Proof of DeYoung: Heavenly!

Today's post is from our friend HIM. 

Styx is an acquired taste. A mix of AOR and garish showmanship. You like them. Or you don’t. It doesn’t seem to be a case of middle ground.

So my opinion of the current Styx is “meh.” They do the hits. They do their thing. I like Shaw and the rest of the band. The new singer, Gowan, does justice to the classics. But I am not in any hurry to see them.

Reason being? DeYoung is the man! He is a bit of a prima donna. He is clearly hurt about how the band handled his departure. His overtures to rejoin the band for one last stand have, thus far, been rebuffed. But I admire him. I also think he has a great set of pipes.

So imagine my surprise (not really) when I heard the recent release by Jim Peterik & World Stage:

“Proof of Heaven” is the song Styx should release. Leave it to Peterik (go take a look at the songs he has co-written . . . now . . . I will wait) to coax DeYoung back into a Styx-like mood. The fact that he is also involved in DeYoung’s next solo album is good news.

Peterik’s hair color? Not such good news. But the video reads like you thought it would. It looks like an updated version of Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe’s “Order of the Universe” (1989). But with younger band members rounding out the ensemble. It is cheesy. It is light-hearted. Did I mention Peterik’s hair? It is also a good time and well executed. It takes the theme of spirituality, a no-no for so many nowadays, and makes it palatable with just a few lines.

Listen. This will not convert newcomers to the Styx-style of music. It won’t win over fans that are on the bubble about DeYoung. But, for the right audience, this should be a delight.

Styx. DeYoung calling. Maybe you should pick up the damn phone.