Lost/Forgotten Album #322

[Jon]

The 51st album in the series I thought up all by myself is another of those albums that's not really lost and/or forgotten, but it fits in quite nicely in the series. Plus, it's the final album before the real true-blue Styx formed and released one of the definitive Styx albums of all time.

Brave New World, released in 1999, is the 13th studio album from Styx and the last one to feature Dennis DeYoung. It reached #175 on the US charts, which was the lowest chart position of a Styx album since 1973's The Serpent Is Rising, and did not receive a certification, the first album since 1974's Man Of Miracles not to do so. This was the followup to 1990's Edge Of The Century which reached #63 on the US charts and was certified gold.

Shortly after this album release, the group mutually decided that, even though he was a cool and righteous dude, Dennis had always been a temporary member of the group because he really didn't fit in. He was kind of like Gary Cherone in Van Halen; sure, he was talented and all that, but it just didn't quite gel. 

The remaining members of Styx quickly rectified this situation by asking Mr. Lawrence Gowan to join the group. This real true-blue version of Styx came out with guns a-blazing with Cyclorama, released in 2003, which reached #127 on the US charts which was their highest studio charting album in 13 years. The followup, Big Bang Theory, released in 2005 (and the inspiration for the title of that TV show since the creators are huge Larry Gowan fans), was their highest charting album since 1983. It's all because of that Larry Gowan magic!!!

As for Brave New World, it's really not that bad, but we all know how it could have been better!!!

Time to check out the allmusic.com review:

Apparently, there are more die-hard Styx fans in the late '90s than anyone would have imagined, since Styx quietly went gold with Return to Paradise, their first release for CMC International. Some might say that the success was due to re-recordings that peppered Return, but that's not true -- it never would have sold that much if it didn't have new recordings, since that's what the hardcore fans wanted. Return to Paradise gave them some, but Brave New World presents the first full-fledged collection of new Styx material in nearly a decade. Skeptics would expect the album to be nothing but reconstituted arena rock, but that's not entirely true. True, Brave New World is in that tradition -- after all, Styx was one of the architects of the style -- but they try new things too, such as Tommy Shaw's weird, neutered funk metal on "I Will Be Your Witness" and "Number One," or how James Young's songs push the heaviness quotient, or how the entire album is given a clean, contemporary sound. Ironic, then, that the record is a deeply cynical tirade at the '90s, this Brave New World. A true streak of bitterness runs through the record, culminating in the cringe-inducing assault on hipsters and pundits "High Crimes & Misdemeanors (Hip Hop-cracy)" (there could be an attack on rap and hip-hop in the song, as well -- the title certainly suggests it and maybe the canned drum machine is supposed to recall hip-hop, but it's impossible to tell). As it turns out, Styx are luddites, scared or disgusted at everything the modern world has to offer (except for their biggest fan, Adam Sandler, who is thanked in the notes); there's a genuine distrust for anything new, and deep longing for times passed (whether it's adolescence or the band's glory days, it's impossible to tell) pulsates throughout the album. For the devoted and doubters alike, that bitterness keeps things interesting, but Brave New World ultimately fails because the songs just don't catch hold. Whether they're good or bad, the themes are interesting, and Styx has a different feel for each song, but they have no hooks or melodies to make them memorable. Concept and construction may be enough to justify a spin of Brave New World, but only the hardcore fan will delve into its beliefs, contradictions, and mysteries.

Brave New World

1. I Will Be Your Witness
2. Brave New World
3. While There's Still Time
4. Number One
5. Best New Face
6. What Have They Done to You
7. Fallen Angel
8. Everything Is Cool
9. Great Expectations
10. Heavy Water
11. High Crimes & Misdemeanors (Hip Hop-Cracy)
12. Just Fell In
13. Goodbye Roseland
14. Brave New World (Reprise)

Availability: Readily available, a used copy costs around $6.

[Scott]

Gotta admit I bought this at release time and then sold it back to the used CD store shortly after. The
Odd recording process was blamed for the lack of cohesiveness, but
What I thought was a band coming back together was indeed a falling out...
A contractual obligation more than an album or band effort.
Never-the-less its got rare moments

Starting with the opener, cool guitar lick, but quickly falls down and doesn't get back 
Up until Fallen Angel, a DeYoung track by the way! Everything is
Cool, cant hold it together and then Heavy Water reels you back in temporarily, but everything
Kinda sucks again after that...
See what I did there?

[RJhog (Admin)]

I heard the term "brave new world" several different times, in several different songs.  Is this a concept album?  Probably not, but maybe a bunch of songs loosely tied together by a similar theme.  Anyway, here are a few things that are wrong with this one:

It's too dang long.  Too many songs.

Dennis DeYoung's voice sounds kind of funny to me.

Dennis DeYoung's first song is pretty bad, and why oh why would they make it a ballad?  Maybe that's all he writes anymore.

The end of the album is bad.  Three of the last four songs sound like some sort of show tunes/theater concept piece along the lines of Kilroy part two.  

Overall, just not enough guitar for me. 

Nine of the first ten song, remove the first DeYoung song, and insert the closer, you would have a fairly decent album. Slap on some extra guitar cushioning and I'd like it even more.  I see that first song was a co-write for Shaw and Jack Blades.  It's a pretty cool song.  Nice post Jon.  I own it and I've paid it very little attention.  That's not likely to change when I can grab Equinox, Crystal Ball, Pieces of Eight, The Grand Illusion or Paradise Theater if I'm in need of a Styx fyx.