The Mission Styx

• 1 Overture 01:23
• 2 Gone Gone Gone 02:08
• 3 Hundred Million Miles From Home 03:40
• 4 Trouble At The Big Show 02:30
• 5 Locomotive 05:04
• 6 Radio Silence 04:19
• 7 The Greater Good 04:10
• 8 Time May Bend 02:31
• 9 Ten Thousand Ways 01:22
• 10 Red Storm 06:04
• 11 All Systems Stable 00:18
• 12 Khedive 02:04
• 13 The Outpost 03:51
• 14 Mission To Mars 02:46
• Total Runtime 42:10

Info for The Mission

Die Melodic Rock-Heroen Styx präsentieren nach 16 Jahren ihr neues Studio-Album "The Mission". „The Mission“ ist ein Konzeptalbum, das fiktional die Anstrengungen und Widrigkeiten und den letztendlichen Triumph der ersten menschlichen Marsmission im Jahr 2033 beschreibt. Gitarrist und Gründungsmitglied James “JY” Young erklärt dazu: “Da wir dieses Jahr das 40-jährige Jubiläum der Veröffentlichung von „THE GRAND ILLUSION“, unserem bestverkauften Album aller Zeiten, feiern, fanden wir es mehr als passend, mit unserem neuen Studioalbum bis jetzt zu warten. Und dass ich extrem aufgeregt bin, muss ich wohl nicht zusätzlich betonen.”

Für "The Mission" haben sich die kosmischen Kräfte wirklich vereint”, sagt Sänger und Gitarrist Tommy Shaw, der auch für die Story des Albums verantwortlich ist, die er zusammen mit Will Evankovich (Shaw/Blades, The Guess Who) geschrieben hat. “Ich bin wahnsinnig stolz. Es ist unser mutigstes und symbolträchtigstes Album seit „PIECES OF EIGHT”.

Von den hoffnungsvollen und motivierten Klängen von “Gone Gone Gone”, dem geschäftigen “Locomotive” bis zum Song “Red Storm” und der schwelgerisch-optimistischen Stimmung des Abschlusstitels “Mission To Mars” präsentiert das Album die beste Seite einer Band, die auch 45 Jahre nachdem sie ihren ersten Plattenvertrag unterschrieb, immer noch voller Energie ist.

"The Mission" wurde über einen Zeitraum von zwei Jahren in den „Blackbird Studios“, „The Shop“ und „6 Studio Amontillado“ in Nashville aufgenommen. Die einzelnen Songs dokumentieren, wie grandios das harmonische Zusammenspiel von Sänger und Gitarristen Tommy Shaw, dem Sänger und Gitarristen (und Gründungsmitglied) James “JY” Young, Keyboarder und Sänger Lawrence Gowan, dem Original-Bassisten Chuck Panozzo, Drummer und Percussionist Todd Sucherman und dem Bassisten Ricky Phillips funktioniert.

Die neuen Songs wurden aus der Perspektive der sechsköpfigen Crew geschrieben, die für den Jungfernflug der Raumfähre „Khedive“ angeheuert wurde. Die Besatzung der Khedive besteht aus dem anpackenden Piloten, dem innerhalb der Crew ausgleichenden ersten Offizier, einem dem Erfolg der Mission eher skeptischen, aber gleichzeitig genialen Ingenieur und einem herausragenden Trio aus Wissenschaftler, Astrophysiker und Survival-Experte.

“Das Album fühlt sich vertraut und gleichzeitig neu an”, sagt Gowan. “Es ist unterhaltsam und sympathisch und entwickelt unseren Sound auf ganz ungezwungene Art und Weise weiter”, erklärt Chuck Panozzo und ergänzt: “`THE MISSION´ zeigt wie STYX auf dem Status des 20. Jahrhunderts aufbaut, um im 21. Jahrhundert weiter voranzuschreiten”.

Chuck Panozzo, bass, backing vocals
James "J.Y." Young, guitar, backing, lead vocals
Tommy Shaw, guitar, lead and backing vocals
Todd Sucherman, drums
Lawrence Gowan, lead and backing vocals, keyboards
Ricky Phillips, bass, backing vocals, guitar

Styx
This Chicago, Illinois, USA-based quintet is widely believed to be responsible for the development of the term pomp-rock (pompous, overblown arrangements, with perfect-pitch harmonies and a very full production).

Styx evolved from the bands Tradewinds and TW4, but renamed themselves after the fabled river from Greek mythology, when they signed to Wooden Nickel, a subsidiary of RCA Records, in 1972. The initial line-up comprised Dennis DeYoung (18 February 1947, Chicago, Illinois, USA; vocals/keyboards), James Young (b. 14 November 1949, Chicago, Illinois, USA; guitar/vocals), Chuck Panozzo (b. Charles Salvatore Panozzo, 20 September 1948, Chicago, Illinois, USA; bass), John Panozzo (b. 20 September 1948, Chicago, Illinois, USA, d. 16 July 1996, Chicago, Illinois, USA; drums) and John Curulewski (b. 3 October 1950, USA, d. February 1988; guitar). Combining symphonic and progressive influences they released a series of varied and highly melodic albums during the early 70s. Success was slow to catch up with them; Styx II, originally released in 1973, spawned the Top 10 Billboard hit "Lady" in 1975. The album then made similar progress, eventually peaking at number 20.

After signing to A&M Records in 1975, John Curulewski departed with the release of Equinox, to be replaced by Tommy Shaw (b. 11 September 1953, Montgomery, Alabama, USA). This was a real turning point in the band's career as Shaw took over lead vocals and contributed significantly on the writing side. From here on Styx albums had an added degree of accessibility and moved towards a more commercial approach. The Grand Illusion, released in 1977, was Shaw's first major success, peaking at number 6 during its nine-month stay on the Billboard album chart. It also featured the number 8-peaking single, "Come Sail Away". Pieces Of Eight (1978) and Cornerstone (1979) consolidated their success, with the latter containing "Babe", the band's first number 1 single in the USA. Paradise Theatre (1981) was Styx's tour de force, a complex, laser-etched concept album, complete with elaborate and expensive packaging. It generated two further US Top 10 hits in "The Best Of Times" and "Too Much Time On My Hands". The album became their most successful ever, and also stayed at number 1 for three weeks on the US album chart. With DeYoung pushing for a more theatrical approach, Kilroy Was Here (1983) followed, yet another concept album that brought them close to repetition. A watered-down pop rock album with a big-budget production, its success came on the back of their previous album rather than on its own merits. Caught In The Act (1984) was an uninspired live offering and they disbanded shortly after its release. DeYoung and Shaw both recorded solo albums, with the former enjoying a US Top 10 hit in 1984 with "Desert Moon".

Styx re-formed in 1990 with the classic line-up, except for pop rock funkster Glenn Burtnick aka Glen Burtnik (b. USA), who replaced Tommy Shaw (who had joined Damn Yankees). Edge Of The Century indicated that the band still had something to offer, with a diverse and classy selection of contemporary AOR, including the Top 3 hit "Show Me The Way". As one of the tracks on the album stated, the band was self-evidently "Not Dead Yet". Following a US tour to promote the album, the band members once again went their separate ways. They reunited in 1995 to promote a compilation album, with Shaw back on board but without the ill John Panozzo (he passed away in 1996 due to alchohol related problems). Todd Sucherman (b. 2 May 1969, USA) became a full-time member on the Return To Paradise tour. Chuck Panozzo and Dennis DeYoung both left following the recording of Brave New World (1999), with the former announcing he was HIV positive and inter-band tension making the latter's presence no longer sustainable. DeYoung has continued to play Styx music as a solo artist. Lawrence Gowan (b. 22 November 1956, Glasgow, Scotland; keyboards/vocals) was brought in to replace DeYoung, and Burtnick returned to cover for Panozzo.

Styx has continued on the nostalgia circuit into the new millennium and continues to sell large numbers of albums, as demonstrated by the high-charting covers set Big Bang Theory in 2005. The album featured new bass player Ricky Phillips. (Source: bettyloumusic.com)

This album contains no booklet.