Influence

Shaw Blades

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 6, 2007)
• Original Release Date: March 6, 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: VH1 Classics
• ASIN: B000MX7TRW
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (69 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #34,297 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Legendary STYX guitarist Tommy Shaw and former NIGHT RANGER and DAMN YANKEE frontman Jack Blades team up again for their second venture on INFLUENCE. INFLUENCE is also the first CD release coming out on the new created VH1 Classic Records label. From Tommy Shaw, on the making of INFLUENCE: 'This album has been years in the making. The recording process didn't take years, but the concept had been looming in our conversations for years. From the day Jack Blades showed up on my doorstep, we discovered our chemistry as writers almost immediately. We became best friends as a result of the music and the experiences we had because of it.' ' After two albums and two world tours with Damn Yankees, we decided to do our first Shaw Blades album, Hallucination. The album was a departure from Damn Yankees that it was more acoustic in nature, not nearly as heavy and more organically produced.' 'On INFLUENCE, we went song by song; some we held very close to the original version, while on others we departed from the familiar arrangements and made them our own.'

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Influence of Hallucinations, March 11, 2007

By	S. Swigert (Kansas City, Mo USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was talking to my younger brother recently who is a huge Styx fan like myself, and I mentioned that this cd was due to come out shortly, which excited him, but when I told him it was cover tunes, be became less excited. He asked what was it with everybody putting out cover albums lately, including Styx, Def Leppard etc., and now this release. Here is my theory for what it's worth. First-They have nothing left to prove, they KNOW the current state of the music business, which is you have to be pretty and wear skimpy clothing or use sequencers and drum machines and "talk" your way through a song or it will never get on the radio, and second, the only way to get on rock radio, which is primarily classic rock radio, is to record again a classic rock song e.g. Styx's cover of I am A Walrus, which actually charted, and was the first Styx song since the Kilroy album to get any commercial airplay. Having said all of that, this cd is excellent. It has a wide variety of covers, done in the very organic sounding Shaw/Blades fashion, covering everything from mainstream pop to nods of progressive rock. Very impressive. And the vocals are absolutely perfect. I would love to see these guys guest host on American Idol, or a least show some of those contestants how to really sing. If you enjoyed the Hallucination cd then you will love this one. It has all of the qualities of that work with timeless classic songs to boot. Highly recommended.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars IT'S FUN !, March 21, 2007

By	Seph (Massapequa, NY) - See all my reviews

I heard Shaw/Blades plugging an appearance this morning on the Stern Show and they sounded amazing! They were so good, I got goose bumps listening to their harmonies! I definitely bought into what they're doing with this album. I'm a bit disappointed with the studio recordings but I still like the album very much. The live performance just came off so much better. To be honest, the album sounds like it came straight out of the 80's. It sounds just a bit bigger than it should ... know what I mean? I much prefer the stripped down version I heard on the radio.

I'm a child of the 80's and a veteran of more than a few Styx and Night Ranger concerts so I'm happy to support these guys and their album. The title boils it down for you. If you have to describe this album in one way ... IT'S FUN!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AMAZING cd from beginning to end, March 12, 2007

By	J. HARMON (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As a life long Tommy Shaw fan I held high expectations for this release. Considering that 8 of the tracks are among my all-time favorite songs I held very high expectations for this release. However, considering Jack Blades' had such a poor showing on his recent solo debut, I had some reservations about this forthcoming release. I did not listen to any of the streamed audio online as I wanted to listen to the cd with a fresh set of ears unprejudiced toward any or all of the disk.

Aside from the incredibly sparse liner notes, this cd is a monster of an album. From the very first notes of SUMMER BREEZE on through to the end of DANCE WITH ME, I was simply amazed. Though Jack appears to sing lead vocals on most of the tracks, he sings with his natural voice (as revealed on the DAMN YANKEES debut and early NIGHT RANGER releases) and never tries to sound 'too different from Tommy Shaw' as he began doing on the DON'T TREAD release and throughout his SHAW BLADES and solo releases. As such, the songs sound fresh, vibrant and natural... albeit individualized for Tommy and Jack.

I despise cover tracks where in the musicians try to 'make the song their own' by changing the sound and arrangement of the track so much that it hardly resembles the original. I believe that with genuine vocal and instrumentation talent that a true artist can 'own' the song and yet honor the original recordings by staying true to the basic style of the original. Tommy and Jack do just that.

Never does Tommy stray too far with his guitar solos and never do the boys' vocals perform in any way other than admiration for these classic tracks. DANCE WITH ME and I AM A ROCK offer distinct changes to the styles of the songs, yet never too much to dishonor ORLEANS or SIMON AND GARFUNKLE.

Many critics have regarded this release as being an "acoustic" album, which could hardly be true. While the majority of tracks feature the acoustic guitar, this album has more than enough electric six-strings, keyboards and drums to be a rollicking rock and roll album. Never could this be considered an 'unplugged' cover album as one critic remarked.

This is a GREAT covers album. It met my expectations and exceeded them. I tip my hat to Tommy Shaw... this album exemplifies his genuine artistry through and through.