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The Grand Illusion

Styx - The Grand Illusion Audio CD

A fair review of the Styx "The Grand Illusion" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Styx reviews here, or go back to the Styx tabs.

Band: Styx
Title: The Grand Illusion
Rating:

Release Date: 2009-04-28
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Grand Illusion 2: Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man) 3: Superstars 4: Come Sail Away 5: Miss America 6: Man in the Wilderness 7: Castle Walls 8: Grand Finale

For the Styx fan, a supernova
But when I was in my late teens Styx delivered the goods and "Grand Illusion" was the best of their albums that I'd heard. As time has moved on, my taste has as well. If Styx appeals to your taste I have no doubt that you'll like every song on this album; don't waste your time doing individual downloads, just get the entire album.

With the addition of the unpretentious vocals of Tommy Shaw, Styx was the rare band that had no fewer than three lead singers, a key ingredient necessary to prevent fan burnout. I don't know about you but when a band has only one singer, I can usually hang in there for a few albums but after that I just grow weary of them. Bands like the Beatles, the Bangles, and Styx who have three or more singers, or Supertramp and Simon & Garfunkel with two lead vocalists. . . the sharing of the microphone can really give a band longevity provided their songwriting continues to hold up.

James Young's big turn in the spotlight was the rocker "Miss America". As a vocalist he wouldn't necessarily carry an entire band by himself but he was able to provide a talk-sing delivery that epitomized power rock vocals. Your mileage may vary but his guitar-rocker, with backing vocals that almost reminded me of Flo and Eddie at times, was my favorite Styx song. Over time I've found that Dennis DeYoung's vocals have moved from mannered to ripe for satire for me, but I recognize that this wouldn't be an issue for Styx's core audience. He certainly is able to belt out a song with ample drama, a talent that undoubtedly helped Styx wow arenas back in the day.

Although Styx was never a "progressive rock" band, they toyed with elements that lent themselves to that feel without the overhead of the "look ma, no hands!" instrumental showboating that made so many prog-rock bands so embarrassing. For that reason, the two songs that get the least airplay, "Castle Walls" and "Man In The Wilderness" have had the most longevity for me. Both create an atmosphere, and like prog, both linger long beyond the usual three minute mark typical of the era's AM radio hits.

Whenever I found an album this strong I would inevitably buy a couple more from the band's catalog in hopes of repeating the experience. "Crystal Ball" did nothing for me, "Equinox" had its moments, but "Grand Illusion" was the supernova that eclipsed both of those put together.

Styx has certainly taken a beating from self-important critics who got their albums for free, whose writing had little to do with helping you determine whether an album was worth its cost. Rather, the critics who took Styx to task tended to be politically motivated, seeing mainstream acts like Styx as an obstacle to airplay for some personal favorite cult band of the day. They believed that if they could only bash mainstream acts enough, perhaps the public would discard them and succumb to the advocacy of the almighty "expert". To some degree it worked; there have always been centerless teens willing to make excuses for the shortcomings of some act or another that heavily depended upon glam, fashion, and subculture peer pressure to maintain their pitiful level of sales. It gave kids the delusion that they were part of some scene. Phht. Any cult favorite can dish out a good song or two but in retrospect, stripped of all the hype, most of the acts with weak vocalists or budget production or spotty songwriting got the sales they deserved. Even today you'll find that those who own the contracts and recordings of the also-rans still have a vested interest in perpetuating the mythology that props up such acts.

The critics' reviews of bands like Styx tended to start from the point of view that they had no right to exist in the first place, a pretty useless perspective if the reader is trying to measure the music in terms of their own taste. So whenever you hear a critic level the accusation "faceless" against Styx or other 70s acts, know that it's an indicator that the critic isn't focused on the music; they're obsessed with finding a celebrity object of worship, some star-spangled front man or woman that they can idolize. Never mind them. You just keep enjoying albums like this and don't feel obliged to file Styx under "guilty pleasures".

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STYX MASTERPIECE
half the album classics. this is the grand illusion, come sail away, fooling yourself and miss america.

First Cassette I Ever Owned
One listen and I was hooked and saved up to get the cassette. First time I heard this album was on 8-track at my cousins house when I was like 10 yrs old. Recently I realized I didn't have the CD and had to have it for the collection. .

Grand Ilusion
I am very pleased with my purchase. This album was shipped extremely well packaged and in exccellent condition. An excellent seller. Thank you so much. *****.

Styx - The Band's Best
Although they had already had quite a bit of success and become staples of the Midwest arena circuit, this would be the album that would catapult the band to multi-platinum superstar status. "The Grand Illusion" is probably Styx's best all around album. The album produced two huge hits with "Come Sail Away" and "Fooling yourself" both of which can be regularly heard on classic rock radio today on a regular basis. Several other tracks received album rock airplay as well. The album contains all of the varied elements that made Styx what they were. You have Pomp Rock with "The Grand Illusion", and "Superstars", progressive rock with "Man In The Wilderness" and one of Dennis Deyoung's best compositions "Castle Walls", and Hard Rock / Metal with the James Young staple "Miss America". Sure there is an air of pretension about the whole thing, but hey this was the 70's. All in all this is one of Styx best albums and a must own for fans of the band. .

You can see a complete list of all Styx discography, or go back to the Styx tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.