Never seen this....

[cittadeeno23]

Love is the Ritual kicks ASS!
But I thought Back to Chicago belonged on a Dennis Solo CD. Not very Styx-like.

[yogi]

Edge Of The Century

1. Love Is The Ritual - GREAT GREAT hard rocking welcome Glen Burtnik to Styx song- Love it!!
2. Show Me The Way - Styx now has a top 10 hit in the 70's,80's & 90's - Great song!!!
3. Edge Of The Century - Another GREAT GREAT catchy hard rocking song - AWESOME!!!
4. Love At First Sight - Mid tempo hit - VERY VERY good song
5. All In A Days Work - Great song- Should have been released to radio. Great harmonies!!
6. Not Dead Yet - To me this hard rockin DDY song was really funny - The song isnt very good but they could have made a GREAT video for it
7. World Tonight - Kicks ass - John's drumming on this one shines - Love this song
8. Carrie Anne- Not great, but not horrible. It's as good as First Time. Soft Styx fans would have loved it had it been released in 1979.
9. Homewrecker - Typical JY - Double Life #2. Not great, but not horible
10. Back To Chicago- Love this song. Maybe it is more DDY but its Styx at its bluesy best. Far Far better than Nothing Ever Goes as Planned.

This is a GREAT GREAT Styx CD!!! As Styx sounding as any to me. Had A&M backed it and grunge stayed away a little longer it could have been a top CD for that year. GREAT STYX album!!!!!

DDY & Glen should do an album together.

[Rockwriter]

Not 100% true.

Equinox was Classic Styx, For me it was Styx at their BEST - No Tommy Shaw
Edge Of The Century was an EXCELLENT album - The tour was also very good - No Tommy Shaw
I also REALLY liked Cyclorama - No DDY

Edge of the Century an excellent album? OMG you have to be joking! Back To Chicago? Carrie Ann? Homewrecker? Not Dead Yet? This was not the Styx I loved..was Dennis in solo mode with a non-Styx, dislike most anything Styx did, Glen B! On top of that, John P. was no where near the top of his game. Besides a few tunes, mostly wasted vinyl.

I am forced to agree. Dennis' songs, with the exception of "Show Me The Way," sound like solo efforts to me, and Glen, while obviously talented, to me has always sounded like he belonged in a different band altogether (for instance, one that he actually likes and doesn't want to change from the inside out).

I think "Homewrecker" is the worst song JY has ever put on a Styx record, and it's one of the worst songs EVER to appear on any Styx record, in my opinion. "Carrie Ann" is not much better.

On the very rare occasions I listen to this album, I really only hit the title song, "Show Me The Way," "Love At First Sight," "All In A Day's Work" and . . . there may be one more but I sure can't think of it right now. Apart from the Wooden Nickel era I think EOTC is the worst original Styx studio album ever recorded. I couldn't realistically recommend it to anyone other than a Styx completionist.

Sterling

[Rockwriter]

Edge Of The Century

1. Love Is The Ritual - GREAT GREAT hard rocking welcome Glen Burtnik to Styx song- Love it!!
2. Show Me The Way - Styx now has a top 10 hit in the 70's,80's & 90's - Great song!!!
3. Edge Of The Century - Another GREAT GREAT catchy hard rocking song - AWESOME!!!
4. Love At First Sight - Mid tempo hit - VERY VERY good song
5. All In A Days Work - Great song- Should have been released to radio. Great harmonies!!
6. Not Dead Yet - To me this hard rockin DDY song was really funny - The song isnt very good but they could have made a GREAT video for it
7. World Tonight - Kicks ass - John's drumming on this one shines - Love this song
8. Carrie Anne- Not great, but not horrible. It's as good as First Time. Soft Styx fans would have loved it had it been released in 1979.
9. Homewrecker - Typical JY - Double Life #2. Not great, but not horible
10. Back To Chicago- Love this song. Maybe it is more DDY but its Styx at its bluesy best. Far Far better than Nothing Ever Goes as Planned.

This is a GREAT GREAT Styx CD!!! As Styx sounding as any to me. Had A&M backed it and grunge stayed away a little longer it could have been a top CD for that year. GREAT STYX album!!!!!

DDY & Glen should do an album together.

Just goes to show you once again how differently people can see the same thing. Here's my take on the same songs:

Love Is The Ritual - Sounds like re-hashed Def Leppard instead of Styx. The lyric has that awful "C'mon dance little sister, little sister wants to dance . . . to ROCK YOUR WORLD and be your lover" middle part that almost makes me laugh out loud, it's so terribly silly. It's like a little kid wrote it. Glen is capable of far, far, far better than that.

Show Me The Way - The one and only song on the album that sounds like classic Styx to me. Great recording of a great song.

Edge of the Century - If you had to have Glen sing the first single, I wish this had been the single. It's topical like Styx, and the harmonies sound like Styx. Cool guitar riff and a great solo.

Love At First Sight - Nice arrangement, great vocal, great harmonies, but very bland. Professional, well-crafted but very forgettable.

All In A Day's Work - Really cool chord progression, nice harmonies. Nice album track but no way in the world would it have worked at radio in my opinion. Lyric seems aimed at teenage girls - I mean, a song about some starry-eyed girl making out with her pillow? How am I supposed to take that seriously? Better live than on the album.

Not Dead Yet - Such a shopworn progression, very cliched solos. Interesting to hear Dennis sing like that, it's the only thing I like about the track.

World Tonite - Cool progression, great melody, nice groove. But here again, it has that awful lyric "The girls wanna dance/The boys wanna fight/Gonna get rockin' in the world tonite". Glen can do better than that. That chorus kills the whole thing for me.

Carrie Ann - I consider this the worst ballad Dennis has ever written, and normally I am a big fan of his ballads. The verses are almost formless, with no rhythm structure under them at all. The chorus has a nice lift but the lyric is just kinda not much. Harmony solos are about the only thing I like about the track but overall it's a b-side at best, and barely even that.

Homewrecker - The track, the playing, the lyric and the vocal performance all suck. Dennis' keyboard solo sucks (if that's him and not JY). The only thing I can even barely tolerate about this track is JY's guitar solo, but it's not enough to save it. This song is worse than almost anything even on JY's solo albums.

Back To Chicago - Dennis has done stuff with horns before and made it work for Styx, but this ain't one of them. This sounds like a b-side from 'Back To The World' to me.

That's just my opinion!

Sterling

[Monker]

1, 2, and 3 are the only songs that hold up, or that I even cared about. "Homewrecker" is the only song on here that sounds like the old Styx...which proved to me how important JY is to the traditional Styx sound. The rest sound like Glen/Dennis solo songs...and I believe Glen even performed some before he joined the band.

Edge Of The Century

1. Love Is The Ritual - GREAT GREAT hard rocking welcome Glen Burtnik to Styx song- Love it!!
2. Show Me The Way - Styx now has a top 10 hit in the 70's,80's & 90's - Great song!!!
3. Edge Of The Century - Another GREAT GREAT catchy hard rocking song - AWESOME!!!
4. Love At First Sight - Mid tempo hit - VERY VERY good song
5. All In A Days Work - Great song- Should have been released to radio. Great harmonies!!
6. Not Dead Yet - To me this hard rockin DDY song was really funny - The song isnt very good but they could have made a GREAT video for it
7. World Tonight - Kicks ass - John's drumming on this one shines - Love this song
8. Carrie Anne- Not great, but not horrible. It's as good as First Time. Soft Styx fans would have loved it had it been released in 1979.
9. Homewrecker - Typical JY - Double Life #2. Not great, but not horible
10. Back To Chicago- Love this song. Maybe it is more DDY but its Styx at its bluesy best. Far Far better than Nothing Ever Goes as Planned.

This is a GREAT GREAT Styx CD!!! As Styx sounding as any to me. Had A&M backed it and grunge stayed away a little longer it could have been a top CD for that year. GREAT STYX album!!!!!

DDY & Glen should do an album together.

[Everett]

Who whistles on all in days work????

[Rockwriter]

Who whistles on all in days work????

It's Dennis. Find some live stuff if you can, he whistled it perfectly in the live shows.


Sterling

[StyxCollector]

I am forced to agree. Dennis' songs, with the exception of "Show Me The Way," sound like solo efforts to me, and Glen, while obviously talented, to me has always sounded like he belonged in a different band altogether (for instance, one that he actually likes and doesn't want to change from the inside out).

I think "Homewrecker" is the worst song JY has ever put on a Styx record, and it's one of the worst songs EVER to appear on any Styx record, in my opinion. "Carrie Ann" is not much better.

On the very rare occasions I listen to this album, I really only hit the title song, "Show Me The Way," "Love At First Sight," "All In A Day's Work" and . . . there may be one more but I sure can't think of it right now. Apart from the Wooden Nickel era I think EOTC is the worst original Styx studio album ever recorded. I couldn't realistically recommend it to anyone other than a Styx completionist.

Sterling

Actually, I think BNW is the worst original Styx studio album. I actually enjoy a lot of EOTC. Favorite Styx album? No, but ranks above any of the WN albums as well as BNW in my world.

However, "Homewrecker" is AWFUL. I agree with Sterling here - it is one of the worst Styx songs ever to grace an album.

EOTC is also more cohesive as a Styx album vs. BNW as well for me. Yes, it's got moments that are un-Styx like (a la "Love is the Ritual"), but even those moments were far more successful than drivel like "Brave New World (Reprise)".

[Boomchild]

Not 100% true.

Equinox was Classic Styx, For me it was Styx at their BEST - No Tommy Shaw
Edge Of The Century was an EXCELLENT album - The tour was also very good - No Tommy Shaw
I also REALLY liked Cyclorama - No DDY

I don't think that it is as matter of truth or fact. For me it's more of a matter of preference. I like Styx pre TS and enjoyed them more after he joined. For me, his addition added a dimension to Styx that wasn't there with JC. I also enjoyed EOTC with Glen but it didn't feel exactly like Styx (for me). Since the departure of DDY and the addition of Gowan, Styx no longer has what I enjoyed about them.

[Boomchild]

Not 100% true.

Equinox was Classic Styx, For me it was Styx at their BEST - No Tommy Shaw
Edge Of The Century was an EXCELLENT album - The tour was also very good - No Tommy Shaw
I also REALLY liked Cyclorama - No DDY

Edge of the Century an excellent album? OMG you have to be joking! Back To Chicago? Carrie Ann? Homewrecker? Not Dead Yet? This was not the Styx I loved..was Dennis in solo mode with a non-Styx, dislike most anything Styx did, Glen B! On top of that, John P. was no where near the top of his game. Besides a few tunes, mostly wasted vinyl.

I am forced to agree. Dennis' songs, with the exception of "Show Me The Way," sound like solo efforts to me, and Glen, while obviously talented, to me has always sounded like he belonged in a different band altogether (for instance, one that he actually likes and doesn't want to change from the inside out).

I think "Homewrecker" is the worst song JY has ever put on a Styx record, and it's one of the worst songs EVER to appear on any Styx record, in my opinion. "Carrie Ann" is not much better.

On the very rare occasions I listen to this album, I really only hit the title song, "Show Me The Way," "Love At First Sight," "All In A Day's Work" and . . . there may be one more but I sure can't think of it right now. Apart from the Wooden Nickel era I think EOTC is the worst original Styx studio album ever recorded. I couldn't realistically recommend it to anyone other than a Styx completionist.

Sterling

I never enjoyed Homewrecker either. Makes me wonder what the other songs that JY submitted that were rejected are like. I thought the choice of adding Glen in place of Tommy was a great choice. His writing skills and vocals complemented the project. Overall, I thought it was a good effort but as others have pointed out it seems to have more of a DDY solo feel to it in some respects.

[Boomchild]

I am forced to agree. Dennis' songs, with the exception of "Show Me The Way," sound like solo efforts to me, and Glen, while obviously talented, to me has always sounded like he belonged in a different band altogether (for instance, one that he actually likes and doesn't want to change from the inside out).

I think "Homewrecker" is the worst song JY has ever put on a Styx record, and it's one of the worst songs EVER to appear on any Styx record, in my opinion. "Carrie Ann" is not much better.

On the very rare occasions I listen to this album, I really only hit the title song, "Show Me The Way," "Love At First Sight," "All In A Day's Work" and . . . there may be one more but I sure can't think of it right now. Apart from the Wooden Nickel era I think EOTC is the worst original Styx studio album ever recorded. I couldn't realistically recommend it to anyone other than a Styx completionist.

Sterling

Actually, I think BNW is the worst original Styx studio album. I actually enjoy a lot of EOTC. Favorite Styx album? No, but ranks above any of the WN albums as well as BNW in my world.

However, "Homewrecker" is AWFUL. I agree with Sterling here - it is one of the worst Styx songs ever to grace an album.

EOTC is also more cohesive as a Styx album vs. BNW as well for me. Yes, it's got moments that are un-Styx like (a la "Love is the Ritual"), but even those moments were far more successful than drivel like "Brave New World (Reprise)".

I would agree that BNW is the most disappointing studio album. There seems to be ton of things that didn't work on that ablum compared to EOTC. Dennis' lack of involvement in the final product really shows through.

[Rockwriter]

I am forced to agree. Dennis' songs, with the exception of "Show Me The Way," sound like solo efforts to me, and Glen, while obviously talented, to me has always sounded like he belonged in a different band altogether (for instance, one that he actually likes and doesn't want to change from the inside out).

I think "Homewrecker" is the worst song JY has ever put on a Styx record, and it's one of the worst songs EVER to appear on any Styx record, in my opinion. "Carrie Ann" is not much better.

On the very rare occasions I listen to this album, I really only hit the title song, "Show Me The Way," "Love At First Sight," "All In A Day's Work" and . . . there may be one more but I sure can't think of it right now. Apart from the Wooden Nickel era I think EOTC is the worst original Styx studio album ever recorded. I couldn't realistically recommend it to anyone other than a Styx completionist.

Sterling

Actually, I think BNW is the worst original Styx studio album. I actually enjoy a lot of EOTC. Favorite Styx album? No, but ranks above any of the WN albums as well as BNW in my world.

However, "Homewrecker" is AWFUL. I agree with Sterling here - it is one of the worst Styx songs ever to grace an album.

EOTC is also more cohesive as a Styx album vs. BNW as well for me. Yes, it's got moments that are un-Styx like (a la "Love is the Ritual"), but even those moments were far more successful than drivel like "Brave New World (Reprise)".

I'd actually forgotten all about 'Brave New World.' Yeah, a lot of that doesn't work, for sure. But there are more songs on there that I DO like vs. EOTC, for me at least. Dennis made a stronger effort for BNW overall, despite 'High Crimes and Misdemeanors." His other songs on there are strong, and Tommy has some strong songs, too. And although there's some really weak stuff as well, I can't say that anything on there is any worse than "Homewrecker" or "Carrie Ann."

I do agree that "Brave New World (Reprise)" is just not good. You can tell that the Dennis vocal is flown in from another track, when he suddenly bursts in with, "I watch the parade BEGIN!" That's ridiculous, and the harmonies are all out of whack. I would have rather just ended the album on "Goodbye Roseland."


Sterling

[masque]

Not 100% true.

Equinox was Classic Styx, For me it was Styx at their BEST - No Tommy Shaw
Edge Of The Century was an EXCELLENT album - The tour was also very good - No Tommy Shaw
I also REALLY liked Cyclorama - No DDY

Edge of the Century an excellent album? OMG you have to be joking! Back To Chicago? Carrie Ann? Homewrecker? Not Dead Yet? This was not the Styx I loved..was Dennis in solo mode with a non-Styx, dislike most anything Styx did, Glen B! On top of that, John P. was no where near the top of his game. Besides a few tunes, mostly wasted vinyl.

I am forced to agree. Dennis' songs, with the exception of "Show Me The Way," sound like solo efforts to me, and Glen, while obviously talented, to me has always sounded like he belonged in a different band altogether (for instance, one that he actually likes and doesn't want to change from the inside out).

I think "Homewrecker" is the worst song JY has ever put on a Styx record, and it's one of the worst songs EVER to appear on any Styx record, in my opinion. "Carrie Ann" is not much better.

On the very rare occasions I listen to this album, I really only hit the title song, "Show Me The Way," "Love At First Sight," "All In A Day's Work" and . . . there may be one more but I sure can't think of it right now. Apart from the Wooden Nickel era I think EOTC is the worst original Styx studio album ever recorded. I couldn't realistically recommend it to anyone other than a Styx completionist.

Sterling

i agree with nearly all of that ecept I actually like Not Dead Yet pretty well....even though they didnt write and it and it doesnt sound like styx.....i still thought it was a pretty cool "tongue and cheek" kind of song.

[masque]

many times folks talk about an album not being "cohesive" such as BNW.....that kind of stuff has never really bothered me.....in fact, I like the big swings in style and recording styles on some albums......i guess growing up with queen as one of your favorite bands and dealing with the swings and crazy style changes has been something I dont mind embracing.

i think what hurts albums like BNW has more to do with some piss poor tracks mixed with some good ones vs. a lack of cohesion.....because if all of the songs had been good ones then the differences in recording tecniques and styles would not have mattered.....at least to me.

[bugsymalone]

I agree with Yogi about Equinox. To me that album represents a group that had finally found its musical footing. And I find it their most enjoyable album, start to finish, because of that.

GI and POE saw the solidifying of the Styx sound with John C. gone and Tommy added.

Everything that came after Paradise Theater, I feel, started to show the cracks forming between band members and, while each album (even unto BNW), had nice musical moments, none of them were a seamless whole. (And I suppose Cornerstone could also be put into the not-quite-together category as well.)

"Goodbye Roseland" should be the theme song for everything that followed their greatest commercial success - Paradise Theater.


Bugsy

[Boomchild]

I agree with Yogi about Equinox. To me that album represents a group that had finally found its musical footing. And I find it their most enjoyable album, start to finish, because of that.

GI and POE saw the solidifying of the Styx sound with John C. gone and Tommy added.

Everything that came after Paradise Theater, I feel, started to show the cracks forming between band members and, while each album (even unto BNW), had nice musical moments, none of them were a seamless whole. (And I suppose Cornerstone could also be put into the not-quite-together category as well.)

"Goodbye Roseland" should be the theme song for everything that followed their greatest commercial success - Paradise Theater.


Bugsy

In my opinion, this is a very good observation.

[StyxCollector]

I agree with Yogi about Equinox. To me that album represents a group that had finally found its musical footing. And I find it their most enjoyable album, start to finish, because of that.

GI and POE saw the solidifying of the Styx sound with John C. gone and Tommy added.

Everything that came after Paradise Theater, I feel, started to show the cracks forming between band members and, while each album (even unto BNW), had nice musical moments, none of them were a seamless whole. (And I suppose Cornerstone could also be put into the not-quite-together category as well.)

"Goodbye Roseland" should be the theme song for everything that followed their greatest commercial success - Paradise Theater.


Bugsy

I look at it another way: Styx isn't the Beatles, nor would I ever claim they are.

But I would equate Cornerstone to Let It Be and PT to Abbey Road. A bit of a stretch? Hear me out. LIB shows a band divided in many ways even though it has some good songs. LIB was recorded before Abbey Road but released after. The guys said, hey, let's go in and do one more like the old days together, and you got Abbey Road (not without its disagreements either with the whole John vs. Paul side things, but you get the gist). Abbey Road is one of my favorite Beatles albums, even above Pepper and the White Album which are what most say are the best.

PT has that same kind of cohesiveness that marked the post-LIB Abbey Road and seemed to balance the soft to the rock - and while it didn't 100% sound like GI or Po8, it had cohesion both sonically and musically. Cornerstone for as much as it was a hit album and celebrates diversity, to me is also like Billy Joel's Turnstiles which is a collection of songs (some hits and well regarded today), but not great as a body of work. Cornerstone is not a complete mess, but the cracks are there but they got their shit together to get past it and make PT.

I do like Kilroy, and I still think side 2 contains some of the best work Styx ever did in both "Double Life" and "Haven't We Been Here Before".

[bugsymalone]

I agree with Yogi about Equinox. To me that album represents a group that had finally found its musical footing. And I find it their most enjoyable album, start to finish, because of that.

GI and POE saw the solidifying of the Styx sound with John C. gone and Tommy added.

Everything that came after Paradise Theater, I feel, started to show the cracks forming between band members and, while each album (even unto BNW), had nice musical moments, none of them were a seamless whole. (And I suppose Cornerstone could also be put into the not-quite-together category as well.)

"Goodbye Roseland" should be the theme song for everything that followed their greatest commercial success - Paradise Theater.


Bugsy

I look at it another way: Styx isn't the Beatles, nor would I ever claim they are.

But I would equate Cornerstone to Let It Be and PT to Abbey Road. A bit of a stretch? Hear me out. LIB shows a band divided in many ways even though it has some good songs. LIB was recorded before Abbey Road but released after. The guys said, hey, let's go in and do one more like the old days together, and you got Abbey Road (not without its disagreements either with the whole John vs. Paul side things, but you get the gist). Abbey Road is one of my favorite Beatles albums, even above Pepper and the White Album which are what most say are the best.

PT has that same kind of cohesiveness that marked the post-LIB Abbey Road and seemed to balance the soft to the rock - and while it didn't 100% sound like GI or Po8, it had cohesion both sonically and musically. Cornerstone for as much as it was a hit album and celebrates diversity, to me is also like Billy Joel's Turnstiles which is a collection of songs (some hits and well regarded today), but not great as a body of work. Cornerstone is not a complete mess, but the cracks are there but they got their shit together to get past it and make PT.

I do like Kilroy, and I still think side 2 contains some of the best work Styx ever did in both "Double Life" and "Haven't We Been Here Before".

I will certainly say, in total agreement, that Abbey Road was the true Beatles' masterpiece. My favorite by far.

I agree that Styx did pull it together for PT and the concept was well-realized, no question. I guess Cornerstone can be looked upon as somewhat of a transition album, but there were divisions starting with it.

I also think PT has as great a song as was ever written or performed by Dennis -- Lonely People. As I have said many, many times before, I only wish they had separated the intro track from it. I just want to smack people in the face who underrate and denigrate the music of DDY, shove this track at them, and tell them to STFU and listen to it.

Bugsy

[StyxCollector]

I will certainly say, in total agreement, that Abbey Road was the true Beatles' masterpiece. My favorite by far.

I agree that Styx did pull it together for PT and the concept was well-realized, no question. I guess Cornerstone can be looked upon as somewhat of a transition album, but there were divisions starting with it.

I also think PT has as great a song as was ever written or performed by Dennis -- Lonely People. As I have said many, many times before, I only wish they had separated the intro track from it. I just want to smack people in the face who underrate and denigrate the music of DDY, shove this track at them, and tell them to STFU and listen to it.

Bugsy

Forgot to add "Just Get Through This Night" to my list of Kilroy songs

Cornerstone was a bridge album, no question. Rush's bridge album was Permanent Waves which ... shocker ... was around the same time as Cornerstone. They didn't perfect it until Moving Pictures.

The problem I would gather with "Lonely People" is that long-ish intro where there's no music. It's not the song itself.

[FormerDJMike]

I must be the exception as I love Homewrecker now and did when it came it. It was the "flip side" of "Ritual" on the CD single. When it was released and I heard those 2 songs I thought "This album is gonna rock!" I was greatly disappointed when I heard the whole thing, not in the songs but disappointed that it didn't rock like I expected. I stil have EOTC in my truck's CD player and I enjoy it very much. I like this album now as much I as did when it came out. ALL the songs.

[Abitaman]

Homewrecker is a very by the numbers song from all. Even so, I still like the keyboard solo.