21. Styx--The Grand Illusion

 #21: Styx--The Grand Illusion (1977)

Top-Notch Tracks: "Miss America," [HJ200 #22], "Come Sail Away  [HJ200 #33], "Fooling Yourself (Angry Young Man)," "The Grand Illusion," "Superstars"

Album Depth: "Man In the Wilderness," "Castle Walls," "The Grand Finale"

Weak Links: Nothing to see here.

Stand-Out Lyrics: "Relax. Take it easy."--"Fooling Yourself (Angry Young Man)"

"In your cage at the human zoo, they all stop to look at you. Next year, what will you do when you have been forgotten?"--"Miss America"

"I look to the sea. Reflections in the waves spark my memory. Some happy, some sad. I think of childhood friends and the dreams we had. We lived happily forever, so the story goes. But somehow we missed out on that pot of gold. And we'll try, best as we can, to carry on."--"Come Sail Away"

"Don't be fooled by the radio, the tv or the magazines. They show you photographs of how your life should be, but they're just someone else's fantasy."--"The Grand Illusion"

"Your hand's wet with sweat and your head needs a rest."--"Fooling Yourself (Angry Young Man)"

"You've read about me in the papers. You've seen me on the movie screens. You know everything there is to know about me. I'm your late night fantasy."--"Superstars"

"Sometimes it makes no sense at all."--"Man In the Wilderness"

"You were the apple of the public's eye as you cut the ribbon at the local mall."--"Miss America"

"I thought that they were angels, but to my surprise we climbed aboard their starship, we headed for the skies!"--"Come Sail Away"

"Why must you be such an angry young man, when your future looks quite bright to me?"--"Fooling Yourself (Angry Young Man)"

"I'm dying of thirst in the middle of the ocean."--"Man In the Wilderness"

"We love your body in that photograph. Your home state sure must be proud. The queen of the United States, or have you lost your crown?"--"Miss America"

"Get yourself a brand new motor car!"--"The Grand Illusion"

Styx--The Grand Illusion

Album cover: 9 out of 10. It's an illusion! It's a forest! It's a guy riding a horse! (Or maybe a giraffe?) And, if you squint your eyes just right, it looks like there are eyeballs and lips! (You won't believe what you see!) (Or will you?)

Comments: This is probably the fourth or fifth 8-track tape that my brother John bought as a kid, so it had a big influence on me and my musical tastes. (Yes, I remember for sure what those first three 8-tracks he bought were, and yes, they're all still to come in the Top 20 of this list.)

Damn, this is a great album! It's pretty short, though, with only seven real songs and a little tagged on finale/reprise. I always thought the first five songs were absolutely phenomenal, while the last two songs ("Man In the Wilderness" and "Castle Walls") were good, but not great. Of course, then someone I know (Nardo) did a write-up on the album, including some of the lyrics to "Man In the Wilderness," and suddenly, after forty-something years of listening, I had a greater appreciation for the song. Listening again to those two final songs, they've got some great guitar and/or synthesizer solos, and they deserve a bit more attention from me.

Of those first five songs, the weakest is "Superstars," but it still makes me laugh every time because of Dennis DeYoung's unabashed exclamation that he is "your late-night fantasy." Yes, Dennis, everyone on the 14th row is fantasizing about you, your curly hair, and that funny little mustache.

"The Grand Illusion," "Fooling Yourself (Angry Young Man,)" and "Come Sail Away" are all long-time staples of classic rock radio, and with good reason. (Just don't get me started on any radio station that says they are "classic," but then plays the shortened, hacked up version of "Come Sail Away!")

Of course, "Come Sail Away" is also the perfect slow dance/fast dance song, as illustrated in the climax scene from the pilot episode of the television program Freaks and Geeks, when Sam drags his dream girl out to the dance floor for a slow dance and just takes too damn long to get started. (It's one of the best scenes from a fantastic show.)

And then there's "Miss America." In the summer of 1984, when Vanessa Williams was stripped of her Miss America title for some provocative photographs and replaced by Suzette Charles, I wondered why none of the news stories featured the song "Miss America" by Styx. It was perfect for the story! What the hell were these newspeople thinking? James JY Young should have been screaming in the background every damn time that story ran on the news. Oh well, a couple of months later the awaiting world was introduced to Sharlene Wells. And yes, her home state sure was proud.


Up next: Beverly Hills?

Comments

  1. darenolsonNovember 7, 2021 at 10:37 AM

    In the interest of Fairness and Justice, I must make a correction. In your write-up of the Grand Illusion, you claim that Dennis DeYoung sings that he is our "late-night fantasy." Actually, it is Tommy Shaw that sings that line. In fact, Tommy is the lead singer on the entire song, leaving Dennis to pitch in as a backup chorus singer. Dennis does come in at the end of the song with those over-the-top spoken lines, but he doesn't sing any of them. During that last part of the song he sounds absolutely maniacal--which I am convinced is his real speaking voice. I'm 100% sure that he talks like that when he orders a Cheesy Gordita Crunch or a Chupacabra Supreme at Taco Bell. He likes to order them extra, extra cheesy--about as cheesy as his solo performances of Mr. Roboto.

    Nardo

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