Big Bang Theory

by

Styx

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Which is a quick, thrown-together album the record company wanted when they didn't have enough new material ready. As "I Am the Walrus" was hitting airwaves in the midwest, they decided to put this package together to ride the momentum. And consider that portions of this album sale go to charity (WD's Blue Heaven Foundation) you can understand why the guys wanted to have a little fun.

So how does a Styx cover album work? For one thing, it's full of riff-laden big arena-rock guitar hooks last heard on "The Grand Illusion". It's like listening to a closet classics show on the radio. Sure, there are some misses (Summer in the City rocks hard, but Tommy sings it and his vocals are just too pretty for it, and Manic Depression never quite cuts it for me), but the hits are great:

- I Am the Walrus is a great rendition, I Can See For Miles almost thrashes, Can't Find My Way Home features great acoustic guitar work over a passable Tommy Shaw vocal, I Don't Need No Doctor gets the heads banging, One Way Out channels the Allmans in this take of Willie Dixon (with great slide guitar work) and A Salty Dog is a great rendition with stunning Lawrence Gowan vocals. The best cover, though? An almost-acoustic, stripped-down, slowed-down version of Blue Collar Man. A great reinterpretation.

So it's a pleasant listen biding the time between the great Cyclorama and whatever comes next. Oh, by the way, I liked Dennis DeYoung too, up through Kilroy, and felt the conflict between him and the band as far as styles led to some great work. But on Brave New World his work was definitely the low point, and I think Mr. Gowan has creatively fired up these guys. Just my $0.02.

I was going to write a review when I bought the CD on the first day it was released. I then decided to give it some time and listen longer before making a decision. I have been a Styx fan since 1975 when I first heard my older sister playing 'Equinox'. This is not a pro or con Dennis DeYoung thing a lot of the reviewers are trying to make this out to be, this is a Styx thing. Food for thought: Styx originally broke up in 1983, Dennis, Tommy, and JY all went on to do solo albums. Styx reformed with Glen Burtnik instead of Tommy and recorded 'Edge Of The Century', the album was ok (all of the good songs were Glen's,) but the band did not have much success. Mean while Tommy was rocking with the Damn Yankees and recorded two great albums. We now jump ahead to 'Brave New World' with the original Styx line up (minus John), I though the album was again ok, but Dennis was clearly not on the same page as the rest of the band. 'Cyclorama' was next with the addition of Lawrence Gowan who replaced Dennis, and the result was a great album, which is why 'Big Bang Theory' is the disappointment it is. I understand the band wanted to do a tribute to the musicians that influenced them, but why now? 'Cyclorama' set the pace for the new Styx, and this album should have picked up where 'Cyclorama' left off. This was the perfect time for Styx to show that they still have what it takes to be a top band and write great songs. Instead we got an album of cover songs which greatly disapointed me. They play the songs great, but the choice of songs is half best. There are so many classic rock songs out there that I dont undertand why they chose what they did, I would say half the songs are good picks.The remake of 'Blue Collar Man' could have been much better, I like the idea but they just didn't hit it. My last comments are regarding the guest musicians. I understand they want to pay respect to those they admire, but the backing vocals on 'Blue Collar Man' and 'Wishing Well" added nothing to the songs and the songs would have been better without. I would love to give this album 5 stars, but because of it being a cover album and the song selection I have to give it a three.