THE COMPLETE WOODEN NICKEL RECORDINGS

Styx gets a bad rap from many prog-rock fans as being second rate or sell-outs, boot- leg and with the music of their later career this may be true. Just like Yes, or Genesis.. They become a normal pop band during the late seventies. Their early work of the first four albums is for the most part just as complex and progressive as any other standard prog band of the day . A close analysis of these lesser known wooden-nickel recordings reveals a band full of complex musicianship and creativity that is misunderstood . The band during this time was yearning to be something great. One of the first American prog-rock bands. They never really got the credit they deserved for the adventurous music they made during this period, and after these four albums they became the Styx that everyone knows. The pop band that was too cheesy for their own good. The first four Styx albums are a more respectable Styx at a time when they were not your standard rock band . They were reaching for acceptance and trying to make a progressive statement. They were indeed a prog band who should get some respect with these first four albums compiled on this collection. Definetly worth the money of anyone who wants to hear Styx's roots going all the way back to their first album in 1972. American prog-rock two years before Kansas.