Customer Reviews

Rockers

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

 

 

The only reason I bought this is because Tommy Shaw's statement on Styxworld.com said that "Man in the Wilderness" contained the extended guitar solo not available on the original album. I bought it, played it, and it was the same as the original. The song length is actually shorter than the original(according to the liner notes).
I later went back to Styxworld.com and the statement was removed from TS's notes.
Now that DDY is gone, they have to resort to this type of Tom-Foolery to sell records.
I could have made a mix from the original Styx albums I already own.

This is just another attempt by the Shaw-Young Band to erase a part of their history that can NOT be denied. While I like the music of the current band, I think it's criminal to credit this music to the current lineup. Completly and intentionally omitting a founding member his due credit by plastering a photo and credits of the new band only shows the level of immaturity that still remains here. My suggestion is that you stop making your bitterness so obvious and take the high road like the abandoned member. If you can't count him as part of your history then stop trying to push the altered version on us. Hopefully most of the fans are to smart to buy into it.

Ok, I've never been a big fan of "greatest hits" albums. They're usually little more than record labels cashing in on fans by reselling them music that they already have . . plus one, perhaps two new tracks. They also usually sell to the one or two casual fans that are just waiting for that one disc to get all their favourite tracks in one place.

This disc does neither. It has to be the most useless, irrelevant, and pointless compilation ever released. More irrelevant even than those wretched "20th Century Masters" discs. This isn't even a "hits" album. Midnight Ride, Shooz, and Little Suzie are hardly the sort of tracks that landed Styx in the rock history books. Why does this compilation exist?!?

The reasons for this CD to exist aren't good enough.
First- Dennis doesn't have any lead vocals. Tommy does a really good job on his songs, but Dennis was the showman.
Second- I don't notice an improvement in sound quality. Remastering a twenty five year old recording doesn't help my car stereo.
Third- The song selection is uneven at best. 'Blue Collar Man' is a radio staple available on several compilations. 'Man in the Wilderness' is an underappreciated gem. 'Shooz' was forgettable and 'Heavy Metal Poisoning' falls flat.
If you have the money buy the albums. If you just want what you hear on the radio buy 'Greatest Hits'. If you never want to hear 'Come Sail Away' again but want a Styx CD to play in your home system maybe this is your cup of tea.

This silly bit of nonsense is, to use an expression I read, a childish temper tantrum thrown by Tommy Shaw and James Young in a ridiculous attempt to erase Dennis DeYoung from their history.
They have left off many of their best rocking numbers for one reason only -- they were written and sung by Dennis DeYoung.
So included are such non-essential Styx songs as Shooz and Little Suzie. And since WHEN is Crystal Ball a "rocker"????
And not included are classic Styx rockers like Rockin' the Paradise, Born for Adventure, Borrowed Time and Lorelei.
If you want Styx Rockers, buy the two Greatest Hits CD's and/or their classic works such as Equinox, Grand Illusion, Paradise Theater....you get my point.
Hope this thing dies a quick death and Shaw/Young make nothing off of their attempt to deny their past history of greatness when Dennis DeYoung was the creative force behind this band.

Not a bad song on this record. Nice to see some recognition of Shooz. This is a great song. Midnight Ride rocks as well. But, really, do we need Renegade, Blue Collar Man, and Miss America on another collection? What about Half Penny Two Penny, or even Eddie? Born For Adventure is a great rocking song.... oh wait, Dennis sang and wrote that. Ya get my point? I posted once before a theory that the current Styx keeps putting out new collections of songs that cut Dennis out of the royalties. This collection helps prove my point. I know that DDY co-wrote some of these songs, but this is getting a bit petty. Eventually, there will be enough collections out that allow a fan to purchase all of Tommy's and JY's stuff without buying any of Dennis's. They might as well put out a 3 CD set called "All Stuff We Wrote, and None of the Stuff He Wrote." By the way, I still love Styx, and I love Cyclorama. I just don't love the politics. Out!

Well, it's a nice cd, but I can mention some other rockers, that are not on this cd. Songs like Eddie, Born for Adventure, Queen of Spades, and many more. And all the songs on this cd are written by Tommy Shaw or James Young(one by Glen burtnik). Not one song from Dennis DeYoung, and he has written some good rockers too. However, the songs on this cd are good, but styx has more rockers then only the ones on this cd. I think they should have done more rockers on this cd. I give the cd 4 stars, because the songs on this album are very good, only a lot of rockers are missing on this one.

Why in the world is Styx releasing an album of old substandard songs called "Rockers"? Except for Blue Collar Man, Renegade, Crystal Ball, and Miss America, which you can get on other Styx compilation albums out there (and Lord knows there are enough Styx compilation albums and greatest hits albums), the rest of this album is pure junk. The songs are obnoxious and awful. If you like James Young screeching and screaming at the top of his lungs on songs like Midnight Ride and Heavy Metal Poisoning and Tommy Shaw's obnoxious vocals and juvenile lyrics on Shooz, then maybe this album is for you. Otherwise, consider it B-sides at best and a lame attempt by the current members of Styx to re-create an image that does not include original lead singer and balladeer Dennis DeYoung. This is Styx trying to be "heavy metal" - the problem is that Styx never did hard rock very well, and this only goes to prove it.

Styx was literally a pop-rock group. Pretty much all of the songs written by Tommy Shaw and JY are rock, while most the ones written by Dennis DeYoung were pop songs. Some say that this is a way for Tommy Shaw and JY to get back at Dennis DeYoung, who is no longer with the group. Is this true? Possibly. I really don't care cause I have always loved Styx' heavier songs over their power ballads such as "Babe" and this is a way to get them all on one album, while not paying that much ($9.99). Obviously, this is not the place to go if you are looking for Styx' best songs, because "Lady" and "Come Sail Away" (great songs) are not on here. Remember, Styx broke up in 1984 because DDY wanted them to completely go after a pop sound, while Tommy Shaw was the main man for hard rock. When they reunited in 1990, Shaw was with Damn Yankees and the Styx album that came out that year was almost all pop. Eventually DDY and Shaw forgave each other and they began touring again as Styx. DeYoung started cancelling shows and eventually stopped touring. He was like a modern Bryan Wilson! So you all could understand if they tried to remove all traces of Dennis DeYoung. "Midnight Ride," "Love is the Ritual," and "Little Suzie" are great as well as the better known ones such as "Chrystal Ball," "Miss America," "Blue Collar Man," and Renegade." "Heavy Metal Poisoning" is pretty good too, but loses its effect without the rest of Kilroy Was Here. Buy this only is you want heavy songs, not for a greatest hits CD.

Give me a break, neo-Styx. Where did all the music go? This compilation has to be the Worst Of Styx and should have been so-entitled. Where are all the good rockin' songs we had been led to expect from the title. What happened to Rockin' the Paradise, Mr. Roboto, The Grand Illusion, Lorelei,and yes, The Best of Times. Classic Styx was never heavy metal and never tried to be under the guidance of Dennis DeYoung who wrote and sang ever last one of the songs mentioned above. And there were many more that he co-wrote which are conspicuous by their absence. This collection is a distinct slap in the face of the man who organized Styx and put them on the map. It appears that Non-Styx is trying their level best to eradicate the accomplishments of their former band leader and hitmaker, Dennis DeYoung. You only have to look at the Greatest Hits CD to see who actually wrote and sang the "greatest hits" since 9 of 16 "hits" were both penned and vocalized by him. So where are the great rocker songs? Dennis has 'em. And if Crystal Ball is considered a "rocker" by anyone, then "Babe" should also be given this distinctions and it does have the redeeming feature of being the only Styx song to ever reach # 1.So pardon me, Non-Styx, your slip is showing.