Line #62 Music/Styx


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1000009027.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:'''L-to-R:''' Tommy Shaw, John Panozzo, James Young, Dennis [=DeYoung=], Chuck Panozzo]]
3	->''I thought that they were angels but to my surprise\
4	We climbed aboard their starship and headed for the skies!''
5	-->-- "Come Sail Away"
6
7	Although they began as an artsy prog-rock band, Styx would eventually transform into the virtual arena rock prototype by the late [[TheSeventies 1970s]] and early [[TheEighties 1980s]], due to a fondness for bombastic rockers and soaring power ballads. The seeds for the band were planted in another Chicago band during the late [[TheSixties 1960s]], the Tradewinds, which featured brothers Chuck and John Panozzo (who played bass and drums, respectively), as well as acquaintance Dennis [=DeYoung=] (vocals, keyboards). By the dawn of the 1970s, the group had changed its name to [=TW4=], and welcomed aboard a pair of guitarists/vocalists, James "JY" Young and John Curulewski--securing a recording contract in 1972 with Wooden Nickel Records (a subsidiary of RCA). Soon after, the group opted to change its name once more, this time to Styx, named after a river from Myth/ClassicalMythology that ran through "the land of the dead" in the underworld.
8
9	The band had a string of top 40 hits throughout the 1970s and into the 1980s, including such mainstays as "Come Sail Away", "Renegade", and "Snowblind" (and in December 1975, they replaced Curulewski with [[DeepSouth Tommy Shaw]], formerly of a local band called MS Funk). Internally, the group was wracked with tension. [=DeYoung=], who had begun to take onto himself the role of "band leader", attempted to steer Styx into a dramatic, almost operatic direction. This brought him into direct conflict with most of the rest of the band, who were more interested in a harder, rocking sound than the soaring balladic style [=DeYoung=] envisioned. The tensions came to a head in the form of the tour for ''Music/KilroyWasHere'', an early-80s concept album cast around a TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture scenario in which MoralGuardians had succeeded in outlawing RockAndRoll. [=DeYoung=] managed to turn the concert into a ''musical'' telling the story of the album; this pleased neither his bandmates (who felt profoundly uncomfortable trying to ''act'' in between songs) nor the fans (who felt they were being cheated). The tour failed miserably, and in its wake the band broke up. In 1990 the band reunited--minus Shaw (who was in Music/DamnYankees around that time)--and hired Glen Burtnik as his replacement. They recorded the album ''Edge of The Century''.
10
11	In the mid-90s, the hard feelings had faded enough for Styx to reunite to tour and record again, but [=DeYoung=]'s {{control freak}}ery began to raise its head once more not long after (and it also didn't help that [=DeYoung=] had announced that he had developed chronic fatigue syndrome with light and heat sensitivity, meaning touring would be very hard for him). Unwilling to put up with it, the rest of Styx expelled him from the band. They recorded another album with Burtnik before he left the band to be close to his family. They now tour as Styx with a new lead vocalist/keyboardist--Lawrence Gowan, formerly a major Canadian solo act in his own right back in the 80s--while [=DeYoung=] tours with an orchestra performing Styx songs and new material more in keeping with his personal artistic vision.
12
13	!!Styx songs of note:
14	* "[[http://www.mtvmusic.com/styx/videos/89947/the_best_of_times.jhtml The Best of Times]]"
15	* "[[http://www.mtvmusic.com/styx/videos/30881/mr_roboto.jhtml Mr. Roboto]]"
16	* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BARLfUmyBJA Come Sail Away]]"
17	* "[[http://www.goear.com/listen/e3cd975/Renegade-Styx Renegade]]"
18	* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBi61pgDUP8 Babe]]"
19
20	!!Discography:
21	* 1972 - ''[[SelfTitledAlbum Styx]]''
22	* 1973 - ''Styx II''
23	* 1973 - ''The Serpent Is Rising''
24	* 1974 - ''Man of Miracles''
25	* 1975 - ''Equinox''
26	* 1976 - ''Crystal Ball''
27	* 1977 - ''The Grand Illusion''
28	* 1978 - ''Pieces of Eight''
29	* 1979 - ''Cornerstone''
30	* 1981 - ''Paradise Theatre''
31	* 1983 - ''Music/KilroyWasHere''
32	* 1990 - ''Edge of the Century''
33	* 1999 - ''Brave New World''
34	* 2003 - ''Cyclorama''
35	* 2005 - ''Big Bang Theory''
36	* 2017 - ''The Mission''
37	* 2021 - ''Crash of the Crown''
38
39	!!Principal members (Founding members in '''bold''', current members in ''italic''):
40	* Glen Burtnik – guitar, backing and lead vocals (1990–1991, 1999–2003, part-time 1999–2003); bass, backing and lead vocals (1999–2003)
41	* '''John "J.C." Curulewski''' – guitar, backing and lead vocals, keyboards (1972–1975; died 1988)
42	* '''Dennis [=DeYoung=]''' – keyboards, lead and backing vocals (1972–1984, 1990–1991, 1995–1999)
43	* ''Will Evankovich'' – guitar, backing vocals (2021–present)
44	* ''Lawrence Gowan'' – keyboards, lead and backing vocals, occasional acoustic guitar (1999–present)
45	* '''''Chuck Panozzo''''' – bass, occasional backing vocals (1972–1984, 1990–1991, 1995–1999, part-time 1999–present)
46	* '''John Panozzo''' – drums, percussion (1972–1984, 1990–1991; died 1996)
47	* ''Ricky Phillips'' – bass, backing vocals, part-time guitar (2003–present)
48	* ''Tommy Shaw'' – guitars, lead and backing vocals, occasional mandolin (1975–1984, 1995–present)
49	* ''Todd Sucherman'' – drums, percussion, occasional backing vocals (1995–present)
50	* '''''James "J.Y." Young''''' – guitars, lead and backing vocals, occasional keyboards (1972–1984, 1990–1991, 1995–present)
51	----
52
53	!!"Too much tropes on my hands":
54
55	* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: "Lorelei, let's live together" (from "Lorelei").
56	* AlbumClosure: ''Paradise Theater'' has an an outro called "A.D. 1958", a counterpart to the intro "A.D. 1928", both based on "The Best of Times" from the same album (with intro being a parody). There is, however, a track after the outro called "State Street Sadie", though it's just a light piano solo lasting less than 30 seconds.
57	* BadFuture: The alternate future of ''Kilroy Was Here'', in which rock 'n' roll music is outlawed, BigBrotherIsWatching You and [[JapanTakesOverTheWorld Japanese corporations control everything]]
58	* TheBandMinusTheFace: After Dennis [=DeYoung=]'s departure(s).
59	* BrokenPedestal: "Fallen Angel". Also alluded to in "Show Me the Way".
60	* CelebrityIsOverrated: One of the themes of ''The Grand Illusion''.
61	* ConceptAlbum: ''Pieces of Eight'', ''The Grand Illusion'', ''Paradise Theater'', ''Music/KilroyWasHere'', and ''The Mission''.
62	* ControlFreak: Dennis [=DeYoung=]. A nice enough one, but a control freak nonetheless. (It's outright confirmed in Creator/VH1's Behind the Music: Remastered special on Styx.)
63	** [[WordOfGod Both DeYoung and members of Styx admit]] that the VH-1 special was edited so that the drama within the band was greatly exaggerated.
64	* CulturePolice: ''Kilroy Was Here'' and its Majority for Musical Morality.
65	* {{Determinator}}: "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)" is about an desperate unemployed man who is willing to work as long and as hard as he can to hold a steady job.
66	* DrugsAreBad:
67	** "Snowblind" is about the ups and downs of cocaine addiction.
68	** "Heavy Metal Poisoning", in which the singer (as [[MoralGuardians Dr. Righteous]]) accuses the heavy metal-loving teens in his audience of being mindless drugheads: "Get the lead out, go for broke/Up your pills and drink and smoke/Shoot those chemicals in your veins/Anything to ease the pain".
69	%%* {{Forgiveness}}: "She Cares".
70	* FunWithAcronyms: The elder rocker of and namesake of the ''Kilroy Was Here'' album: '''R'''obert '''O'''rin '''C'''harles '''K'''ilroy.
71	* GratuitousJapanese: A well known example is from the beginning of their song "Mr. Roboto":
72	-->どうもありがとう、ミスターロボット、(''Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto'')[[labelnote:Translation]]Thank you, Mr. Robot[[/labelnote]]
73	-->また会う日まで。 (''Mata au hi made'')[[labelnote:Translation]]Until the day we meet again.[[/labelnote]]
74	-->どうもありがとう、ミスターロボット、(''Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto'')
75	-->秘密を知りたい。(''himitsu o shiri tai'')[[labelnote:Translation]]I want to know your secret.[[/labelnote]]
76	** Especially in the mini-film of Kilroy breaking out from prison, from the poor Roboto he hits with a GroinAttack.
77	* GreatestHitsAlbum: Two or three out there; the band does legitimately have many hits for them.
78	* HeavyMithril: A few songs fit--"The Grove of Eglantine", "Jonas Psalter", "The Serpent Is Rising", "Man of Miracles", "Born for Adventure", "Come Sail Away", "Castle Walls", and, of course, their ConceptAlbum ''Kilroy Was Here''.
79	* IncrediblyLongNote: [=DeYoung=] sometimes does this in live performances of "Suite Madame Blue", and all the time in "Rockin' the Paradise". Also done by Tommy Shaw during a cover of "Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough" on the ''Styxworld: Live 2001'' album.
80	* LargeHam:
81	** JY sinks his teeth into the role of Dr. Righteous with aplomb. Just check out the video for "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWe1T5OdfrQ Heavy Metal Poisoning]]". Then again, JY is always this whenever he [[StepUpToTheMicrophone Steps Up To The Microphone]]. This is best shown in the aforementioned "Heavy Metal Poisoning", but other good examples include "Miss America" and "Great White Hope".
82	** Tommy Shaw's hilarious, crazy-eyed mugging in the "Too Much Time on My Hands" video could be diced up into an omelet.
83	* LeadSingerPlaysLeadGuitar: Tommy Shaw is the band's [[VocalTagTeam co-lead vocalist]] and lead guitarist.
84	* LonelyAtTheTop: "Nothing Ever Goes as Planned"; "Babe". "Too Much Time on My Hands" has elements too.
85	* LongDistanceRelationship: "Babe" and "Nothing Ever Goes as Planned" both talk about the loneliness of the road, staying faithful to someone who's waiting for you back at home.
86	* LongestSongGoesFirst: ''Styx'' (1972) begins with "Movement for the Common Man" (13:11).
87	* LongestSongGoesLast:
88	** ''Equinox'' closes with "Suite Madame Blue," at 6:30.
89	** ''Crystal Ball'' closes with the 7:09 medley "[[Music/ClaudeDebussy Clair de Lune]]/Ballerina."
90	** ''Cornerstone'' ends with "Love in the Midnight" (5:25); no other tracks on the album cross the five-minute mark.
91	** ''Big Bang Theory'' closes on "Blue Collar Man @ 2120" (6:30).
92	* LongRunnerLineup: Type 2 with their 2004–2021 lineup of classic members Chuck Panozzo (part-time due to health issues), Tommy Shaw, and JY plus "newcomers" Lawrence Gowan, Ricky Phillips, and Todd Sucherman.
93	* LyricalColdOpen: "Renegade".
94	* MeatSackRobot: Seems to be the case with Mr Roboto:
95	-->"I've got a secret I've been hiding under my skin"
96	-->"My heart is human, my blood is boiling, my brain I.B.M."
97	* PowerBallad: "Come Sail Away", "Babe", "Lady", and many more.
98	* ThePowerOfRock
99	* PrecisionFStrike: Dennis [=DeYoung=]'s intro to "The Grand Illusion" on the ''Return to Paradise'' tour and CD.
100	-->'''Dennis:''' You wanna know why your life ain't like what you see on TV and magazines and stuff like that? Because that's all ''bullshit''!
101	* RockOpera: ''Kilroy Was Here''.
102	* SanitySlippageSong: "Just Fell In".
103	* SillyLoveSongs: "Babe", "Lady", "Don't Let It End", etc.
104	* SongStyleShift: "Suite Madame Blue", "Come Sail Away", and "Queen of Spades" are the most recognized examples. They start out as a soft ballads before dramatically transitioning into a full blown hard rock tunes partway through.
105	* [[StandardSnippet Stock Classical Snippet]]: In Dennis [=DeYoung=]'s orchestra tour, "Lady" has a few bars of Ravel's "Bolero" just before the end. When the concert was broadcast on WTTW Chicago, he explained that he had always meant to include "Bolero" in the song.
106	** During the "Grand Illusion/Pieces of Eight" double-header tour in 2012, Gowan would open "Come Sail Away" with a snippet of "Clair de Lune", followed by [[SayingSoundEffectsOutLoud his impromptu impression of crashing waves]]...
107	-->'''Gowan:''' [[PreAssKickingOneLiner I always think of the waves when I start this song.]]
108	** The opening for "Clair de Lune" is also used as the opening of the last track of the "Crystal Ball" album, leading appropriately into "Ballerina".
109	* StayWithTheAliens: Seems to be what the narrator is doing by the end of ''Come Sail Away''.
110	* StraightGay: Chuck came out in 2001 along with the news that he was HIV-positive.
111	* SubliminalSeduction: "Snowblind" allegedly contained backwards Satanic messages. Playing off the controversy, several songs on the ''Kilroy Was Here'' album deliberately contained backwards messages made up of Latin phrases read off of US currency, among other benign sources. Which made sense, considering the theme of the album involved a dictator who took over the world by banning rock and roll and brainwashing people.
112	* TakeThat:
113	** Tommy Shaw has said that "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)" is directed at Dennis [=DeYoung=], who at the time was very insecure about the band's success.
114	** "Miss America" is one directed at the Miss America Beauty Pagent.
115	** ''Cyclorama'', the first post-[=DeYoung=] Styx album, has songs titled "Bourgeois Pig" and "Kiss Your Ass Goodbye".
116	* TextlessAlbumCover: ''Pieces of Eight''.
117	* TrainStationGoodbye: One is implied in the first verse of "Babe": "My train is going/I see it in your eyes/The love, the need, your tears..."
118	* TriumphantReprise: "Don't Let It End (Reprise)" bills itself as this, and has the energy, although it's from ''Kilroy Was Here''. Oddly, while it's titled as a reprise of "Don't Let It End" and uses that as the refrain, the intro is more "Mr Roboto".
119	* TwistEnding: The end of "Come Sail Away": [[spoiler:"I thought that they were angels, but much to my surprise, we climbed aboard their starship and headed for the skies"]].
120	* UncommonTime: In "Fooling Yourself (the Angry Young Man)", the keyboard solo after the first chorus is mostly in 7/4. Also, the reprise of the song's intro has two measures of 5/8 that are accentuated by the electric guitar.
121	** "Red Storm" from ''The Mission'' has its verses in 5/4, its chorus in 6/8, and the solo has sections in 7/4.
122	** Part of the instrumental break in "Great White Hope" is in 5/4.
123	* VetinariJobSecurity: When Dennis [=DeYoung=] was first fired, he was brought back because nobody could find someone to replace him. [[SubvertedTrope The second time, they did find someone]].
124	* VillainSong: "Heavy Metal Poisoning" from ''Kilroy Was Here''.
125	* VocalTagTeam: Dennis [=DeYoung=] and Tommy Shaw.
126	* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre:
127	** "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)":
128	--->''You're fooling yourself if you don't believe it\
129	You're kidding yourself if you don't believe it\
130	Get up, get back on your feet\
131	You're the one they can't beat and you know it\
132	Come on, let's see what you've got\
133	Just take your best shot and don't blow it''
134	** There's also "the Grand Illusion", which warns against comparing oneself to what the media says is normal or successful:
135	--->''So if you think your life is complete confusion\
136	Because you never win the game\
137	Just remember that it's a grand illusion\
138	'Cause deep inside we're all the same.\''

Context Music / Styx