33 Years Of STYX! Trivia Quiz

Answer: STYX

1972 saw the release of the "STYX" album, which was mostly cover tunes. If you were looking for "STYX I", it is the same album with a reworked cover. It was a re-release, and does not appear on the discography.

Answer: "STYX II" and "The Serpent Is Rising"

"Styx II" spawned the top 5 hit, "Lady", although it did not become a hit until years after its initial release. "STYX II" eventually became the group's first gold album.

Answer: Man Of Miracles

Dennis DeYoung said he felt like people didn't like "STYX" and "STYX II" because they weren't selling (nevermind that Wooden Nickel wasn't promoting them). So he tried to be someone he wasn't on "The Serpent Is Rising" and "Man Of Miracles" because that's what he thought people wanted to hear. WLS in Chicago refused to play any of the music from the latter two albums, but eventually started playing "Lady" from the "STYX II" album.

It became a huge hit, eventually going top 5. It's ironic that the two albums which were meant more to please the public are probably the least memorable.

Answer: Equinox

"Equinox" was the last studio album to feature guitarist, and lead vocalist, John Curulewski.

Answer: Crystal Ball

This was Tommy Shaw's first album with STYX, for which he wrote the title track.

Answer: "The Grand Illusion" and "Best Of STYX"

"The Grand Illusion", was the first STYX album to go platinum, and was the first in a string of five double-platinum albums, and an unprecidented run of four consecutive triple-platinum albums. I personally count this album among the group's top three, along with "Paradise Theatre" and "Cyclorama".

RCA (Wooden Nickel's parent company) released "Best Of STYX" that same year in an attempt to capitalize on the group's success, as they had failed to properly promote STYX when they had them, and had lost them to A&M. Probably the reason the album was called "Best Of STYX" and not "Greatest Hits" was that only a handful of songs on the album actually cracked the top 100, with only "Lady" going top 40. (You have to have hits before you can have "Greatest Hits".)

Answer: Pieces Of Eight

STYX followed up the enormous success of "The Grand Illusion" with the equally potent "Pieces Of Eight". Many hardcore Stygians consider this to be their best work to date. A good number of "old-schoolers" consider this to be the end of an era for STYX, as the DeYoung (and even Shaw) ballads would soon become staples of the next few albums, despite solid rockers by Shaw and Young punctuating them as well.

Answer: Cornerstone

"Cornerstone" boasted the number one hit, "Babe". The group nearly broke up over whether or not to release "First Time" as a single (DeYoung was actually briefly fired), but Tommy Shaw and James Young got their way, and it did not happen. I believe it to be a shame, as this is possibly my favorite STYX song of all time.

Answer: STYX did not release an album that year

1980 marks the first year that STYX released no albums.

NOTE: The copyright date on "Paradise Theatre" is 1980. The album was actually recorded and printed in 1980, but it was released in January, 1981.

Answer: Yes

"Paradise Theatre" saw more discord behind the scenes as the group continued to move further away from rockers, and continued to incorporate ballads, although this album offers both. That being said, this is one of those all-to-rare albums where you just don't fast-forward past, or skip a song. (Okay, MAYBE "Lonely People"!)

NOTE: The copyright date on "Paradise Theatre" is 1980. The album was actually recorded and printed in 1980, but it was released in January, 1981.

Answer: Kilroy Was Here

This was the album that put the proverbial nail in the coffin. Shaw and Young had had enough of the new direction, and the group went on an extended hiatus. DeYoung saw enormous success with his "Desert Moon" album, while Shaw and Young struggled with their solo efforts, as did DeYoung with subsequent solos. Shaw went on to see great success as a member of Damn Yankees. Ironically, Damn Yankees' most successful song, was the super-syrupy Shaw ballad, "High Enough".

The "Kilroy" album brought us "Mr. Roboto", which epitomizes, and has almost come to symbolize, 1980s pop as a whole. Many believe DeYoung was again trying to please the public with this album, as he did with "The Serpent Is Rising" and "Man Of Miracles". There was no real memorable rocker on this album. Quite the contrary, "Heavy Metal Poisoning" competes with 1999's "High Crimes & Misdemeanors (Hip-Hop-Cracy)" as the worst STYX song ever made.

All this being said, the album still went double-platinum. It took me quite some time to appreciate this album as a whole. While it may be musically inferior to previous works, the concept of the album is intiguing, and an understanding of it spawns a greater appreciation of the album as a whole. Look for the online novel "Whispers In The Night" by T.B. Gillis if you really want to delve into the plot of this album!

Answer: Caught In The Act

"Caught In The Act" was STYX's first ever live album, and was recorded from their tour in support of "Kilroy Was Here". It also featured the new studio track, "Music Time". "Music Time" would be the group's last studio release until their 1990 album, "Edge Of The Century".

Answer: Yes

"STYX Classics" was released in 1987, despite the fact the group was on hiatus at the time. It was actually "Volume 15" in A&M's "Classics" collection which marked the label's 25th anniversary. This was 15th anniversary of STYX since taking on the STYX name and releasing their first album.

Answer: Edge Of The Century

STYX reunited for "Edge Of The Century" with Glen Burtnik replacing Tommy Shaw. Burtnik actually wrote and performed leads on the title track, but DeYoung's "Show Me The Way" stole the show on this album, and STYX proved they could still chart.

Answer: Greatest Hits

"Greatest Hits" featured a new release of "Lady", entitled "Lady '95".

Answer: Greatest Hits Part II

"Greatest Hits Part II" featured two new studio tracks, which did not become hits, greatest or otherwise.

Answer: Return To Paradise

After six years without a record deal, STYX reuinited for the "Return To The Paradise Theatre Tour". The tour broke records, and CMC International signed STYX and released "Return To Paradise", recorded from the tour. It was CMC International's first gold album.

The line-up was minus Burtnik and plus Shaw, who had returned for the tour. Sucherman was now the official drummer, as John Panozzo had passed.

The double album featured three memorable studio tracks in addition to the live songs: DeYoung's "Paradise", and "On My Way" and "Dear John" by Tommy Shaw.

Answer: Brave New World

Another "nail in the coffin" album (in a sense) for STYX, as the DeYoung era came to a close. Relations got so bad during album production that Young and Shaw recorded in a different studio than DeYoung, half way across the country. Soon after the album's completion, DeYoung was ousted from the group, and replaced with Lawrence Gowan, and Burtnik actually rejoined the group, this time replacing an ailing Chuck Panozzo.

The production on this album seemed a little sub-par, and there are reports DeYoung was not allowed to produce Shaw and Young tracks. Some later live recordings of "Heavy Water" and "Brave New World", actually sounded better than the 1999 studio versions. Some critics said the album sounds more like a collection of Shaw, Young, and Deyoung solos.

Stand out tracks on this album are: DeYoung's "While There's Still Time", and Shaw's "Brave New World", despite lackluster mixing and production on the latter.

Answer: Arch Allies: Live At Riverport

This live album featured REO Speedwagon on one disc, and STYX on the other. They even perform two songs together!

Answer: Yes

STYX continued to capitalize on their habitual touring, and released their fourth live album: "Styxworld Live 2001".

Answer: At The River's Edge - Live In St. Louis

This album was actually recorded from the same concert as "Arch Allies: Live At Riverport". It is minus the tracks with REO and contains two additional songs. The songs are also in a slightly different order.

Answer: All of these albums were released in 2003

STYX hit another high note with the release of "Cyclorama", one of their best of all time. James Young once told me he ranked it among their top two albums. (And he would know, considering he has performed on every song STYX has ever released!) Although the album went unnoticed by the mainstream, STYX proved they could still be STYX, even without Dennis DeYoung.

"Rockers" is a "No ballads allowed" compilation album. (Ballad-to-rockers were acceptable!)

"21st Century Live" was a novel concept: A two disc set; one CD and one DVD!

Answer: Yes

The long-awaited, long-overdue, double album "Come Sail Away: The STYX Anthology". The only down side? It only contained one song from "Cyclorama".

Answer: "Big Bang Theory" and "The Complete Wooden Nickel Recordings"

"Big Bang Theory" is the first album to feature Ricky Phillips in place of Glen Burtnik. To learn more about the album check out my quiz: "Big Bang Theory" right here at funtrivia.com!

"The Complete Wooden Nickel Recordings" comes in a box set and contains the elusive, coveted, highly-sought-after "Unfinished Song".

Answer: 28

That's right, 28!
15 studio albums
7 compilations
6 live albums

Here's to another 33 years!