Published on Feb 5, 1999
Question: How does a member of Styx make a solo album that
doesn’t sound like a Styx record?
It’s a tough job, that’s for sure. Tommy Shaw has been down this
road before, with
What If (Pop quiz: anyone remember what film the title track
was used in?
E-mail me with
the answer.) and
Girls With Guns – two albums I admittedly don’t own. But on
his latest disc,
7 Deadly Zens, Shaw is able to create his own unique voice
by almost purposely staying away from the same songwriting formula
he’s used in previous bands.
In a sense, it’s not fair to pigeonhole Shaw as just the
guitarist/vocalist for Styx. He’s also played with Ted Nugent in
Damn Yankees, a band that definitely had its own unique voice. So,
it would have been easy for Shaw to fall back on old songwriting
habits and write songs in the vein of both those bands.
Ah, but he didn’t do that! Instead, he decided to somehow plow
new ground and create a record in a style that some might not have
expected from him. As a result, you can’t tell when guests like
Nugent and fellow Damn Yankees member Jack Blades enter the mix, or
when Styx drummer Todd Sucherman takes over on the skins.
Shaw hits the ground running with “Ocean,” a solid rocker
(featuring, on guest vocals, Ed Roland of Collective Soul) that is
just a fun song to listen to. From then on, Shaw keeps listeners on
their toes by changing styles often, but not making radical enough
changes to make people sit up and wonder what is going on.
From the light rock styles of “Stop Knockin'” (with an
interesting harmony vocal that sounds like it’s being pumped
through a distortion pedal) and “What Do You Want From This Life”
to the shuffle of “All In How You Want To Say It” to the
mostly-acoustic duet with Allison Krause “Half A Mind”, Shaw
pleasantly surprises the listener as
7 Deadly Zens unfolds.
But with all the strengths that are on this disc, there is one
major stumbling point. On a few occasions, Shaw decides to fall
into the trap of making rather bizarre interludes. Big mistake –
moments like “Mona Lisa” and “Need Water” end up distracting from
all the ground Shaw gains with “Inspiration” and “Who I Am”,
respectively. And the untitled 13th track, which seems to be a
rendition of the album title’s subject matter, is a complete waste
of time.
Also, while I didn’t spend a lot of time on the multimedia part
of this enhanced CD, I wasn’t very impressed with what it had to
offer. Still, to each their own.
Still, the music on
7 Deadly Zens is very good – even surprisingly good if you
enter into this disc expecting to hear watered-down Styx. Fact is,
this is a vice that you won’t mind indulging in – though Shaw
should have watched out for “the eighth Zen”with the interludes:
overindulgence.