Listening Party - Styx I

[Toph]

Thought instead of the constant arguing, I'd throw out something. Let's engage in a listening party for each album. The idea. Listen to each album in full and discuss. We can see how the band has evolved and discuss each album after we listen to it in its entirety. Anything is fair game - music, lyrics, flow, style, key tracks, etc. etc. I know for me its been forever since I've heard a lot of these albums from beginning to end, in the style that they were originally brought into the world.

Up for it? If so, we're starting at the beginning, Styx I. It's the only Styx studio album in which most of the songs were written by others and not members of Styx (Big Bang Theory being the exception).

Without further adieu, here you go. STYX I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvhcutosw-g

[masque]

great idea toph! I'm in.

I just finished up listening to it again....it was alot of fun......for me I break styx up like most do into two categories.........wooden nickel days and then the a & m days.

styx 1 to me is my third favorite WN album.

favorite songs are;

best thing
what has come between us
quick is the beat of my heart
after you leave me

movement for the common man is also a really cool piece but I have to be in the mood to take it all in.....it has some great moments but I dont always want to listen to it.

production wise I would say styx 1 holds up against the other WN albums just fine and sort has the "sound" that the other WN records have with one of those albums sounding a bit different to me...but I will save that for when that album comes up.

the album would be about a 5.7 out of 10 (in comparison to all albums within their career).

if I am in the mood to pull out a WN era album there are two others I am going to grab before I go to styx 1.

[brywool]

One of my least favorite Styx albums, though there are a few moments where the band shines. Mostly it's in their playing and Dennis's singing and of course, their huge harmonies. VERY 3 Dog Night and very good harmonies.
This was the worst of the Wooden Nickel albums for my money.

Hearing this album now, leaves you wondering "Man, what were Ryan and Traut thinking?".
The whole spoken word deal, and of course, JYs lead vocals being pushed as the centerpiece of the band. Don't put me in the "I hate JY box". Not at all. I think his guitar playing is great and his harmony voice is a HUGE part of Styx's sound. Always has been. But his lead voice... I don't understand why (if the band really wanted success) they wouldn't push Dennis out as the lead singer of the band. Could that've been early ego battles that Dennis lost to JY? Had JY wrote all the songs, that'd make some sense, but he didn't. The song that he wrote he sang, the songs he and Dennis wrote, they sang. But the songs written by other writers- all but one fell to JY. Serious mistake there.

Children of the Land/Street Collage-
Great guitar riff and a cool sound to the instrumental track. I like the way it was mixed. The thing I can't "dig" is JY's lead vocal voice. These old JY vocals- they're close to being pretty good, but there's something about his pitch, vibrato, diction, and tone that just don't work as a lead voice. Dennis really should've been the lead singer of the band in the early days along with Curelewski. Just better voices. Better sense of pitch, better tone, etc.

Regarding the song, they should've edited the drum solo out and had the 2nd slower part started where Dennis' organ solo begins. The wah guitar solo just doesn't work. Maybe it was an homage to Dazed and Confused, but it didn't work here- Hey, it was 72. The whole spoken word deal should've been left off the album. It adds nothing and subtracts a lot.

Fanfare for the Common Man-
Sounds like they were trying to do a Moody Blues kind of deal. Never "got" this track. Again, JY's voice doesn't help.

Mother Nature's Matinee-
The keyboard solo at the beginning is just really annoying to me. Kind of like a flute. Not a fan of flutes in rock n' roll. Hated when Heart did it. Hated when Tull did it.
Having said that- I'd forgotten about this track. The first time you hear Dennis' voice in Styx. Why would any producer hear this and think "Yes, JY should be doing a large share of the lead vocals"?? Dennis is/was always such a great vocalist. This isn't that commercial, but as an album track, it's okay. Pretty corny lyrics but again, it was the times.

Right Away-
JY's voice is a bit better here, but still keeps it from being a real listenable track. And the track is so UN Styx. Never liked it.

What Has Come Between Us-
Too corny for me. Even Dennis' vocals can't help this one. The lyrics are just too dated and dopey. Interesting how different Dennis' pronunciation is on this album compared to albums after this. It's a bit more 'natural' sounding on this album rather than kind of that 'forced' (not a good word) diction that he used after this album. It'd be interesting to hear what Dennis thinks of these earlier tracks and his voice then compared to now.

Best Thing-
Not bad. Great harmonies. Could do without JYs little solo vocal runs. Shoulda let Dennis handle those. I like the raw guitar and organ sounds throughout. Probably the most "hit" sounding track here.

Quick is the Beat of My Heart-
This could've been a cool song with DeYoung singing it. It's super raw sounding- and it's actually pretty catchy. Might've been a better single than Best Thing had Dennis done the vocal. Unfortuntely, JYs tone just kills it for me. At the time of release, it was probably less annoying, but for some reason, it just grates on me and so it keeps this from being a "go to" album for me.

After You Leave Me-
So NOT a Styx type of song. Never liked it.

[Toph]

If you were to compare a number of rock acts from their first album to their peak/later albums, I'm sure you would find significant differences. Journey's first album sounds nothing liking Escape or Frontiers. I dare you to find any similarities between Jefferson Airplane and "Knee Deep in the Hoopla". Chicago Transit Authority vs. Chicago 17? Not close! But if you were from another planet and had never heard of Styx and someone put on Styx I and then say, Paradise Theater or God forbid, Kilroy, you would never guess it was the same band. I'd say the difference is more than any of the bands I've mentioned earlier in this post. Styx I sounds nothing like "STYX" as we know it. And for me personally, most of it just doesn't work. In fact, if I had been exposed to Styx I as my first Styx album, would have never proactively listened to them again.

But looking at the album, there are really only two instances that I see that give you a clue as to how Styx will eventually sound in later years.
- Mother Nature's Matinee - The dramatic bombast of DDY comes out here briefly and hints to the Styx of the mid - late 70s (The first 4 A&M albums - nothing on this album hints at the pop Styx of the 1980s.)
- Best Thing - The chorus hints at the vocal triads we'll see later, but DDY should have sung the entire song.

Other thoughts

My biggest problem is very few of these songs were actually written by Styx- probably causes it to sound non Stygian.

Movement for the Common Man - Clearly they wanted a 13 minute OPUS to lead off the album. Critical mistake. Trying to figure out what ties it all together lyrically. Can't find anything

Children of the Land - Just eh...Since you try to lead off an album with a strong song, after hearing this, you fear what might be coming afterward. Just boring early 70s rock.

Street Collage - WTF? Voices of Styx acting as older Chicagoans, but again, the point here is......?

Mother Nature Matinee - Listenable - due to being a somewhat recognizable future Stygian song. Do you notice how LOW DDY's voice is on these? His voice is an octave lower than what we would come to expect with Styx at its peak. Still blows JY's away. Hint of the Broadway, ballad Dennis that will become so prevalent in a few years. Like the acoustic guitar.

Right Away - Repetitious. How many times can you sing "Right Away?" Feels like a JY Wooden Nickel song.

What Has Come Between Us - Weird beginning with the piano trills. Long intro - Styx trying desperately to be proggy, especially with the harpsichord at the beginning. An octave lower than expected DDY lead vocal again. Way too repetitious again with the "Lovely Lady" chorus

Best Thing - So early 70s. Why they ruined this with JY's vocals and the "nooa nooo nooo nooo nooo" trill at the end of the chorus...Horrible. Guitar sound very dated - very 1972. I guess this is the only thing that is single worthy and so that is why they released. Middle bridge has a psychedelic feel to it.

Quick Is the Beat of My Heart - Chorus ok. Verses are bad. Too much JY. The "die die die" echo at the end? - WTF. Awful

After You Leave Me - The chorus harmonies sound a bit like later Styx. Check out the beginning few notes of the organ - sound a tad reminiscent of the open riff of Blue Collar Man to you? But by this point I'm so sick of the sound and JY's vocals, I'm done here.

Net, net - my life will be complete if I never hear this album again. It doesn't work on so many levels. In fact, if I were Styx, I would try to rewrite history and pretend this one never got released and start my career with Styx II - which we'll listen to next....

[Baron Von Bielski]

I like every song on this album. Most of it may not have been written by Styx, but it still sounds like Styx. It seemed that Wooden Nickel was pushing more for JY to be the primary lead vocalist at that time. He had more of a 70's classic southern rock sound to his voice, but Dennis still had the chops in my eyes or ears for that matter. Styx I remains my second favorite of the Wooden Nickel 4.

[gr8dane]

Love Styx 1.Don't think I have ever heard any of the originals.
But great choices.