THE DUKE - Stuck No More Page 6
by Martin Popoff

"You know, that's the toughest thing about this record," says Rich, in closing. "On the surface, it looks like an attempt to become commercial... 'Hey, here's this metal guy trying to cash in on it.' And I completely understand that intellectual argument. But, that being said, it's not like we went to a major label with this. Sure, I would love for it to be a hit. I think it's a record that could be great. You know, when you and I were coming up, when I bought a Journey record, it's like, in the late '70s man, you could hardly get four or five dudes on stage who could hang with those guys. There was a quality of musicianship. Yeah, their songs were catchy, yeah, they were on the surface pop songs. But dude, break those songs down. You get a band like AC/DC - yeah, it sounds like it's easy, until you try to get a drummer who's got the feel, until you get a rhythm guitar player that is laid-back and creates those rhythms. It's like, deconstructing music from that period of time, the artist today doesn't have the same soul, doesn't have the same vibe, the same integrity, and I wanted to go back and do one of those records. As I say, man, I would love to do a record like an old Styx album, where there was so much musical credibility and depth to it. You know, we used piano on here. I mean, what happened to Goodbye Yellow Brick Road? It is just not out there. As a confirmed capitalist, I would love for it to do well, but as a confirmed music lover, I'm just proud that I did the record."

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