Styx Releases Exciting New Album Without Dennis DeYoung

Styx just released a new album called The Mission.  It's a concept album.  It's the brainchild of Tommy Shaw, who wrote the song that inspired the band to do this concept album about a mission to Mars.  Now, the "irony meter" will go off for the fans of Styx co-founder Dennis DeYoung.  Weren't Shaw and James Young tired of concept albums?  This was implied in that controversial episode of MTV's Behind The Music.

There is a bigger dilemma for Dennis DeYoung fans who have given The Mission a fair listen.  This album is good, and it's filled with moments that hearken back to the band's glory days of the 1970's.  While the album did hit the charts, it didn't go very far up and quickly fell.  DeYoung fans will point out that the missing ingredient that is needed to get the band back up on the charts, if it's even possible in 2017, is DeYoung's creative influence and guiding hand.

The divide still exists.  There are fans who insist that the band is better off without Dennis, and there are those who won't even give them a chance because Dennis isn't there.  Admittedly, the band did annoy DeYoung fans from the moment they began touring without him when they introduced keyboard virtuoso and Canadian pop star Lawrence Gowan nearly 20 years ago on a rotating keyboard.  That's really just the showmanship of Gowan, but some took it as the band being "in your face" about the whole situation.

For Gowan's part, he's been nothing but humble about the whole situation.  He's never claimed to be better than Dennis or that he's trying to fill his shoes.  He simply says he's there to allow the band to carry on and do what they do best.  It has to be frustrating at times to be asked the DeYoung question, but Gowan always handles the situation with class.  DeYoung recently discussed the possibility of reuniting for a final tour on his podcast.  While one might think a tour with Dennis and Lawrence would be doable and profitable, it's still unlikely.  Gowan commented in a recent interview that he doesn't blame DeYoung for wanting to be in this band, because it's a great band.

In reality, DeYoung is in a pretty good band these days as well.  DeYoung tours with a talented group of musicians that include lead guitarist Jimmy Leahy and singer/guitarist August Zadra.  Zadra played in a Styx tribute band and has been able to do versions of the Tommy Shaw Styx hits that are faithful to the original versions.  Even Leahy has been heard doing a nice version of Young's Miss America.  DeYoung sounds as good as ever at 70 years old, and some who have attended his concerts say he's doing a better version of Styx than the band currently touring with the name.

The question then becomes, why would he want to come back to that band 20 years later when he's making great music as it is?  He's working on a new album and did a live DVD a couple years ago.  He can tour on his own schedule, and he's already long dispelled the myth pushed by the VH1 show that he didn't want to tour or play rock music.

Styx was a group that rocked and also made it onto the pop stations.  They crossed over to new fans, largely because of DeYoung's guidance.  The optimism in the Styx lyrics in those days resonated with the fans.  Perhaps a reason fans want to see this reunion is because of how listening to the music of that band made them feel.  Then, they saw the very public divorce that ended up in court.  It's further compounded by the fact hat Styx has attempted to rewrite history and elevate certain albums into a status that the album never had, while ignoring obvious hits.  Of course, DeYoung fans aren't fond of hearing Gowan sing his songs anyway.  Is Pieces Of Eight the band's second best album?  Depends on who you ask, but you'll likely find more fans than not who would rank that album third or fourth in order of importance.

Then, you have Styx rerecording their classic songs without DeYoung.  They go out of their way to pretend he didn't exist.  At one time, the official web page credited the Panozzo brothers with founding the band.  John and Chuck Panozzo were the backbone of the group, but does anybody really believe the band would be here today had Dennis not gotten together with them to form the band?  They spent many years developing their sound before they even had a hit, and then it was a song penned by DeYoung.  The singles charts and record sales don't lie.  The reality is, the band wouldn't be here today if not for the band people supported in its heyday.

The reunion talk will continue, because the band meant a lot to the fans when they were growing up.  Styx was part of the sound track of our youth.  They were a band of good vibes, positivity and optimism.  To see the bad feelings that Young seems to bear towards DeYoung, and the fact that we will probably never see that reunion is disappointing to some.  Young said it best on that old VH1 show, since it really comes down to him.  A reunion will happen when they are playing hockey on the river Styx.

DeYoung's band still tours and rocks the house.  He still has that trademark sense of humor, his voice is still good and he still hits those notes.  He's committed to giving the fans all of the hits of Styx, which Zadra helps make possible.  A new album is in the works, and perhaps we'll get a glimpse of what a Styx album might sound like if Dennis were still in the band.

The band Styx still continues to rock the house.  They've remained committed to putting on a show that almost pretends that the band stopped making albums after The Grand Illusion and Pieces Of Eight.  Cornerstone, Paradise Theater and Kilroy Was Here almost don't exist at all in their set, all albums that feature some of DeYoung's best moments.  In fact, the band will dust off other people's songs and add them to their set list to present themselves in a way that a segment of their original fan base does not see them.  And, it's working for them.

The Mission sounds like it would fit in perfectly right after Pieces Of Eight.  It has that classic sound to it.  And, it had no Dennis DeYoung input at all.  In fact, it showcases his replacement quite well.  It's worth a listen, even if you are a staunch DeYoung supporter.  Fans will insist that with DeYoung they would still have a chance to top the charts again.  Maybe they would and maybe they wouldn't.  Maybe this album didn't stay on the charts, but maybe the way the industry has changed has something to do with it.  The bottom line is an album is good or bad on it's own merits, not how many sales it's had.  This album is good.

The debate about this band will continue, because Styx brought that sort of passion out of its fans.  Maybe they will reunite one day, and maybe they won't.  Right now, you have two bands touring and making good music.  There's nothing wrong with that.  It's good music.  Just go and enjoy the show.