrum will be pleased to know that their vocalist Sandy Caufield put an appearance on this one, but her vocals are hardly recognizable however.
In Summary
Guitarist Tom Dziallo, a local Chicago resident and complete unknown impressed throughout, and he actually saved this Dennis DeYoung album from being a disaster. If you’re a die-hard Styx fan, or looking for something completely off the wall, then this one’s for you.
Consider yourself cautioned. Finally, it absolutely stuns me that in the year 2001, this album (now on CD) can actually command prices on Ebay auctions over the US$70 mark. I must be in the wrong business, or I’ve been given the wrong album to review!
Video
Desert Moon
Don’t Wait For Heroes
