THE MISSION

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,