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20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Styx

Styx - 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Styx Audio CD

A fair review of the Styx "20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Styx" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Styx reviews here, or go back to the Styx tabs.

Band: Styx
Title: 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Styx
Rating:

Release Date: 2002-06-11
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Too Much Time on My Hands 2: Come Sail Away 3: Blue Collar Man 4: Lorelei 5: Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man) 6: Mr. Roboto 7: Boat on the River 8: Best of Times 9: Mademoiselle 10: Babe 11: Show Me the Way

Not for Styx die-hards, but good for casual and new fans
Now, I do ask, 'Why was this released when we already have 'Greatest Hits' and 'Greatest Hits Part 2'? But A&M records cashed in on the opportunity, and the result was this fairly-priced 11-song collection. Styx's installment in UMG's '20th Century Masters' series was released in 2002.

Here is the album by album, track by track review. There is nothing from the Wooden Nickel years, so the record picks up when Styx signed to A&M Records in 1975.

Tracks from Equinox (1975)
'Lorelei'
Review: A great song, and the major hit from the record. Still, I ask, why don't we have a song like 'Suite Madame Blue' or 'Light Up' here? A little frustrating.

Tracks from Crystal Ball (1976)
'Mademoiselle'
Review: My favorite song from Tommy Shaw's debut with Styx, but why stop there? The title track and 'Jennifer' should definitely be here, especially the first because that was the chart hit. But my hats off to A&M because they included the album track as opposed to the hit. But aren't greatest hits albums supposed to contain hits AND album tracks?

Tracks from The Grand Illusion (1977)
'Come Sail Away,' 'Fooling Yourself'
Review: Great selection, but WHY STOP THERE? NO 'GRAND ILLUSION' OR 'SUPERSTARS'? That's just annoying. This was arguably Styx's finest record, and yet, we only get TWO songs represented? ARGH!

Tracks from Pieces of Eight (1978)
'Blue Collar Man'
Review: One word: 'Renegade'? NO! IT'S NOT HERE! One of Styx's best songs and it's not here? That's unacceptable. And not even an album track like 'Queen of Spades' or 'Sing for the Day'? 'Blue Collar Man' is a great song, one of their most rocking songs, but, again, WHY STOP THERE?

Tracks from Cornerstone (1979)
'Babe,' 'Boat On The River'
Review: The band's only #1 hit was 'Babe,' so obviously it's on here. And Tommy Shaw's 'Boat On The River' also appears here, and rightfully so. This album track was always left out in the dust, and I never understood why. I wouldn't mind seeing a song like 'Lights' or 'Borrowed Time' here, but that's a minor complaint.

Tracks from Paradise Theater (1981)
'Too Much Time On My Hands,' 'The Best of Times'
Review: The two big hits from the band's concept album appear here. Shaw sings lead on 'Too Much Time On My Hands,' and it's one of his best songs too. And 'The Best of Times' is one of their best pop rock tunes. But, why no 'A. D. 1928,' 'Rockin' The Paradise' or 'Snowblind'?

Tracks from Kilroy Was Here (1983)
'Mr. Roboto'
Review: This was one of Styx's worst records, in my opinion. 'Mr. Roboto' was a cool track and very creative and original, but I wouldn't mind seeing a song like 'Haven't We Been Here Before' or 'Heavy Metal Poisoning' or perhaps the other chart hit here, 'Don't Let It End. ' But A&M did alright here.

Tracks from Edge of the Century (1990)
'Show Me The Way'
Review: Here is Styx's weakest record. 'Show Me The Way' was a solid pop song, but it wasn't really my type of music. 'Love Is The Ritual' and 'Love At First Sight' should be here as well if 'Show Me The Way' is here.

Overall, this is a nice, cheap overview of Styx, but there are many key omissions here. My advice is buy 'Greatest Hits,' 'Greatest Hits Part 2' or if you want a two CD retrospective, 'Come Sail Away: The Styx Anthology. '

But unless you are a new or casual Styx fan, I would just ignore this one. Every song on here is great, but there are just so many that are better.

Recommended, but only for the new or casual Styx fan.

4 stars only because I promised myself I'd never rate a Styx album lower
It is missing so many great songs. This really isn't the Styx CD you want to buy.

This was made for me!
I've been wanting to own Styx's Greatest Hits for a long time, and I was going to purchase it today, BUT I found something that was even better (for me). Have you ever seen something in a store that seems like it was made just for you? I found one of those items today that seemed to have been made especially for me.

A lot of classic artists are coming out with their own 20th Century Masters collections as of late, but I didn't know that Styx even had one. Like most Greatest Hits compilations, Styx's Greatest Hits had a few songs that I was dying to have, and, of course, some that I'd consider to be a nice addition, but that I could ultimately live without. Interestingly enough, this one, 20th Century Masters, has every single one of those that I couldn't bear to live without, and it was a good deal cheaper.

"Too Much Time On My Hands" is a fun, catchy song to listen to anytime you're bored or in a hurry; "Come Sail Away" features some of Styx's best vocals ever, and it also shows their hard rocking side with an excellent musical solo near the end; "Mr. Roboto" is a strange sort of song, but strangeness doesn't prevent greatness (love the robot voice!); "Babe" is what I would consider one of the best and perhaps underrated ballads of its era; "Show Me The Way" is an inspirational song that has a way of showing me the way out of depression and worry when bad times are prevailing over the good.

So there they are: my favorites. The rest of the album is full of hits that any Styx fan will know by heart, and they're great to listen to as well, especially when you're taking a long road trip that lasts several hours. For those wanting to know, the CD booklet includes a list of the songs and tells the year and album that each originally premiered on, pictures of the band, and a nice, short biography of Styx that covers both the troubles and triumphs that the band has seen through the years. If I have any criticism of this album, it's that "Renegage" and Styx's breakout hit, "Lady," are surprisingly missing from the collection.

If you're looking for a cheaper solution to Styx's Greatest Hits and you see all of your must-haves on this one, why not save a few bucks and purchase this one instead? In both the worst and best of times, you can come sail away with Mr. Roboto and Styx in a boat on the river or anywhere else! Quit fooling yourself, you don't have to have too much time on your hands to enjoy The Best of Styx - 20th Century Masters: The Millenium Collection.

DENNIS IS BACK
Producer on this cd. Dennis Deyoung is back, even if is as Ex. A good collection of songs, not really a greatest hits, because several good song are missing, that are well know as STYX songs. Worth picking up, but your better off with their Greatest Hits 1 & 2.
Would be nice if Dennis, Styx, and A&M records, would release the 3 disk box set that Dennis had planned. Has the songs from the follow up cd to EDGE OF THE CENTURY. Maybe one day they all will play nice and remember that it's not just about them, but their fans, the ones who buy their music, and goes and sees them in concert.

Styx is on Fire
They are bringing back all their great songs to the new milleneum and introducing them to the younger generation. Styx has come out of the woodwork with a great collection of their best songs and has been making a great comeback while touring again.

This is a "must have" cd for those collector buffs out there.

You can see a complete list of all Styx discography, or go back to the Styx tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.