Dennis DeYoung's solo career started strongly in 1984, when "Desert Moon" became a Top Ten hit in the fall. The
Styx singer struggled to match its success, not only with follow-up singles from his solo debut
Desert Moon, but with the 1986 effort Back to the World and its 1988 successor Boomchild. Two years later, the band reunited. In 1994,
DeYoung released another solo album,
10 on Broadway, but that was merely a side project showcasing his love of showtunes -- he never left the band.
10 on Broadway served as a reminder that
DeYoung's solo career was interesting, but quite uneven, and Hip-O's 1999 compilation
The Ultimate Collection overlooks that effort. That may be a blow for completeness, but it helps the album, actually, since it's a coherent look at
DeYoung's five-year solo detour. All the hits -- "Desert Moon," of course, but also such his three lesser-known singles "Don't Wait for Heroes," "Call Me," and "This Is the Time," which was featured in The Karate Kid, Pt. 2 -- are here, along with ten album tracks and a new re-recording of the
Styx classic "The Grand Illusion," which was arranged by
Alan Silvestri. To be frank, even in this distilled form, his solo material is still pretty uneven, but
The Ultimate Collection is tighter than any other
DeYoung album, with the possible exception of
Desert Moon, and it's a worthwhile purchase for serious
Styx fans looking for a good round-up of his brief solo sojourn. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine