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I was in junior high when Kilroy came out. I spent all my high school years talking about the music of my favorite band without ever hearing anything new from them. For everyone else it was "oh yeah they did that roboto song". Grrr. By the time this one came out, Styx was already losing favor with me as I was getting more and more into Yes. Besides, I was almost 1/2 way done with college at this point as well. That's a long time to go between albums*.
The Music
Little sister
She got a lot of time she got a lot of money
Don't you know that ain't enough
Pretty thing
All dressed up for the main attraction
Like a baby doll looking for love
And she doesn't need a reason
She just hears a calling to the wild
God gave man the breath of life
To grow up strong to take a wife
To change the world and love is the ritual
You learn to walk & talk & laugh & cry
Heart & soul til the day you die
And above it all love is the ritual
Little man
Beating his chest & flexing his muscles
Gun for hire, he shoots for a star
Like a handsome prince
Walking down the street in his shining armor
Romeo in search of his heart
There's a method to this madness
And a message calling to the wild
God gave man the breath of life
To grow up strong to take a wife
To change the world and love is the ritual
You learn to walk & talk & laugh & cry
Work your fingers to the bone til the day you die
And above it all love is the ritual
Come on dance little sister, little sister wants to dance
All night looking for true romance
When in a black leather jacket walks little brother
To rock her world, to be her lover
So signal all the children
Send a message calling to the wild
God gave man the breath of life
To grow up strong to take a wife
To change the world and love is the ritual
You learn to walk & talk & laugh & cry
Work your fingers to the bone til the day you die
And above it all love is the ritual
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2) Show Me the Way - Written and sung by DDY, this was the second single released from the album. It became Styx's last Top 10 single to date, reaching #3 on the Billboard chart. Dennis, a devout Roman Catholic, originally wrote the song for his son Matthew as a pseudo-hymn about the struggle to keep the faith in a "world so filled with hatred". Released in December 1990, the song was slowly scaling the charts. In January 1991, just prior to the United States' entry into the Gulf War, Music Director Chris Taylor from WAVA-FM in Washington, D.C. and Knoxville DJ Ray Edwards from WOKI-FM each did their own customized "Desert Shield Mix" incorporating television and call-in comments from officials, soldiers and callers as well as C-SPAN's coverage of the House and Senate debates. While that association undoubtedly buoyed the song's success and contributed to its lingering appeal,the single had not yet peaked when the war officially ended on February 28, 1991.
Every night I say a prayer in the hope that there's a heaven
But every day I'm more confused as the saints turn into sinners
All the heroes and legends I knew as a child have fallen to idols of clay
And I feel this empty place inside, so afraid that I've lost my faith
Show me the way, show me the way
Take me tonight to the river
And wash my illusions away
Please, show me the way
And as I slowly drift to sleep, for a moment dreams are sacred
I close my eyes and know there's peace in a world so filled with hatred
Then I wake up each morning and turn on the news to find we've so far to go
And I keep on hoping for a sign, so afraid I just won't know
Show me the way, show me the way
Bring me tonight to the mountain
And take my confusion away
And show me the way
And if I see your light, should I believe
Tell me how will I know
Show me the way, show me the way
Take me tonight to the river
And wash my illusions away
Show me the way, show me the way
Give me the strength and the courage
To believe that I'll get there someday
And please show me the way
Every night I say a prayer in the hopes that there's a heaven...
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3) Edge of the Century - Title track obviously, written and sung by Burtnik. I have always dug this song too.
Living on the edge of the century
See the world in revolution
Spinning faster all the time
We're heading for the end of something
Just about to step across that line
Oh, can't you see?
We're staring in the face of reality
Oh, you and me
We're living on the edge of the century
Feel the way the earth is shaking
Hear the rumble miles away
Say goodbye to Checkpoint Charlie
Walls are falling every day
Oh, can't you see?
Every step we take we're making history
Oh, you and me
We're living on the edge of the century
Can't turn off the information
Can't sit back in your easy chair
Can't ignore a generation
Better get ready cause we're almost there
We're moving at the speed of life
Into a brave new world where the strong will survive
The dawn's gonna break and I'll meet you
On the other side
Can't stand still while the earth is turning
Can't take cover til the coast is clear
Can't play guitar while Rome is burning
Look our now cause the future's here
And we're moving at the speed of life
Living on the edge
On the edge of the century
Once again I find a song with new lyrics from a live version!
[alternate 2nd verse from the 1999 tour]
Feel the way the earth is shaking
Fires and floods and hurricanes
A voice cries out in revelation
"Say hello to Y2K!"
Oh, can't you see?
We're jumpin on the ledge of uncertainty
Oh, you and me
We're living on the edge of the century
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4) Love at First Sight - The third single released from the album, and it's another love song by Dennis, a shocker I know (and co-written by Burtnik according to his comment on my Facebook post...no really). Despite the success of the album and its singles, the industry was changing during the early '90s, phasing out the single format and favoring Grunge music (gag), and "Love at First Sight" would be Styx's last Billboard Top 40 single, peaking at #25. :-(
Driving past your house again
I feel the same way I did then
I get weak, just thinking about you
It all began so easily
A look from you a glance from me
Then our eyes met like thunder & lightning
You and I, strangers lost in a moment
Eye to eye
We were caught unaware of the passion inside us
Love at first sight
I know that this can't be happening
No, not to someone like me
Love at first sight
So rare, and so exciting
I only hope this love we found can last
I'm not a man who acts this way
But lately I can't concentrate
And I don't sleep, just dreaming about you
I try to reach you on the phone
But voices there say you're not home
And my heart aches, thinking I've lost you
One more time, seeing your face in the moonlight
One more chance to be caught unaware
Of this passion inside us
Love at first sight
I know that this can't be happening
No, not to someone like me
Love at first sight
It's hard to keep your balance
Moving past the point of no return
If you need some time
To understand your feelings
If you need some time away
I'll be waiting for you
With open arms my love
All that night
We made love in the moonlight
Eye to eye
We were so unaware of the passion inside us
Love at first sight
I know that this can't be happening
No, not to someone like me
Love at first sight
So rare, and so exciting
I only hope this love we found can last
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5) All in a Day's Work - Nice little acoustic tune here sung by Glen Burtnik, and written by him and Dennis. Not a bad way to end side one (yeah I know he's no Tommy, but still...)
She wakes up from a dream, checks the mirror for reality
She says "Come on girl, it's all in a day's work"
Gets herself dressed just in time, disappears on the 8:05
Oh the whistle blows and it's all in a day's work
'Til she calls it a day
Oh she smiles as he glances up from the swimsuit issue
Oh she sighs as he walks away into the downtown day
Day after day night after night
Loneliness creeps in her window
She locks the door, turns off the light
Rehearsing a kiss on her pillow, she cries
It's all in a day's work
Turning pages while the memories pass
Familiar faces from her senior class
How the years go by when it's all in a day's work
"Dearest Ruby, hope you reach your star
Don't ever change, stay as sweet as you are"
And when a teardrop falls she calls it a day's work
She calls it a day
Oh she waits by the telephone for the call he promised
Oh it's late
She puts her heart away for another day
Day after day night after night
Loneliness creeps in her window
She locks the door, turns off the light
Rehearsing a kiss on her pillow, she cries
All in a day's work
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Even though side one had all of the hit singles, there are still some great songs on side two.
*As a side note, even though there were no Styx albums during this time, I picked up every solo album that came out. Dennis DeYoung did Desert Moon (1984), Back to the World (1986) and Boomchild (1989). Tommy Shaw put out Girls with Guns (1984), What If? (1985) and Ambition (1987).
*As a side note, even though there were no Styx albums during this time, I picked up every solo album that came out. Dennis DeYoung did Desert Moon (1984), Back to the World (1986) and Boomchild (1989). Tommy Shaw put out Girls with Guns (1984), What If? (1985) and Ambition (1987).
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