Release Date: September
29, 2017
Label: Audio Fidelity
Styx has always been one of my favorite bands, they still
are and always will be. So, what is it like to be a lifetime fan of a band and
you are still listening to their music? It holds some meaning for folks like
myself. The music never sounds old or outdated and you are not expecting
anything different…well sometimes it does happen.
Consider this point, what is like for a music fan to hear
the music they have been listening to for the last 30 to 40 years and suddenly it
all sounds crisper, brighter, and clearer than ever before? Well, I can tell
you it can be a revelatory experience to hear this music in the SACD format.
The SACD release by Audio Fidelity last September of Pieces of Eight rocks and I heard things
I have never heard before. This is what this format is intended to accomplish.
I am here to tell you the job was well done (again) by Audio Fidelity. I am
little late to the party but nevertheless I am reporting in to all of the
respective lifetime rockers and audiophiles.
Pieces
of Eight was a multiplatinum release and with good reason. The music
offered radio friendly rock at the time and it was also a nod to the
progressive elements of the band. The prog sounds came through loud and clear
for this listener, however when I first heard it as a teenager I thought it
just rocked. Which it did and still does, I just became older and more educated
somewhere along the way.
Pieces
of Eight is a very strong release right up there with the high
echelon of prog rock releases like Grand
Illusion but it rocked a bit harder. So, dare I say more metal this time
around? It is there, all of it in its raging glory - rock, metal and prog.
Anyone that liked to crank up the tunes can appreciate all of those genres
coming together in an explosion of sound.
That felt good to get all that off my chest and let y’all
know how I really feel about this music. So, get yourself a copy before they
run out again, even if you have all the other formats, you need to hear this
SACD!
5/5
Stars
Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck
January 11, 2018
Founder of:
Review
Provided By Prog Rock Music Talk
Tracks:
01. Great White Hope
02. I'm O.K.
03. Sing for the Day
04. The Message
05. Lords of the Ring
06. Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)
07. Queen of Spades
08. Renegade
09. Pieces of Eight
10. Aku-Aku
Tracks:
01. Great White Hope
02. I'm O.K.
03. Sing for the Day
04. The Message
05. Lords of the Ring
06. Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)
07. Queen of Spades
08. Renegade
09. Pieces of Eight
10. Aku-Aku