Customer Reviews

At the River's Edge: Live in St Louis

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

With the exception of the horrid "Everything is Cool" and a painful to listen to version of "Lorelei", this is the same album as the Styx side of the Arch Allies CDs released last year. Can we please here some new music from these guys? It's bad enough that they keep releasing live compellations, but now they are releasing repackaged CDs of the same live performances. How can anyone take this line-up seriously if they can't break the links to the DeYoung era music. Give us something original.

this is not so bad, but the songs of Dennis DeYoung are bad, because Lawrence Gowan sings on them. He can't sing half as good as Dennis. The rest of the band plays good, but they should not do Dennis's songs live without Dennis. Lorelei doesn't sound so good either, James Young used to be a good singer, but not anymore. Tommy Shaw sounds very good here. Edge Of The Century doesn't sound so good. It kinda sucks. I like the studio version a lot more. So if you want a live album, then you must buy Return to Paradise.

OK, enough debate as to who is best, Dennis DeYoung or Tommy Shaw. They are both great. They just have different goals. Dennis will never be replaced. He will always be in the group whether or not he ever appears on stage again. Now for the new version of Styx. This is a collection of the best musicians doing the best classic rock & roll around. They are at the top of their game and give a great performance in the spirit of rock & roll of days gone by. This CD is indicative of the energy and performance prowess of a live Styx show. Whether you like this incarnation of the band or not, their music passes the test of time. They can still rock...

Another live album, I think it's cool! The songs of the 'Brave new world' album are very good! It really is worth 4 stars, and if I were you, I would buy this album. Highly recommanded!

Seriously...Gowan is ok, but he's no DeYoung. If they want to do Styx minus DeYoung, then do Styx minus DeYoung songs. Last time I saw DeYoung live, he didn't sing any Tommy Shaw or James Young songs.

It's not that I dislike Gowan...he's good. When I saw Styx live with him, it was a great show. Gowan has a lot of charisma, and a keyboard that spins, but the DeYoung songs were off, because he wasn't DeYoung, and that kind of ruined it for me. Maybe ditching the DeYoung stuff and introducing us to some Gowan originals would be better.

Styx is back, with another new live cd, sort of. The only thing new about this cd, is, Everything Is Cool, my second favorite song from their BRAVE NEW WORLD cd, the first being Goodbye Roseland. Rest of the cd comes from the double cd that they and REO SPEEDWAGON did together- ARCH ALLIES. Is it worth buying? Yes if your a diehard STYX fan like me, or if you don't own ARCH ALLIES. BUT PLEASE STOP WITH THE LIVE CDS. DON'T REALESE ANOTHER ONE, UNTILL AFTER YOUR NEXT STUDIO CD.

Ok, Styx, enough is enough! This is the 4th live album since 1997 and is getting old! While a live version of "Everything is Cool" is neat, it is not worth buying this album for. JY's version of "Lorelei" is terrible as is "Heavy Water." Save your money. The only real live album by Styx is "Return to Paradise"!

Alright Yes Lawrence Gowan does do a good job but he doesn't come anywhere close to what Dennis DeYoung is. The real reason Styx released so many live albums in beetween BRAVE NEW WORLD and CYCLORAMA is because they were trying to promote all of their new memebers. Todd Sucherman, Lawrence Gowan, and Glen Burtnik. They needed to do this in order to as Dennis DeYoung put it "CAARRRRRY OOONNNNN".

Styx is still one my favorite bands and an excellent live act. However, 5 of the last 7 albums (not counting 2 "Greatest Hits") have been live sets. The one saving grace with this one is that you get several selections from 1999's "Brave New World" not featured on other live albums. But the rest is mostly tracks featured on 1984's "Caught In The Act" and every live album since then. I can't figure out what to attribute this live album fetish to. Are they fulfilling their CMC contract? Are they stockpiling cash to cover legal fees from the suit Dennis will or has filed? (Give it up Dennis, Pink Floyd won over Roger Waters in 1986) Who knows? Bottom line: Styx is in fine form here. Tommy Shaw is at the top of his game. Styx now has 4 excellent vocalists/songwriters, a kick-butt drummer and an accomplished keyboardist not given to writing silly ballads. Styx needs to take a year or two off and come back with a new studio album. In the meantime, you have yet another live album to console you.

This is the same show as the "Arch Allies" CD, but with extra tracks and in the original order. This disc showcases the excellent new line-up rocking with renewed intensity since wisely replacing their prima-donna former keyboardist. With this and it's companion CD "Styxworld Live 2001" you get a taste of how hot the current band's live shows are.