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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Take a ride on the Cyclorama, March 6, 2003
Bands that have been around for 30 years just don't break new ground. It doesn't happen. If a band has had the mixture of talent and luck to still be making music 30 years after their first release, there is rarely much interest in breaking new ground, as their hits and fan favorites will easily fill a two hour concert.Nobody told Styx. Oh, they know. They just don't care. Cyclorama is perhaps the best Styx album in the history of the band. At the very least it is the best recording proffered by Styx since The Grand Illusion/Pieces of Eight. For the first time in 25 years this is a Styx album through and through, from the opening rumble of Do Things My Way to the last strains of "Life of a Stranger" (a much too short hidden track at the end of the disc. This is the first Styx album without founding member Dennis DeYoung. This may turn off some long-time fans, but the infusion of Lawrence Gowan and the re-infusion of Glen Burtnick have revived the energy and mojo that caused Rolling Stone magazine readers to crown Styx "the Best Band in the World" in 1981. The album opens with "Do Things My Way", a rousing Tommy Shaw rocker that evokes classic Styx sounds while sounding cool enough to play on any Modern Rock station you could name. "Waiting For Our Time" (the first single, again sung by Shaw) follows and brings Styx clearly into the twenty-first century, but will please Styx fans old and new. "Fields of the Brave" is the first offering on the album from new member Larry Gowan, and evokes the magic that Dennis brought to the early days of Styx. This may well be the most poignant and beautiful song Gowan has written in his long career, and is destined to be a classic. Cyclorama takes an interesting turn with track four, "Bourgeois Pig", which is something of a soliloquy with Billy Bob Thornton on lead vocals, and leads into "Kiss Your Ass Goodbye". Glen Burtnick sings his way into Modern Rock/College Radio heaven, while still retaining Styx signatures all over it. Next is James Young on vocals for "These Are The Times", an amazing song written about JY's brother. Styx then slows it down a little with a love song, "Yes I Can". Tommy Shaw and Glen Burtnick duet on a beautiful love song that will make those missing DeYoung melt. Next is "More Love For the Money", the second of two offerings from Lawrence Gowan, evoking thoughts of classic Styx and Queen all at once. One more near-ballad, "Together" picks up the pace a bit with Tommy at the microphone, leading into an amazing arrangement of the Styx classic "Fooling Yourself", with background vocals by none other than the legendary Brian Wilson. This beautifully eerie trip back in time results into a slingshot into today with Captain America, where James Young proves that he is woefully under-represented in the vocal department. This song could be a classic in today's international environment, and could easily be a song of inspiration for US troops overseas. The song reprises some of the musical base of "Miss America" and takes the deep cynicism of that earlier offering and turns into a message of hope for the future. Moving into the final phase of the album, Styx continues to wow you with "Killing the Thing That You Love". This Glen Burtnick vocal may well be the most controversial song on the album for long time Styx fans. Some have pointed to lyrical coincidences that make it sound as if it is directed at former member Dennis DeYoung, but the song was written in 1994 by Burtnick, who was not even a member of the band at the time. Regardless of who or what it was written about, it's an amazing song, worthy of the Styx name. Next up is a new Prog classic, "One With Everything". This is the song that old time Styx fans have been waiting for since The Grand Illusion. It rocks hard, and in between it slips into dreamy musical landscapes that are far beyond the ability and reach of the mere-mortal bands regularly "scene" on MTV, VH-1, and MuchMusic. The last listed track, Genki Desu Ka, plays over a drum loop developed by Styx drummer Todd Sucherman. The title means "how do you feel" in Japanese. It's a feel good meditation in much the same vein as the closing of Pieces of Eight, "Aku-Aku". But they're not done. Oh, no. I forgot to mention the background vocalists on "Kiss Your Ass Goodbye". They would be none other than Tenacious D. They also contribute a short skit in which they talk their way into getting onto the album, involving Tommy Shaw. It's good for a chuckle, and is somewhat reminiscent of old Cheech and Chong. And finally, "The Chosen One" (sic) is an untitled, unlisted track at the end that might serve as a dedication to the heroes of 9-11. This entirely vocal snippet is much too short, and is a beautiful elegy to leave on the palates of Styx fans, as it suggests that Cyclorama is not a one-time spike, but perhaps the beginning of an entirely exciting and musically fulfilling in the life of Styx. Whether you've loved Styx from days of old, or hated them with a passion, or never heard of them at all, this is an album that is worth your careful attention. In this day and age of corporate radio and mass-production rock music, Cyclorama is an amazingly organic aural experience. Sit back and relax. Styx is about to blow you away.
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by Styx 
