Dennis DeYoung - '26 East Volume II' Frontiers 11 June 2021

But if he can’t get his face onto the real Mount Rushmore then Dennis has at least managed to virtually insert himself onto a pastiche of the ‘Meet the Beatles’ record sleeve for his own album cover. Both Dennis and Jim are big fans and some of Jim’s contributions will almost certainly have been written in his ‘Lennon’s Den’ home studio. The opening track “Hello Goodbye” is the Beatles homage we were promised when Volume 1 was released last year.

There is an air of nostalgia and a hint of melancholy around the album, as you might expect. There are also plenty of references and call-backs to Dennis’ time in that band he used to be with in the 70s and 80s - not The Pointer Sisters – Styx! Whilst there is an element of eulogy about some songs (“Little Did We Know” / “Always Time”) it is a wistful collection rather than being a bleak offering like, for example, Johnny Cash’s last album and songs like “There’s No Turning Back” are both reflective and fabulously uplifting.

Few can touch Dennis as a balladeer and there are two beauties on this record. Both “Your Saving Grace” and “Made For Each Other” are full of tender charm and are doubtless dedicated to Dennis’ wife of over 50 years, Suzanne. If you haven’t heard it, there’s a moment in Dennis’ excellent 2014 ‘Live in LA’ album where he segues from the brilliant “Desert Moon” to “Babe” with a dedication to ‘the love of my life, Suzanne’ that would bring a tear to a glass eye. “Your Saving Grace” is also enhanced by a contribution from the Michael Manson Gospel Choir – it might have been a whole different song if it was the Marilyn Manson Choir, I guess?

There has been a lot of buzz about the single “The Last Guitar Hero” which barks at the moon of technology use in music and features a futuristic effect-heavy guitar solo from Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine. There’s also a reprise of Jim Peterik’s “Proof of Heaven” from the last Pride of Lions album. There’s no sign of Jim slowing down. He’s currently still playing with Ides of March and writing with Brian Wilson and Chicago. We can also look forward to the imminent release of the ‘World Stage: Tigress’ album that he told me about in our interview last year.

The absolute show-stopper on 26 East Volume 2 is the magnificent seven minutes of “The Isle of Misanthrope” – a real throwback to the Equinox / Grand Illusion era of Styx in their pomp. It’s a multi-layered epic; deep in Stygian references and grandeur. The video is also a work-of-art and you can find a dissection of it on You Tube where Dennis explains some of what is going on.

And like Volume 1, there’s a short tune at the end, this time called “Grand Finale”, which acts as a benediction and closes the circle. It’s heavy on emotion and symbolism and Dennis’ drummer son Matthew even uses some of John Panozzo’s kit on it.

Dennis has previously said that Styx kind of owe it to the fans to do one last tour with the ‘real’ band. That ship might have sailed away but if this really is the end of paradise for Dennis as a recording artist, and Jimbo can’t kick his ass into gear one more time, then it really has been the best of times. Well played sir.