Hey everybody welcome back again to Ken Tamplin Vocal Academy where the proof is in the singing.
I am continuing my series on doing these amazing isolated vocal tracks where I'm
doing a tutorial, I'm doing an analysis, I'm talking about the band and the recording and production
process and and backstories on the band. Next up is Styx, the song is called "Lady" the singer is
Dennis DeYoung and I did a version of this with my student Sara Loera. I'm gonna put that in the
description. You can see how we did, but I want to go ahead and talk about why this is special to me.
It's special because I've talked about this song a lot when I talk about the use of mask and Dennis
is a master at that so as you listen to this track I want you to notice how he brings this sound
right into the front of his face. I want you to notice the clarity with which, within which he
sings and his pristine pitch and intonation. I mean it's just awesome so check this out. I'm
going to play it first we'll talk more about it. Here we go.
Okay now as we go through this a line at a time
I want to point out now there's a little, you know there's some humanness to it
too and I want to point that out not in any way to dis him just to to put some humanity
back on it because i really like to do that. Now as we go into the first line right here.
(sings) when you're with me I'm smiling. You here it's like really, really (sings)
you know he's really bright and real frontal. Now he does use, maybe almost
overuse the vocal tract a little bit to over accentuate the words but that's his style, it's
a theater kind of thing where he's you know very you know rock opera kind of you know sort of thing
and so these bands back then sort of pioneered the whole kind of rock opera. Of course there was Tommy
of course and you know Pink Floyd the wall etc but, but, but they had you know all of this very, very
rock opera, thematic, each song had a theme and the albums usually had a theme and they'd go from song
to song and it told a story and it was, it was just this like watching a movie with your headphones
on I mean it was that good where they really spent a lot of time orchestrating this stuff.
My other understanding of this song is I think this was the very first song
that Styx ever did that as Dennis DeYoung put it in one video it says this was what started that whole
train a rolling was the, this song and I also think if i remember correctly and Dennis correct me on
this if I'm wrong was I, I think they even kind of had a little bit of trouble getting a record
deal and getting the radio to play it and stuff and then it finally caught on and boom it became
Styx but know too that it was no easy road for these guys at the beginning and they had to work
hard at it, write killer songs and compete with a lot of really great talent that was out there at
the time. So we're gonna let's do it again. Here we go.
Now for you singers out there. I want you to try it a minute (sings). Try that (sings)
No I just came off of singing some heavy stuff so I'm a little more girthy on the sound then I (sings).
I just sang like a Dio song I'm like, I got kind of a Dio voice today
but anyway and I've been, this is like oh my gosh I don't know what is like my eighth
hour of singing and teaching and talking but nonetheless you know I could (sings). You know it's
little boy voice, real small sound okay. So here we go. Let's continue.
Pristine clarity.
By the way on (sings) he kind of goes a little flat at the end that's what I mean by putting a little humanity on this.
Check it out.
Just a tiny little bit not a lot but it's a
little noticeable. You probably don't notice it unless the track was in but I can hear it.
Nw it's kind of interesting (sings). He kind
of covers his r's there instead of (sings). He's not bringing it in the face so he kind
of changes it up a little bit. Sometimes he covers the sound makes it darker or warmer and sometimes
he's really bright and forward in the mask in front of the face right.
Okay here we go.
Now did you notice too he's not struggling for that (sings) right. He's not struggling for any vowels it's just really natural
for him and it sounds pretty stinking great and I gotta tell you. You know as I've looked
back over the landscape of how many guys have lost their voice over the years, this brother is
still out there doing it to this day. I don't know late 60s, he might even be 70 for like I mean
he's up there in years and he's still kicking butt straight up. In fact one of my students
is actually playing the part of Tommy in his band and so he's doing all the
Tommy Shaw stuff and we're gonna get to that because I've done some other Styx stuff too but
anyways so just awesomeness, just awesomeness. I just love this because
it really helps me as a singer identify all these different vocal fauchs or types and styles
to know how to, how to try to sing like this. Here we go.
Now (sings) he didn't go (sings). He wasn't tight
it was ya ooh (sings) right. So if you're trying to get to a new sound up that high don't go (sings).
Go (sings) oh ooh real quick (sings) right it's (sings) all right. So listen to it again.
Ya ooh real quick.
Love that. Very operatic (sings) you know (sings) right
you just kind of get that feeling all, almost get a little on the Queen side right, a little Queen.
All these band were competing for that awesome space. Queen and St,
and Kansas, we just talked about Kansas how "Carry On My Wayward Son" kind of sounded like
this little bit with the piano (sings)
had a very similar kind of piano vibe to it. You know that's pretty cool man.
show
Now did you notice, you're gonna notice I'm
gonna show you something real quick. When the band comes in.
So it's like (sings) right. He's stepping it up
and he's leaning into the sound and he's kind of rocking it out a little bit more
rather than the ballad side when it first started. So one of the other things I love about this song
is it starts real small and real sensitive, it gets a little bigger, gets a little bigger,
gets a little bigger, gets a little bigger it's a wham all of a sudden. It's just this
epic, epic ending of the song so, so let's continue without the track for a second.
Okay now I want to come back and I want to add the track to this because I want you to hear how this
how this fits with the track and I want to say one more thing about Styx because it's, it's really
worth noting, not even noting, it's really worth I want to say praising or eulogizing, is that
I've seen Styx I guess live three times but I've seen him also live performances on tv a few times.
I have never seen a bad performance ever, not one time. I don't remember anybody hitting any
bad notes, I don't remember any guitar parts being missed, I don't remember anything being off about
these guys. In fact I do remember one time when I was younger seeing him for my second time, getting
such a musical spanking I was like when, I remember seeing the Dixie Dregs that happened to me too
and I was just like, I walked away with my tail between my legs going I'm just never going to be
that good you know. It just ain't going to happen like how do you get that good. How do you get that
good where your guitar like Tommy Shaw and him or his you know Dennis DeYoung playing keys and singing
at the same time. Tommy Shaw singng playing guitar. You know everybody in the band singing and playing
great and I went to, I said to myself. By the way I didn't sing back then I only played guitar so
I was just even the guitar like now I gotta to be that good on guitar you know and I said I was
never going to be this good and then also happened like too me with a few other bands, like I said
Dixie Dregs and stuff and I just went wow I guess you know I'm just going to keep, one step at a time,
one step, step by step by step I'm just going to chip away at it and do my best because I loved
music so much and I didn't get. I mean of course I got discouraged, everybody gets discouraged but I
was like okay well I'm just gonna keep trying you know. I'm just gonna keep trying and over the years
with a lot of practice and a lot of dedication. By the way it's not practice that makes perfect, it's
perfect practice that makes perfect. So you could practice something wrong and you're still doing it
wrong so you've got to like get good information that's actually why I have a singing course is
to give you guys quality information so you could bypass all of the mistakes I made and
go straight to the gold, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Straight up but anyways so I
want to add the track to this. Here we go. Listen to it here. Whoops I'm having problems with this.
So beautiful.
(sings) Here's that little flatness I talked about and it's only there. I wonder if Dennis
has ever thought about you know gosh if I could have gone back and redone that line I would have
or maybe it just doesn't matter because the take was so great and it's the only
thing in the whole song like that let's get that clear too. All right.
Now I want you to focus on some instrumental stuff with me.
Listen to the bass part how cool it is, it kind of reminds me of John Paul Jones like in Led
Zeppelin you know doing "No Quarter" or you know some, some cool line but listen to how cool the bass is.
(sings) right. It's like Brian Bromberg. I don't know if you know who that is but he's just
got this beautiful melody sense about him on bass which is great.
And if you listen back to the guitars, the guitars are just kind of clanking
(sounds) it almost sounds like, like chimes or something on the guitars.
Now in fairness too man you guitar players out there that write stuff,
would you have thought of if you got this beautiful little piano thing and you're going (sounds) right.
Would you come up with that. I don't think I would have. I think I would have thought I don't want to
step on anybody's toes here I'm going to try to do what the piano is doing and maybe just
power chord here and there let it breathe. No in fact that's what's so cool about a great band
and great players is they go you know that was your chance to shine now it's my turn
to shine. I'm not gonna step on anybody's toes but I'm gonna take this song in a
direction that I feel in my heart and my spirit and that's what makes a great band. Straight up.
Now couldn't you hear Kansas, Queen you know any of those band, big harmony bands like that. Couldn't you
kind of hear any of those guys coming up with this in the same way but it's still so artistic and so
musical and so creative and just awesomeness. Anyway gang hopefully you like this as much
as I do. I love doing these, these you know takedowns of isolated tracks because it really
just opens up the whole world of how all this was put together. You know how you, you probably have,
you, you know people that write out there, you guys that write out there, you probably have
some really cool thing on piano or guitar with this melody and you know what you need,
a great band or producer or both just to put it together to make it sound like this and bring it
all together in one amazing, amazing piece of music like this so. Anyway gang thank you for
joining me, don't forget to like and subscribe and definitely stick around for my next video.