Artist: Styx Genre(s):
Rock
Rock: Pop-Rock
Pop: Pop-Rock
Rock: Hard-Rock
Discography:
Cyclorama Year: 2003
Tracks: 14
Extended Versions: The Encore Collection Year: 2001
Tracks: 10
The Singles Collection (CD 2) Year: 2000
Tracks: 14
The Singles Collection (CD 1) Year: 2000
Tracks: 14
Brave New World Year: 1999
Tracks: 14
Return To Paradise Cd2 Year: 1997
Tracks: 11
Return To Paradise Cd1 Year: 1997
Tracks: 9
Greatest Hits Year: 1995
Tracks: 16
Edge Of The Century Year: 1990
Tracks: 10
30 Greatest Hits (CD 2) Year: 1987
Tracks: 15
30 Greatest Hits (CD 1) Year: 1987
Tracks: 15
Mr. Roboto Year: 1984
Tracks: 9
Caught In The Act Cd1 Year: 1984
Tracks: 7
Kilroy Was Here Year: 1983
Tracks: 9
Paradise Theater Year: 1981
Tracks: 11
Cornerstone Year: 1979
Tracks: 9
Best Of Year: 1979
Tracks: 11
Pieces Of Eight Year: 1978
Tracks: 10
The Grand Illusion Year: 1977
Tracks: 8
Crystal Ball Year: 1976
Tracks: 7
Equinox Year: 1975
Tracks: 8
Man Of Miracles Year: 1974
Tracks: 10
The Serpent Is Rising Year: 1973
Tracks: 10
Styx II Year: 1973
Tracks: 8
Styx 2 Year: 1973
Tracks: 8
Styx Year: 1972
Tracks: 6
Styx I Year:
Tracks: 5
Big Bang Theory Year:
Tracks: 14
Although they began as an artsy prog-rock band, Styx would finally transform into the virtual arena rock epitome by the late '70s and early '80s, imputable to a fondness for declamatory bikers and soaring ability ballads. The seeds for the band were deep-seated in another Chicago band during the late '60s, the Tradewinds, which featured brothers Chuck and John Panozzo (world Health Organization played freshwater bass and drums, severally), as well as acquaintance Dennis DeYoung (vocals, keyboards). By the dawn of the '70s, the group had changed their key to TW4, and welcomed aboard a pair of guitarists/vocalists, James "JY" Young and John Curulewski -- securing a recording concentrate in 1972 with Wooden Nickel Records (a subsidiary company of RCA). Soon after, the group opted to change their key once more, this time to Styx, named after a river from Greek mythology that ran through the 'land of the dead' in the underworld.
Early on, Styx's music reflected such then-current prog bikers as Emerson, Lake & Palmer and the Moody Blues, as evidenced by such releases as 1972's self-titled debut, 1973's
River Styx II, 1974's
The Serpent Is Rising, and 1975's
Man of Miracles. While the albums (as well as nonstop touring) helped the radical progress a substantial following locally, Styx failed to offend through to the mainstream, until a track originally from their sec album, "Lady" started to get substantial airplay in late '74 on the Chicago wireless station WLS-FM. The vocal was presently issued as a single countrywide, and speedily shot to number six-spot on the singles chart, as
Styx II was certified gold. By this clip, however, the group had grown disenchanted with their record label, and opted to sign on with A&M for their twenty percent sack overall, 1975's
Equinoctial point (their other label would emergence innumerous compilations over the geezerhood, culled from tracks off their early releases). On the eve of the tour in backup of the album, Curulewski dead left the band, and was replaced by Tommy Shaw (unhappily, Curulewski would go across away from an aneurysm in 1988). Shaw proven to be the missing spell of the puzzle for Styx, as to the highest degree of their subsequent releases passim the late '70s earned at least platinum authentication (1976's
Crystallization Ball, 1977's
The Grand Illusion, 1978's
Pieces of Eight, and 1979's
Cornerstone), and spawned such hit singles and classic rock'n'roll radio receiver standards as "Do Sail Away," "Renegade," "Risque Collar Man," "Casual Yourself," and the power ballad "Baby."
Despite the enormous success of "Baby," it caused tension within the grouping -- specifically betwixt Shaw and DeYoung (the latter of which was the song's writer), as the guitarist treasured Styx to go along in a more hard rock-based counselling, spell DeYoung sought to prosecute more melodic and theatrically-based works. This lED to DeYoung existence briefly ousted from the group (although it was unbroken completely undercover at the prison term), before a rapprochement was met. The band distinct that their first spillage of the '80s would be a construct record album, 1981's
Paradise Theater, which was generally based on the resurrect and fall of a once-beautiful house (which was supposedly exploited as a metaphor for the state of the U.S. at the clip -- the Iranian surety place, the Cold War, Reagan, etc.).
Shangri-la Theater became Styx's biggest dispatch of their career (selling over trey meg copies in a three-year menstruation), as they became one of the U.S. top rock acts of the Apostles due to such big score singles as "Too Much Time on My Hands" and "The Best of Times." But the behind-the-scenes pettifoggery only intensified in the waken of the album's success, as DeYoung was now convinced that a more theatrical glide path was the next direction for Styx. Shaw and the rest of the group begrudgingly went along, and spell the resulting follow-up was some other score, 1983's sci-fi based
Kilroy Was Here (which told the tale of a future where rock 'n' roll & roll out was outlaw, well-nigh a carbon paper copy of the story line of Rush's
2112), the record album would finally lead to the group's breakup -- as the ensuing prop-heavy turn seemed to focus more on written dialog and prolonged films than undecomposed old careen & roll.
A forgettable lively album,
Caught in the Act, was issued in 1984, ahead Styx went on hiatus, and the legal age of its members pursued solo projects passim the remainder of the decennium. DeYoung issued 1984's
Defect Moon (which spawned a moderate hit individual with its ruminative form of address track), 1986's
Back to the World, and 1988's
Boomchild, Young released 1986's
City Slicker, while Shaw put forth several solo sets -- 1984's
Girls With Guns, 1985's
What If?, 1986's
Alive in Japan, and 1987's
Ambition. Shaw then formed Damn Yankees along with late Night Ranger bassist/singer Jack Blades, guitarist Ted Nugent, and drummer Michael Cartellone, a group wHO enjoyed commercial success right turned the bat with their self-titled debut in 1990 (due to the hit power lay "Senior high Enough"), ahead issuing an unsuccessful soph crusade two geezerhood later,
Don't Tread. During Shaw's tenure with Damn Yankees, Styx had re-formed with fledgling Glen Burtnik pickings the position of Shaw -- issue a new studio album in 1990,
Bound of the Century, which spawned hitherto some other hit powerfulness ballad, "Show Me the Way." But the Styx reunion was a fugitive one, as its members went their divide slipway concisely thereafter -- with DeYoung loss on to toy Pontius Pilate in a revival of Jesus Christ Superstar (and issue an record album of Broadway establish tunes, 1994's
10 on Broadway), while Young issued a pair of solo discs (1994's
Out on a Day Pass and 1995's
Brocaded by Wolves), and Shaw teamed up with Jack Blades for the ephemeral outfit, Shaw Blades (issue a lone recording in '95,
Hallucination).
A re-recording of their early hit, "Lady" (highborn "Lady" '95"), for a
Sterling Hits compilation, lastly joined Shaw with his former Styx bandmates, which light-emitting diode to a full-on reunion term of enlistment in 1996. But drummer John Panozzo fell earnestly ill at the time (ascribable to a long fight with drunkenness), which prevented him from joining the legal proceeding -- as he passed forth in July of the same year. Although bereaved, Styx persevered with new drummer Todd Sucherman pickings the position of Panozzo, as the Styx reunion hitch became a surprise sold-out achiever, resulting in the release of a live album/video, 1997's "Give to Paradise," while a whole new generation of rock candy fans were introduced to the la-di-da sounds of Styx via a humorous car ad which secondhand the rail "Mr. Roboto," as well as songs used in such TV shows as
South Park and
Freaks & Geeks. The group even stuck around long sufficiency to outcome a new studio record album, 1999's
Brave New World, ahead detrition between bandmembers set in once once again. With the other Styx members deficient to soldier on with farther albums and tours, DeYoung was forced to take a break when he developed an rare viral ill, which made the singer extremely sensitive to light-colored. DeYoung was able to eventually get over his upset, but non earlier Shaw and Young opted to engage new singer Lawrence Gowan and issue a pair off of live releases in the early twenty-first hundred -- 2000's
Arch Allies: Live at Riverport (schism 50-50 betwixt Styx and REO Speedwagon) and 2001's
River Styx World: Live 2001. DeYoung began touring as a solo creative person at the same time, and finally attempted to sue Shaw and Young over the use of the name Styx (the suit was eventually settled in former 2001). Around the same time, Chuck Panozzo confirmed rumors that he had contracted AIDS (simply was battling the virus successfully), while the roiling career of Styx was told in an entertaining episode of VH1's
Behindhand the Music.
In the fountain of 2003, a new studio album featuring Gowan arrived in stores. For
Cyclorama, Styx consisted of Shaw, Young, Burtnik, Sucherman and Gowan. It too featured invitee appearances from John Waite, Brian Wilson, and histrion Billy Bob Thornton. By the last of the year, Burtnik was out of the band and replaced by former Bad English and Babys phallus Ricky Phillips, although Panozzo did play with the group on prime alive dates. Come Sail Away: The Styx Anthology from 2004 did an first-class job of representing the band's career in deuce CDs piece 2005's double disk The Complete Wooden Nickel Recordings gathered the band's first tetrad albums. That same year, the band recorded their picks from the "Heavy Rock Songbook" and released the track edition filled Big Bang Theory.
