New Styx album "The Mission"

Sample of Gone Gone Gone and tracklisting on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Mission-Styx/dp/B071CRGRTM/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1492778934&sr=8-8&keywords=styx+the+mission

There is also a preorder for CD and vinyl.

I heard the first single Gone Gone Gone last night. Nice return to their vintage sound in the vein of The Grand Illusion and Pieces Of Eight. Just a little perplexed that Tommy has written a concept album about a mission to Mars when he was very resistive to writing about robots with Dennis on the Kilroy album. We'll see how the rest of the album sounds

New video

I like it. 

It does have those vintage Styx harmonies.

Wow. I'm impressed. I haven't given this band much thought in a long time but that sounds pretty good.

Interview:

Styx fans got a somewhat unexpected surprise when the band announced the upcoming release of a new studio album, The Mission, which will be released on June 16 (via Universal Music Enterprises).
The album is their first studio release of original material in 14 years, following 2003’s Cyclorama. The group — featuring the lineup of singers and guitarists Tommy Shaw  and James “J.Y.” Young, keyboardist and singer Lawrence Gowan, original bassist Chuck Panozzo, drummer and percussionist Todd Sucherman and bassist Ricky Phillips — has been secretly working on the project for the past two years. It features a concept, which unfolds across 14 songs, described as “an aurally adventurous 43-minute thrill ride that chronicles the trials, tribulations, and ultimate triumphs of the first manned mission to Mars in the year 2033.”
The Mission wraps in all of the signature elements of the band’s much loved classic sound, with a wealth of big hooks and anthem-sized choruses. At first listen, it feels like a Styx album that could have easily been made during The Grand Illusion and Pieces of Eight eras.
“The idea was let’s be as true to the Styx sound [as possible],” Shaw confirms in an interview with Ultimate Classic Rock. “Our favorite Styx sound is that era around The Grand Illusion and Pieces of Eight. And Equinox too. There’s a little tip of the hat to Equinox, because side two of Equinox I think is highly underrated. The instrumental beginning of “Time May Bend” was kind of me tipping my hat to Equinox.”
As fans dig into the new album’s material, they’ll find no shortage of sonic ear candy, especially if they’re listening on headphones, where sound elements travel back and forth between the right and left channels on songs like “Locomotive” and “The Outpost.”


Read More: Tommy Shaw Shares the Secrets Behind Styx's New 'Mission': Exclusive Interview | http://ultimateclassicrock.com/tommy-shaw-interview-2017/?trackback=tsmclip

Preoders up on http://styxworld.com including clear vinyl. Some nice packages, might preorder the clear vinyl for now.

wow. i did not think they had it in them. good song!

Back in my college days Styx was my favorite band.  "Styx" even became my nickname on campus.  This was during the Equinox, Grand Illusion, Pieces of Eight days.  Then they dropped "Cornerstone" and the dreaded "Babe".  I jumped ship.  Never went back.  But this new one sounds like something that could have been on Pieces Of Eight or Paradise Theater. 

I'll definitely be checking out the new album once more songs are available for preview.

Other than Babe, I thought Cornerstone had a couple of good songs on it,including Lights and Why Me.

There are some decent tracks on Cornerstone but "Babe" ruined their reputation (and mine back then) so I had to drop them.

REO Speedwagon did the same thing to me with "Keep On Loving You" from Hi Infidelity.  I'd loved the band up til then but then they dropped that sappy song and that's all anyone associated with the band at the time.  I disowned REO too even though there are a bunch of good songs on Hi Infidelity (like Tough Guys and Out Of Season).

I never thought I would ever say: Damn! Styx has an awesome new song out. Good stuff!

Also read that this was recorded in ANALOG. Interesting, will make the vinyl sound pretty good (I hope!).

Here's the album opener, "Overture", performed by a tribute band. I have no idea how they know it already since it hasn't been released. If this is indeed the opening track this sounds like classic Styx. Nice keys and acoustic guitar. Sounds very DeYoung-ish ironically.

They say they've been working on songs for the past year, maybe this leaked.

There's no question about it - they are all quality musicians -
and certainly know how to piece together quality songs. I love "Babe" !
STYX are kinda like The Eagles - with that rich vocal harmony.....
I always wanted to read a book about them....but no time yet.

Glower wrote:

There's no question about it - they are all quality musicians -
and certainly know how to piece together quality songs. I love "Babe" !
STYX are kinda like The Eagles - with that rich vocal harmony.....
I always wanted to read a book about them....but no time yet.

It's out of print but look for "The Grand Dilusion" by Sterling Whitaker. Best Styx book out there, covers a LOT of the early days. A fascinating read. Might be some used copies somewhere. I used to hear from Sterling from time to time but he seems to have disappeared. Someone asked me about the book and I tried to contact him and ask if he had any more copies or plans to print it again. Never heard back.

Glower wrote:

I love "Babe" !

OMG!!!!!


I have to consult with the others to see if this is a "ban-able" offense.  If it's not, it should be. 

The song Renegade helped get me into rock music.

I don't hate Babe but it definitely isn't the best. When I was around 10-12 years old I loved it but then I discovered their other songs which were more rockin'. I think from Cornerstone I would have to say Borrowed Time or Why Me are my favorites but of all the A&M albums Cornerstone is the weakest (even weaker than Edge Of The Century).

New single "Radio Silence" dropped today. I downloaded from iTunes and it definitely has that classic 1977 sound, it reminds me of "Man In The Wilderness".

You can hear a snippet here:

https://www.amazon.com/Radio-Silence/dp/B06ZY3WDFH/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1495195669&sr=8-1&keywords=styx+radio+silence

However you don't get that "Wilderness" feel in this snippet.

And someone apparently has heard the whole thing:

http://drmusic.org/Styx_-_The_Mission.html

They seemed to have made a huge effort to tap into the past.

Yeah that's a crappy snippet.

But I think I'm going to have to get this album.  After all, my nickname in college was "Styx".  Or more accurately "Steeeeex" because an exchange student from Belize branded me with it.  He was on the same dorm floor as me and I was always blaring the early Styx albums.  Whenever he saw me walking around campus he'd yell "Hey Steeeeex!!!".  Bert was not a quiet person. 

Release day this Friday. Looking forward to this!



CD REVIEWS
Music Review: “The Mission” by Styx
By Tillman Cooper @tillman_cooper · On June 10, 2017

It is no real secret that I am a huge Styx fanatic. I have been listening to them since I was a little kid in the late 70’s and early 80’s. I’ve stuck by them through the lineup changes, solo albums and the long stretches without any new material.

Since I have been working with TAM, I have interviewed members Lawrence Gowan and Ricky Phillips, covered their live shows, and wrote a piece for TAM’s column “How I got into THAT band.” So there is a good chance that this review may be pretty biased, but I am writing it anyway, and I am damned excited to have been given the chance to do it.

A few weeks ago, I frantically loaded an advance review copy of The Mission to my iPad and cell phone so that I could take it with me to my trip to Chicago. It was only while I sat in the plane with the opening strains of “Overture” playing through my headphones that I remembered that Styx began in Chicago. The fact that I received my copy of The Mission right before my trip to Styx’s hometown is just a bit of kismet I suppose. I closed my eyes and began my journey both literally and metaphorically.

By the time we had touched down in Chicago (after being diverted for 12 hours to Detroit due to heavy crosswinds), I had listened to The Mission at least ten times. My wife just let me lose myself in the album as the stress of the trip took its toll on all of us. When things would get difficult for me to deal with, I just put my headphones back on and started the album over.

The Mission became the soundtrack to my 2017 trip to Chicago. Whenever I had some time to myself, I reached for my headphones and listened to the album again. Now, almost a month later, I have lost count of how many times I have played it. Even now, while I write this review, the song”Radio Silence” is playing, and Tommy Shaw is exclaiming…

It’s a sacred ship but step by step I’m gonna save it

Heaven knows I need my crew, but how the hell do I get through to you?

Of course, this is a review, and it’s my job to tell you if the album is any good or not. If you’ve gotten to this point of the article, then I am pretty sure that you can tell where I am going to come down on this. Yes, it’s good. It’s better than that. To me, it’s a masterpiece. But, as I wrote earlier, I am a Styx fanatic, which makes me pretty biased.

I can comfortably declare that The Mission is officially my third favorite Styx album. It falls just behind The Grand Illusion and Pieces of Eight, barely knocking Paradise Theatre down to the fourth spot on my list. But, no matter where The Mission ultimately ends up on your favorites list, I can pretty confidently say that if you are a Styx fan, you are going to love this album.

At it’s core, The Mission, is a rock and roll concept album with similarities to Styx’s previous concept albums, including Kilroy was Here. The story is a science-fiction adventure that follows the journey of the spaceship, The Khedive, and its six man crew as it embarks on the first manned mission to Mars and beyond.

As the band did with Kilroy was Here, each of the three singers (Tommy Shaw, Lawrence Gowan, and James “JY” Young) take on a different roll when singing their songs. Shaw sings as both The Pilot (aka Locomotive), and The Pilot’s father; Gowan portrays The First Officer; and JY plays The Engineer.

Each character has a specific point of view and personality, and tells their part of the story in the fashion that we have come to expect from the different singers. No surprises there. The performances each fit like a well worn and beloved jacket, playing to strengths of the different singers.

The first release from The Mission is called “Gone Gone Gone,” sung by Gowan, fittingly tells the story of the The Khedive’s launch, and the crew’s excitement to get going and begin their journey.

After that, Shaw sings his first song as Locomotive, “Hundred Million Miles,” a classic Shaw-style rock song about a guy thinking about the woman he leaves behind.

JY performs his one and only solo-singing part next on “Trouble at the Big Show,” a crunchy rock number with the signature vocal and electric guitar growl his fans love him for. After that, the vocals on The Mission thread in and out between Shaw, Gowan, and feature the beloved harmonies that Styx is notorious for.

Of course, while the story and vocals are important, it is the actual music of The Mission that truly amazes me. Somehow the band has managed to capture the synth and guitar rock sound of the 70’s and mesh it seamlessly with modern age production and newer musical stylings. The result is an impressive composition that, without a point of reference, makes the songs very difficult to place in a specific time period. It captures both the futuristic and space-opera like sound needed for the story, while still sounding like it comes from The Grand Illusion and Pieces of Eight era.

So, was The Mission worth waiting 14 years for? Well… hell, I think it was worth waiting over 30 years for. Now, please excuse me… The Mission has just begun again, and I want to take one more trip to Mars before I head to bed.

The Mission comes out on June 16, 2017 on the band’s label Alpha Dog 2T/UMeUniversal, and can be pre-ordered at Styxworld.com.

Preordered and should have it on Friday. Very stoked for this one!