Styx Speedwagon Close To Derailing
Arch Allies by REO Speedwagon and Styx
After sharing spotlights for more than two decades and enduring a solo career that never lived up to its promise, Tommy Shaw finally got to lead a band. Unfortunately, the kick in Styx's power pop now leads a revamped version of the band that is a shell of its former self. Besides Shaw, only guitarist James Young (JY) remains from the Styx lineup that joined with Journey, Kansas and Foreigner to create an entire sub genre in the 1970s.
As other acts chasing boomer dollars have done, Shaw, Young & Co. continue touring and releasing albums on minor labels. The bands try to strike gold, if not platinum, by recasting old formulas, but popular music has been driven for nearly a hundred years by the whims of younger listeners. In many cases, acts no longer have the prowess or stamina to perform their hits. In Styx's case, they don't have their bassist, their drummer or their keyboardist and co-lead vocalist.
If you have ever watched the surviving member of an one hit wonder struggle to lead a new band through a decades-old set list in a shabby hotel lounge, then you can only imagine what Shaw, Styx and REO Speedwagon cooked up for Arch Allies, their double album live release.
One For Me, One For You
Each act receives a CD to recast their hits and try to entice their fans with several newer songs. This task is more difficult with the absence of so many key players from Styx, especially keyboardist Dennis DeYoung whose well publicized spats with Shaw and Young lead to the group's first breakup in 1984.
To be fair to Shaw, he remains a strong guitarist whose vocal range has diminished only slightly over two decades. He and Young have always provided Styx with the extra kick that energized DeYoung's more radio accessible ballads. Shaw is also an exuberant showman who has labored behind DeYoung in Styx and Ted Nugent in Damn Yankees without ever standing center stage with the exception of his two album solo career that yielded only a minor hit in What If, the theme from The Adventures of Remo Williams, another bad 1980s idea.
Given relatively complete control of the band and set list, Shaw has Styx charge through the heavier moments in Styx's catalog, creating an audio revision of history by seemingly removing any trace of Dennis DeYoung's influence on the band, except of course for the sound alike. Journey attempted this stunt after lead singer Steve Perry split with the band, and the resulting effect rarely captures nostalgia, but instead sounds like the imitation of a tribute band.
Hits such as Too Much Time On My Hands, Renegade and Lady are presented and covered well, but this isn't your high school or college Styx (and if you were still listening to Styx in college, you are allowed to stop reading now).
REO frontman Kevin Cronin suffers none of these indignities. Always the heart, soul, voice and spirit of the band, Cronin can present the power ballads from now until the end of time with only a backing band. Interestingly enough, his voice has matured with age, and if he can't quite sustain notes permanently etched in vinyl memories, then he has a grizzled veteran's chops to know how to put the song over. Even overplayed chestnuts like Can't Fight This Feeling receive a solid treatment. One might quibble with the quaver Cronin uses on certain phrases, but his enthusiasm is not unpleasant even when he gushes to the audience that Time For Me To Fly "belongs to them now" and the audience responds by barely singing along when prompted.
All Together Now
The most redeeming quality of this two CD set are the songs at the end of each CD when both bands play together. Cronin and REO join Styx for an extended version of Shaw's Blue Collar Man that is especially pleasant. Cronin hammers keyboard chords with none of DeYoung's delicacies, but is just as apt to add grace notes and other ear candy to careful listeners. Most surprising of all is the R&B tinged tones Cronin evokes while singing with Styx.
Just then, as Shaw's tenor soars above Cronin's throaty impression of Huey Lewis Lite, the two bands trade lead riffs and start harmonizing with multiple voices. Shaw closes the song over the traditional dit-dit-dit-dit-dit chorus, but Cronin's voice breaks from the pack to join him, much less DeYoung's used to. And then you realize that mergers need not be constrained to businesses.
Tommy Shaw is a fine rock guitarist and vocalist, but too often blurs the line of rock and pop. Cronin makes no apologies for his ballads, but can get bluesy too. And on its third or fourth listen, Styx Speedwagon sounded pretty good on Roll With The Changes.
The Bottom Line, Skips and All
Styx and REO Speedwagon fans already own this. Those Styx fans who enjoy the band's lighter sounds may be disappointed in Shaw and Young's take no prisoner approach to rock, but the album is simply too uneven and non-representative of either band's best work to recommend.
Five Things To Remember From This Review
1. They keep trying. Styx and REO have released greatest hits and live albums before, but the twist here is that they play together on some cuts.
2. Don't expect to hear many of Styx's lighter number ones with the band's eradication of Dennis DeYoung from its repertoire.
3. Kevin Cronin may look like one of those gentle balladeers, but gets stoked for a cut or two that makes me wonder what took so long.
4. James Young still plays thrash riffs with the best of them, but has always and continues to respect the rest of the band and limit his runs to reasonable length.
5. Listeners will hear Chuck Panozzo, a founding member and brother of deceased drummer John Panozzo, join the band for their first run through Blue Collar Man.
