Customer Reviews

Too Much Time On Our Hands: A STYX Tribute Album

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

 

 

If you do a cover of a well known song you must change it enough to distinguish your recording yet leave it recognisable. The versions on this album are distinct enough to be worth the effort but they lack the grandeur that makes the originals great. Gone is the extraordinary showmanship Dennis DeYoung brought to his vocals. Gone is the agony of JYs screaming guitar. In their place is a more respectable laid-back and folkish sound. These are good songs performed well but they don't inspire the way classics do.

This album makes an interesting study for any Styx fan, or a fan of any of the artists that contributed. Unique in its approach, Too Much Time On Our Hands emphasizes the vision of each artist's interpretation of the track to which they contributed. In that way, fans who know each artist's style will easiliy recognise their sound. Like any compilation or mix tape, there are highs and lows for every listener. Favorite moments: Lost and Found's freakish grade school recorder Grand Illusion, a heavy Man In the Wilderness by Jerry Chapman and His Evil Herbivores, and the album's cover design.

How could one not love Styx? Yeah, they're bombastic and their 70's and 80's hits sound a bit dated now, but Styx always crafted melodic rock that stuck with you.
Here's a fine and fun set of Styx songs done in decidedly unStyx ways. And it's a bit of a revelation.
My favorite tracks include Alva Star's lovely rendition of "Lady" (ditto for Jeff Krebs' version of "Boat on the River"), the bizzare take of "Babe" by Jim Roll and the Famous Authors, the emotional Beki Hemingway track, and the punk-indie "Grand Finale" by Hearts Beat Red.
Overall, it's a must for Styx fans...

A couple of artists paying homage to the greatest band of all-time isn't a bad thing at all. I like every song on here because yeah it's not Styx duh because its a tribute album and their is nothing wrong with paying your repects to your favorite band by playing their songs. I pay my respects to Styx by writing reviews about them that is how I do it these guys use their gift of making music to do it. It's just how they work and there is nothing wrong with that.