Customer Reviews

Complete Wooden Nickel Recordings

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When most folks think of Styx, they obviously think of "Come Sail Away", "Renegade", "Blue Collar Man", etc. The late 70s / early 80s hits. Most folks aren't familiar with the band's first four albums, recorded for a small label with sometimes crappy production before getting signed to A&M Records. And that's too bad, because there are many treasures to be discovered here.

I've been a fan of these four albums for many years now, and I'm very excited to see them remastered and in a single collection.

In many ways, the least Styx-ish of the set is the first album, STYX. Only about half the album was written by Dennis DeYoung and/or James Young; the rest is made up of cover songs, and even includes a George Clinton tune! :-) Oddly, the album opens with the longest track the band, in any of its incarnations, would ever record: "Movement for the Common Man". However, it also gives us one of the band's early gems, the wonderful "Best Thing."

STYX II is a real triumph, a huge leap forward, with all the material coming from Dennis (mainly) and John Curulewski. Its a very cohesive album, much moreso than the first and third. It features the only enduring hit from this era, the lovely (and overplayed) DeYoung ballad "Lady". But in addition to this, we also get a few other winners: Dennis' "Father O.S.A." (I never knew what the initials stood for) and "Earl of Roseland" (a fun song about his early pre-Styx days in Chicago ["I can see Charlie on the porch, Johnny clicking his sticks / And two boys I don't even know rehearsing electric string tricks"]), and John C's absolutely superb "A Day". Spend some time with this song and it will reward you handsomely.

While II belonged mostly to Dennis, THE SERPENT IS RISING has JY and JC taking the reins, and what we find is what an unpredictable character JC is. Each of his few songs sound totally different from each other, ranging from II's gorgeous "A Day" to SERPENT's quirky title song and completely bizarre "Krakatoa" (and let's not overlook the silly and completely weird "Plexiglass Toilet"!!!). Both are very strong works, with "Krakatoa" being very experimental and 'soundscape-y'. JY turns in a couple of real gems here as well: "Witch Wolf" and "Young Man" are both terrific songs. He also gives a really great vocal performances on two Dennis-penned tunes, "Winner Takes All" and the excellent "Jonas Psalter". Plus, this album features one of my favourite Dennis songs of all time, the enigmatic "The Grove of Eglantine".

MAN OF MIRACLES closes the Wooden Nickel era, and is not only less experimental than STYX or SERPENT, but gives us glimpses of what's to come. This is much more a band album, with each guy contributing equally strong material (as opposed to II being very Dennis-driven and SERPENT being steered by JY and JC). Most of the stand-outs here come from Dennis. Most people point out "Golden Lark" and "Song for Suzanne", but for me, the highlights are "Mr. Christopher" and the absolutely excellent "Evil Eyes". Go have a listen to these less obvious tunes and see why they're so damn good. JY's songs here are mostly okay, "Man Like Me" and "Southern Woman" being the best. But the real surprise comes at the end: the title track is a brilliant song, and gives us shades of some of Styx's later mini-epics. JY's vocals on this song are absolutely outstanding, and Dennis' keyboards in the middle are foreshadowings of "Come Sail Away".

All-in-all, these are four very good albums, that show a band coming into its own, expanding its talents and abilities, and experimenting with classical music, church organs, spoken word pieces, cover tunes, and still turning in some very good, straightfoward rock music. They also show what a prominent role JY had in the band prior to Tommy Shaw's arrival in 1976.

And I'm completely thrilled to have them in my CD collection in newly remastered form.

About time! These individual discs have been extrememly hard to find (except for Styx II). I had to pay collector prices to get some of them. This has the original artwork and sequencing of all 4 original discs, plus one bonus song. Nicely done! This collection is only for the Styxaholic like myself. More casual fans can stick to the remastered "Come Sail Away: The Styx Anthology" and still get a sample song or two from these first 4 albums. BTW, don't forget to pick up the 2003 Styx release "Cyclorama" if you haven't already. It's their best work since 1978's "Pieces of Eight."

This excellent, economy-priced compilation repackages the first four Styx albums together including Styx (1972), Styx II (1973), The Serpent is Rising (1973), and Man of Miracles (1974), along with some very nice liner notes, the original cover artwork, and exceptional sonic clarity.

The first three Styx albums are simply staggering in the range of styles that are utilized within individual compositions, and from one song to the next while Man of Miracles is more straightforward. For example, along with hard rock and "boogie" (these styles dominate the four albums), there are scattered snippets of King Crimson, ELP, Jethro Tull, and southern rock influences, not to mention J.S. Bach (Fugue in G Minor - played on a pipe organ of course), snippets from great American composer Aaron Copland's Fanfare for a Common Man, an excellent rendering of the Hallelelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah, covers of pop tunes (e.g. Lies), along with subtle avant-garde influences (found sounds), electronic experimentation, and um...bathroom humor (there is a silly, quasi-Mexican folk music flavored passage on As Bad As This where the subject matter includes a Plexiglas toilet - and ruins an otherwise great song). I'll be honest, even as a huge fan of 1970s English/continental European progressive rock (who loves eclecticism in music) I am completely in the dark as to what these guys were up to, but that is what I love about it - even if the eclecticism gets a bit "Frankensteinian" at times.

Of course, not all of the music is as crazy as I am making it out to be. Lady was a fairly popular hard rocking ballad, the cover song What Has Come Between Us is very proggy, Jonas Psalter is a great hard rock tune, and the Serpent is Rising, Grove of Eglantine, along with Young Man and the Movement for the Common Man suite are all excellent examples of progressive hard rock. With respect to the Dennis DeYoung/Chuck Lofrano authored bonus track Unfinished Song, it is very good and was apparently issued as a single in 1974.

Of the four albums on this compilation, my absolute favorite includes the unbelievably good The Serpent is Rising, which is the proggiest album of the four and comes complete with mellotron and loads of analog synthesizers. Coming in at a close second is the debut album, which is also very adventurous. With regard to the band members in Styx at this time, Dennis DeYoung is my favorite composer. He really hits the progressive rock thing on the head, and contributes a symphonic quality to the music that I find very appealing. Of course, his use of Hammond organ and tons of analog synthesizers including the moog, string synthesizer, and the mellotron does not hurt either.

My recommendation to Styx newcomers is to start with the incredible The Grand Illusion (1977) and work backwards through Pieces of Eight (1978), Crystal Ball (1976) and Equinox (1975) before tackling this 2 CD set. As far as my fellow progheads go, you may like some of the material on the first three albums and may love The Serpent is Rising, although there might be too much hard rock for the typical Yes/ELP/Genesis fan. Chances are that if you like Kansas, 1974-1975 period Argent, 1970-1971 Deep Purple, and early Atomic Rooster you will like this compilation. I know I did.

Finally. This took WAY too long. It amazes me that a band as popular as STYX with albums this great could have been gone for so long without this being released. I really don't want to talk about the horrible mixes that were availble for the past 15 years or so. This is the Styx that I first heard and loved. This is Styx before they became so incredibly popular in my pre-teen years. My Panasonic stereo blasted this stuff out loud when I was a kid. I miss this type of music. It is so experimental. I'm so happy to finally have this collection. It's a good feeling. It's a Rock and Roll Feeling.

FYI - The band called Styx today should not exist. I like Tommy Shaw and JY, but I can't handle them without Dennis. I read another reviewer who put it's like listening to Wings without Paul McCartney. Well put.

Look, I'm not going to give you my opinion of the material on this CD. Suffice to say that you're either reading this because A) You're a Styx fan, already know these albums and want to know what other fans are saying about this release or alternately B) You're new to Styx and searching their back catalogue. My review is for the existing fans. If you're new to Styx I would recommend reading some excellent Styx lists and reviews regarding these albums already published on Amazon. I would only be covering old ground. What I will say is, if you're new to Styx and have decided to give their first four albums a go, then buy this release. Don't buy the individual reissues. They're the ones with the horrible art deco covers.

Now regarding the quality of this recording. I own all the LP's and bought some of the CD reissues. The only frustrating thing was that the sound quality was marginal at best. It was like listening to a cloudy collage of instruments and vocals. My concern was I didn't want to pay for something I already owned unless they improved the overall production. Now don't get me wrong, not all remasters help the original sound. Sometimes the richness is lost and the music starts to sound like it's been filtered through a tin can. When I popped this into my CD player I was simply blown away. All I can say is WOW! Why has this taken so long to come out? The remastering makes these albums sound new, fresh and totally relevant today. I already loved the first 4 Styx albums, so I was probably going to purchase this at some stage, but this was a real surprise, hence the 5 star review.

You can hear everything. The bass lines sound clear, the drums are crystal and the vocals are strong and stand out above the music. This is one excellent job, full stop. It's as if this CD was only just released for the first time and given all the issues with Styx in the last few years I think it's great that these albums were remastered and released, hopefully to a whole new group of fans. Go out and buy this CD. If you're a fan you'll simply love what's been done.

Bottom line: Styx are a great band and this is a fantastic release. Well done to whoever was in charge of this project. And as many reviewers have commented, how inexpensive is this CD.

The Amazon customer-review average of 5 stars, across nearly 50 reviewers, ludicrously overstates the merits of this music, effectively proclaiming it a must-have masterpiece. Don't get me wrong, though, there is some good rock n' roll here.

A third of the tunes could be compiled to comprise a highly recommended, great work of 70s AOR, with plenty of guitar crunch, pounding keyboards, amped up vocals and soaring harmonies. Add to that some proggish tendencies in composition and lyrics and some of the over-the-top style of arrangment and production they'd become well known for.

Half the tunes make for extremely satisfying listening for Styx fans and a solid listen for most fans of 70s-style, straight-ahead, AOR. The other half consists of weak-to-middling stuff that comes from a band in its formative years working out kinks and discovering strengths. Styx fans will find most of that "other half" a decent, intriguing listening experience.

Many will make it a habit to skip "As Bad as This" by John Curlewski and his "Krakatoa" as well. "Bad" seems intended to be an interlude in the "Serpent" album, providing a jarring shift from a meditative mood to a presumedly humorous take on Harry Belafonte's "Banana Boat" (?!). This tune will only annoy the listener who is already in the groove of this album.

Curlewski, while offering the highly enjoyable, moody and mellow "A Day," has a thin voice and a delivery that pales in comparsion to the vocal powers of Dennis DeYoung and James Young. After hearing these recordings, I feel his soon-to-be departure from the band is not much of a loss, particularly given the future addition of Tommy Shaw. This is not a commentary on Curlewski's guitar chops, which are strong, but Shaw and James Young will have no problem in this area.

These early albums are definitely a highly entertaining and interesting look at a landmark group's formative years, particularly in it's ventures into proggish and hard-rock territory. There is already a strong tendency towards the lush, dramatic arrangments and lyrics they'd be known and loved (and hated by self-righteous critics) for. The vocal harmonies are in place but the tunesmithing isn't quite as refined as it would become.

The project-like care and remastering that went into this album of music, makes for a handsome, enjoyable and, for huge fans of Styx only, essential package. Whatever you do, though, do not purchase this with 5-star expectations.

Nicely assembled 2-CD, 35 track repertoire of early Styx. Essential for all fans of pre-platinum Styx. Some of these tunes I haven't heard in ages. Some truly memorable arena rock 'deep album cuts' to be fully taken in here. This 2-CD release draws from the first four Styx lp's, their self-titled ('72), 'Styx II' ('73), 'Serpent Is Rising' ('74) and 'Man Of Miracles' ('74). Songs that got me going were "Right Away", the rocking "Best Thing", their first-ever hit "Lady", "Young Man", "Rock 'N Roll Feeling" and "A Man Like Me". A must-have.

For starters if you are a total Styx fan this is a must have (Five stars for you). The album features the band's work before signing with A&M records. That would mean prior to Equinox and Tommy Shaw's debut on Crystal Ball and the Grand Illusion. But it does demonstrate all of James Young's hard rocking contributions to the early band and of course earlier Denis DeYoung ballads and Works. (Works meaning some really neat pipe organ and arrangements with a more clasical flavor).
These recordings are Remastered which is a big plus, because if you are familiar with the cd "The Best of Styx" the sound quality on it was dissappointing. But all the tracks on this new release are more brilliant and sound fine.
The most popular track on the recordings of course would be Lady, and it also features the harder rocking tunes I personally enjoyed like Southern Woman, You Need Love, Winner Take All, Witch Wolf, Man of Miracles, Rock and Roll Feeling, and I'm Gonna Make You Feel It.
In general the rest of the album is a trip down memory lane of the early seventies sound I remember as a kid. Heavy doses of electric organ and heavy Bass Guitar. The style typified by so many other bands around the same era like early REO Speedwagon and Yes. So if you love early 70's classic rock this would also be a Check it out.

I originally bought the Wooden Nickel LP "Best Of Styx" back in the late 1970s, since at that time it was the only way to get the song "Lady." But I really liked the rest of the songs on this record, exposing me to some of the other early Styx albums. That album has since worn out, and I have been searching for a replacement but was hoping to get the rest of the tracks off of these long-forgotten and overlooked releases. Well boys and girls, here it is. And I am extremely happy and satisfied in finally obtaining this welcome addition to my CD collection.

The musicianship is excellent and often daring, the band was treading on new ground and setting the stage for later work. James Young was really shining as a songwriter, and complemented John Curulewski's efforts. Dennis DeYoung was also honing his skills as a songwriter and makes excellent contributions throughout. As a drummer, I really appreciate the grooves John Panozzo recorded here -- I just wish he would have gotten the respect & recognition he sorely deserved while he was still alive. Chuck Panozzo's bass playing locks in tight in with his brother's drumming.

Giant kudos to Hip-O records for pulling this off. First rate all the way, excellent remastering of all of the tracks (this is the best I have ever heard them sound), liner notes, original album artwork, even the CDs have the original Wooden Nickel label (Side 1 = Heads / Side 2 = Tails). And four albums for the price of two, go figure?

I would < highly > recommend this CD to any Styx fan already familiar with the more accessible Tommy Shaw-era recordings with the band -- Crystal Ball, Equinox, The Grand Illusion, Pieces Of Eight, etc.. The Complete Wooden Nickel Recordings represent a band in their formative years (I like to call it Phase 1), before signing with A&M and becoming an arena act, with the rest becoming history.

Pretty heady title for a review, yes/no? Well, I made a decision about 25 or 26 years ago concerning my album (later CD) purchasing guidelines. The decision I made was based on my purchase of the album The Best Of Styx. I wore that album out (and later purchased the CD), but it made me realize that if the stuff on there was so good, what must the rest of the work on those early albums be like? This was someone else deciding these were the best songs, but even if the other stuff wasn't their 'best' I bet it would be really good. I decided then that I would never buy another 'best of' again. If I really liked an artist, then I would at least listen to the body of work rather than a cliff notes version. Then, if I really liked what I heard, I would buy the albums as they were intended to be listened to - the artist sometimes has an idea in mind, the album needs to be listened to in a certain order, a feeling needs to be expressed - not necessarily a concept album, but a mood.

Until I received my Amazon order about a week ago containing the Complete Wooden Nickel Recordings, I never heard the other music from those early Styx albums. I never even saw the albums as I scoured record and CD stores throughout the years. When I came across this on Amazon I knew I had to have it - good or bad, I had to have it. I was not disappointed.

I am not going to tell you about the songs, how good or bad they are musically, that is for you to decide. BUT, I now know that my decision of many years ago has been affirmed. I LOVE having this and hearing that early music. There are songs on this that, if I had been putting together a Best of Styx, I would include. I now hear things and realize either the influence they received from other music or others that were inspired by them. I listened from beginning to end and felt a big sigh of relief that a journey has been worth the wait.