TOO MUCH TIME ON MY HANDS

Styx

Prog Related

1.33 | 5 ratings

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Matti
Prog Reviewer

20-Year Chronological Run-Through Pt. Nineteen: 1981.

-- First review for this single -- The Chicago-based rock band STYX made some strong albums more or less appreciated by prog listeners too. Their commercial breakthrough album The Grand Illusion (1977) is among the best ones, as is its follower Pieces of Eight (1978). The inevitable artistic downhill, and the reason to mock them by progheads as "Stynx" [Stinks], was started by Cornerstone (1979) and continued on Paradise Theatre (1981) which was an enormous commercial success. BTW, is the word really Theatre, not Theater, the American way to spell it? The album cover doesn't help as it actually has the words Paradise Gala Premiere. Once, something like twenty-five years ago, I bought a used vinyl copy of it, but disliked it so much that I didn't keep it for long.

The second single outtake 'Too much Time on My Hands' was a Top 10 hit in North America. The fact it was written and sung by Tommy Shaw, my favourite member of Styx, doesn't much help. This catchy, repetitive and straightforward rock song is totally ruined by the disco-oriented soundscape.

The B side features 'Queen of Spades', which is a Dennis De Young song from Pieces of Eight three years earlier. Starting in (and returning to) a slow-tempo power ballad style, it disappointed me with its loud hard rock approach. The sharp vocal harmonies sound very similar to those made by QUEEN.

Never been much of a Styx fan, but this single represents the side of them that I rather stay away from. I may not consider this music objectively so bad that it would be worth one star only, but I surely haven't used the minimum rating too often... so, here goes.

Matti | 1/5 | 2021-1-8

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