THE BEST OF STYX FEATURES MAJOR HITS "COME SAIL AWAY," "MR. ROBOTO," "BABE," "TOO MUCH TIME ON MY HANDS" AND MORE

With Isaac Hayes singing "Come Sail Away" on TV's "South Park," "Mr. Roboto" revived for a car commercial, new albums and constant touring, Styx, one of the most popular bands of the late '70s and early '80s, is hardly sailing away.

The Best Of Styx edition of 20th Century Masters/The Millennium Collection (A&M/UME), released June 11, 2002, offers 11 of the band's biggest hits and best-loved tracks spanning its A&M tenure from 1975 to 1990. Produced in association with Styx, each selection has been digitally remastered.

Dennis DeYoung (keyboards) and brothers Chuck and John Panozzo (drums and bass, respectively) had played together on Chicago's South Side since grade school. Adding guitarists John Curulewski and James "JY" Young, Styx debuted in 1972 but its first four albums yielded only the Top 10 "Lady" (though Styx II would eventually go gold).

When the band signed to A&M, Tommy Shaw replaced Curulewski after Equinox was recorded and "Lorelei" from the gold Equinox (1975) and "Mademoiselle" from the gold Crystal Ball (1976) went Top 40. 1977's The Grand Illusion turned Styx into an arena rock superstar. The triple platinum album spun off the Top 10 "Come Sail Away" and Top 40 "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)." Styx followed with the triple platinum Pieces Of Eight (1978) and its Top 40 "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)." 1979's Cornerstone went double platinum featuring the gold #1 "Babe," and "Boat On The River."

Styx's concept album masterpiece, the triple platinum Paradise Theatre (1981), hit with the Top 10s "Too Much Time On My Hands" and "The Best Of Times." After 1983's rock opera Kilroy Was Here, despite going platinum and boasting the #3 gold "Mr. Roboto," Styx went on hiatus.

In 1990, a reunion (with new guitarist-singer-songwriter Glen Burtnik) was led by the gold Edge Of The Century, and "Show Me The Way," adopted as a Gulf War anthem, rose to #3. Three live albums, including one certified gold, and a studio disc, have since been indie-released.

Not surprisingly given the band's hits, three previous "best of" albums are at least gold. What is surprising is that Greatest Hits, certified platinum and thus the band's biggest-selling retrospective, was released in 1995, more than a decade after its previous platinum--testimony to the band's popularity and its enduring music.

The series 20th Century Masters/The Millennium Collection features new "best of" albums from the most significant music artists of the past century.