Through personal changes, deaths, ‘artistic differences’ and health
concerns, Styx have survived. With original member James ‘JY’ Young,
plus second -to-oldest regular, Tommy Shaw, the Styx machine keeps a-chugging
along in the mid-level ‘shed’ tour circuit. Billed with other stalwart
70s icons like Foreigner or REO Speedwagon, or sometimes headlining small theaters,
Styx have stayed pretty much on the road, even managing a few newer releases
over the years since their heyday. Recently the band teamed up with the Contemporary
Youth Orchestra, an Ohio-based outfit, and at the behest of that group’s
music director, Liza Grossman, performed a live show incorporating the music
of Styx with orchestral arrangements. What makes this particular meeting so
special — and the new DVD One With Everything so magical
— is that the CYO consists of kids between the ages of 13 to 19! And though
Miss Grossman has steered her kids through performances with Graham Nash, Jon
Anderson, and other contemporary artist,s this was the first time the CYO joined
forces with a full rock band.
We have all seen this type of thing before, and as Lawrence Gowan (vocalist
and keyboardist with Styx these days) alludes to in the accompanying ‘bonus
material’ interview, often times the meeting of a rock band with classical
musicians is down right boring. With the stodgy older orchestra members playing
music they don’t really care for, the marriage of rock and classical isn’t
always a good one in live performance. What makes One With Everything
so perfect is that the kids of the CYO are so passionate about performing on
stage with Styx is that you can’t help but get caught up in their youthful
exuberance.
With great camera work (hardly ever do we see that obligatory shot of an audience
member singing along or focusing on one band member while another is soloing),
the entire night is captured in a beautiful outdoor Ohio concert facility. Hitting
the ground running with an amazing band/orchestral overture to “Blue Collar
Man (Long Night),” the music of Styx has never sounded so alive. With
the orchestra’s horns pumping the song along and Tommy Shaw’s vocals
about as perfect as they have ever been, I almost felt that there was hope in
music once again…almost!
Not that Styx isn’t a great band nowadays, but I had no clue how good
they still are. Kilroy Was Here was the last Styx record I
bought and they didn’t play any songs from it on this DVD. While I prefer original
band members over newer, I can’t ignore Gowan’s keyboard proficiency
and voice and solid bass playing of Ricky Phillips. But for me, for this night
and DVD, the band was all about drummer Todd Sucherman. Mr. Sucherman replaced
the dearly departed founding member John Panozzo 10 years ago. I felt the ‘new’
drummer’s influence with Styx and the CYO most of all. “The Styx CYO Medley”
features 18 snippets of Styx songs, from as far back as “Sweet Mademoiselle”
all the way through to “Paradise,” constructed, as Tommy Shaw informs
the audience, by drummer Sucherman! His performance alone during this long piece
is amazing, but this is really where the entire night congeals to something
beyond just a rock band playing with an orchestra behind them.
With the ‘orchestrated’ keyboard opening of “Miss America”
here taken over by an actual orchestra and backing vocals handled by the CYO’s
strong choir, this Styx classic was lifted to heights I had never thought possible
(and this is my most favorite Styx track!). The harp and clarinet at the beginning
of “Crystal Ball” are inspired and the string accents on “Too
Much Time On My Hands” and the cello intor for “Renegade”
will give you goose bumps. And again, every time I caught a glimpse of the kids,
which the director luckily keeps cutting to, I couldn’t help but smile
as they jumped, danced, and bopped in their chairs, seemingly having the time
of their lives. As the stunning enthusiastic (or enthusiastically stunning)
Liza Grossman explains in the interview section, not only do the kids love this
music but as they feel that much more inspired because they “own their
art.”
With a few new songs peppered into the mix, most notably the solid and safe
“Just Be,” the cover tunes “I Am The Walrus” and an
inspired cover of “It Don’t Make Sense”(You Can’t Make
Peace)” — this one featuring a young girl on ‘first’
violin who literally bounces in her seat all night — plus an unnecessary“I
Don’t Need No Doctor,” it really is the older Styx material most
fans will buy this DVD for…and not walk away disappointed.
A note on the extras. There is something called the “Quake Cam”
in the bonus section which is basically a camera set up in the drum shell. It
gives you a good idea of how integral to Styx Sucherman is and it’s a
‘wild ride’ of the concert. The aforementioned interview section
is great as well, with a slide presentation and two extra Christmas songs completing
the special stuff. Lest one forget, Styx did write some great songs —
and they still do actually — but this is truly the first time I have heard
an orchestra mixed with a rock band that resulted in something stronger than
the individual parts. More then just the musicianship (which really is top notch
here), it is the energy of the kids of the CYO that raises Styx’s game
and makes this a DVD worth owning.
~ Ralph Greco, Jr.
