All the bad mouthing from those guys against DeYoung.......my real opinion is
jealousy.
That more than being angry over 'Babe' and 'Mr. Roboto'
Not only the jealousy JY has towards DeYoung, but two other factors as well -
money and
money.
1. I'm sure digging deep into the current contracts, the lion-share of the touring profits go to Shaw and Young, bring DeYoung back, and it'll have to split three ways.
2. Prior to the Edge of the Century reunion, all of the profits from albums, signals, and touring were split evenly amongst the band members. But the negotiations of the 1990 reunion changed that. Depending on how many songs you have written on an album and their single/airplay success is how much profit/revenue you would individually get. Touring revenue had a similar formula, which nearly reduced the Panozzo brothers to hired hands. When all of this happened, JY's position, influence and profit was substantially reduced.
*All of this is in the Styx biography book.
I believe that from this deal in 1989, even the "new guy" Glen Burtnik was elevated above James Young.
I'm sure that a good chunk of Young's animosity towards DeYoung stems back to that old deal, he doesn't want it to happen again and has tried to put himself now as the de-facto leader of the band.
After reading the book and recent statements, I really came away with three conclusions:
1. DeYoung is a real talent, but with a controlling personality that can grate.
2. Shaw is also really talented, and is into music for the sake of music. In his youth, was a bit of a hot-head, but has really mellowed and forgiving now.
3. Young is the frustrated second lieutenant, wants more spotlight, but doesn't have the full talent to attain that status, and
has really seen Styx more of a meal-ticket (this is the sad part to me).