Customer Reviews

"Styx - Greatest Hits, Part II"

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

A spectacular album it is what it says it is. It is simply a continuation of the first Styx greatest hits album. Including 2 never before heard songs.

1. A.D. 1928 (10/10) The intro to Rockin' The Paradise. Very creative the start of it sounds alot like The Best Of Times.

2. Rockin' The Paradise (10/10) A little Pop Rock for your taste. Off of Paradise Theatre a catchy tune. A nice guitar solo in it too a great song.

3. Light Up (15/10) Off the album Equinox another great song a kind of uptempo love song kind of like "Lorelei" makes sense seeing how they caome from the same album. The Keyboard work is spectacular in this song.

4. Sing For The Day (12/10) Off the album Pieces Of Eight written by Tommy Shaw to his daughter Hannah. A little upbeat song. Great keyboard work by DeYoung.

5. First Time (28/10) Off the album Cornerstone. In my opinion Styx's second best ballad. A beautiful love scene is painted by DeYoung. A great guitar solo in the middle the vocals by Dennis are just superb.

6. Mademoiselle (18/10) A great song off the album Crystal Ball a lot of high pitched singing kinda catchy. But another good upbeat love song.

7. Snowblind (32/10) A Styx classic. Off the album Paradise Theatre. Starts out with JY's low-pitch raspy voice then Tommy takes over with some high pitched hard rock. A sweet guitar solo and then they repeat the process to finish it off.

8. Boat On The River (16/10) Off the album Cornerstone. A very different kind of sound. Features DeYoung on Accordian and Shaw on Mandolin. Kind of almost Polka sounding.

9. Borrowed Time (19/10) Off the album Cornerstone. A lot of high pitched singing. Keyboard work is great. Really Pumps you up.

10. Lights (22/10) Off the album Cornerstone. DeYoung's vocals are great. John's drums are spectacular especially in the beginning. A great song with a message kinda reminiscent of Pieces Of Eight.

11. Queen Of Spades (25/10) Off the album Pieces Of Eight. A great song some great guitar work. If your best friend is thinking about going out with one of your ex-girlfriends and you know that it is a bad idea play this song for him.

12. Love At First Sight (10/10) Off the album Edge Of The Century. A very nice somber love song.

13. Haven't We Been Here Before (33/10) Off the album Kilroy Was Here. Tommy Shaw has never been famous for love ballads but he struck gold on this one if you are ever in a situation were you can't be with the one you love this is the song for you.

14. Superstars (14/10) Off the album The Grand Illusion. This was one of their 6 hits off of it and is definetly the weakest but it is still a great song. It was definetly meant to be played live.

15. Little Suzie (15/10) The first song with new drummer Todd Sucherman written by Tommy Shaw. A great song overall and very well done but John is truly missed and you can tell.

16. It Takes Love (30/10) This was the last original song recorded by Styx with John Panozzo before the Lady 95 version. It was recorded in 1992 with DeYoung and John's parts the others were added later. This song is very heartwrenching for any die-hard Styx fan it makes you kind of tear up beacause you know how much this song means to them.

Well there you have it my review. I think that this is a great Styx album after you get greatest hits 1. You should also add The Best Of Styx. You know their first greatest hits basically their best of wooden nickel. After you complete your findings of their hit I suggest you move to the individual albums.

I love Styx. But! This release is an excellent example of a band milking its past for all it's worth. It takes a lot of nerve to release a "greatest hits" package with so few "hits" on it. Anyone who doesn't like Styx (a lot) would not want this CD, and anyone who does like them already has these songs. The two new songs are an obvious attempt to suck loyal fans into buying a whole CD. Shameless. This is the first Styx CD I've ever refused to buy...two new songs or not! Return To paradise was another shameless milking! However, I'm happy to see that Styx is back in the business of releasing real CDs and busting their butts supporting them on the road. They have redeemed themselves, since this terrible mistake. And after seeing the latest tour, I believe their future is bright, even if there are no founding members remaining. The band I saw in 2000 was undeniably Styx! In fact, a new and improved Styx. Who'da thunk it!

Styx Greatest Hits Part 2 is yet another one of Styx's masterpiece compilations. Although some of the songs are not as easily recognizable to some, I believe they are some of the best ever recorded by Styx. If you are the type of person who enjoys listening to the "entire album" rather than just the "radio songs," then you definitely want this CD. In addition to the older hits, Styx has also added 2 brand new songs to this greatest hits collection: "It Takes Love" and "Little Suzy."

Greatest Hits was awesome, and I still can't believe that A&M or whoever owns them issued a Vol. 2! This has some B-sides, album tracks and popular classic rock staples that were left off. Styx deserved it, and so did the fans. I'm 22 years old and I listened to Styx on 8-track (yes I owned a player at one time). My favorite cuts off of this one are "Light Up", "Queen of Spades" and "Sing For The Day". Anyways, this is a great sequel to their first real "Greatest Hits". But if you are just discovering Styx right now, there's a 3/4 chance you'll like this. You're better off listening to Greatest Hits first.

This CD makes a completion of the "Greatest Hits" category for Styx. While part 2 doesn't have songs that are as familiar as the first CD, this is a complete for any fan of Styx's music, but not whole albums. This contains some of the more popular "album" tracks, songs that were not considered "fillers". Nice to hear these songs remastered and contains two new songs, "Little Suzie" showcasing the drumming talents of new drummer Todd. "It Takes Love" is vintage Shaw/DeYoung harmonies. Like I said, an excellent album, but mostly for the "fans" and it completes the collection

GREATEST HITS, PART II is an excellent companion collection to Styx's GREATEST HITS. It features all of the group's best album tracks that were not on GREATEST HITS, plus two new songs. One of the standout songs is "Borrowed Time." The line "I need the truth, but the truth is I don't know who to believe" sums up my feelings about the varying reports I've heard regarding the current situation at my old school. If you buy this collection and GREATEST HITS together, you'll have all the essential Styx cuts.

This includes the best songs remaining after Greatest Hits 1. Most of these hits are of the Album Rock Radio variety, which are better than the Top 40 hits, IMHO. Borrowed Time and Queen of Spades are the highlights for me, and all the rockers sound great. Love at First Sight is a nice mid-tempo pop song that many fans may not be familiar with - it grows on you after a few listens. The newest ballad - It Takes Love - is a disappointment. To top it off, the sound is noticably improved by the remastering.

I just cant contain my admiration for Styx.they are one of my favourite rock bands and this collection just smokes.highly recommended.BUY TODAY.

Far too many weak songs on this compilation (First Time, Love at First Sight, Sing for the Day, Superstars, Little Suzie, Light Up etc). Would suggest instead the tracklisting from my iPod Best of as follows:

1. AD 1928 / Rockin' the Paradise 2. Snowblind 3. Nothing Ever Goes As Planned
4. Too Much Time On My Hands 5. Half-Penny, Two-Penny 6. Come Sail Away
7. All in a Day's Work 8. Eddie 9. The Best of Times 10. Renegade 11. Mr. Roboto 12. Boat on the River 13. Midnight Ride 14. Suite Madame Blue 15. Lights 16. Miss America 17. Babe 18. Crystal Ball 19. Love is the Ritual 20. AD 1958 21. Blue Collar Man 22. Music Time

And while I was at it, I also put together a further compilation built around the Kilroy Was Here story with the following tracks which works really well:

1. Mr. Roboto 2. Cold War 3. Double Life 4. High Time 5. Love in the Midnight
6. Into the Fire 7. Why Me 8. Just Get Through This Night 9. Show Me the Way
10. City of Holy Faith 11. Haven't We Been Here Before 12. Not Dead Yet
13. Still Feel Your Love 14. Girls with Guns 15. Don't Let It End
16. Man in the Wilderness 17. Heavy Metal Poisoning 18. Castle Walls
19. Little Girl World 20. Don't Let It End - reprise 21. Back to Chicago

Styx's second Greatest Hits album Greatest Hits Part 2 was released in June of 1996.
This compiation has the tracks left off of the first greatest hits.
The rest of the band's charting hits are included here such as the Top 40 hit "Mademoiselle" from 1976's Crystal Ball, the Top 100 charting "Borrowed Time" from 1979's Cornerstone and the Top 30 hit "Love at First Sight" from 1990's Edge of the Century. Plus the monster European hit "Boat on the River" from 1979's Cornerstone which wasn't relesed as a single here in the US.
Plus, you also get more great album tracks like "Light Up" from Equinox, "Superstars" from The Grand Illusion, "Sing for the Day" and "Queen of Spades" from Pieces of Eight, "Lights" and the infamous "First Time" (the song which Tommy Shaw complained about and threated to quit Styx if A&M had released it as a single) from Cornerstone, "AD 1928"/"Rockin' the Paradise" (a rock radio staple) and "Snowblind" (which was a hit on Album Rock radio in 1981) from Paradise Theater and "Haven't We Been Here Before" (a single which flopped) from Kilroy Was Here.
Also, there are two new songs. Tommy Shaw's rocker "Little Suzie" which was co-written with Dennis DeYoung and featured Todd Sucherman on drums. There's also the ballad "It Takes Love" which was the last song John Panozzo recorded back in 1992 with Dennis, Tommy and JY adding vocals and guitar solos in 1996.
The songs on here sound better than the original CDs and when will A&M remaster their albums.
Highly recommended!