Tuesday, May 10, 2005

Styx released covers album Big Bang Theory

Big Bang Theory

Styx

Released: May 10, 2005

Peak: 46 US

Sales (in millions): 0.02 US

Genre: classic rock veteran

Tracks:

Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts.

I Am the Walrus (Lennon/ McCartney) (2005, --)
I Can See for Miles (Townshend)
Can’t Find My Way Home (Winwood)
It Don’t Make Sense (You Can’t Make Peace) (Dixon)
I Don’t Need No Doctor (Simpson)
One Way Out (Williamson)
A Salty Dog (Reid)
Summer in the City (Sebastian)
Manic Depression (Hendrix)
Talkin’ about the Good Times (Waller)
Locomotive Breath (Anderson)
Find the Cost of Freedom (Stills)
Wishing Well (Yamauchi)
Blue Collar Man @ 2120 (Shaw)

The Players:

Tommy Shaw (vocals, guitar)
James “JY” Young (guitar, vocals)
Chuck Panozzo (bass)
Lawrence Gowan (vocals, keyboards)
Ricky Phillips (bass)
Todd Sucherman (drums)

Rating:

3.480 out of 5.00 (average of 17 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album:

Here’s a surefire formula for convincing even your most loyal fan base to abort – have your band’s leader get way too sappy, which Styx front man Dennis DeYoung had done full force by the time reunion albums rolled around in 1990 and 1999 – then jettison him altogether, and then, just in case there’s even a remnant of your signature sound left, release a cover album.

“Those looking for this to be the big Styx record that will catapult them back into the mainstream will be sorely disappointed…[with this] 14-song collection of covers from some of the band’s influences and all-time rock favorites.” ^AMG They work “through the great rock & roll songbook with safe, relative ease” ^AMG and offer the “usual clean production and relaxed atmosphere around the usually serious album format.” ^AMG This is “a record that die-hard fans will enjoy and casual fans might regard as a passing novelty stopgap in between records.” ^AMG

The album grew out of the band’s performance of the the Beatles’ I Am the Walrus at Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Festival in 2004. The song was released as a single and reached #27 on Billboard’s Heritage Rock Chart. As a result, the band was inspired to record a full album’s worth of covers.

Lawrence Gowan, who joined Styx in 1999 as the replacement for Dennis DeYoung, takes the lead on “I Am the Walrus,” as he does on covers of Ray Charles’ I Don’t Need No Doctor, Procol Harum’s A Salty Dog, and the Pretty Things’ Talkin’ About the Good Times.

James Young, one of the band’s founders, turns in covers of Willie Dixon’s It Don’t Sense (You Can’t Make Peace), the Jimi Hendrix Experience’s Manic Depression, and Jethro Tull’s Locomotive Breath. The latter also features original bandmate Chuck Panozzo on bass.

Tommy Shaw, who joined Styx in 1975, became the defacto leader of the band after they ousted Dennis DeYoung in 1999. He sings the Who’s I Can See for Miles, Blind Faith’s Can’t Find My Way Home, Elmore James’ One Way Out, the Lovin’ Spoonful’s Summer in the City, and Free’s Wishing Well. He also tackles the band’s own Blue Collar Man, which may have been the impetus for the band to release the two Regeneration EPs which were reworkings of their own songs.