MR

This is from an old online Tommy performance. Hard to believe this was from last June. Styx has to be anxious to get this album out:

https://youtu.be/hVvhD6S4PuY?t=1370

Both new songs sound great & reminiscent of classic Styx tracks, no doubt!

But, I'm hoping that they sound rockier in the recorded versions...or at least that the album has other, rockier tracks. So far, it sounds like 2 for 2 songs that are classic Tommy Shaw, Fooling Yourself/Man In The Wilderness/Sing For The Day folky type songs. They're great in the context of the whole album, but we want some Renegade/Blue Collar Man/Too Much Time rockers too. (Hopefully, JY is given a more substantial, hard rock track this time around!)

RumTumJM wrote:Both new songs sound great & reminiscent of classic Styx tracks, no doubt!

But, I'm hoping that they sound rockier in the recorded versions...or at least that the album has other, rockier tracks. So far, it sounds like 2 for 2 songs that are classic Tommy Shaw, Fooling Yourself/Man In The Wilderness/Sing For The Day folky type songs. They're great in the context of the whole album, but we want some Renegade/Blue Collar Man/Too Much Time rockers too. (Hopefully, JY is given a more substantial, hard rock track this time around!)

I agree with most of that. I really like "Our Wonderful Lives". Great lyrics for the times. I wrote them down, maybe I'll post them. I think it sounds great.

"Sound the Alarm" I think will sound better on the album. It seems like a song that loses a bit being translated to one accoustic guitar. It needs a bigger sound.

I hope they take the lessons from "The Mission" and expand on them. They had a great sound on that album...they just need more of it. It was too short. If they take that sound and make it into Cyclorama type length, then I'll be happy. It also doesn't have to be a concept album, IMO. Fine, if it is, but it doesn't have to be.

Agreed!

While "The Mission" was GREAT, there definitely were areas that could have been better (more straight up rockers, give JY a proper song, make songs like "Time May Bend" & "Trouble At The Big Show" more substantial, etc.)