Brave New World

Styx

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 29, 1999)
• Original Release Date: June 29, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sanctuary Records
• ASIN: B00000JG4W
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (248 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #19,760 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

While not exactly a return to form, the first studio record since 1983 by the classic Styx trio of Dennis DeYoung, Tommy Shaw, and James Young will undoubtedly please hard-core fans. There's nothing here on the level of "Come Sail Away," "Miss America," or "Lady," but that trademark combination of thrilling, arty hard-rock sounds and gently swooping, full-blown ballads continues. Dennis DeYoung's crazily high-pitched voice still hovers admirably in the castrato range for the most part, though time has introduced a few rough edges. In grand art-rock tradition, the record's supposedly got something to do with futurist British scribe Aldous Huxley (one of classic rockers' favorites), but if anything will bother the listener, that's not it. Songs such as "Number One" reveal an attempt by the band to update their sound with newer variations on hard rock; the result is less than satisfying. When they stick to the old formula, as with "I Will Be Your Witness" and "While There's Still Time," it's like grunge never happened, which is what this nearly-30-year-old act are supposed to sound like. --Mike McGonigal

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars not what I expected, but an excellent CD, October 24, 1999

By A Customer

I've waited 16 years for a new studio album from Styx that included Tommy. I must admit I was a little disappointed the first time I listened to the CD. The 2nd time I liked it 3x as much and it just kept getting better.

This is definitely a CD that grows on you. This is a result of expecting to hear "OLD" Styx right where they left off. This isn't realistic for a band that is trying to play music for the children of their biggest fans. After listening to the Album several times I found a nice blend of vintage Styx combined with new sound and technology.

I was a little disappointed that Dennis didn't have any heavier sounding songs i.e. (Queen of Spades) but this has been his trend. Tommy and J.Y. have produced some great rockers.

I figured the best way to give this album a fair rating was to play it for other people who weren't Styx fans. Most of them were the same as me. They liked it better the more they heard it.

It's sad that this album receives virtually no air time on the radio. I'm confident that songs such as Everything's Cool and Brave New World would be enjoyed by listeners and requested if given a chance. It seems most radio stations are too busy playing their same songs every 2 and 1/2 hours that the record companies are promoting them to.

I saw the band in Detroit and they still know how to rock even without Dennis. He is still missed though and I hope to see his return. After all, what's Styx without Dennis Deyoung? I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of people at the concert that indicated they were seeing the band for the first time. There was a wide range of ages that included a lot more young ones than I expected.

Overall, I think this CD is obviously a must for Styx fans, but will be enjoyed by anyone who likes rock and roll and gives it a fair chance. I suspect most of the negative reviews came from people who listened to the CD just once or twice and put it away after they didn't immediately hear something that sounded like Grand Illusion.

Here's to hoping we are able to hear another 20 years of Styx.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 2 Years Later, And I Still Dig This CD, September 18, 2001

By	redSG "a yank overseas" (Glasgow, Scotland) - See all my reviews

I was a bit surprised to see a lot of the mediocre to downright awful reviews of this album. I've had "Brave New World" since it first came out, and I still listen to it often. It's just a great Styx album, although a little bittersweet being DDY's last gig with the band. Whether you'll like this album comes down to what type of Styx fan you are. If you're a big Dennis fan, you may be a bit disappointed. His participation seems limited to the ballads (personal fave: "Fallen Angel"), by his own doing or not, I don't know. I think the people who will enjoy this album are the ones who swing more towards the Tommy Shaw/JY side of things. There's lots of guitar driven songs ("Heavy Water," "Everything Is Cool"), lots of Tommy singing, and a couple of songs co-written by Jack Blades (which is great IMO). I think the whole thing comes together beautifully.
A lot of people have said there is no way this disc can stand up to the classic Styx records. I disagree. I have absolutely no difficulty listening to this record ride beside "Pieces Of Eight" of "The Grand Illusion."

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ONE OF THE GREATEST ALBUMS BY STYX, OR ANYONE!!!!!, March 12, 2005

By	Tnahpellee "Brendan" (Australia) - See all my reviews

There's a lot of misinformation and outright BS written about this album. Dennis DeYoung wrote five songs on this album, two of them are ballads, one is a blues song, one is a reggae song and one is an artsy/hip hop/blues song.

Anyway, I was blown away by the production. The production is very warm, simple and understated. It doesn't sound like a 90's production, it sounds like an early-70's production. Which is weird, considering that the material is 90's influenced.

The album definitely benefits from some wonderful string arranements.
Here are my highlights: The opening track is a dark, mysterious piece of symphonic rock that bursts into boy-band pop in the chorus. The title track has a dark, hypnotic bass riff and a slightly ethereal feeling. Number one is a statement about manic depression. Tommy obviously feels contempt at modern day society. Best new face is a fun piece of arena rock. Fallen angel is a rhythm and blues song while heavy water is a cross between folk music and rock. It also has an ethereal quality. Just fell in is a fun rock n roll number but my favourite track on the album is Dennis DeYOung's dig at hip hop stars. A lot of mocking, creepy voices sing the chorus 'hip hop hip-hop-cracy hip hop' and Dennis overdubs some silly sounding fake drums. The second best song is an awesome folk-song called 'While there's still time'. It has some of Dennis' best vocals, a brilliant [and nice] melody and some cool psychedelic touches.

The album has a lonely feeling. Apparently they didn't come together to record this album, they worked on it seperately and so they would have been alone in the studio when they recorded it. I like the album more than Cyclorama because Styx ventures into new territory here instead of re-living the past, despite the lyrics. And I personally enjoy the Dennis/Tommy/James/Chuck chorus better than the Tommy/Glen/Laurence/James chorus. But that's just personal taste!

To sum my review, it's an easy-listening album that is also great and it's quite interesting.