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Rating: Styx is a quintet from Chicago formed in the early seventies to play progressive music, which was very fashionable at the time. However, being Americans and not Europeans, the sound and attitude were somewhat different from those of the English inspirations. For example, the guitars sounded much more robust, and the singers were decidedly more stentorian. Thus, a brand-new musical genre was coined for them and other contiguous formations like Kansas, namely pomp rock.
The crisis of progressive music in the second half of the seventies resulted in Styx's gradual repositioning towards more suitable pop rock/AOR shores, undoubtedly more fitting to their musical characteristics. In fact, they sold a wagonload of records between the late seventies and early eighties (almost all at home, much less in Europe), except then they went off track with ambitious and clumsy musicals, leadership quarrels, ego and money problems, inevitable farewells and disbandments, followed by equally predictable reconstitutions and new, definitive separations.
This is the ninth album in their vast discography, released in 1979; the group was already well ahead in their transition towards more accessible and popular music and was in sparkling form, with full agreement and a clear division of tasks among the three roosters in the henhouse, namely the two guitarists/singers/composers James Young and Tommy Shaw and the keyboardist/singer/composer Dennis De Young. The lineup is completed in the rhythm section by the two problematic Italian-American twin brothers Panozzo: Chuck on bass (still fighting against HIV, a fate unfortunately common for gay people of that generation like him) and the poor John on drums (sadly died still young due to cirrhosis, a misfortune equally frequent among compulsive lovers of the bottle).
The strength of Styx is the different and complementary style, both compositional and especially vocal, of the three soloists, which, however, blends very well in the frequent choral parts and gives variety to their works: Young is a pure rocker, as well as a gritty and sharp baritone, Shaw a soft and very tuned baritenor, a bit banal and predictable in his melodic and harmonic ideas, Dennis De Young a pure, bright, and versatile tenor, in my opinion, the most talented. Regarding the approach on guitars, Young's is more impetuous and instinctive and relies on epidermic and spectacular licks, while Shaw prefers to make the instrument sing, with more melodic and composed phrasing.
The best pop rock episodes of the bunch are, first and foremost, the romantic piano ballad "Babe," a true festival honoring the bell-like tone of the Fender Rhodes electric piano, a keyboard very fashionable at the time but still much appreciated today. The track is a dedication by the keyboardist to his wife Suzanne, initially thought for a solo record but then embellished by a central solo by Shaw and placed by the record company in the album's tracklist and released as the first single, rightly so as it ended up in the top spot in the charts. Dennis has the typical high, penetrating, and powerful voice, yet with a rich and silky "texture," as well as a recognizable style; he must rightfully be considered one of the great and high AOR voices of America, alongside other true nightingales like Steve Perry (Journey), Brad Delp (Boston), Mickey Thomas (Starship).
Another valuable creation by De Young turns out to be "Why Me," bolstered by a spectacular duel of solos between Young's Stratocaster and guest Steve Eisen's saxophone, truly thrilling.
"Boat On The River" is a semi-acoustic contribution by Shaw, still quite tied to the more progressive recent past, contemplating among other things the use of accordion and mandolin. Another classic is "Borrowed Time," a robust melodic rock with a memorable full-voiced chorus, a true emblem of American commercial hard rock, always performed at their concerts (often as an encore) from the release of this album onwards.
The career of Styx is not very clear, with many underwhelming or downright irritating releases ("Kilroy Was Here" from 1983 above all). They haven't released noteworthy albums for a long time (the last one I think is "Edge Of The Century," 1990). However, this "Cornerstone" is one of their best outings: extremely enjoyable music, naturally for those who appreciate the star-spangled glamour and do not have that certain snootiness of the European, for whom every emphatic attitude sounds ignoble.Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Why Me (03:56)
Written by Dennis DeYoung
Lead Vocals by Dennis DeYoung
I guess we used to be the lucky ones
Good fortune smiled on everyone
Stop
A voice said you best beware
Stop
Bad luck is everywhere
And sure enough the voice was right
My luck changed overnight
Stop
Please tell me what went wrong
Stop
I can't take these ups and downs
Hard times come, hard times go
And in between you hope and pray
The scars don't show
'Cause life is strange and so unsure
The days you hardly make it through
You swear that there's a curse on you
'Cause nothing seems to fit
And things won't go your way
You know you've had enough
You've got the right to say
Why me, why me
Rubelator
Stop
Here comes anxiety
Stop
Won't you please let me be, I need relief
Hard times come, hard times go
In between you hope and pray
The scars don't show
'Cause life is strange and so unsure
The days you hardly make it through
You're sure that there is a curse on you
If nothing seems to fit
And things won't go your way
You know you've had enough
You can't take another day
Where to go and what to do
You've got those bills to pay
You're really not alone you know
'Cause everybody says,
Why me
Why me
"Why me? That's what I want to know. You know what I mean? Huh. I don't know."
03 Babe (04:28)
Babe, I'm leaving, I must be on my way
The time is drawing near
My train is going, I see it in your eyes
The love, the need, your tears
But I'll be lonely without you
And I'll need your love to see me through
So please believe me, my heart is in your hands
And I'll be missing you.
You know it's you Babe
Whenever I get weary and I've had enough
Feel like giving up
You know it's you Babe
Giving me the courage and the strength I need
Please believe that it's true
Babe, I love you.
You know it's you Babe
Whenever I get weary and I've had enough
Feel like giving up
You know it's you Babe
Giving me the courage and the strength I need
Please believe that it's true
Babe, I love you.
Babe, I'm leaving, I'll say it once again
Somehow try to smile
I know the feeling we're trying to forget
If only for a while
But I'll be lonely without you
And I'll need your love to see me through
Please believe me, my heart is in your hands
And I'll be missing you
Babe, I love you.
04 Never Say Never (03:10)
Written by Tommy Shaw
Lead Vocals by Tommy Shaw
Never, never, never say never
Ne dis jamais jamais
Better, better believe in forever
And it can be that way
You think that you could never love again
The one time really tore you apart
So don't even try to touch your heart
You're never going to give it again
Never, never, never say never
Ne dis jamais jamais
Better, better believe in forever
And it can be that way
You think that too much joy can only bring pain
Before you know it, it can be gone
But give me a chance to prove you're wrong
You'll never say never again
Never, never, never say never
Ne dis jamais jamais
Better, better believe in forever
And it can be that way
Take time to smell the roses
Don't hold back your one chance
It hardly lasts, it hardly lasts
Better, better believe in forever
Out here I stand with my heart in my hand
My hopes on a wing and a prayer
I must have been born with a hole in my head
Cause I've never said these things before
Never, never, never say never
Ne dis jamais jamais
Better, better believe in forever
And it can be that way
05 Boat on the River (03:11)
Take me back to my boat on the river
I need to go down, I need to come down
Take me back to my boat on the river
And I won't cry out anymore
Time stands still as I gaze in her waters
She eases me down, touching me gently
With the waters that flow past my boat on the river
So I don't cry out anymore
Oh the river is wide
The river it touches my life like the waves on the sand
And all roads lead to Tranquillity Base
Where the frown on my face disappears
Take me down to my boat on the river
And I won't cry out anymore
Oh the river is deep
The river it touches my life like the waves on the sand
And all roads lead to Tranquillity Base
Where the frown on my face disappears
Take me down to my boat on the river
I need to go down, won't you let me go down
Take me back to my boat on the river
And I won't cry out anymore
And I won't cry out anymore
And I won't cry out anymore
08 Eddie (04:17)
Written by James Young Lead Vocals by James Young I woke up today, the paper spoke of a man we know 'Cause he's made of the stuff that first made our country grow He's living in style, you know he's traveling to distant lands Better hang tough, for now it's time to make your stand Can we ignore the basic facts of history Or deny what people say is destiny I think the message is ever so loud and clear Eddie, now don't you run You know you're a bootlegger's son And you saw just what it's done to the others Eddie, now don't you run It's the end of all your fun And you saw just what they done to your brothers Can we ignore the basic facts of history Or deny what people say is destiny First in the eighties, but last of the sons First in the eyes of his countrymen I think the message is ever so loud and clear Eddie, now don't you run You know you're a bootlegger's son And you saw just what it's done to the others Eddie, now don't you run It's the end of all your fun And you saw just what they done to your brothers Eddie, now don't you run You know you're a bootlegger's son And you saw just what they done to your brothers....
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By Grendel
"Babe" is a love song of the tear-jerking kind that has the major flaw of being off-theme compared to the context it is part of.
Yet another lesson on how success changes people and things.
