Styx is a strange phenomenon. They sound like a poor man's Bon Jovi; yet they have sold over 25 million records, have had eight Top 10 hits (in the USA), and have many gold and platinum albums (including four triple-platinum albums in a row). Despite this, have you ever heard anyone say, "Well I'm a fan," or, "Why yes, I have a Styx album."? Who then are these people, and why have I never met one? The main reason I guess is that, here in Australia, they have been largely ignored, which simply adds to the puzzlement over why titles such as Styx - Return To Paradise are released almost hand over fist, yet there is little to no sign of releases from acts that have a much healthier musical heritage, at least upon our shores.

Having said that, it is quite obvious from watching this that Styx do indeed have a large number of fans, in the good ol' US of A at any rate. This show was filmed at the end of their 1996 tour which started in Chicago and ended there on the night of the Autumn Equinox (that's the northern Autumn), and features Styx's most successful line-up. The concert includes their only four songs that have charted in Australia; Lady, Fooling Yourself (Angry Young Man), The Best Of Times, and the only one to crack the Top 10, Babe. The unmistakable vocals of Dennis De Young and Tommy Shaw sound as good as ever. These guys have fantastic voices, De Young especially, and this is the sole reason why some of these songs are even listenable. There are a few songs that scrub up well, but they are guilty of being a little self-indulgent at times, with guitar solos that meander and make you wish he would just stop. With Styx, it is the big ol' ballads that actually sound better than the rock songs.

If you're into the bland sounding American AOR sound of bands such as Chicago, REO Speedwagon, Mr Big and a gazillion other bands that have come and gone, you will like this. If you get off on old guys with long (thinning) hair playing overly long guitar solos whilst pulling strange faces, you will like this. If not, then avoid. This is stadium rock at its most average. Whilst neither good nor bad, fans will love it, whoever they are...

Track listing:

Oops! This is another Region 4 NTSC release (Warner Vision, is this necessary?) so you will need to have an NTSC compatible player and television. Styx - Return to Paradise is a full frame presentation and is therefore not 16x9 enhanced. Leaving aside the PAL versus NTSC argument, this is not a bad transfer and the overall image is quite sharp, although the very few long shots from the back of the stadium do not fare well and detail is almost non-existent. Overall the colours scrub up well, and stage lighting has only a minimal impact on the image. There are a few instances of the usual blue light problems and a few instances of other problems such as colour bleeding (reds especially) and cross colouration, but you'll have to pay close attention to notice.

Black levels are also good, although at times they appear grey until you realise that this is just the smoke haze from the smoke machines. There are occasional occurrences of aliasing and shimmering, but these are not distracting. After all this is music DVD and the visual image is not the most important thing.

There are two audio tracks, Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo. Both sound good, but the 5.1 is the ultimate winner. The 2.0 mix is well mixed and sounds like a CD. There is some noticeable separation between left and right and the bass sounds are good. The 5.1 mix is a little misleading, as there is almost no sound from the centre speaker, which some audiophiles have begun to embrace as it more accurately represents the sounds from a real stageshow. There are rarely speakers in the centre of the stage. As such, there is not the usual separation as is normal for 5.1 transfers. The music is pitched more from the front, though the rear speakers are quite prominent for such things as guitars and vocals. The low-level sounds emanate from the front speakers and the subwoofer gets a nice workout.

The sound has a nice range, with vocals being strong and loud and clear, and bass sounds are rich and carry the songs well. Audience noises are well placed all round, giving the home listener impression of being placed right in the middle.

There is no layer change as this is a single layer, single-sided disc.

For the fans, there are a number of interesting extras, extra value for those undecided.

Styx Story: This is a collection of text screens that provide a short biography about Styx.

Styxography: A one screen listing of all their albums.

Links to the Web: A DVD-ROM feature that will provide you with... Web links!

Todd's Camera: This is the first of three subsections under Paradise Tour Bonus and is roughly five minutes of home camera footage filmed by new drummer Todd. It covers such things as backstage, looking out from the drum kit, rehearsals, pre-show banter, and life on the road.

Photo Gallery: Accompanied by music, this is self-navigating and takes approximately two minutes to run.

Backstage With Tommy: Tommy Shaw that is, and it lasts about 4:30. It offers a few personal reflections about life as a part of Styx, but offers no surprises and digs no dirt.

Preview New Album: The title song of the 'new' album, Brave New World is offered in Dolby Digital stereo. This is not a video clip and is audio only.

Overall, this is a decent package for fans, but I wonder how many there are in Australia. The band play well, they sing well, and the songs occasionally hook you in, especially the few hits. The self-indulgence tends to drag the whole thing a bit, especially for listeners not familiar with those particular songs, and let's face it, few of us are. Still, be thankful there's no sign of Mr Roboto...