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Styx

And The Contemporary Youth Orchestra-One With Everything DVD

Review by Gary Hill

For a while it seemed like Styx were making a lot of mistakes and missteps. Starting with the brilliant Big Bang Theory they seem to have the right ideas again. Often times these marriages of symphony orchestra to rock band are shaky relationships. Well, for Styx it turns out to be a brilliant move. I really don’t think the band have ever sounded better. And they even did the move in an unusual and rather cool way. By recording with a youth orchestra they have brought the spotlight onto some great young musicians. If this didn’t work musically you’d have to give them credit for that at least, but when you couple that with a killer performance it’s nothing short of brilliant! Sure, Dennis DeYoung’s vocals are missed at times, but this new version of the band rocks out incredibly well and the meshing of orchestral and rock instruments works better than it does with most bands. The only real complaint here is that the video seems a bit dark. They even did a nice job with the bonus features including some interview segments and two new Christmas songs. What more can you ask for? This one is recommended for all fans of Styx, even the ones who dropped them years ago. It’s also highly recommended for those looking for a new and quite interesting take on music with which they are familiar. The newly invigorated band scorches through old classics with a new sense of urgency. They also include some new classics from Big Bang Theory. This might be my favorite DVD of the year.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2006 Volume 6 at lulu.com/strangesound.
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