STYX

Today, I'll be reviewing the second most recent release from Styx, 2017's "The Mission." If you jumped off Styx's ship after "Kilroy Was Here," (or even earlier) it may be time to come back aboard. Dennis DeYoung is long gone, and while he was great in the earlier days of the band, his Broadway style sensibilities took the band in directions that many fans were not into. In his place is the fabulously talented Lawrence Gowan on vocals & keyboards. Guitarists/vocalists Tommy Shaw and James Young are the classic era members that remain full time. Chuck Panozzo stays involved in a minimal way to satisfy requirements of a legal settlement. The primary bassist is now Ricky Phillips (ex-Babys and Bad English), while drummer extraordinaire Todd Sucherman has held down the drum throne since the passing of John Panozzo in the mid 90s. This line up has been stable for the better part of two decades. The 2003 album "Cyclorama" was quite good, with the only difference in line-up being Glenn Burtnick on bass instead of Ricky Phillips. Other than an album of cover songs in 2005, this is the first release from the band since then. The band followed this album up with 2021's "Crash of the Crown," which I also intend to review.

"The Mission" is a concept album written primarily by Tommy Shaw and album producer Will Evankovich with a few contributions from other band members. The story revolves around the first manned mission to Mars in the year 2033. I have heard several of the tracks, but this is my first start to finish listen. There are 14 relatively short tracks, with the longest at just under 6 minutes. Let's dig in!

Track 1 - Overture

This begins with the band playing a bit of a fanfare in unison with Sucherman playing fantastic drum fills in between. The beat kicks in at around 20 seconds and Gowan plays a Wakeman style keyboard pattern with the band rocking out underneath. The beat changes at around 45 seconds and the band plays a new tune that leads back into the intro fanfare. Then at just before 1-minute, there is a voice processed through a vocoder singing something like "going out to the universe, for the future of mother earth?" followed by a big riff then sound effects to link to the next track?

Track 2 - Gone Gone Gone

This kicks off with a big classic rock style guitar riff, somewhat similar to "Roller," from April Wine. It sounds more like classic Kansas though when the organ joins the guitars for a descending, lightning-fast run. They lock into a fast shuffle beat before only the bass & drums keep going and the vocals begin with Gowan singing lead here. The band kicks in and sings in tight harmonies for the chorus. The opening riff returns following that. Then there is another verse with accents between phrases, and another chorus. A guitar solo follows. Gowan has a synth countermelody on the choruses. Gowan & Shaw trade vocals on "Light it up, let's get this show?Light it up let's get this show on the road!" The first 2 tracks would constitute a great live opener 1-2 punch! (I would imagine that they did that on the related tour, but don't know for sure.) Lots of energy here!

Track 3 - Hundred Million Miles from Home

(BTW I looked up the average distance from Earth to Mars and it checks out?lol)

This one has a mid-tempo, funky groove. This is the one track on the album where Chuck Panozzo is credited with playing bass. Tommy Shaw is the lead singer on this one. Great harmonies on the choruses again. This one is very catchy. . The guitar solo uses a talk box effect (around 2:30), singing the chorus. A sustained chord at the end leads us to the next track. Great song!

Track 4 - Trouble at the Big Show

This begins with a cool riff, also funky, but different than the previous one. JY sings in his signature baritone, half spoken style., Fantastic harmonies again on the chorus. The song fades out during a short guitar solo while JY ad libs vocally. Good song, wish it was longer.

Track 5 - Locomotive

Sustained keyboard sounds emerge from the fade out of the previous track. A 12-string acoustic gets strummed, and Tommy Shaw starts singing. This one sounds slower and more introspective than the previous tracks. It's giving Bowie "Space Oddity" vibes, not in melody, but in the similar emotion. At 1:38 they go into a syncopated groove. Nice bass fills on this one. The bridge has an appropriately spacy vibe. It sounds like vintage analog synths. The groove comes back for the guitar solo. Another verse follows the solo. Echoing voices and then what sounds like radio communications close out the track. This one was pretty proggish.

Track 6 - Radio Silence

A few electronic beeps start this off, followed by the band playing a melody that reminds me of "Man in the Wilderness" from their 1977 classic album, "The Grand Illusion." Then Shaw begins singing, with just a guitar harmonics riff behind him. 12-string arpeggios fill in between a couple of phrases. In the last couple of phrases of the verse, the 12-string returns initially, then electric guitars and the rhythm section crescendo to the chorus. Great harmonies again on this slower tempo chorus. The next verse has more instrumentation below the vocals. Another chorus follows. A heavy guitar riff takes over just before the 3-minute mark. A bridge follows with some odd meters turning the beat around. A melodic guitar solo/duet follows before another chorus. The song ends a cappella with Tommy singing "And only me," at the end. Great song!

Track 7 - The Greater Good

This one starts as a piano ballad with Gowan singing. The rest of the band joins in on the chorus. Tommy Shaw takes over vocals on the next verse, with full band accompaniment. Gowan and him take turns on the next sections. A guitar solo kicks in at around 2:40. Another chorus with harmonies and the 2 singers alternating closes out the song. A terrific ballad.

Track 8 - Time May Bend

Ominous synth sounds fade into a guitar riff that is very prog. A pulsing synth accompanies the first verse, sung by Gowan. A 7-4 meter kicks in with the rest of the band joining instrumentally on the next verse and Shaw harmonizing with Gowan. The chorus kicks in strong with Gowan singing "Calling out through the universe," in a powerful voice, in a call and response with the harmonies that follow it. We are now in 6-8. Then the meter changes again for the ensuing lead break, before changing back to 6-8 for another chorus. There is a lot happening in this roughly 2-and-a-half- minute song! Excellent track.

Track 9 - Ten Thousand Ways

This one is even shorter at 1:27. It begins with a piano melody, joined by acoustic guitar and spacy sound effects. Haunting harmonies join in singing "Ten Thousand ways to be wrong?" a few times before the sound effects take over entirely.

Track 10 - Red Storm

The sound effects and radio transmissions carry on until a 12-string acoustic riff takes over. This is the longest track at close to 6 minutes in length. The meter is in 5-8 here, I believe. The band joins in and accents that meter even more. A melodic guitar joins with a tune on the top, before Shaw starts singing. The chorus is in an easy feeling 6-8, before the 5-8 returns afterward. This has a great 70s style prog vibe. Great drumming from Sucherman at 3 minutes. Unusual electronic sounds take the lead here, then after a MONSTER drum fill from Sucherman we have a new riff. Now we are in 7-8, I think. At around 4 minutes we are back in 6-8 with a beautiful vocal section. There is a synth solo as the song fades out to a false ending. This is probably my favorite track so far. Sorrowful piano joins after the false ending. This track is 100% pure prog!

Track 11 - All Systems Stable

This one is only 18 seconds long. It is just some spacy sound effects and a voice saying, "All Systems stable, stand by."

Track 12 - Khedive

This begins with a fantastic classical style piano part. Mr. Gowan's keyboard abilities are becoming more impressive to me as this album unfolds. Some synth string sounds join in as he plays. The playing is Wakeman-level good. A high falsetto voice joins just before one minute in, singing "onward soldiers." It is then harmonized on the repeat. After that, Brian May-style guitar harmonies come in. The piano goes solo again briefly, then harmony vocals saying the title of the song come in. The track ends with a few final piano chords. An impressive 2 minutes and 4 seconds of music.

Track 13 - The Outpost

This track opens with low sustained synth sound and what sounds like a drumbeat from a little Casio keyboard. Gowan enters next with vocals. Shaw joins on harmonies for a phrase, before the full band harmonizes at around 45 seconds in for a pre-chorus. The heavy guitars and rhythm section kick in for the chorus, and the full harmonies continue. The song tones back down similar to the opening verse following the chorus. However, the beat starts becoming more insistent and pulsating. Another pre-chorus and chorus follow. The bridge reminds me a bit of the Styx classic "Suite Madame Blue" in the way the background vocals are layered very much like the "America, America, etc," section of that song. Sucherman's drumming is wonderful. After that, there is a section that could have been pulled out of a Who song (a bit like "The Real Me") around 2:35. The pre-chorus & chorus return after that. They close with a big finish. Great classic-Styx.

Track 14 - Mission to Mars

A piano part fades in along with marching style drums. By around 30 seconds, a rollicking 6-8 beat takes over. The band sings the chorus in tight harmonies. At 1:14, the beat stops, and some sustained chords and a strumming acoustic guitar accompany Shaw's vocals. The harmonies return on the second part of this section. A swelling organ chord brings the beat and chorus back in. On the final vocal phrase, most of the band drops out, instrumentally, and the song fades with a bit of synth.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS:

WOW! I LOVE this album! I thought 2003's "Cyclorama," was wonderful, but it has a few oddities for tracks on it. I wish it hadn't taken 14 years between true studio albums, but Styx really delivered on this one. My only complaint is that I wish some of the songs were longer. GREAT ALBUM! I'll give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Clicked 5, even though it's a 4.5, because 4 is too low,

Having been a fan of the band since their beginnings, their first album I felt was weak. That album and the next 3 were the proggiest of their catalog. The prog was mixed in with the hard rockers that JY would put out there along with songs that would constitute hit singles so Styx was never known as a prog band.

So when the album The Mission came out before this one I was not all that impressed with it. It was to me an attempt to see it they could still put out something. When this album reared its head I expected the same???. Instead, Oh Em Gee! What on earth am I listening to? I scanned through it the first time and didn't really notice anything that stuck out for me much. But after sitting down and sticking on a pair of headphones I am hearing a Styx that never existed before. Styx was never this prog through an entire album but this is a constant and consistent piece of work.

It is unusual that the tracks are all shorter without any that stick out as extended pieces which adds to the unusuality of it all. The instrumentation is done well and musically they are tight. Neither JY or Tommy seem to be able to hit those super fast solos from days of old that I can hear of really but the musicianship is very good. I can even hear some Dennis DeYoung sounding vocals.

It would be interesting to note what DeYoung's contributions to this thematic idea would have been; hopefully not with more ridiculous love ballads to his wife. We get it Dennis, you dig your wife but Lady was more than enough! It was a shame that his control freak nature essentially destroyed what had been so well put together as he was very talented and his prog entries into the band's early days were great.

In all, this is the most prog album this band has ever released and it is worthy of that title. i would rate this album easily in their top 5.

A big step up from Styx's previous album, "Crystal Ball" introduces us to singer and guitarist Tommy Shaw, who has an obvious impact on the band, both with his voice and with his songwriting.

"Mademoiselle" and the title track are the most recognizable songs here, both having been featured on various greatest hits compilations, and they're both good songs. "Jennifer" is a sketchy jailbait song which hasn't aged well. Everything else here as good. "This Old Man" is a gem I hadn't heard before, and "Clair De Lune/Ballerina" is fantastic-- at over seven minutes, one of their best songs.

This is an essential album for Styx fans, and for those who aren't Styx fans this album might change your mind. 4 stars.

I wanted to like Equinox. I really did. I like Styx--three decades ago they were my initial gateway into progressive rock. But Equinox just isn't very good.

Now there is a good song on this album. Or rather, two good songs: the short "Prelude 12," leading directly to "Suite Madame Blue." Almost eight minutes of great music. And "Prelude 12," essentially a prelude to "Suite Madame Blue," isn't on my Styx Greatest Hits album, so it's nice to have it here.

The rest of the album? Skippable. "Light Up" and "Lorelei" were songs I'd heard before, and they're not particularly awful songs, but I can't say I actually enjoy them. The other tracks here aren't any better. Hard pop, and that's not a compliment. So I'll listen to "Prelude 12" and "Suite Madame Blue" and I'll ignore the rest. Not one of Styx's better albums. 2.5 stars.

Bingo! "Equinox" was the equinox in many ways for this band. It signaled 2 major changes: 1) The first album under A&M after they smartly ditched Wooden Nickel. 2) The last album with John Curulewiski.

With 4 albums behind them they seemed to have locked into a rhythm that would define them for the next few albums. In many ways it was no different than what they put out before but it was better organized and track sequences were better arranged. Production is more solid and coherent; the sound was much better. DeYoung does most of the singing on this album oddly enough and John C only has one vocal contribution but it is harmonized with DeYoung. JY has only 1 writing credit and a partial credit.

Dennis was always the control freak in the band which ultimately led to his eventual firing. He was a good leader but overstepped his authority by steering the band into ballad and theatrical land. But at this point things were going fairly well. With the move to A&M they made a move up from the Nickel days. John C's contributions to the band were in my opinion not that significant but he did contribute some. With the completion of this album and the tour going on, DeYoung threw him out of the band after a bad show and a deteriorating relationship. The excuse given was he wanted to be with family more but the band had struggled with him a long time. He was always the one who would choose the opposite of what everyone else wanted and was a very negative person. On the road the crew & band would dread being the one to bunk with him. He was kind of dissed about the fact that his contributions were not greater and he felt A&M were still not doing all they could to promote Styx.

All that aside, this recording was prime for opening the door to their breakthrough into success. The strong tracks on this album for me are "Mother Dear", "Midnight Ride" and "Born For Adventure." I like the entire album but these are my picks. "Midnight Ride" is in my opinion the best JY rocker he ever wrote. The other 2 tracks are more progish and I like the harmony between John C and Dennis on "Mother Dear". "Sweet Madam Blue" a DeYoung composition has some good features.

This album was a great launch into what would become Crystal Ball with the addition of Tommy Shaw. That would bring on its own challenges. But for now things were definitely looking up for Chicago kids.

My review of this album would be similar to the one for their previous album "Serpent Is Rising." The difference is that this album has more straight up rock tracks. The title track and "Song For Suzanne" DeYoung's second song about his wife (Other one was "Lady") are the most prog on the record. I do like the first few tracks by JY "Rock & Roll Feeling" and "Having A Ball". He has a talent in writing and singing these straight shooters. I may be about the only person who prefers "serpent" over this album. I think after the lack of positive reception of "Serpent" the band pulled back and played it safer but I think it was too safe.

I was surprised that many of their shorter rock songs were not more popular on the radio. Wooden Nickel records did not do Styx any favors as they did a lousy job of marketing the band or helping in support of them. John C would later leave the band for various reasons (for family was the weakest reason) and one was the fact that he felt A&M records who did "Equinox" (after this album) was no more supportive than Nickel.

I give it 2 stars max.

I was a big fan of this band for rock in general and never much thought of them as very prog until later on as I thought about it. The first album I heard was Styx II in 1977 after John C departed and grew fond of Father OSA which was a simpler prog song. I got curious and bought their catalog (Styx 1-Equinox) and it became apparent they were trying to fit themselves into multiple holes. I personally like the blend and I know many don't and have commented here about the confusing pattern of songs.

Styx 1 was about my least favorite and of course Equinox was the staple of John's era of the band. This album and Man of Miracles were stuffed in between and as "SouthSideoftheSky" noted, they could have easily taken the best songs of both albums and made a single great one. This album came out a matter of months after Styx II. The band were in that 'finding out who we are' stage. JY was always the straight forward rocker and DeYoung was the theatrical prog head but John C also contributed in that area.

The album is not as bad as DeYoung has stated. He said it was "one of the worst recorded and produced in the history of music." I can think of hundreds of albums that would fit there before this would. I like "Grove of Eglante" & "Jonas Psalter" and other strong tracks are the title track, "Witch Wolf" and "Winnwer Take All.' I agree that the so called "hidden track" (or shall we say hideous track?) "Plexiglass Toilet" was extremely out of place and it was said it ws a favorite of Weird All Yankovich which should tell anyone it has no place on an album with a band like this. It is more suited for Cheech and Chong or Al himself. I do have to admit John C's voice and the words are a crack up.

This album definitely is as people have said all over the place between differing writing styles and 3 songwriters in the group but for the most part Styx always had 3 writers. I cannot give this album a high rating but I sure won't give it a low one. It is what it is and it is part of their growth as a band.

Equinox is the 5th studio album by American classic rock, progressive rock, hard rock band Styx, and the last to feature John Curulewski on guitars and vocals.

A New Year's Day álbum to light up the new born 1975, a total celebration indeed! Dennis DeYoung says is the first well mixed and produced Styx album, and I have to agree with that, all the instruments are perfectly balanced and the vocal trio sounds better than ever. A really solid record top to bottom with some higher highlights than others but always peaking, no offense but at some point it even sounds kind of British, specially in songs like Mother Dear? exquisite stuff! The Panozzo Bros are a rhythmic force tight as a blood bond could be, DeYoung has gone even more Prog like than on the previous Man of Miracles but this time with the correct melodic input in every perfect spot throughout the whole album. To my ears, the very first excellent album by these group of great musicians. Midnight Ride and Born for Adventure are the two rockers of the album and you can tell James Young has the credit to most of that heavy sound of side B, with the JC's beautiful instrumental Prelude 12" being the exception to that! Then comes the closer mini epic song Suite Madame Blue?exceptional keyboards, heavy riffing, Dennis's vocals are smooth, elegant and flawless, everything works perfectly here. For those who don't know this record, I highly recommend it!

The album that made Styx one of THE hot tickets for stadium rock concerts in the years following 1977, it was definitely the highpoint of both their creativity and popularity. Still retaining some respect and for their classical and almost-progressive penchant for experimental blends, the form of their most well known (and, surprisingly, radio- popular) "epic"--the six-and-a-half-minute "Come Sail Away"--as well as anthemic hits in the title song and "Fooling Yourself (Angry Young Man)", the KANSAS-like infusions of classical riffs and themes remain a strong and alluring element throughout this album--which is why prog rockers like me remained somewhat interested and allegiant. But, this was, unfortunately, the end. The 80s ushered in a kind of music that kind of pushed the "classic rock" and classical music-trained bands into the background--almost relegating them to "dinosaur" status despite the rise of Metal hair bands.

When listening to the Styx discography in order, I can't help but feel that the songs on this album pale in comparison to some of their previous songs, but as a whole album there is a kind of homogeneity here that works, that keeps the listener interested. I wonder how the band sounded repeating and/or reworking their 1970s productivity during the Naughties and Teens.

The first of my favorite Styx albums that I just can't force myself to give four stars to; I think that overall this is, like Supertramps' Breakfast in America and Pink Floyd's The Wall, an album of extreme popularity due to the crest of their wave of world-wide familiarity, not necessarily due to their best display of compositional creativity.

Again an album by a band that helped me enter and fall into love with the "prog" side of music, but which I had skipped due to its band members' choice to steer away from the experimental, album-oriented musical explorations. The radio successes of "Lady" and "Light Up" and "Lorelei" had, I think, lured them into the game of seeking "hits" and power-packed four- and five-minute songs over the suites and epics that had previously tempted them. Plus, I think Tommy Shaw was the recruit that kind of sealed the commitment to "rock" over "experimental" music. (Don't get me wrong: Mr. Shaw's talents are nothing to laugh at: he is quite talented as both guitarist, singer, and songwriter; he just had a more natural predilection toward rock than prog.) With Crystal Ball the band were able to crank out three more earworm anthems of radio- and crowd-friendly songs in "Jennifer" "Mademoiselle" and the title song. Even the opener, "Put Me On" couldn't help but display the band's previous and continued fixation and curiosity with classical music forms and structures, but then they develop into hard rockin' Blue Öyster Cult-like aggression. Overall, Tommy's influence hadn't really taken over, he was still a guest/sideman, so the Panozzo/DeYoung/Young/Curulewski Catholic school collaborative spirit still reigned supreme--and Tommy fit in at first (listen to that searing guitar throughout Jennifer!). His stage presence (and long-haired angelic looks) gave the band a new dimension in concert (one that led to the attendance of swooning teenage girls--an element that was often absent at the concerts of the true hardcore progressive rock bands). "Shooz" and "This Old Man" (Tommy's impressive debut as a lead vocalist) showed the band's interest in exploring the type of jam music coming from the Southern Rock scene. "Clair de lune/Ballerina", like the title suggests, shows the band once again taking a well-known piece of pop classical music, and forcing it into a rock form and sound palette, and, unfortunately, once again not really succeeding (as Renaissance or ELP would). Again, this is not really a prog rock lover's dream album, but it is yet another step forward in the development and maturation of one of America's great stadium rock bands. Another album that is too good to relegate to the three star bin.