Studio: Eagle Vision EV30183-9
Video: 16:9, color
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 and 5.1, DTS 5.1
Extras: Two new Styx Christmas songs filmed at same concert: 1. All I Want; 2. Ring The Bells; Interview; Still photo gallery
Length: 146 minutes
Rating: ****
This is a May 2006 concert in Cleveland, Ohio. The group are joined by The Contemporary Youth Orchestra of Cleveland, which has 115 members and a chorus of 56 members. I must admit I have not been a big Styx fan in the past, mainly because I have not heard that much of them. I first saw this concert on a high definition broadcast on TV. It immediately caught my interest. They had their main popularity in the 70s as a power rock band. They perform some of their classic songs, two new songs and a cover of the Beatle’s I’m a Walrus. The concert was shot in high-definition. Closeup shots show the high-quality character of the video. The video quality on longer shots is decreased by very high-contrast lighting of the concert.
Audio quality of the DTS track is pretty good, with the lyrics understandable. The sound has good sense of dynamics and power. The Dolby Digital sound is Dolby Digital, that is to say very mediocre. When I look at a concert DVD, if it has only Dolby Digital sound I will usually pass it up. [Fortunately, more and more music videos of every type are offering a DTS option – sometimes even instead of Dolby, and some recent Dolby tracks use less data reduction…Ed.] I consider the music to be decent rock music that is well played. I feel the orchestra definitely adds to the music. They play with a great deal of enthusiasm and talent. I think the idea of combining rock with an orchestra is very good. It gives kids music they can relate to more than straight classical. On one cut the keyboard player, Lawrence Gowan, does a classical keyboard piece that shows he is more than just a rock keyboard player. I really liked their cover of I’m a Walrus. My favorite song on the album is the ballad Boat on the River. I also liked their new song Just Be. I feel that this is probably a must-have DVD for any Styx fans or listeners that like power rock music.
TrackList: 1. Blue Collar Man 2. Lorelei 3. One With Everything 4. It Don’t Make Sense (You Can’t Make Peace) 5. Can’t Find My Way Home 6. I Am The Walrus 7. Just Be 8. Everything All the Time 9. Crystal Ball 10. Miss America 11. Criminal Mind 12. Too Much Time On My Hands 13. Boat on the River 14. I Don’t Need No Doctor 15. Medley: Put Me On / Mademoiselle / Heavy Metal Poisoning / Midnight Ride / Sing for the Day / Shooz / Queen of Spades / Great White Hope / Half Penny Two Penny / Borrowed Time / Rockin’ the Paradise / Lights / Man in the Wilderness 16. Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man) 17. Renegade
– Clay Swartz
