Being a native Chicagoan, it’s almost in my genes that I have an
affinity for the rock group Styx. I gre up listening to songs of
theirs like “Come Sail Away” and “Babe” overtake the airwaves of
stations like WLS, when they were the premier kick-ass rock station
around. I even went to school with the daughter of
vocalist/keyboardist Dennis DeYoung (quite a charming girl, to be
honest). When the band returned to the scene two years ago with the
live album
Return To Paradise, I welcomed the band’s comeback wih open
arms, and even thought the new material on the disc showed signs of
a return to greatness.
So why do I feel bad that I’m disappointed in
Brave New World, the group’s first studio release in almost
10 years? Maybe it’s because the group has turned away from the
rock vein that first made the band famous and have gone down the
weaker path of adult-contemporary schlock.
It’s not that Styx isn’t trying to play rock – they make several
stabs at it during the course of the album. But the biggest problem
is that the emphasis on the powerful guitar work that powered such
songs as “Renegade” is gone. If the rhythm guitars are heard at
all, it’s buried in the mix – surprising, seeing that guitarists
Tommy Shaw and James Young (along with DeYoung) produced the
album.
There are a few signs of home early on. “Brave New World” sounds
like something that Shaw would have included on his recent solo
album
7 Deadly Zens, and has the most hope for the album. DeYoung
turns in a few nice ballads with “While There’s Still Time” and
“Goodbye Roseland,” both of which sound like vintage Styx work.
But things quickly turn Utopia into Dante’s inferno on
Brave New World. Tracks like “Number One,” “High Crimes
& Misdemeanors” and “Heavy Water” show how poor rock can sound
when it is executed wrong. The songs are not exciting, and they
just don’t live up to the expectations one would have of a typical
Styx song. “High Crimes & Misdemeanors” brings back memories of
“Love Is The Ritual,” one of the weaker songs off their previous
studio effort
Edge Of The Century. Don’t even get me started on “Just Fell
In”; I don’t know what the band was thinking with this one.
Even a lot of the ballads on
Brave New World fail to impress. “Fallen Angel” is not
typical of DeYoung’s work, and while it starts off more promising,
it quickly falls apart. The songs that aren’ quite ballads but
aren’t quite rock numbers, like “I Will Be Your Witness,” “Great
Expectations” and “Everything Is Cool” just don’t sound like the
right direction for Styx to be taking. Even the harmony vocals –
one of Styx’s best-recognized trademarks – don’t have any kick to
them.
I’m not saying that Styx’s reunion is a bad thing; I honestly
believe that this band has a lot of life left in them and their
music. But if
Brave New World is a sign of things to come with Styx, then
you can cancel my reservation.
