Edge of the Century

by

Styx

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I love Tommy Shaw, and Damn Yankees to this day is still one of my favorite rock bands of all time despite their short run. Nonetheless, while Tommy was doing his thing with Ted Nugent and the boys, Styx was also creating one very fine pop/rock album. While this might not quite stand up to their classic stuff, it was still a very refreshing, enjoyable listen around 1990-91 when it came out.

Glen Burtnik was Tommy Shaw's replacement, and he brought a great energy to the band for this effort. To this day, I love the leadoff track on this album with Glen on lead vocals, "Love Is The Ritual". While some might say that this sounds nothing like Styx, I counter with this: what does Styx really sound like? Their sound has never stayed the same, and for sure this catchy, rocking song is a great start to the album. Next comes another famous Dennis DeYoung ballad, and it stands up in quality to the rest of them. "Show Me The Way" is the one song that "strictly radio people" may still remember from this album. Truly another fine hit ballad.

Next comes another upbeat Burtnik track--the title track. Also a fun, exciting sounding song. Then comes "Love At First Sight", another quality DeYoung ballad that did make a dent in the to 40 charts. The fifth track on the album is a beautiful and to me unique song--"All In A Day's Work". Here is the one time on the album you hear the softer side of Glen as he teams with Dennis on a very sweet, sad song.

Everyone who has followed this band talks about how Dennis doesn't rock anymore. For sure, that is true. But for one track at least we get to hear Dennis sing a rocker one more time. "Not Dead Yet" is a very whimsical song in which Dennis shows a rocking side which certainly hasn't been seen since. Then comes "World Tonite", another rocking Burtnik anthem. "Carrie Ann" is another sweet DeYoung ballad, and while I appreciate the sentiment of the song it is what I refer to as the "one too many ballad syndrome" on the album. Still a nice song, though.

Finally, James Young gets to sing on track nine, and he puts forth a typical rocking effort on "Homewrecker", nicely offsetting the previous Dennis ballad. Then Dennis sings again on the closing track "Back To Chicago", which is a bit more uptempo than the other ballads and includes a nice brass section.

I rate Styx albums like "The Grand Illusion" and "Pieces Of Eight" as true five-star albums. This one isn't to the level of those classics, but it still is great fun. Call it 4 3/4 stars for an album that truly was a worthy comeback by an all-time legendary rock outfit. Surely the later comeback album in 1999 "Brave New World", even with Tommy Shaw again involved, doesn't measure up to this one. Definitely still an enjoyable listen after all these years.

This album was released about six years after "Kilroy Was Here," which turned out to be a swan song for the original group. A number of reviewers in various places have called this album Styx's "comeback" album. What I find interesting is that there seems to be a nearly continuous spectrum of ratings from one star to five stars. The album peaked at #63 on the Billboard 200, which also indicates a mixed reaction from fans, though one song from this album was a significant hit for Styx.

When Styx became successful, the group consisted of Dennis DeYoung, Tommy Shaw, James Young, Chuck Panozzo and John Panozzo. When the group reformed to produce this album Tommy Shaw was replaced by Glen Burtnik. I find it difficult to attribute differences in Styx between "Kilroy Was Here" and this album to the replacement of Tommy Shaw. It is just as possible that the group was trying to keep their sound fresh and updated, and the differences are more in the era than in the artistry.

This album opens with "Love Is a Ritual." Many fans think this is one of the better songs on this album. I disagree. This song is very derivative of 80s rock, containing elements from a number of artists including Queen and Glen Frey. The song is contemporary rock cool, but in a crowd of songs from the mid to late 80s would not have been considered anything special. The song did well on Mainstream Rock Tracks, peaking at #9, but only reached #80 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The second song on this album is in the classic Styx' style and is probably the standout song on this CD. "Show Me the Way" is reminiscent of Styx's peak years. Apparently fans agreed because this nicely crafted ballad reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, the best performer of the three singles released from this album. This song also appears on Styx's "Greatest Hits" album; deservedly so.

"Edge of the Century" is the second "big hair band" song on this CD. The problem I have is that after a decade of hearing this style it just got old. There is nothing wrong with this song; it is just too much like dozens of other similar songs. Styx has been and can be better than this song.

Another good song on this CD is "Love at First Sight." This pop ballad is mellow and also suffers from being derivative, but likable. The hooks are catchy and the lyrics are emotional and creative. This song reached #25 on the Billboard Hot 100, but it deserved better.

The fifth song is unusual and another standout song on this CD. "All in a Day's Work" is mellow, harmonious and acoustic, and is the most unique song on this CD. This song is carefully crafted and pretty, and shows that Styx could still be experimental and creative. The whistling near the end of the song is rare in pop and rock music, and fits nicely with this song. The primary instruments are an acoustic guitar and strings.

The following song, "Not Dead Yet," clashes with the previous song too much. I like this song because it, like the previous song, is also unusual compared to the other music on this CD. The song is also playful and fast, and shows yet another side of Styx. However, I would have placed this song away from the previous song rather than have such a dramatic difference in styles juxtaposed.

"World Tonite" adds a blues element to create a song with a different flavor from the others on this CD. There is a harmonica portion on this song that is really good. There are also vocal portions that I think are good. I like a number of the individual elements of this song, and yet the song overall is just a bit better than average for this CD, the reason being that the more interesting portions of the song are wrapped in a derivative cloak that takes focus away from the better elements. This song could have been much better.

I think "Carrie Ann" is another good track. The mellower pop tracks on this CD tend to be the better tracks, and such is the case here. The song was apparently a tribute to Dennis De Young's daughter. The style is very Styx, and dates back to their first albums. Just short of being great, this song is very good, and another of the better songs on this CD.

I have mixed feelings about "Homewrecker." This song is very cookie cutter. On the other hand, it has catchy licks and hooks and I find myself caught up in the music. Similar to "World Tonite," this song had the potential for being much better had the better portions been exploited more fully.

The final song on the CD, "Back to Chicago," was surprising to me. The style actually has some elements of the group Chicago, including a good brass section. This peppy up tempo song seems to be a tribute to Styx's home town. This song was reasonably well done and I consider it above average for this CD.

I believe that every group writes its music in the belief that their music is artistic and hopefully good. Further, I have rarely been the fan of the term "filler." However, in the case of this CD it seems as though there are some wonderful songs, such as "Show Me the Way," "All in a Day's Work," and "Back to Chicago" mixed with a few songs, "filler," that drag the overall quality of this CD down. If a couple of songs could have been eliminated from this CD its quality would have improved significantly. Had a couple more songs been revised the album could have approached a level of quality near that of Styx's best. However, the album is what it is, a fair attempt at a come back that misses the mark, but not by much.