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CLASSIC ALBUM OF THE
WEEK- Styx "The Grand Illusion" 1977 (USA)
Happy
Hippy Xmas! All the music on the show this week is sourced from crusty
old vinyl elpees, mostly the kinds of little-known things you find in
the "dollar bin" at used record stores. Sometimes you find hidden gems
there, other times uncool records from artists that were once cool but
no longer! Styx is a great example of the latter: in the late 70's and
early 80's, they were one of the most popular groups in America
(especially here in the upper midwest) - though they had very little
success overseas and music critics despised them. Their career imploded
with the cringe-tastic concept album Kilroy Was Here
(1983) and in retrospect they are seen by most through the cursed lens
of "Mr. Roboto". But on the plus side: Styx was a talented band
with a keyboard virtuoso and two hotshot lead guitarists, tight
harmonies from three lead vocalists, plus two of the members
consistently wrote hit songs. Their sound was highly derivative of
British classic and progressive rock. In particular I think they often
sound like Queen (and concidentally, bassist Chuck Panozzo
is kind of like an American Freddie Mercury - except that he survived
AIDS and is still alive!) It's also easy to put them in the same bin as
other popular "corporate rock" artists of their era such as Boston,
Journey, and Foreigner. But honestly, I think they are better than most
of those bands and their string of hits are memorable and distinct
classic rock gems! Three of the best are on this album and heard on the
show this week: The titular track is a masterpiece of proggy pomp-rock
(shades of ELP) and has genuinely great
lyrics (profound truth sung in regular language anyone can understand.)
Dennis DeYoung also wrote the immortal "Come Sail Away", which was
designed to be an epic to rival "Stairway To Heaven" and its lyrics
incorporate two awesome ideas: UFOs AND YACHT ROCK!
The third hit from this album was Tommy Shaw's "Fooling Yourself (The
Angry Young Man)" which nicely blends prog synths and acoustic guitars
with another solid lyric. The rest of the album is also pretty good (in
particular another proggy number entitled "Castle Walls", and "Miss
America" by James Young, the third singer-songwriter in the band who
produced no hits). Styx already had a few hits before The Grand Illusion
("Lady", "Lorelei", and "Mademoiselle" were their first three Top 40
singles - can you sense a theme there? They also had a flop single
called "Jennifer"!) But this one was the Big Hit Record that made the
group into superstars (in America) for about five years. If you want
more, Pieces Of Eight (1978) is the most similar to TGI, but I think Paradise Theatre
(1981) may be their true masterpiece, though being "a concept album in
a very early-80's Top 40 pop-rock style" it is obviously pretty dated
(and not the usual territory for Kosmik Radiation!) Earlier albums Equinox (1975) and Crystal Ball (1976) are also solid "American prog" efforts, though the four(!) albums they made in 1972-74 are mostly not that interesting. Cornerstone
(1979) is the really sucky album that includes their only #1 hit, the
Barry Manilowesque "Babe" which completed their cycle of
"hit songs about chicks" (actually "Lady" and "Lorelei" are
both pretty awesome!) And about that aforementioned Kilroy Was Here: it was an overambitious wreck, but the albm itself isn't really that terrible - the cringey bits are mostly a good chuckle, and it's only half as long as Pink Floyd's over-rated The Wall from the same era! |
