BNW

[Don]

Personnel involved In the Union album.

Main Musicians

Yes

* Jon Anderson - lead vocals
* Chris Squire - bass, vocals
* Trevor Rabin - guitar, vocals
* Tony Kaye - keyboards, vocals
* Alan White - drums, vocals

ABWH

* Jon Anderson - lead vocals
* Bill Bruford - drums
* Rick Wakeman - keyboards
* Steve Howe - guitar, vocals


Additional Musicians

* Jonathan Elias - synthesizer, keyboard, vocals
* Tony Levin - bass
* Jimmy Haun - guitar
* Billy Sherwood - bass, guitars, keys, vocals
* Allan Schwartzberg - percussion
* Gary Barlough - synthesizer
* Jerry Bennett - synthesizer, percussion
* Jim Crichton - synthesizer, keyboard
* Gary Falcone - vocals
* Deborah Anderson - vocals (Jon's daughter)
* Ian Lloyd - vocals
* Tommy Funderburk - vocals
* Sherman Foote - synthesizer
* Brian Foraker - synthesizer
* Chris Fosdick - synthesizer
* Rory Kaplan - synthesizer
* Alex Lasarenko - synthesizer, keyboard
* Steve Porcaro - synthesizer
* Michael Sherwood - vocals (Billy's brother)
* Danny Vaughn - vocals

[cittadeeno23]

I think Dennis was right about this album. It was an album of missed opportunities.
That being said, Dennis' songs on BNW are his worst contributions ever on any Styx Record.
Goodbye Roseland was the only good song he had on that album. And I like EVERYTHING he ever wrote, even going back to the Wooden Nickel years. Well, Back to Chicago didn't belong on a Styx album either. Sounds like a showtune.

I say if you take the 5 best songs on BNW and 100 years and get Dennis, Tommy and JY to sit in the same studio and record them together and let DENNIS produce them, then you have one killer Styx album!

I will be your witness, BNW, Goodbye Roseland, Everything is Cool, Heavy Water, 100 years, Save me, Rubicon, Rain and Turn off CNN. Not sure what order I would put them in, but I would lead off with Everything is Cool and end with Goodbye Roseland.

[brywool]

Private Jones instead of CNN. And remove the dopey keyboard lick in Rain.

[cittadeeno23]

I've got the Canadian version of 100 years. I've never heard Private Jones.
Does it rock??

[Abitaman]

I've got the Canadian version of 100 years. I've never heard Private Jones.
Does it rock??

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Monker]

BNW is the equivalent of the Yes Union album. 'nuff said.

No way...Union was great. What was interesting to me was there were bits lifted directly from Steve Howe's Turbulence. You could also hear and 'feel' what songs Howe was on and what songs Rabin was on. It truly was a 'union' of two different version of Yes. BNW does not have that feel at all. It 'feels' like an album of conflict between Tommy/JY and Dennis, and Dennis obviously lost.

[FormerDJMike]

BNW is the equivalent of the Yes Union album. 'nuff said.

No way...Union was great. What was interesting to me was there were bits lifted directly from Steve Howe's Turbulence. You could also hear and 'feel' what songs Howe was on and what songs Rabin was on. It truly was a 'union' of two different version of Yes. BNW does not have that feel at all. It 'feels' like an album of conflict between Tommy/JY and Dennis, and Dennis obviously lost.

Got that right Monker, I still like Union to this day. Much better than BNW (even tho I like that too).

[StyxCollector]

BNW is the equivalent of the Yes Union album. 'nuff said.

No way...Union was great. What was interesting to me was there were bits lifted directly from Steve Howe's Turbulence. You could also hear and 'feel' what songs Howe was on and what songs Rabin was on. It truly was a 'union' of two different version of Yes. BNW does not have that feel at all. It 'feels' like an album of conflict between Tommy/JY and Dennis, and Dennis obviously lost.

Got that right Monker, I still like Union to this day. Much better than BNW (even tho I like that too).

Union was pretty bad as far as Yes albums go; nothing memorable on it. It felt like two different albums from different bands (which was more my point). Neither BNW or Union were cohesive, which is a big part of the downfall. A few good songs doesn't make a great album.

The tour was great, though.

[Boomchild]

Personally I would have liked to have heard Dennis sing "Everything Is Cool" & "Just Fell In". Those 2 songs were written for him to sing. I also liked "Great Expectations" better when a friend mentioned it had a "Walking On The Moon" feel too it. Don't listen to it anymore but pull it out every two years or so.

I really like the lyrics to that song.

[Boomchild]

I think Dennis was right about this album. It was an album of missed opportunities.
That being said, Dennis' songs on BNW are his worst contributions ever on any Styx Record.
Goodbye Roseland was the only good song he had on that album. And I like EVERYTHING he ever wrote, even going back to the Wooden Nickel years. Well, Back to Chicago didn't belong on a Styx album either. Sounds like a showtune.

I say if you take the 5 best songs on BNW and 100 years and get Dennis, Tommy and JY to sit in the same studio and record them together and let DENNIS produce them, then you have one killer Styx album!

I will be your witness, BNW, Goodbye Roseland, Everything is Cool, Heavy Water, 100 years, Save me, Rubicon, Rain and Turn off CNN. Not sure what order I would put them in, but I would lead off with Everything is Cool and end with Goodbye Roseland.

They don't come off as his strongest efforts that for sure. His health status I'm sure played a big part of it.

[BlackWall]

Personally I would have liked to have heard Dennis sing "Everything Is Cool" & "Just Fell In". Those 2 songs were written for him to sing. I also liked "Great Expectations" better when a friend mentioned it had a "Walking On The Moon" feel too it. Don't listen to it anymore but pull it out every two years or so.

EIC was written for Dennis to sing? Is this true or just your opinion?

Has to just be an opinion. I'm pretty sure I remember seeing somewhere that Dennis actually was against it being the title track(everything is cool in the land of the BRAVE NEW WORLD); so, it was retitled, and then "Brave New World" was written for the album. I suppose that doesn't mean it's impossible that Tommy wrote it with DDY in mind, but at that point in the game, I 'd say unlikely.

[FormerDJMike]

Personally I would have liked to have heard Dennis sing "Everything Is Cool" & "Just Fell In". Those 2 songs were written for him to sing. I also liked "Great Expectations" better when a friend mentioned it had a "Walking On The Moon" feel too it. Don't listen to it anymore but pull it out every two years or so.

EIC was written for Dennis to sing? Is this true or just your opinion?

Has to just be an opinion. I'm pretty sure I remember seeing somewhere that Dennis actually was against it being the title track(everything is cool in the land of the BRAVE NEW WORLD); so, it was retitled, and then "Brave New World" was written for the album. I suppose that doesn't mean it's impossible that Tommy wrote it with DDY in mind, but at that point in the game, I 'd say unlikely.

Everything Is Cool and Just fell In were written for Dennis to sing. Not my opinion, a fact. He didn't care for either song and didn't want to sing on them. Everything Is Cool is originally titled Brave new World. The title was changed after Tommy wrote another Brave new World.

[froy]

BNW is the equivalent of the Yes Union album. 'nuff said.

No way...Union was great. What was interesting to me was there were bits lifted directly from Steve Howe's Turbulence. You could also hear and 'feel' what songs Howe was on and what songs Rabin was on. It truly was a 'union' of two different version of Yes. BNW does not have that feel at all. It 'feels' like an album of conflict between Tommy/JY and Dennis, and Dennis obviously lost.

Got that right Monker, I still like Union to this day. Much better than BNW (even tho I like that too).

Union was pretty bad as far as Yes albums go; nothing memorable on it. It felt like two different albums from different bands (which was more my point). Neither BNW or Union were cohesive, which is a big part of the downfall. A few good songs doesn't make a great album.

The tour was great, though.

Saw Union about 11 times NJ Chicago Milwaukee Champaign Indy
Best YES is Magnification stellar

[Monker]

BNW is the equivalent of the Yes Union album. 'nuff said.

No way...Union was great. What was interesting to me was there were bits lifted directly from Steve Howe's Turbulence. You could also hear and 'feel' what songs Howe was on and what songs Rabin was on. It truly was a 'union' of two different version of Yes. BNW does not have that feel at all. It 'feels' like an album of conflict between Tommy/JY and Dennis, and Dennis obviously lost.

Got that right Monker, I still like Union to this day. Much better than BNW (even tho I like that too).

Union was pretty bad as far as Yes albums go; nothing memorable on it. It felt like two different albums from different bands (which was more my point). Neither BNW or Union were cohesive, which is a big part of the downfall. A few good songs doesn't make a great album.

The tour was great, though.

Union is not a bad album. What is 'memorable'? Yes hasn't released anything truly 'memorable' from the general public's perspective since 90125. "Big Generator" is a 'bad' Yes album, not Union.

[Monker]

Personally I would have liked to have heard Dennis sing "Everything Is Cool" & "Just Fell In". Those 2 songs were written for him to sing. I also liked "Great Expectations" better when a friend mentioned it had a "Walking On The Moon" feel too it. Don't listen to it anymore but pull it out every two years or so.

EIC was written for Dennis to sing? Is this true or just your opinion?

Has to just be an opinion. I'm pretty sure I remember seeing somewhere that Dennis actually was against it being the title track(everything is cool in the land of the BRAVE NEW WORLD); so, it was retitled, and then "Brave New World" was written for the album. I suppose that doesn't mean it's impossible that Tommy wrote it with DDY in mind, but at that point in the game, I 'd say unlikely.

Everything Is Cool and Just fell In were written for Dennis to sing. Not my opinion, a fact. He didn't care for either song and didn't want to sing on them. Everything Is Cool is originally titled Brave new World. The title was changed after Tommy wrote another Brave new World.

Well, IMO, that's just more evidence that Dennis no longer has a good ear for good Styx music. "Everything Is Cool" is a GREAT song...he should have never passed on it. Good job by the rest of the band for recording it anyway. He refused to record "These Are the Times", too. That is also a great song...and good job by the band for recognizing this and getting it on Cyclorama.

"Just Fell In" is pretty bland to me...but even that is better then some of the crap Dennis put on BNW.

[LtVanish]

Best YES is Magnification stellar

I don't think it is their best, but Magnification is a great album one of my favorites. My all time favorite Yes album is "Relayer" that is a wild record, it doesn't get more epic than "The Gates of Delirium" I still love "The Ladder" as well, that is a great album.

[chickenbeef]

BNW is the equivalent of the Yes Union album. 'nuff said.

No way...Union was great. What was interesting to me was there were bits lifted directly from Steve Howe's Turbulence. You could also hear and 'feel' what songs Howe was on and what songs Rabin was on. It truly was a 'union' of two different version of Yes. BNW does not have that feel at all. It 'feels' like an album of conflict between Tommy/JY and Dennis, and Dennis obviously lost.

Got that right Monker, I still like Union to this day. Much better than BNW (even tho I like that too).

Union was pretty bad as far as Yes albums go; nothing memorable on it. It felt like two different albums from different bands (which was more my point). Neither BNW or Union were cohesive, which is a big part of the downfall. A few good songs doesn't make a great album.

The tour was great, though.

Saw Union about 11 times NJ Chicago Milwaukee Champaign Indy
Best YES is Magnification stellar

close to the edge is probably the best album ever made...

[Toph]

Personally I would have liked to have heard Dennis sing "Everything Is Cool" & "Just Fell In". Those 2 songs were written for him to sing. I also liked "Great Expectations" better when a friend mentioned it had a "Walking On The Moon" feel too it. Don't listen to it anymore but pull it out every two years or so.

EIC was written for Dennis to sing? Is this true or just your opinion?

Has to just be an opinion. I'm pretty sure I remember seeing somewhere that Dennis actually was against it being the title track(everything is cool in the land of the BRAVE NEW WORLD); so, it was retitled, and then "Brave New World" was written for the album. I suppose that doesn't mean it's impossible that Tommy wrote it with DDY in mind, but at that point in the game, I 'd say unlikely.

Everything Is Cool and Just fell In were written for Dennis to sing. Not my opinion, a fact. He didn't care for either song and didn't want to sing on them. Everything Is Cool is originally titled Brave new World. The title was changed after Tommy wrote another Brave new World.

Well, IMO, that's just more evidence that Dennis no longer has a good ear for good Styx music. "Everything Is Cool" is a GREAT song...he should have never passed on it. Good job by the rest of the band for recording it anyway. He refused to record "These Are the Times", too. That is also a great song...and good job by the band for recognizing this and getting it on Cyclorama.

"Just Fell In" is pretty bland to me...but even that is better then some of the crap Dennis put on BNW.

Monker, I just love how you state your OPINIONS as facts. Like stuff JY/TOmmy put on BNW were far superior than DDY's crap. I'd have to say that all of them were equally gulty of putting crap on that record. Just Fell In - right up there with Friendly Advice, True Confessions, and Bad Times as the worst Tommy Shaw songs ever written. Everything Is Cool - has NO melody at all - sucks. Brave New World reprise...are you kidding me? Have you listened to how bad that was recorded? Best New Face...mediocre Tommy solo song, Number One...about as obnoxious a Styx song ever conceived, What Have They Done For YOu...awful...Heavy Water...certainly not nearly as strong as JY's Kilropy or Paradise Theater songs, and about on par with Home Wrecker. The first song - I can't even remember the name of it - but its lyrics were absolutely 4th gradish. Lack any type of depth whatsoever. Now, I am not a big fan of High Crimes or Great Expectations, but the other three DDY tunes, Goodbye Roseland, White There is Still Time, and Fallen Angel, are significantly better than ANYTHING that Jy/Tommy contribute on that record. And yes, that is my OPINION, I'm not masquerading it as fact liek you do all too often.

[BlackWall]

Personally I would have liked to have heard Dennis sing "Everything Is Cool" & "Just Fell In". Those 2 songs were written for him to sing. I also liked "Great Expectations" better when a friend mentioned it had a "Walking On The Moon" feel too it. Don't listen to it anymore but pull it out every two years or so.

EIC was written for Dennis to sing? Is this true or just your opinion?

Has to just be an opinion. I'm pretty sure I remember seeing somewhere that Dennis actually was against it being the title track(everything is cool in the land of the BRAVE NEW WORLD); so, it was retitled, and then "Brave New World" was written for the album. I suppose that doesn't mean it's impossible that Tommy wrote it with DDY in mind, but at that point in the game, I 'd say unlikely.

Everything Is Cool and Just fell In were written for Dennis to sing. Not my opinion, a fact. He didn't care for either song and didn't want to sing on them. Everything Is Cool is originally titled Brave new World. The title was changed after Tommy wrote another Brave new World.

Interesting. Dennis was right on with this as far as I'm concerned. "Just Fell In" is kinda fun, but it's more of a b-side type of track.

[Boomchild]

Personally I would have liked to have heard Dennis sing "Everything Is Cool" & "Just Fell In". Those 2 songs were written for him to sing. I also liked "Great Expectations" better when a friend mentioned it had a "Walking On The Moon" feel too it. Don't listen to it anymore but pull it out every two years or so.

EIC was written for Dennis to sing? Is this true or just your opinion?

Has to just be an opinion. I'm pretty sure I remember seeing somewhere that Dennis actually was against it being the title track(everything is cool in the land of the BRAVE NEW WORLD); so, it was retitled, and then "Brave New World" was written for the album. I suppose that doesn't mean it's impossible that Tommy wrote it with DDY in mind, but at that point in the game, I 'd say unlikely.

Everything Is Cool and Just fell In were written for Dennis to sing. Not my opinion, a fact. He didn't care for either song and didn't want to sing on them. Everything Is Cool is originally titled Brave new World. The title was changed after Tommy wrote another Brave new World.

Well, IMO, that's just more evidence that Dennis no longer has a good ear for good Styx music. "Everything Is Cool" is a GREAT song...he should have never passed on it. Good job by the rest of the band for recording it anyway. He refused to record "These Are the Times", too. That is also a great song...and good job by the band for recognizing this and getting it on Cyclorama.

"Just Fell In" is pretty bland to me...but even that is better then some of the crap Dennis put on BNW.

Monker, I just love how you state your OPINIONS as facts. Like stuff JY/TOmmy put on BNW were far superior than DDY's crap. I'd have to say that all of them were equally gulty of putting crap on that record. Just Fell In - right up there with Friendly Advice, True Confessions, and Bad Times as the worst Tommy Shaw songs ever written. Everything Is Cool - has NO melody at all - sucks. Brave New World reprise...are you kidding me? Have you listened to how bad that was recorded? Best New Face...mediocre Tommy solo song, Number One...about as obnoxious a Styx song ever conceived, What Have They Done For YOu...awful...Heavy Water...certainly not nearly as strong as JY's Kilropy or Paradise Theater songs, and about on par with Home Wrecker. The first song - I can't even remember the name of it - but its lyrics were absolutely 4th gradish. Lack any type of depth whatsoever. Now, I am not a big fan of High Crimes or Great Expectations, but the other three DDY tunes, Goodbye Roseland, White There is Still Time, and Fallen Angel, are significantly better than ANYTHING that Jy/Tommy contribute on that record. And yes, that is my OPINION, I'm not masquerading it as fact liek you do all too often.

The simple fact that they all were not on the same page is what made that album suck as a Styx album. It seems that they were totally at odds with each other when doing this one. Maybe even more then all the other Styx albums.

[StyxCollector]

Everything Is Cool and Just fell In were written for Dennis to sing. Not my opinion, a fact. He didn't care for either song and didn't want to sing on them. Everything Is Cool is originally titled Brave new World. The title was changed after Tommy wrote another Brave new World.

Ironically, the backing vox and organ playing by Dennis (and this is one where it sounds like him on keys) is very Styx-like. Even back then I said it was the only "classic" Styx sounding track on there. While it may have been written for Dennis, it is very much a Tommy song, and IMO sounds better with Tommy singing it. A good example is the phrasing around "Find out what condition your condition is in" before the "Check in, check out" part. That's not phrasing Dennis would probably write, and therefore, sing as a lead.

[StyxCollector]

The simple fact that they all were not on the same page is what made that album suck as a Styx album. It seems that they were totally at odds with each other when doing this one. Maybe even more then all the other Styx albums.

That discontent can be good or bad for creative energy. In the case of BNW, bad. The other album it's somewhat evident is Cornerstone, but it still sounds sonically cohesive. This is why I think of BNW like I do Yes' Union. It's stuff stitched together with a few good songs, but by no means a cohesive product.