Top 10 Alert!
Song#: 2044 Date: 09/08/1984
Debut: 61
Peak: 10
Weeks: 22
Genre: Pop, Adult Contemporary
Pop Bits: With Styx now officially broken up, the former band members were free to work on their own projects. The first to embark on a solo career was the band's main singer/songwriter Dennis DeYoung. He remained on the band's label, A&M, and recorded songs for his solo debut LP titled Desert Moon. This title-track single was issued and it introduced DeYoung's more adult-oriented sound. The ballad received a warm welcome at AC where it got to #4 and soon it was able to just get inside the Pop Top 10. The tune wasn't really Rock-radio material and it stalled at #31 on that chart. It was a good hit and it helped the album get to #24. It would not become a Styx-sized platinum seller, but it did well and was a good first effort for DeYoung's solo career.
ReduxReview: As a big Styx fan, I was really looking forward to DeYoung's solo album. I was looking forward to something theatrical, big, and wild, especially following his epic Kilroy Was Here endeavor with Styx. Unfortunately, DeYoung took the opposite route and came up with an MOR album that capitalized more on his hit ballad work than Styx-level rock. Initially, I wasn't all that thrilled with this song. I thought it was rather wimpy and a disappointment. Still, I bought the album hoping for better, but the tunes weren't really there. "Desert Moon" kind of grew on me and I ended up appreciating the song, but I never warmed up to the album or this new AC-leaning DeYoung.
ReduxRating: 7/10
Trivia: Although different members of Styx would write or co-write the songs and sing lead vocals, DeYoung's contributions brought the biggest amount of chart hits to the band. Throughout their career, Styx would gather eight Top 10 hits. Of those, DeYoung wrote seven of them. The other Top 10, "Too Much Time on My Hands," was written by Tommy Shaw. Add in "Desert Moon" and DeYoung would end up with a career total of eight Pop Top 10 hits as a writer/lead singer.
_________________________________________________________________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment