Greatest Hits (1995)
1.Lady '95
2.The Best Of Times
3.Lorelei
4.Too Much Time On My Hands
5.Babe
6.Fooling Yourself
7.Show Me The Way
8.Renegade
9.Come Sail Away
10.Blue Collar Man
11.The Grand Illusion
12.Crystal Ball
13.Suite Madame Blue
14.Miss America
15.Mr.Roboto
16.Don't Let It End
It’s ironic, really. After unceremoniously discarding Styx following Edge of the Century, A&M Records, never ones to let ethics get in the way of economics, returned to the well for a new compilation. By now, the band had already recorded demos for a proposed follow-up album, eager to continue rather than repackage. Those songs—eight or nine in total—remain in the vaults to this day. But a new studio record wasn’t in the cards. Instead, fans got Greatest Hits, a far more strategic cash-in that—thankfully—manages to transcend its label-engineered origins.
That’s due in no small part to the care that actually went into the final product. Though the band themselves might have preferred a fresh creative effort, the compilation ultimately serves as a fitting career retrospective—arguably the first to truly honor both the casual listener and the devoted fan. Yes, some minor singles were omitted, but only due to the 80-minute limitations of the compact disc. This was not, as with some prior efforts, a case of revisionist curating.
At first glance, it might appear to be a glorified reissue of Classics. But a closer look reveals subtle, and very welcome, corrections. Lorelei replaces Light Up, a swap that will warm the hearts of longtime fans who’ve always considered the former to be one of the band’s most overlooked gems. Miss America is now presented in its original studio form—perhaps not a radical change, but for purists, an important one. Even better: Come Sail Away now appears in its full-length version, undoing the inexplicable thirty-second snip that marred the earlier release. And, of course, Show Me the Way—a charting hit absent from previous collections due to its post-1983 vintage—is finally included.
But the greatest surprise is Lady ’95, a contractual re-recording.Originally released under the Wooden Nickel label, the band’s breakout ballad had been tied up in licensing purgatory, off-limits to A&M. But a loophole allowed Styx to re-record the song, and with that technicality resolved, an unexpected bonus arrived: Tommy Shaw. Reunited with Dennis DeYoung and James Young for this new version, Shaw's involvement sparked genuine conversation about a potential full-scale reunion. Ironic, perhaps, considering the original Lady was recorded before Shaw had even joined the group. Still, his presence lent the track both legitimacy and symbolism. DeYoung’s vocal, slightly more refined than on the 1973 original, shows the passage of time, but not the erosion of talent.
For all its retrospective framing, Greatest Hits was less a tombstone and more a harbinger. The three core members, after years of creative and personal distance, found themselves together in the studio once more. The old wounds—carved during the stressful climb to stardom in the early ’80s—had scabbed over. In revisiting the past, they quietly opened the door to the future.
As a collection, it achieves what all such efforts aim to do but so rarely succeed in accomplishing: it distills a band's essence while gently ushering in a new chapter. The timing was right. The lineup was nearly whole. And for once, a record company’s nostalgic instincts may have done some good.nd even thrive—in parts. But it also made one thing abundantly clear: the chemistry of the classic lineup, however volatile, was irreplaceable.
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