After their succesful monster tour of 2000, Styx and REO Speedwagon decided to record a live CD and release it as a dual band effort. A pretty good idea from a couple of rockin' bands who considered themselves "rivals" in the 70's, hence the title, Arch Allies.

These days, Styx has been the source of much controversy surrounding the departure of founding member/lead vocalist Dennis DeYoung. Some flat out think that Dennis is irreplaceable, which is very true, but if you look at it from a strictly musical point of view, the Styx side of Arch Allies totally rocks. Arch Allies totally manages to capture the power and raw energy of Styx 2000 with Tommy Shaw leading the way with his powerful and melodic voice.

Shaw and Company plow through a set of Styx classics like "Fooling Yourself", "Grand Illusion", and "Renegade" mixed with some new cuts from their highly underrated album Brave New World. Rounding out Styx 2000 are James "J.Y." Young (maniacal guitarwork as usual), Todd Sucherman (drum god), as well as new members Glenn Burtnik and Lawrence Gowan. Bassist Chuck Panozzo makes a cool cameo in a couple of classic tunes.

While Lawrence Gowan is a good singer and keyboardist, his voice is quite nasal and not as strong as DeYoung's and hearing him sing lead on classiccs like "Lady" takes a little getting used to. He does a good, solid job with the songs, though.

On The REO Speedwagon front, I was surprised as to how good they are live, very energetic and just plain out rockin' their asses off. Lead Singer Kevin Cronin's pipes sound strong as REO delivers a solid overall performance full of classics like "Take It On The Run", "Can't Fight This Feeling", and the surprising "157 Riverside Avenue".

The highlight of the REO set? TWO WORDS: DAVE AMATO!! The man comes out of nowhere and delivers a performance that makes fans quickly forget about Gary Richrath. This guy can really play, and his resume includes having played with such greats as Richie Sambora, Amato is a much welcomed addition to the REO Speedwagon Rock N' Roll machine.

Both bands (or the record label) do make one mistake, as they put the same two live songs ("Roll With The Changes"/"Blue Collar Man") on both CD's, so you get the same two songs on each CD. I personally would have preferred to have one song with both bands on each CD and have an extra Styx (especially "Everything is Cool" which is somehow omitted) and REO song per CD. But life can't be perfect, can it?

The Bottom Line: A rockin' live release from two veteran bands that will please many a music fan. Check it out!!

Shred Pick (Styx) - Brave New World (5:43)
Shred Pick (REO Speedwagon) - Ridin' The Storm Out (5:11)

Reviewed by Henry Bocanegra

For More Info on Styx, check out the Official Styx Website.

For More Info on REO Speedwagon, check out the Official REO Speedwagon Website.

Order Styx and REO Speedwagon - Arch Allies from