One Hundred Years From Now (Dig)

Dennis Deyoung | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 14, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rounder / Umgd
• ASIN: B001UGISAC
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #61,628 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

For over four decades, Dennis DeYoung has been a singer, songwriter, keyboardist and record producer. DeYoung wrote and sang several Styx classics including "Lady," "Come Sail Away," "Best of Times," "Mr. Roboto," "Show Me the Way," "Desert Moon," "Don't Let It End," and "Babe." His singing talents have made his voice one of the most recognizable in the world. One Hundred Years From Now is his first new studio album in 6 years.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dennis DeYoung At His Best, August 1, 2007

By 

KMM (Texas) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: One Hundred Years From Now (Audio CD)

There is not a weak song on this very fine CD from Dennis DeYoung. Best of all is the amazing, powerful voice of DeYoung. He has not lost a single step from the earliest of his recordings when he was the voice of Styx. If anything, his voice is stronger and more nuanced. He throws in amazing falsettos and hits notes younger people could never even attempt.

His musicians and singers on the CD are a wonderful compliment to this voice. In addition, we get the always superior keyboarding skills of DeYoung on all tracks -- synth, piano, even the accordion. And it also must be added that he produced the entire CD.

Track by track:

One Hundred Years from Now - The title track was originally performed as a duet, but done solo here. Powerful, with a mix of sounds, old and new. The guitar solo is as good as anything you will hear on any rock album.

This Time Next Year - Powerhouse rock with a driving back beat. DeYoung lets loose on this one. My only quarrel with it would be the weak-sounding backing vocals that detract from the forceful nature of this song.

Rain - Wow. That is about all I can say. This one insistently gets in your head, much like the rain in the lyrics. Another rocker with great throwback synthesizer work by DeYoung.

Crossing the Rubicon - The original title song, this is a true masterwork in the tradition of his best writing both for Styx and in his solo years. Quite powerful as a self-examination. Lots of symbolism in the lyrics and the whole thing has a sort of Grand Illusion era feel to it. Another standout on a CD full of standouts.

Save Me - My personal favorite. Just a great, great song. Has an old feel to it and yet feels very current as well. A GREAT chorus sung so beautifully in harmony.

I Don't Believe in Anything - Oh wow! This is so different in style from anything he has ever written. The words are in your face and unapologetic. And the Dobro work is top notch. Just a great, great song.

Pvt. Jones - Another one that gets into your head and won't let go. A strong, driving rock song with a fantastic, melodic chorus that carries it throughout.

I Believe in You - Just gorgeous classic Dennis DeYoung power ballad. He is the master of such songs. Again, fabulous harmonies and a catchy rolling beat to it. Awesome Bruce Hornsby style piano riff by Dennis at the end of this one, too.

There Was A Time - This one, another ballad, sounds much more like the music he recorded on his solo works in the 80's. Nice harmonies, once again.

Breathe Again - Is an exquisite song devoted to his wife Suzanne. The harmonies are nothing short of spectacular. Quite a beautiful number and one of his very best of the songs he has written for her. Nice acoustic guitar intro plus an old school synth solo to just add to the pleasant mix on this.

Forgiveness - Haunting song. The lyrics are very, very powerful. As with much of his music, there are many layers and many meanings to the words he writes.

Turn Off CNN - Another rocker and this one is classic DeYoung commentary on our times. He lets the listener know to Turn off CNN. Turn it OFF!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Who's the bourgeois pig now?, January 3, 2010

By 

sonofbarbarella (Knoxville, TN) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: One Hundred Years From Now (Dig) (Audio CD)

On "One Hundred Years From Now", Dennis DeYoung manages to do something his former bandmates can't do -- make a great Styx album. Not that they haven't tried. Despite the fact that he sang on all but one of their top ten hits, the two remaining members of the classic Styx line-up ousted the frontman after 1999's "Brave New World". Since that parting-of-the-ways, the band that still records under that name have given us "Cyclorama" and "Big Bang Theory", the former a collection of songs that bear little or no resemblence to any previous incarnation of the band and the latter an inexplicable covers album. Much of the writing on "Cyclorama" seemed to be about the breakup with DeYoung (Bourgeois Pig, Kiss Your Ass Goodbye, Kill The Thing That You Love, Do Things My Way) and the ugly taste the working relationship, apparently, left in Mr. Shaw's and Mr. Young's respective mouths. Meanwhile, Dennis has spent recent years indulging himself in his Broadway roots, seemingly unfazed by the musical cheap shots from the band he fronted for a few decades. Until now, anyway.

"One Hundred Years From Now" is poetic justice for fans of the DeYoung-led version of the band and vindication for Dennis himself. While ballads like "Babe", "Come Sail Away" and "The Best of Times" are most representative of his work in Styx, it's hard to deny the stamp of the keyboardist/vocalist on rockers such as "Renegade" and "Too Much Time On My Hands". Just listen to the "guitar songs" on "Brave New World" for further evidence. Rumor has it that Shaw and Young removed Dennis' vocals and keyboards from many of the songs, leaving the disc sounding more like a collection of solo tunes than a true Styx album.

Unlike his former co-horts, though, DeYoung knew that it was the combined efforts of the individuals in the band that created that magical sound that made them worldwide stars. That fact is more than evident when you listen to the Styx soundalike band he has assembled for OHYFN. From the classic rock crunch of "Rain" and "Crossing The Rubicon" to the layered vocals in "This Time Next Year" and "I Don't Believe In Anything", it's not hard to imagine Tommy and James standing alongside Dennis. Meanwhile, Shaw and Young hired Canadian singer/keyboardist Larry Gowan to fill DeYoung's vacant seat. No disrespect to Gowan, whose "Great Dirty World" was a late-'80's classic, but he's out of his league here. One listen to Cyclorama's "Fields Of The Brave" proves that all singing keyboardists are not created equal.

OHYFN is chock-full of the pre-"Kilroy Was Here" Styx sound. Songs like the title cut, the aforementioned "This Time Next Year" and "Crossing The Rubicon" would sound right at home next to most of the tunes on "Cornerstone", "The Grand Illusion" or "Paradise Theater". Yet, somehow, they don't sound dated. The other thing that is striking about OHYFN is that, unlike most of DeYoung's solo efforts, there is an even balance of ballads and rockers. For every "I Believe In You", there's a "Private Jones". It's an amazing feat for the 60-something Dennis that must have his former bandmates eating their hearts out. They shouldn't fret, though. On "There Was A Time" and "Forgiveness", DeYoung seems to drop a hint or two that he might be able to let bygones be bygones. We might still get another proper Styx album yet. If not, "One Hundred Years From Now" is close enough for me.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars DeYoung's most Styx-like solo work to date, August 12, 2007

By 

Sterling C. Whitaker (Nashville, TN) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: One Hundred Years From Now (Audio CD)

I had eagerly anticipated the release of Dennis DeYoung's '100 Years From Now' for quite some time, as I had heard through the grapevine that it was somewhat of a return to the sound that DeYoung was so instrumental in creating with his former band, Styx. I really enjoyed the Canadian-only release of this album in 2007, but DeYoung has actually put in additional work for this stateside release that has enhanced the overall collection. Several tracks feature new performances or mixes, and there are two new songs as well.

Fans of classic Styx albums like 'Equinox', 'Crystal Ball', 'The Grand Illusion' and 'Paradise Theatre' will find plenty to like about these tracks, which blend the best of DeYoung's solo work with some very Styx-like instrumental and vocal arrangements.

The title song '100 Years From Now' finds DeYoung re-visiting one of his favorite lyrical themes. Much of his best work with Styx was observational about the state of humankind, and what needed to be done to avoid the same pitfalls in the future that we had fallen into in the past. DeYoung re-slants that theme in "100 Years From Now" to great effect, saying "Eye for eye, tooth for tooth/Who among us will speak the truth/So our children's children can live in peace somehow/One hundred years from now". The new version for this US release features DeYoung singing all the parts in new vocal performances, which is vastly superior to the English/French duet version from the Canadian release.

"This Time Next Year" is an up-tempo pop/rock song that is vaguely reminiscent of "Mademoiselle" from 'Crystal Ball', with call-and-response backing vocals that sound remarkably like Styx. "Rain" is another track in the vein of classic Styx, like the[....] son of "Lorelei" from 'Equinox', a frantic rocker with excellent keyboard work and vocal harmonies.

"Crossing The Rubicon" is one of the strongest songs of DeYoung's solo career, a nod to DeYoung's early progressive rock influences like Yes and ELP. "I Don't Believe in Anything" features a bluesy verse married to a modern rock chorus, propelled by an electronica/hip hop beat (yes, you read that right). The lyric is a classic DeYoung rant against the shallowness of popular culture.

"Turn Off CNN" is an up-tempo three-chord rocker with a lyric about the overwhelming information available too readily in the modern cable TV age.

There are a few weaker tracks - "Save Me", "Breathe Again" - but even these are highlighted by crisp production, strong instrumental performances, and the unmistakable vocal identity that made Dennis DeYoung one of the most recognizable rock vocalists of his generation. For the US release DeYoung has chosen to omit "Respect Me", which was the weakest track, and has added two new tracks, "Private Jones" and "There Was A Time". Both the subtractions and the additions make the overall work even stronger.

All in all, '100 Years From Now' is an album that will please fans of Dennis DeYoung and classic Styx.

Sterling Whitaker

Author, The Grand Delusion: The Unauthorized True Story of Styx