Customer Reviews

Best of Styx

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Don't be fooled by the title "Best of Styx." It came out before most of us even heard of them. But it's a great Styx CD for those times when you've listened to the familiar stuff to death and still haven't quite had your fill of Styx. It is a nice cross section of their 1st four (largely ignored) albums. Dennis (Come Sail Away & Babe) DeYoung didn't sing a lot of songs back then. James (Miss America) Young was the more predominant lead singer, and Tommy Shaw was not yet in the band. They were as stylistically diverse then as now, but the production quality is a bit weak, as they were not yet self-produced. For huge fans like me it's just fascinating to hear how the early river flowed. This CD is the "source" of Styx.

This compilation was originally released in 1976 with a different cover by Wooden Nickel as a "cash in" album when Styx changed labels to A&M. It was the second Styx album I bought (after Equinox) and looking back its a very good starter collection of songs from their first four Wooden Nickel albums. It seems a little skimpy on CD because it was originally put together for vinyl. But the original LP ran over 45 minutes, so I thought it was a great deal back then. The album was later reissued by RCA in the early 80's with a new (ugly) cover, which has been used for this CD. Most of these songs were also released as rare 45 singles, which are becoming very collectible on E-bay.

The band was just starting to forge their own sound on these early albums so they are not quite as cohesive as their A&M recordings. All four Wooden Nickel albums feature a very eclectic mix between JY's and the late John Curulewski's hard rockers verses Dennis' ballads and prog-rock pieces. It wasn't until Tommy Shaw joined the band in 1976 that they found just the right songwriter to bridge those different elements together.

The mastering on the original RCA CD that came out in the mid 80's (The CD has a large modern RCA symbol in a circle in blue ink, and a scan of the album cover on the back) - its very hissy , stay away from this one!

The remastered BMG version (with the old 40's style RCA symbol on the CD and just the track and remastering information on the back) was redone in the 90's is a huge improvement and the one to get. Still I wish BMG would put together a lengthier compilation of their early days. There's one available from Japan but its very expensive!

UPDATE - they did! Look for "The Complete Wooden Nickel Recordings" and you will have everything on Best Of Styx in better quality. So unless you want a cheap sampler of the early days, get that compilation instead.

This is a must for the diehard Styx fan, featuring the best of their first four albums(Styx I, Styx II, Serpent Is Rising, and Man Of Miracles)on the Wooden Nickel label, an early RCA joint label. Of course the song "Lady" is featured, along with some other good early rock pieces. Too bad though the original album cover art is no more. Originally it featured a photograph of a silver, long-nailed hand emerging from a dark lake and clutching a rose(to tie in with the band's name chosen from Greek Myth).Around 1980, RCA decided to re-release their early albums due to the band's popularty, but with new "Art Deco" styled graphic covers. Still, the music is whats important, so give it a listen.

I think the early music of styx is great . This album covers all there early stuff from 72-74 And I think the reason why nobody bought is because nobody promoted it as of also there first four albums. The name says it all best of styx.Tracks like you need love and best thing should have platinum sellers (except lady)which starting selling two years after its release.There guiter work is excellent on this album.My verdict is like I said before best of styx is the best of styx!!!

This CD is the best of Styx during their Wooden Nickel years. This is a very good sampling of the four W.N. albums. After listening to it, I just had to get the four pre A&M albums hoping that I would find a few more hidden gems. Well, after hearing those four albums, I'm pretty sure that most of the good gems had been mined for The Best of Styx. It's kinda neat to hear John and JY featured so prominently through the album, and a song like Man of Miracles holds its own against Lady. Styx, Styx II, Man of Miracles, and The Serpent is Rising can be quite difficult to get ahold of, so if you really want the best of those early four, buy The Best of Styx, and, as advertised, you are getting the best of early Styx.

This album is hard to find, even though it's a great album. Any true fan should try to get this album, you won't be disappointed. Although these songs weren't big hits at all (except Lady), they are some of their best songs from their early years. As you listen to it you get an idea of what they sounded like when they first started out. First, listen to the track What Has Come Between Us and you'll see what I mean.

Styx was formed in the late '60s by a keyboardist by the name of Dennis DeYoung. By 1970, they had been signed to Wooden Nickel Records, which now is owned by RCA/BMG.

In 1975, Styx switched labels, to A&M Records. This collection was released shortly afterwards. It features 11 of their best tracks from their Wooden Nickel years.

Of course, now there are so many better options. Keep in mind of the 2 CD set 'The Complete Wooden Nickel Recordings.'

But if you want a quick look at their best early sides, you'll find most of them here. Read on for the positives and negatives.

Positives
-Obviously, their biggest hit on Wooden Nickel was 'Lady,' so it's nice to see it here.
-The underrated album classics that would pave the way for their A&M years are also here. 'Best Thing,' 'Winner Take All' and 'You Need Love' are all awesome songs, and it's great to see them here.
-The sound quality is great!

Negatives
-Where is one of their best Wooden Nickel songs, 'Movement for the Common Man'? That's 13+ minutes of goodness, and yet, it's nowhere to be found here.
-Why so skimpy? The length of the disc is 39:47, so they could easily find some other Wooden Nickel songs to put on here.

But overall, if you think the only part of Styx is their A&M recordings, you are dead wrong. Buy 'Best of Styx.' You won't regret it.

Highly recommended for any Styx fan. ENJOY!!!

In this album you can hear the early versions of their music it is a completely different sound then what you hear as soon as they switched over to A&M. Even though I like the later stuff better. This is still a great album Here Are M Rating by song:

1. You Need Love (15/10) Hard Rocker, A beatiful guitar solo and tons of organ AWESOME!!!!! off of the album STYX II

2. Lady (20/10) Their best song on this CD and their frst Top Ten hit. A Styx classic. off the album STYX II

3. I'm Gonna Make You Feel It (12/10) A very catchy song quick paced kinda one of those songs that gets stuck in our head but your happy that it's there. off the album STYX II

4. What Has Come Beetween Us (10/10) It's a rare Styx breakup song. off the album STYX.

5. Southern Woman (8/10) Some Southern Rock Style sung by James Young and interesting manuever by them. Off the album Man Of Miracles

6. Rock & Roll Feeling (10/10) Another song sung by James Young and a another catchy tune. off the album Man Of Miracles.

7. Winner Take All (9/10) John Curulewski sings really high in this song with Dennis DeYoung but another catch style song. off the album The Serpent Is Rising.

8. Best Thing (10/10) Their first Top 100 hit. A very well done song with a good guitar solo and lots of electric piano with acoustic guitar to back it up. Off the album STYX.

9. Witch Wolf (7/10) Kind of a theatrical song in a way good but not their best. Off the album The Serpent Is Rising.

10. The Grove Of Eglantine (9/10) A nice ballad by DeYoung. off the album The Serpent Is Rising

11. Man Of Miracles (8/10) A ballad/theatrical song pretty good but they have better. off the album Man Of Miracles.

When this album was released in 79, the line up that appeared on it had already changed. John C. had been replaced with Tommy. Plus the group was well on their way to superstar status by then. So wooden nickel released a best of from the four albums that STYX had recorded with them, before changing over to A&M records. This album contains the top ten hit Lady, and thats the only hit that is on this release. But that should not rule it out as a good album.
Some what fairly the albums STYX, STYX 2, THE SERPENT IS RISING, and MAN OF MIRCALES, are represented on this release. Witch wolf, Man of Miracles, Southern Woman, Rock and Roll Feeling, JY's, and Lady by Dennis are good songs. As a eleven track cd, it could have included a few more songs, but back when this was released, there were no cds, and album space was limited. So some better songs, by JY were left off, to included some of Dennis' songs. And not even represented, are JC's songs like A Day, The Serpent is Rising, or As Bad as This.
But, this a good cd to start you Wood Nickel years with. GRADE B

Before Styx began producing hits on the A&M label, they recorded four albums in the early 70's for the small Wooden Nickel label (rights now owned by RCA). RCA produced new cartoon artwork for the "Best of" and the other Wooden Nickel albums and re-released them around 1980, probably to capitalize on Styx's height of popularity at the time, after "Babe" went #1. An essential pick for the serious Styx fan, "Best of" contains few standouts beyond the belated hit "Lady." You may want this album as a serious collector or as a huge Styx fan. However, it's hard for me to agree with any best of collection from Styx, even from these early years, because to me, I've enjoyed their albums as a whole, as in "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts." Therefore, any one of the first four albums ("Styx I", "Styx II", "The Serpent is Rising" and "Man of Miracles") may be a comparable buy to the "Best of." I personally think that "Serpent" is the best of the four, although as a serious Styx fan, all four (plus "Best of") are in my collection.