GREATEST HITS

For those with pop or straight rock orientation, this compilation must be an excellent one to have because it has best cuts of Styx under A&M label. But for me personally this is disappointing not because the tracks are not good but there are many great tracks from Styx that were not included here. First is probably the best song by Styx, according to my taste, i.e. "Born for The Adventure" from Equinox album. This is a great track with dynamic composition and high energy, using tight basslines. I don not understand why this great song is not here. Second, there is possibly due to legal copy rights under different label (RCA), i.e. songs from Styx II ("A Day", "Father of OSA", "Little Fuge in G"), Styx "Man of Miracles" ("Christopher Mr. Christopher", "Evil Eyes", "A Song for Suzanne") that were not included as well in the compilation. So, the overall compilation of this release should be titled "Styx Greatest Hits under A&M".

That kind of legal boundaries and competition between labels that really sacrifice us as listeners (and of course "customers") of the band. This indicates how individualistic the label is. The nice words "Customer is King" is actually not here in music industry. As a long fan of Styx I would have expected all eras of the band shoukd be covered - not just under the certain label only. Why? Because the customers basically do NOT buy label, but customers by band (the music).

Overall, I would not dispute with those who like this compilation, but I do not like the way the music industry work which is very label centric and it's about time now that this must be changed! Actually, A&M (in Styx case) could buy the permission from previous label (RCA) by sharing royalties to take some songs. Yes there is Lady from Styx II but it's re-recorded version, instead of the original one. So, if you like Styx from the beginning, you might not be satisfied with this compilation. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW (i-Rock! Music Community)