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Big Bang Theory

Styx - Big Bang Theory Audio CD

A fair review of the Styx "Big Bang Theory" 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: Big Bang Theory
Rating:

Release Date: 2005-05-10
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: I Am The Walrus 2: I Can See For Miles 3: Can't Find My Way Home 4: It Don't Make Sense (You Can't Make Peace) 5: I Don't Need No Doctor 6: One Way Out 7: Salty Dog 8: Summer In The City 9: Manic Depression 10: Talkin' About The Good Times 11: Locomotive Breath 12: Find The Cost Of Freedom 13: Wishing Well 14: Blue Collar Man @2120

Really Rocks Nicely
Once back the mid 80's on the Paradise tour. I have seen Styx live twice. I thought they were terrible. It was all show with poorly played music. I saw them again few years ago with REO opening for Journey. On this tour they were awesome. I saw that they were great musicians with tight harmony and could really rock hard. They were really great. All this is my way of saying that my two experiences with Styx as a live band were with Dennis Deyoung and without. "Without Dennis" was far superior. Not even close as far as I'm concerned.

That being said, I came to this CD in an unusual way. I was given a copy of the CD on by a friend (who knows I am not a big Styx fan) and was told to just listen and let me him know what I thought. The CD had no label or identification. I loved this CD from the first track. Almost every song is an old favorite of mine and the arrangements were just left field enough to keep them interesting without losing the songs original appeal. When I learned it was Styx I was extremely surprised. This CD is fun to listen to and the musicainship is first rate. "I Can See For Miles" and Prcaol Harems "Salty Dog" are my favorites tracks but there are many gems here. It is technically a hotly mixed CD also and it jumps out of the speakers. Get this CD even if (like me) you are not a big Styx fan.

Big Bang is No Theory!
As for the music it makes for some fine listening. As a creationist who believes in the Big Bang as being GOD starting the whole process, I love the title of this album. And while everyone has beaten the Dennis DeYoung thing to death here, I have one last comment: Dennis DeYoung is not a rocker. He is a crooner. In the spirit of Tom Jones and Barry Manilow. It's true. Go see him on his vaudevillian broadway musical production of the songs he did in Styx. Listen to his solo work with all of it's syrapy production and lack of guitar force that once made Styx the rocking outfit they were. The covers here are all kind of odd. But they all seem to work. Amazing is the Who cover, "I Can See For Miles" with vocal layering and headphone interaction that will rival the original. Anytime a band covers a Beatles track it's almost suicide to the cover. But "I Am The Walrus" survives in tact with a Styx spin. "Summer In The City" seems the oddest choice on this list but it again works because it's such a great song to begin with. The more acoustic tracks really shine. "Can't Find My Way Home" is wonderful. The band ventures into difficult territory like on "No Way Out". They give it a more straight ahead feel without all the extra Allman indulgences. "Find The Cost of Freedom" showcases the band's legitimate vocal interplay. Even "Locomotive Breath" runs like a train powered by Styx-style pyrotechnics. It all works. Even the reworking of "Blue Collar Man" makes for some great drama. This is an amazing, supremely listenable collection of songs given new meaning by a band that seems to have finally found their chemistry.

An exceptional album of covers
No, The Smithereens are not a supergroup, neither is The Church, nor is Philip Grant-Lee Philips, nor. It's rare that a supergroup produces an entire CD of well-chosen covers, with a notable exception being Feedback by Rush. . . But this recording tops the Rush's Feedback because of song selection. On this Styx recording, there are a few cuts that I don't particularly care for, but the first six cuts are exceptional, as is Locomotive Breath. The guitar work and being true to the melody and tempo is what makes them stand out over other covers of these songs. The driving rhythm and inventive guitar leads make I Don't Need No Doctor & Locomotive Breath particularly appealing and no other group has done better. A little sound sampling on digital download sites will convince connoisseurs of these rock masterpieces that this is true. The guitar work on Locomotive Breath is so fantastic that you'll never miss the piano intro or Anderson's flute. I Can See For Miles has dazzling guitar work but lacks Keith Moon's frenetic drumming that makes The Who's classic unassailable. Summer In The City takes the Lovin' Spoonful classic to new heights with jaw-dropping guitar playing that Sebastian could never touch but the vocals are too high and not gutsy enough to make it better overall. The live version of I Am The Walrus ranks among the best ever recorded though the Spooky Tooth and Oasis versions benefit by stretching the psychedelic flow out for almost another two minutes.

In some cases, I prefer the Styx covers over the original. I Can't Find My Way Home is an improvement on Blind Faith's original for those who never liked Stevie Winwood's whiney voice, and, I lean towards Tommy Shaw's vocals over Greg Allman's on One Way Out. I like the slowed-down, semi-acoustic, live studio rendition of Blue Collar Man over Styx's original if only because the lyrics are worthy of being presented in a setting uncluttered by excessive sonics. Manic Depression challenges the Hendrix original, and again Shaw delivers smoother vocals than Jimi was capable of. It Don't Make Sense, Styx updates the Willie Dixon original and proves that they can get down and deliver real blues.

Finally, this CD should be regarded as an homage to the great music that came before Styx's time and the music that must have inspired them along the way. Perhaps because the liner notes don't acknowledge their influences as Rush did on their covers album, some reviewers have tended to mark this great album lower than it deserves.
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Summer In The City Better Than The Original
it BLEW ME AWAY when they said it was Styx!!! So, I right away went to Itunes and Downloaded the song on my Ipod! For that Song Alone, I rate this Cd FIVE STARS!. I was listening to the radio today in my car and they played a Version of Summer in The City that I never heard before.

Where Are These Songs From Anyhow?
Maybe that's why they called it "Big Bang Theory". For some reason it seems to be a big mystery that these are cover songs originally by other artists. . . the songs just came out of nowhere? So anyway, here's a quick reference for the rest of us with the original artists they are covering.

1. I Am The Walrus - THE BEATLES
2. I Can See For Miles - THE WHO
3. Can't Find My Way Home - STEVE WINWOOD
4. It Don't Make Sense - WILLIE DIXON
5. I Don't Need No Doctor - RAY CHARLES
6. One Way Out - THE ALLMAN BROTHERS
7. Salty Dog - PROCOL HARUM
8. Summer In The City - THE LOVIN' SPOONFUL
9. Manic Depression - JIMI HENDRIX
10. Talkin' About The Good Times - THE PRETTY THINGS
11. Locomotive Breath - JETHRO TULL
12. Find The Cost Of Freedom - CROSBY, STILLS, & NASH
13. Wishing Well - BAD COMPANY
14. Blue Collar Man @2120 - STYX

As for the album itself, it's pretty much what you'd expect cover songs by Styx to sound like. There's nothing really awe-inspiring, although I do like their version of The Beatles' "I Am The Walrus". And for those in doubt I think Denis DeYoung replacement James Young is a great vocalist, so don't count him out.

By the way, if you're looking for a truly inspired rendition of "I Am The Walrus" see Jim Carey's rendition on The Beatles/George Martin cover album In My Life.

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.