Search - Styx :: Cyclorama

Oh. My. God. What happened to this band?

P. Gileno | seattle | 05/12/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"So, I gave this CD a try. It sounds......juvenile and contrived to my ears, and sorry if this is a repeat of the last reviewer's opinion, but they were RIGHT. This band is not Styx.



The harmonies and sound quality are inferior to Styx's standard. Tommy's voice sounds alright, and his melodies are alright...but that's about it.



What happened to this band?? They seem to be MISSING SOMEBODY?? Namely, perhaps the BEST vocalist I've ever heard? Dennis DeYoung.



Now I really know why I loved Styx, and despite my admission that Tommy is a decent singer/songwriter, his music falls flat without Dennis's production. The production on this CD sounds too much like they are trying to sound "young and hip." Perhaps this is good for younger fans who never truly appreciated Styx during the "Equinox-thru-Paradise Theater" era. AKA, the band's heyday.



The whole band falls flat without Dennis, sorry guys. Now, I'm the first to admit, Dennis got a little silly and dorky during "Kilroy" and I never liked Cornerstone's mushy stuff all that well either, however, DDY's progressive rock songs are FANTASTIC, as well as the rest of the body of Styx's work during the same time period. With this in mind, I wish "Styx" would check out DDY's latest CD, and see that he never really did "lose it" His last CD has the production and sound of Styx...and it's spectacular in the style of Classic Styx (sounds like a cross between Pieces of Eight and Paradise Theater) It makes me wish they'd all just mend their wounds and GET BACK TOGETHER PLEASE??



As for this Lawrence Gowan person? I've got nothing against him, but he is NO substitute for the man who represented the heart and soul of Styx... In fact, I'd likely enjoy Cyclorama more if they called themselves ANYTHING other than Styx. Lawsuit or not, they stole the name from the one who STARTED this band. The hypocrisy astounds me. As much as Tommy wanted to say he was "full of rock songs," the songs on this CD honestly don't sound much more "rock-like" than Dennis's "ballads" he used to complain about. Some of the songs here actually sound more folksy than rock.



Tell me, how does a band go about ousting their founding member? How? John was dead (RIP), Chuck was never a key songwriter. That left Dennis, the person whose vision DEFINED the "trademark Styx harmonies and keyboards" Cyclorama is now being praised for. How can this band look themselves in the mirror every day? Get over Kilroy already...Dennis admits himself that he may have pushed a little too hard. But hey. it still sold didn't it? How does a band toss out the member whose songs PUT THAT FREAKING BAND ON THE MAP AND MADE THEM FAMOUS???? This makes me, ok call me a Styx Purist, sick. "Styx" has lost all its credibility as a band of hypocrites who shunned the very person that MADE them. The one who INSISTED on making Tommy Shaw such a vital force in that band....!



By the way....I do recognize the contributions of the others....but they weren't what Dennis's were. The combination of Dennis/Tommy or Dennis/JY on several of their older tracks is OUTSTANDING.



Look, I'm not stupid, none of us fans were flies on the walls while Styx had interpersonnel issues, but all bands have them, don't they?



However, Styx should NOT be using the name stolen (that's right, it was stolen IMHO) from Dennis DeYoung....THE catalyst behind the band's formation. It is because of this, I will never again go to a "Styx" concert. I have seen DDY, however, and I was totally flabbergasted when he played EVERY progressive song of his I have ever loved in his set. His voice has retained all of its haunting quality.



Let me close by saying this, it is my belief, if they did get back together? They could make a KILLER record. None of them have lost their musical abilities.



Tommy's songs on Cyclorama are not so bad, they're just missing that essential "Styx" element Dennis brought. Cyclorama is also missing Dennis' VOICE (this wrecks the album, IMHO) his uniquely gifted way of playing keyboards/synthesizers, and beautiful songwriting ability, thus making this album, by far, the weakest effort put out by "the band that insists on calling itself Styx" (seeing as Cyclorama is being put on par with Grand Illusion or Pieces of Eight....NOT!) Even if Kilroy was weird (it was), at least DDY SINGS on it....it's HIS voice that made the harmonies sound spectacular, and the overall singing spectacular in this band. No Dennis=No Styx. Sorry.



JY? He still can't sing, but he plays a pretty mean guitar and can occasionally write good music, which is good enough for me:)



BRING BACK DENNIS AND MAKE STYX "WHOLE" AGAIN. Or do the decent thing and RENAME yourselves please.





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