Styx - Regeneration: Volume I & II

Styx – Regeneration:Volume I & II
2011, Eagle

Like many classic rock bandssubject to the avarice of labels who own the rights to their songs, Styx hasseen a number of re-releases and repackages of their material over the years.  Since 2007 there have been no less than ninegreatest hits/best of packages released in various countries around theworld.  Not too shabby for a band thatapparently can’t even get a grudging nod of respect from the folks at RollingSt…  I mean the Rock and Roll Hall ofFame.   Styx is back with anotherre-package of old hits, but this time it’s a bit more intriguing.  Regeneration:Volume I & II offers 15 new recordings of classic Styx songs, plus onenew track.

Styx released Volume I and VolumeII separately over the past year and a half, with the intent that the albumswould be sold only at shows and on-line through the band’s fan club.  The secondary demand for the discs provedsignificant, however, and Eagle Records has packaged both albums in one set.  You can see our prior review of Regeneration: Volume I here.  Volume II runs in the same vein, with oldStyx favorites getting new life from the current lineup.  Like VolumeI, Volume II has a raw-but-polished quality, similar to a professionallyproduced live album.  Styx strives tocapture the sound you hear in concert today on record rather than re-create theoriginals note-for-note.  The result isan exciting update to material that still seems vibrant even (in some cases)thirty-five years later. 

The band revives such hits as “BlueCollar Man”, “Renegade”, “Miss America”, “Snowblind” and “Too Much Time On MyHands”, with Tommy Shaw and James Young belting out classic vocal lines.  In the process, Styx digs out a wonderful gemin “Queen Of Spades”.  Lawrence Gowandoes a great job with this classic album cut, even if it doesn’t have quitehave the dramatic sense of the original. Styx also gives life to two cuts Tommy Shaw performed with side projectDamn Yankees (Shaw, Jack Blades, Ted Nugent & Michael Cartellone).  “High Enough” and “Coming Of Age” alwayssounded like Styx songs and work very well in the context of the current lineupof the band.

Yes, there was much complainingon-line and in fan enclaves when Styx started releasing the Regeneration projects.  Fans who will never forgive the band for thedeparture of Dennis DeYoung scalded the remaining members for carrying onwithout him, but this is what bands do, like it or not.  Regeneration:Volume I & II isn’t about excising a former band member, it’s aboutputting Styx in a position to make a living off their own work, rather thanhaving all of the licensing opportunities fall into the lap of a dying majorlabel architecture more interested in profiting off its catalogue than actuallybuilding up artists for the future.  Regeneration: Volume I & II givesmore than fair value; classic songs with an updated sound that’s as fresh andvibrant today as ever.

Rating:  4 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Styx at www.styxworld.com. 

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Epigene – A Wall Street Odyssey

Epigene – A Wall Street Odyssey
2011, Amammi Music

Upstate New York rockers Epigene have made a name for themselves over the past decade by writing outside of the box rock n roll songs.  Epigene’s latest work, A Wall Street Odyssey, may be their most ambitious work to date.  Primary songwriter Sean Bigler attempts to capture the fall and rebirth of Wall Street and her denizens over the past few years in an art-rock concept album with pretentions to being a rock musical. 

A Wall Street Odyssey follows the life and times of the fictional Yossarian, an investment banker living the high life on Wall Street who comes to a crisis of conscience through the crash of 2008.  Yossarian moves out of the city and finds a life he never dreamed of, and then returns as an advocate for less money, ala Jerry Maguire.  The album is steeped in rock influences including The Who, The Kinks, Green Day and even a touch of Andrew Lloyd Webber (from his rock musical phase in the 1970’s).  All Wall Street Odyssey starts strong on “Looks Like I Made It”, which sounds like the Beatles jamming alternately with Rick Wakeman and Dennis DeYoung on keyboards.  It’s a great opener for an album or a musical, with all of the energy and urgency you might expect.    Big scale pop and electro rock are the name of the game on “Money Master” and “The Catch 22”, showing the big sale and the beginning of the downward spiral.  “Take My Head Off” is the beginning of the downfall, both for Yossarian and for the album as a whole.  The struggle to overcome the cognitive dissonance of a life lived in essential conflict is reflected in the mild dissonance of the angular composition.

Unfortunately, things go quickly downhill from there.  Yossarian’s breakdown is reflected by a breakdown in cohesion of the songwriting that isn’t recovers until ¾ of the way through the 25-track album.  In the meantime it’s a self-referential bland pop experience that runs the gamut of 1970’s music, from AM radio easy listening music to smarmy pop.  Interestingly enough, it’s when Yossarian returns to Wall Street to see the scene of his crimes that the energy and panache returns.  “Stranger In A Strange Land” may remind listeners of 1980’s rockers Men At Work in sonic style.  The album gets preachy on “Colonization & Globalization” and stays there for much of the rest of the way.

A Wall Street Odyssey starts with tremendous potential, but quickly fizzles into a narcissistic political diorama of bland musical compositions and pretentious political motivations.  Epigene does show flashes of great songwriting on A Wall Street Odyssey, but this is an example where the intended message hijacks the music.  If you’re into overly preachy, mellow-art rock that dances into the edges of psychedelia from time to time, then A Wall Street Odyssey will be right up your alley.

Rating: 2 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Epigene at www.epigenemusic.com or www.myspace.com/epigenemusic.  Keep checking Epigene's sites for availability.