Styx Essentials

Of the many prog-rock acts to emerge from the '70s, Styx possess the sharpest knack for pop. Boasting a pair of commanding vocalists—Tommy Shaw and Dennis DeYoung—the outfit merge ambitious, conceptual songwriting with crisp radio hooks. DeYoung is a tender crooner, one whose skyscraping tenor graces piano-laced power ballads like “Come Sail Away” and the warm-hearted “Babe”, while Shaw handles the hard-rock classics. Especially key is the smash “Too Much Time on My Hands”, which delivered Styx into the '80s thanks to the tune's punchy New Wave riffs and robotic synthesisers.