Album Reviews
Hear it Now
View Young, DeYoung and Shaw all compose, and while the music's nothing to speak of (if you've heard Yes and Queen, you've heard it all), the lyrics are a little more interesting. It's not insignificant that only one of Pieces of Eight's ten tunes is about loving somebody else–and even that includes a line like "And as your surrogate leader I'm bound in your search for the truth." Like an album-long suite based on Queen's "We Are the Champions," what these songs say–and what a lot of bands such as Styx have been saying for some time–is this: we are hot shit. Not just because we're badass guitar heroes, not because we've got soul or play so great, not even because we're rock stars. No, we are hot shit because, beyond even the divine right of synthesizers, we are aristocracy, we are noble, we are kings. (If you don't believe it, look at all our money, not to mention our regal vestments.)
This point of view is most explicitly expressed in "Lords of the Ring," which is no more offensive to J.R.R. Tolkien (who might even deserve it) than any of the many monstrosities perpetrated in his name by other groups: "And now the message is clear/For I became a lord this year." "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)" looks back to a time when his liege Tommy Shaw was actually on the unemployment line; even against "impossible odds," he asserted then that he would work and win because "I've got the power and I've got the will. I'm not a charity case." "I'm O.K." shows Styx basking in self-satisfaction at the end of their long struggle for upward mobility, while both "Great White Hope" and the title track depict nothing less than a troubled ruling class: "I'm just a prisoner in a king's disguise."
What's really interesting is not that such narcissistic slop should get recorded, but what must be going on in the minds of the people who support it in such amazing numbers. Gall, nerve and ego have never been far from great rock & roll. Yet there's a thin but crucial line between those qualities and what it takes to fill arenas today: sheer self-aggrandizement on the most puerile level. If these are the champions, gimme the cripples.
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- Great White Hope
- I'm Okay
- Sing For The Day
- The Message
- Lords Of The Rings
- Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)
- Queen Of Spades
- Renegade
- Pieces Of Eight
- Aku-Aku
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Your Turn
Review 1 of 2
craigraiders writes:
The first time I put the needle down on Pieces of Eight it put
me over the top as a Styx fan. I knew Blue Collar Man and
Renegade because they were big, but when I heard the Great
White Hope and I'm OK and Sing for the Day and Lords of the
ring the first time I thought "I know these songs!" Actually I
had probably heard Sing for the Day due to radio play but the
others just became part of the interest of Styx' music.
This band made you think when you listened to them and it
was melodic enough to hook you. Pieces of Eight is raw
enough to rock and yet pop enough to sell 3 million copies.
It was an incredible boost for this band to have 2 IN A ROW.
The great thing about any band like Styx is their ability to
have different songwriters/lead singers/guitarists/etc. so you
never knew what sound to expect for sure. The album kicks
off with a boxing match and the excitement of it all with a
raging guitar and powerful sounding synths and vocals. I'm
OK with its Cathedral Organ and a chance to look inside one's
self and explore a Styx sound like no other. Sing for the Day
with it's triplet and light feel has some great keyboard work
that is under-rated. The Message/Lords of the Ring is spell-
binding intrigue that with its chimes and sythesized
backgrounds makes for an in your face scream and shout and
you will listen ROCK.
Blue Collar Man is just a great tune with a message most
people can relate to. Great hook with the organ and hook
guitar riff as well as catchy chorus. Queen of Spades is a
tune you hear the intro and you could swear it's a top 10 hit,
but it was never released. A favorite of Styx fans, it dives
into the depths of kings and queens and has a rock edge that
just makes you want to keep listening. This album also
features "Renegade' probably the most complete rock song
you will ever find. Featuring harmonies in the intro, a scream
to fast rock tempo change and a raging guitar solo with a
swooping Synth solo and an accapella refrain back into the
regular refrain. complete from start to finish. Pieces of
Eight is not a bad song, it's just kind of an "end of the album"
song not mean to be a big hit, but very sentimental and hints
to the idea that this album had a theme running through it
that never really connected from song to song. The final
song AKUAKU I didn't get, but I'm sure it has meaning
somewhere along the line.
This is Styx at the height of their career with their best line
up. When these guys put on a show in 1978, it was filled
with energy and excitement like no other. PIeces of 8 is a
masterpiece of Styx material!
Feb 5, 2007 21:48:02
Review 2 of 2
badgn writes:
This is STYX's best album in a three way tie with The Grand Illusion and Paradise Theatre. Great White Hope starts the album and it starts like a Rocky film. James Young's growling vocals and screaming guitar slams into you like a red boxing glove on the fist of Mike Tyson. Some songs are decent i.e. Sing For The Day and Lords of the Rings. The rest of the songs are incredible. My favorite is Queen of Spades, Dennis DeYoung's hard rocker. Renegade, Pieces of Eight, Blue Collar Man and I'm OK are all excellent songs as well. Boy am I glad we don't have to listen to Lester Bangs anymore. He didn't know good music when it was hitting him in the face like a flopping fish super-glued to his forehead.
May 14, 2006 16:16:06
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