STYX AND SOLO CDS

[Abitaman]

I have debate (with myself ), for sometime if what I wanting to here makes any sense. We all have talked about what is our favorite Styx cd or two, but that doesn't really tell me, how good you think it (they are) compared to the other Styx cds. So, and I really have too much time on my hands tonight (Saturday night home with 3 kids, two are asleep right now, and the 20 m old is watching Blues Clues, and the wife is at a bridal shower), I was wondering how you would grade all the Styx cds, and if you want the solo stuff too. I don't care how you grade number, list or as Ek88 said the school teacher style. Put any comments or whatever (boy I need a life)

Styx D+
Styx 2 C+
The Serpent is Rising D
Man of Miracles B-
Equniox B
Crystal Ball C-
Grand Illusion A+
Peices of Eight B+
Cornerstone A-
Paradise Theater A
Kilroy Was Here B-
Edge of the Century B
Brave New World B-
Clyorama B+
Big Bang Theory B+

LIVE CDS
Caught in the Act C+ (hit and miss, plus no Renegade)
Return to Paradise B+
Arch Allies (Styx part) B-
Styxworld B
At the River's Edge B

HITS CDS
The Best of Styx 71-75 B+ (good intro to the Wooden Nickel years)
Classics A
Greatest Hits 95 A+
Greatest Hits part 2 A-




Dennis solo
Desert Moon A-
Back to the World C
Boomchild B+
10 on Broadway A
The Hunchback C-
Live the Music of Styx A-

Tommy Shaw projects
Girls with Guns B-
What If C+
Ambition A-
7 Deadly Sins B
Damn Yankees A-
Don't Tread C-
Shaw Blades Hallunations A

James Young
City Slicker C+
Out on a Day Pass D-
Raised by Wolves A-

Glen Burtnik
Heroes and Zeroes B-
Pooakville B+
Respectable B
Welcome to Hollywood B

That's all I think of, kids are waking up, maybe I'll have someting to do now-ERIC

[gr8dane]

I am up before everybody else.Coffee is ready and my hand is steady.

Styx 1 B+
Styx 2 B+
Serpent A-
Man of A-
Equinox A+
Crystal A-
Grand ill A-
Pieces A
Cornerstone B+
Paradise B+
Kilroy B-
Edge B-
Brave B+
Cyclo B+

[Abitaman]

[quote="gr8dane"]I am up before everybody else.Coffee is ready and my hand is steady.

Styx 1 B+

Serpent A-

quote]

Wondering why you gave those such high marks?

Styx 1, they only wrote a couple of songs on cd, and production isn't that good.
Serpent-A very weak concept cd, weaker than Kilroy. Songs for most part are ok, Witch Wolf and Young Man are great. But Pexiglass Toliet bits big banana, plus from Serpent to the end, it just falls apart. Again to me production isn't that great. Thanks for relpying-ERIC

[DeeJaySTYX]

I will List the CD's and videos I have;

Styx 1 C

Styx 2 A-

Serpent B

Miracles B+

Equinox A-

Crystal Ball B+

Grand Illusion A+

Pieces Of Eight A+

Cornerstone B+

Paradise Theatre A-

Kilroy Was Here C-

Edge Of The Century C+

Brave New World C-

Cyclorama B

Caught In The Act: Audio C.... Video B+

Return To Paradise: Audio A-......Video A

21st Century Live: Audio C-.....Video B+

Styx 20th Century Masters (Videos) B+

Dennis Solo

Desert Moon B

Back To The World B+

Dennis And The Music Of Styx(live) B-

Soundstage(Video) B-

Tommy

Girls With Guns C

What If D

Seven Deadly Zens B

Damn Yankess B+

Don't Tread B+


DeeJay.....(Whew)

[Abitaman]

OOOOOOOPPPPPPPPSSSSSSS
I left off Dennis' live cd
The Music of Styx A-

[gr8dane]

I am up before everybody else.Coffee is ready and my hand is steady.

Styx 1 B+

Serpent A-

quote]

Wondering why you gave those such high marks?

Styx 1, they only wrote a couple of songs on cd, and production isn't that good.
Serpent-A very weak concept cd, weaker than Kilroy. Songs for most part are ok, Witch Wolf and Young Man are great. But Pexiglass Toliet bits big banana, plus from Serpent to the end, it just falls apart. Again to me production isn't that great. Thanks for relpying-ERIC

Wonder no more Eric.
Styx 1 is the humble beginning and it is raw and gritty.There is no other Styx album like it.The songs here could not fit on any of the later albums at all.
That there is only 3 originals on here does not bother me one bit.Still sounds like what you could expect from them,even if the names had been changed in the credits.
I hear this album more than GI, Cornerstone , Paradise and Po8.

Serpent is rising is the Equinox of the Wooden Nickel era.
It would have gotten a straght A, if Plexi and Krakatoa was not on here.
DDY and JY's songs are more alike and make this a better flowing album.
(like Equinox).
Never new it was a concept album.I rarely listen to words,since I always get sidetracked.I kind of hear the voices as an instrument instead of the message.
Also,Wooden Nickel era Styx is more in the era of music I listen to these days anyways.69ish-75ish is where my favorites are.

Thanx for asking and hope this make sense.

Ohh ehh,what is the concept anyways???

[classicstyxfan]

My Picks, arranged by grade..........

A+ Equinox
Grand Illusion
Pieces of Eight

A Styx II
Crystal Ball

B+ Return to Paradise

B Cyclorama
Paradise Theatre
DDY's The Music of Styx w/symphony

B- Man of Miracles
Cornerstone
Edge of the Century

C+ The Serpent Is Rising
Styx
DDY Ultimate Collection

C- Caught in the Act

D Kilroy was Here
Brave New World ( Only because I dont have the heart to give any F's..)


Incomplete - all the rest, I cant grade what I'm not intimately familiar with.

[yogi]

Styx 1 - C-
Styx ll - B-
The Serpent Is Rising - C-
Man Of Miracles- D
Equinox - A+
Crystal Ball - C+
The Grand Illusion - A
Pieces Of Eight - A
Cornerstone - B+
Paradise Theatre - B
Kilroy Was Here - C
Edge Of The Century - B+
Brave New World- C
Cyclorama - A-

Live Styx

Return To Paradise - B
Caught In The Act - C
Riverfront/ w REO - C-
StyxWorld Live - B-

DDY

Desert Moon - C-
Back To The World - B-
Boomchild - B
DDY Live - B-

Tommy Shaw

Girls With Guns- B-
What If - D
Ambition - B-
Seven Deadly Zens US - A-
Seven Deadly Zens Japan - A

JY

City Slicker- C+
Out On A Day Pass- D-
Raised By Wolves - C+

Glen Burtnik

Heros & Zeros - C-
Slaves Of New Brunswick- B
Pooakville - B+
Respectable- C+
Welcome To Hollywood - A+

Lawerence Gowan

Strange Animal - C
Great Dirty World - D
Greatest Hits - C-

Damn Yankees

Damn Yankees - B
Dont Tread - B+

Shaw - Blades

Hallunication US - B-
Hallunication Japan B

[ek88]

Of the ones I feel familiar enough with to comment on . . .

Styx 2 C+
Equinox B
Crystal Ball C-
Grand Illusion A+ (100%)
Pieces of Eight A+ (99%)
Cornerstone B+
Paradise Theater A-
Kilroy Was Here D
Edge of the Century C
Brave New World C+
Cyclorama A-

LIVE CDS:
Caught in the Act A-
Return to Paradise A
Arch Allies (Styx part) B-
Styxworld B-

Dennis solo:
Desert Moon C


Tommy Shaw projects:
Girls with Guns C+
What If C
Ambition C
7 Deadly Zens B
Damn Yankees A+
Don't Tread A-
Shaw Blades Hallucinations A+

[Zan]

Wooden Nickel era - C-

Equinox - B-

Crystal Ball - B

Grand Illusion - A

Pieces of Eight - A

Cornerstone - B-

PT - B+

Kilroy - B-

"Music Time" - D-

Edge - C+

GH2 newbies and RTP newbies - A-

BNW - C+

Styxworld - A

Cyclorama - A


Not in the mood for solo and offshoot projects. LOL

[bugsymalone]

Styx - B (I really love the opening medley and, of course, Best Thing)

Styx 2 A (The best of the WN era in my book)

Serpent is Rising B (Some good stuff on here)

Man of Miracles C+ (Even though I love Evil Eyes)

Equinox A++++ (I love everything on this one)

Crystal Ball B+

Grand Illusion A

Pieces Of Eight A

Cornerstone A (Well, except for First Time and Eddie)

Paradise Theatre A

Kilroy Was Here B (VERY underrated)

Edge Of The Century B (I like this one for the most part)

Brave New World C+ (Some great individual songs but not a cohesive whole)

Caught In The Act Double CD - B+ (Not bad, but sound quality is not up to the best standards

Return To Paradise Double CD - A

Cyclorama (OK, I cannot gradeFthis oneFand be objectiveFnow can I?)


Just going to do Styx here. DDY, of course, gets straight A's!

Videos:

Caught in the Act - A -
Return to Paradise - A+

Bugsy

[Abitaman]

Styx - B (I really love the opening medley and, of course, Best Thing)



Serpent is Rising B (Some good stuff on here)

Bugsy

I'm surprised at the number of people who liked Serpent. I find it a total waste of effort, other than a couple of songs. Not knocking what you or anyone else thinks of it. Just shows how people can have a huge difference and still like the whole.-ERIC

[styxfanNH]

How about the generally high ranking of Cyclorama?

[Abitaman]

How about the generally high ranking of Cyclorama?

Yea its been from a B to an A. I gave it a B+, and I thought I would be one of the high grades for it. It is a very good cd. One of their best in a while. My only to gripes are the production (everything seemed to be recorded loud), and the short takes in between songs, which were good the first 5 or 6 times, but now seem like a waste.-ERIC

[evileyes]

Ohh ehh,what is the concept anyways???

There are several "theories" about this album. The "lyrics archive" at styxnet.com has 3 fan-posted theories. The obvious is the cycle of life--from the unknown danger, to the catastrophic destruction brought on by the eruption of the long dormant volcano, Krakatoa, in the early 1900's, ending with the re-birth of the islands/ares decimated by the eruption. Then there is the ever popular sexual interpretation. Some theories involve aliens seeding the universe or creation by an all-powerful being.

Me, I tend to go with the Krakatoa story, although I'm sure the sexual theory helped sell more albums. I mean, which do you think a (rebellious) teenager would rather buy--an album with a history theme or one with a sexual theme?

I'd recommend checking out the styx.net site. Many Styx song lyrics are accompanied by fan interpretation. You need to scroll down til you're sure you're at the bottom, though; some of the interpretations have very long breaks between them. Also good luck catching the site up; it's frequently down (like now).

EE

[SuiteMadameBlue]

This is my overall grade on each.

Styx C

Styx 2 A

Serpent is Rising C

Man of Miracles C

Equinox A+

Crystal Ball A+

Grand Illusion A+

Pieces Of Eight A+

Cornerstone A+

Paradise Theatre A +

Kilroy Was Here A+

Edge Of The Century A

Brave New World A-

Caught In The Act Double CD - A

Return To Paradise Double CD - A

Dennis solo work gets A++++

[classicstyxfan]

Suite,

If you were a teacher, I'd try to get into your class ! you hand A's out like CANDY at Halloween !! ( Brave New World you gave an A- ?....wow ! )

why no grade for Cyclorama ?

[DeeJaySTYX]

Wow, I thought I was generous.....

[SuiteMadameBlue]

Classic says:

why no grade for Cyclorama ?

LOL, you're so funny!!! I thought we were just grading on Styx albums/cd, mah ha ha ha ha....................

If you were a teacher, I'd try to get into your class ! you hand A's out like CANDY at Halloween !! ( Brave New World you gave an A- ?....wow ! )

You should see all the candy I hand out at Halloween I like Brave New World, I like all my Styx albums/cd's, I'm so happy with my Styx music.

[sadie65]

Styx C+
Styx 2 B
The Serpent is Rising C
Man of Miracles B
Equniox B
Crystal Ball B-
Grand Illusion A+
Peices of Eight A-
Cornerstone B
Paradise Theater A
Kilroy Was Here B
Edge of the Century C+
Brave New World C


LIVE CDS
Caught in the Act C+
Return to Paradise A-


Dennis solo
Desert Moon B+
Back to the World B
Boomchild A-
10 on Broadway A
The Hunchback A
Music of Styx A
Mike Eldred-Me B
Jim Peterik & World Stage B

Tommy Shaw projects
Girls with Guns C+
7 Deadly Sins B
Shaw Blades Hallunations C

James Young
Out on a Day Pass D-
Raised by Wolves B-

Glen Burtnik
Heroes and Zeroes C
Palooakville C
Retrospectable B
Welcome to Hollywood B-

I can only comment on these as I don't own the others.

[Abitaman]

Wondering why you gave those such high marks?

Styx 1, they only wrote a couple of songs on cd, and production isn't that good.

Never new it was a concept album.I rarely listen to words,since I always get sidetracked.I kind of hear the voices as an instrument instead of the message.


Ohh ehh,what is the concept anyways???

From my understanding the darkest of mankind, for lack of a better word-ERIC

[Abitaman]

This is my overall grade on each.

Dennis solo work gets A++++

You really like ALL Dennis solo cds the same? Not a favorite or least?-ERIC

[Abitaman]

Mike Eldred-Me B
.

Is this cd worth buying? Never knew he had one out? Dennis on it? Tired of the questions?-ERIC

[sadie65]

Mike Eldred-Me B
.

Is this cd worth buying? Never knew he had one out? Dennis on it? Tired of the questions?-ERIC

Not too tired of the questions...yet.

Mike has had a few over the years, mostly Christian work. I like this cd a lot, however I would say to you, that if you aren't into Browadway type music, you'd want to skip it. Since Mike is a stage actor/singer he showcases that style of music.

Yes Dennis is on it. He does a duet with Mike, and Mike also sings Esmerelda. There is some lovely stuff on there, but again, I'd say it isn't for everyone.

[BlackWall]

STYX: D+ Not really my thing, but I kind of enjoy the suite at the beginning, and the music does rock out in places.

STYX II: C-
SERPENT: C- The band seemed to be having some fun here, and "Young Man" is a lost treasure.
MIRACLES: C "Southern Woman" is a great J.Y. moment; "Song For Suzanne" has some charm, and I actually kind of like their take on "Lies".

EQUINOX: B- Damnit, why won't classic rock stations play the "Prelude 12" intro..
CRYSTAL BALL: C- In my opinion, this is the weakest A&M effort.

GRAND ILLUSION: A-
PIECES OF EIGHT: A-

CORNERSTONE: C+
PARADISE THEATRE: A
KILROY WAS HERE: B- This was some decent, early '80s pop(with the exception of High Time), people need to lighten up.. "Just Get Through This Night" is a great Shaw moment, and "Double Life" should have been J.Y's hit single..

EDGE OF THE CENTURY: C-
BRAVE NEW WORLD: B-


CYCLORAMA: B A fine album, but I just don't find it THAT interesting..

LIVE ALBUMS-

CAUGHT IN THE ACT: B It's cool to hear the band while they were on the top..
RETURN TO PARADISE: B+ As different as all three of the new tracks were, they were all great.

ARCH ALLIES C+ Tons of energy on these, but.. it just doesn't feel quite the same.
STYXWORLD B

[BlackWall]

I forgot to mention any of the solo stuff, mainly because I've only heard Dennis' "Ultimate Collection" and "Live With Symphony Orchestra"..

I will admit, I'm not crazy about the solo material, outside of "Desert Moon". "Don't Wait For Heroes" had potential, I suppose, and I ended up liking "Black Wall", but I don't know if I would have ever really cared about the studio version.

"Live With Symphony Orchestra" gets an A-.. Songs like "Black Wall" and "Desert Moon" are brought to life, and "Goodnight My Love" is a simple, finely crafted song. My only problem is that some of the tracks aren't really enhanced so much with the orchestration, and some of the rockers sound a little flat. All of that said, "Lady" sounds awesome, and "Suite Madame Blue" was always meant to have these strings.