THE GRAND ILLUSION

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Styx at the top of their game with this one and the following one. Well done FM rock with prog influence and also very radio-friendly. Sail Away and Castle Walls are the highlights here IMO, but almost every number got a lot of airplay, they are classic in the mind of the public . If you must own one album of theirs , make it this one. But remember this is very borderline for this site.

This record sounds a bit like STARCASTLE and KANSAS without violin. This is prog hard rock. It has many keyboards parts, and they are well suited for this sophisticated American hard rock style. STYX is a group that I always found good but I'm not a fan of them. All the songs are OK. Their hits "Sweet Madam Blue", "Babe" and "Mr. Roboto" are not on this album.

I was too young and ignorant when the classic prog' bands like Yes, Genesis and ELP released their masterpieces, but I was just in the right age and ready to accept something more challenging than top 10 hits when this album reached the stores, so it's part of my childhood and for that reason hard to review with absolute objectivity.

A good album that mixed Art Rock, Arena and plain POP with great talent, "The Grand Illusion" was a big success in all the world, specially the simple and nostalgic "Come Sail Away" that reached the top of the charts in most countries, good song but too poppy fort my taste.

It's hard to choose a favorite track because almost each song has a different musical approach, some of them are closer to rock and others to pop or prog, but the two I have in mind are "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man) " a Tommy Shaw Track with excellent keyboards and the powerful "Miss America" very close to hard rock, different but both great songs.

If I had to rate this album in the prog' context I would give no more than two stars, because is too eclectic and sometimes poppy to consider it a serious progressive rock album, but I believe that even though it's AOR orientation is a very good release for most of the tastes and also important, has no fillers so I'll give 3 stars being 3 1/2 the precise rating IMO.

If you're a stubborn proghead, keep away, but if you're open minded and ready to accept lighter music, go for it.

Another rite of passage in the '70s: closing the door in your room, turning up "The Grand Illusion", and feeling the walls disappear. The record's concept (stardom) dovetailed nicely with the aspirations of teenagers everywhere, flush as they were with the dreams of invincible youth. Hearing it today as an adult, some of the original power is surely lost, but it still ranks as a remarkable record. In fact, the first side of music is a classic piece of vinyl: "The Grand Illusion", "Fooling Yourself", "Superstars" and "Come Sail Away" were played on the radio until they permeated the collective consciousness. The appeal of STYX is a range of musical styles and influences. DENNIS DE YOUNG invites comparison to GENESIS' TONY BANKS, TOMMY SHAW to QUEEN's BRIAN MAY, JAMES YOUNG to KISS' PAUL STANLEY. Talented singers and songwriters each, the trio give STYX a range similar to QUEEN. The three tend to pull the band in different directions on the second side, but finding time for different voices in the context of a concept album is tricky work. I've only begrudgingly accepted the idea that acts like STYX, SUPERTRAMP and BOSTON belonged in the progressive camp; I've always felt more comfortable calling them "pomp rock" and placing a barrier that included QUEEN and ALAN PARSONS PROJECT between these and my beloved prog artists.

After staring into the heart of "The Grand Illusion", however, I'll agree that this is progressive rock (the strength of DENNIS DE YOUNG's arrangements won me over). I'll even go one step further and call it a classic in the annals of progressive rock, albeit with an asterisk that says (*If you agree that progressive rock can overtly play to the tastes of the time). Anyway, you'll make up your own mind about STYX, but you'll need to start here on your journey.

Last week I visited several websites dedicated to STYX, and I found that this album was released the same day (7-July-1977) as the YES` "Going for the One" album. I still prefer "Going for the One". I`m not a fan of STYX, really. They sound like KANSAS sometimes, but I still prefer KANSAS, because KANSAS wrote in the seventies more "deep" lyrics than STYX. So, I give to this "Grand Illusion" album 2 stars: for their fans only. I can`t stand the lyrics from the song "Superstars", for example. It could really have been an "Hymn" for American Football matchs (like QUEEN`s "We are the Champions").But I still think that there are some good things to comment about this album. Some of the musical arrangements are very good. The musicians are very good, particularly keyboard player Dennis DeYoung. His keyboard arrangements are very good, and he is also a very good lead singer.I don`t know how STYX sounds today without him.Guitarists Tommy Shaw and James Young are the musicians who are the "heavy" part of this band, with guitars sounding like KANSAS and QUEEN sometimes. The late drummer John Panozzo was also very good. Bassist Chuck Panozzo also does a good job in this album.As previous reviewers wrote, I agree that the vocals arrangements are similar to QUEEN`s. I bought this album in early 1981, after reading some reviews about STYX and how this album was considered their best. One of my brothers really liked this album, so he played it almost endlessly. He is a guitarist and at that time he had a band, and after their drummer left them the same day they had to play in a party, and as I have been in their rehearsals seeing them play and sometimes playing with them in rehearsals when their drummer didn`t arrive, I really knew how to play the songs and my brother asked me to play in that night`s party (using the drum kit of the departing drummer with his permission). I became their drummer, we bought a drum kit (which I later paid to them) and my brother and me also had several amateur/semi professional bands in the following years (also playing original songs in Universities). My brother liked so much the "Miss America" song that he insisted to include it in our repertoire (played without the keyboards introduction, as we were a guitar/bass/drums trio!).I don`t know if some people can imagine a band playing "Miss America", The Who`s "Baba O`Riley", Humble Pie`s "Sweet Peace and Time", Led Zeppelin`s "Rock and Roll" and other "heavy" songs in wedding parties! My brother years later bought the CD of "Grand Illusion". The best songs from this album, in my opinion, are "Come Sail Away" (I prefer the live version included in their "Caught in the Act" album), "Man in the Wilderness" and "Castle Walls".In these 3 songs I can hear a lot of similarities with KANSAS.

It's unfair to compare Styx to the kings of the prog movement, as they never tried to wield the highly ambitious approach of acts like Yes, King Crimson or Genesis. Styx had a typically American-style prog sound, much like Kansas in that they could shape both commercially viable songs as well as more involved pieces. Clearly, Kansas were a little more adventurous in their early days, but Styx certainly has a heaping handful of prog songs and prog-ish albums to their credit. 'The Grand Illusion' is certainly their crowning achievement, a most successful balance of their hard rock origins and their leanings toward material of a more sublime nature. By now, Tommy Shaw was not only the new kid but an equal contributor, singing and writing his share of 'The Grand Illusion'. Along with Dennis DeYoung's angelic vocal clarity and penchant for the pompous, as well as James Young's more earthy, heavier influence, 'The Grand Illusion' is an expertly crafted and superbly performed piece of work.

Styx presented a stylistic variety of material on all their albums previous, which sometimes worked, but also resulted in an apparent lack of direction. 'The Grand Illusion' carefully walks the line between near-metal ("Miss America"), pomp/art-rock ("Superstars"), economical epics ("Come Sail Away") and keyboard-dominated prog ("The Grand Illusion", the utterly fantastic "Castle Walls"). Add to all that the added depth that Tommy Shaw's writing brought on board with "Fooling Yourself" and "Man In The Wilderness", and you've got an album that takes many a journey throughout its well-sequenced 8-song ride (final song being "The Grand Finale", bringing together elements heard throughout the body of the album.Genesis-style, that!). DeYoung's synths had never been as ambitious and well-recorded as on this album. Just listen to his work throughout "Fooling Yourself": a feast for any lover of synth sounds with a great player wringing them out. Everyone else is in top form on this album, mirroring the amazing chemistry the band wielded on their final album with Shaw's predecessor, John Curulewski (the great 'Equinox'). Powerful recording and production work adds clarity and punch to the material, thanks to the band themselves and production assistant Barry Mraz (who had been working with them since 'The Serpent Is Rising'). This is the album Styx had been working up to with the 6 albums previous, a real pinnacle achievement they would never top (certainly not with overrated follow- up 'Pieces Of Eight'). Too bad about the abominable albums that were to come ('Cornerstone' and 'Kilroy Was Here'), but every band falls eventually. (Except King Crimson.)

"The Grand Illusion" has special meaning for me personally. It's not that this is something that musically remarkable but it's more on memory I grew with this album. Simply speaking, this album was released at the time when my colleague and I were having radio station (illegal - oops!) at small city Madiun, East Java, Indonesia. Our vision was only one: to socialize rock music for the city where I was born. So there was no commercial values with the radio - as all monies were collected from our pockets and we bought the material - including the 807 lamp (what is this? Dunno - but according to the engineer we hired it's a major component to build the radio transmission unit). Well, we built the city with rock'n'roll !!!!

This album was one of the albums that we regularly aired for the city. Our favorite whenever I played the disc jockey as well as broadcaster part was "Castle Walls" (track 7). Simple: the track has a very good intro where bass guitar plays its role combined with the melodic keyboard. The vocals are also excellent. What a memorable track! We made it "radio hit" at the time so finally listener requested the song to be aired. Of course by definition this album also bears radio hit commonly known by many music buffs" "Come Sailaway" - which for me personally is not something I like - it's too poppy. The album title track "The Grand Illusion" and "Fooling Yourself" are also something that most people enjoy very much. It's a good album to have. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

Prog, AOR, Hard Rock with keyboards? Who knows, the debate continues.

Styx have always been somewhat of a band without a home, too pompous and nerdy for the hard rock fans, but yet too mainstream for most prog fans. Well Styx has found a home in at least one prog fan's collection, and it can be said that this album, while not for strict prog purist as it requires somewhat of an appreciation of AOR and simpler structures to appreciate, contains some fantastic material with a very original sound. Nothing technical here, but the songs are well crafted and above the average AOR fan's head. Nothing ground breaking, but they are original in their output and not blatantly copying others band's sound as some newer bands heralded as genuine prog seem to pull off free from persecution.

The album basically consists of a ordinary beat keeping rhythm section, hard rocking guitar riffs and fast solos, combined with Deyoung's incredible sense of melody and keyboard work that's all over the place in a good way. The album remains pretty consistent throughout with the Deyoung tracks ("The Grand Illusion" "Castle Walls") being the standouts. The concept of superficiality and image is developed strongly but at the same time not being force fed down your throat.

Not an essential album but a great listen that will impress if you can go in free of some the prog snobiness we're so well known for.

"Life is never what it seems, and every man must meet his destiny"

"The grand Illusion" is widely acknowledged to be both Styx' finest hour, and arguably their most progressive album. It was no coincidence that this, the band's seventh album, was released on 7/7/(19)77. At the time, the band had a policy of crediting songs to the individual who came up with the basic concept but this album, and indeed the individual songs, is very much a team effort.

This was the album which set Styx on their way to the top tier of US AOR bands. Their previous albums had sold reasonably well, although the previous "Crystal ball" had not performed any better than its predecessors, rendering "The grand illusion" something of a make or break album. Fortunately, Styx reached their collaborative and creative peak here. The concept is loosely based around the trappings of fame, several of the songs being autobiographical, at least in part.

You could be forgiven when listening to the opening 30 seconds or so of the title track for thinking Styx had decided to move into Yes territory. Dennis De Young's vocal soon dispels any such thoughts, but the track is certainly far more progressive in sound and structure than the vast majority of the band's output. "Fooling yourself" is dominated by some superb synthesiser, Dennis De Young quickly coming to terms with his new investment. "Superstars" has a different sound and feel to the rest of the album, as it describes the other side of superstardom. "Superstars step right this way, everyone's welcome. We want your dreams, the offer is simple, momentary immortality."

"Come sail away" is the song which propelled Styx into the big time. It was released in edited format as a single, but it was the album track which everyone played anyway. As the lyrics say, "We climbed aboard their spaceship, and headed to the skies". The song has become the band's anthem and the feature spot of their live shows, the upbeat sing-a-long chorus contrasting well with the ballad like verses.

"Miss America" is a cynical but accurate take on the beauty is skin deep theory. "Man in the wilderness" is another highlight, Tommy Shaw's song being developed superbly by the band into a full blown epic. The song describes the contrast between Shaw's on stage highs and personal lows. It was also inspired in part by the transformation in his brother's character as a result of serving in Vietnam. "Castle walls" shows that De Young can come up with a ballad which is not slushy, when he wants to. The superb arrangement includes great guitar work by James Young. The album closes with the brief summary "The grand finale", which ties things together nicely.

Undoubtedly, this is Styx finest, and most progressive hour. Those, like myself, who wonder why Styx are even listed on this site, only have to play this album to be reminded of the reasons. "The Grand Illusion" may still sit at the lighter end of the prog spectrum, but it is packed with superb compositions and performances. In some ways it is frustrating, as it demonstrates that Styx had the potential to carry on from here and take their music to even greater heights.

This is a tough album to review. The music is very good throughout, though not always very progressive. I also have grown so familiar with these songs over the years that it's hard to hear them with a fresh ear. At any rate, my take is that good music needs to come first, and the Grand Illusion certainly delivers. As far as progressiveness? Probably not given the lyrics and consistent instrumentation. On the other hand, nice use of synths and keys, soaring vocal harmonies, and a nice refrain to end the album strike me as progressive. This is progressive rock, just on the low end of the continuum.

The A side contains the familiar classic rock staples. The Grand Illusion and Superstars are fairly straightforward rockers, but the vocal harmonies and dual guitars give Styx a rather unique sound that I appreciate. Fooling Yourself and Come Sail Away are more proggy, taking plenty of time to build to catchy choruses and including plenty of nice synthesizer runs (though of course nothing to scare the Wakemans or Rudesses of the world).

The B side is just as good in my opinion, though given much less notoriety. I like the creative minor key recreation of the Miss America tune, Shaw's surprisingly heartfelt and pensive Man in the Wilderness (his first goal is usually to rock), and the proggy build of Castle Walls (reminds me of Arena here). Then Styx picks up the energy for very brief combination of previous melodies and majestic guitar to finish things off. This relatively simple trick really brings things it all together very nicely for me.

Solid, catchy music played by a surprisingly talented band at its peak, with no major blunders and a slightly progressive sound: that's my definition of an excellent addition. Let's not punish Styx for their later tragic missteps here!

"reflections in the waves spark my memories."

Ask most proggers what they think of Styx and you know what to expect. Certainly the eye roll, possibly the big laugh, perhaps some angry ranting about how bands like this killed the prog rock movement. But don't let them fool you. Many of them, when alone in their car or house, will not change the channel should "Babe" or "Come Sail Away" come on the radio. This was their peak period and these were well crafted pop-rock songs that I know many a fervent progger secretly likes. Don't get me wrong. I don't play Styx albums anymore and like many here probably wonder why we're writing about bands like this at PA. But for what it is, The Grand Illusion is a pretty decent album. Side one was especially successful. While always best as the group unit, Styx's success was mostly due to the exuberance and talent of the cheese rock master himself, Dennis Deyoung. His great voice and exceptional keyboards are what made the Styx sound what it was, which makes it all the more silly that they continued without him. A Styx without Deyoung is about as impotent as a Floyd without Waters. Tommy Shaw? Pfff, yeah right.

As I said, side 1 is as great a side of rock as Styx would accomplish with four monster tracks that work perfectly together, feature exceptional playing and singing, and offer the listener pure musical escapism with heartfelt lyrical messages. These songs speak to an alienated youth or at least I felt so at the time. Grand Illusion told us not to buy into the bull[&*!#] of the culture, a point that could not be more valuable to today's youth as well swimming through some of the garbage out there. Fooling Yourself (perhaps Shaw's finest song bar none) and Superstars seemed to offer a hopeful upbeat appraisal and a slight nudge to "go for it" regardless of how silly your dream may seem. Come Sail Away is pure escapism to me and simply brings me instantly to my childhood, making me feel nostalgia for it, and making me unashamed of the security, naivety and bliss that moment held. Whatever the song was really about was beside the point. More than any other flashback song, CSA puts me flat on my back in the grass, in the summer, staring at the blue sky, laughing with two friends in particular who shaped my youth in very important ways. Here I go with more personal stuff which is not what you want to read. My point is mainly that this collection of songs works as something more than pure radio candy. There is an authenticity here that is understood by many and I think that's why Grand Illusion is cited by some here as Styx finest hour. Side 2 with the exception of "Castle Walls" is not in the same league at all and as such, three stars is the best I can do. But Grand Illusion is still a fine rock album that should be heard.

Contrary to much 70s AOR, Styx music actually stands up pretty well after all these decades. While 30 years have helped put the "Grand Illusion" into perspective - this isn't and wasn't earth shattering - it nonetheless represents Styx at the pinnacle of their achievements. They have figured out how to juxtapose the ballads and rockers, as well as how to combine the two approaches effectively within tracks, such as the brilliant "Come Sail Away" featuring De Young's top vocal performance and a campy space-alien theme. It's done very tongue in cheek yet without insulting its audience. "Far Beyond these Castle Walls" is another winner that synthesizes the lite-prog direction they had been heading, fused with a sense of mystery. Others may not have aged as well, like the overly earnest Fooling Yourself, but even it does not sound bad, just a bit tired. They had not abandoned a penchant for really angry rock like "Miss America", while "Man in the Wilderness" again demonstrates the yin and yang...you might argue with the proportions of each but Styx clearly understood this dichotomy and executed it with panache and with nary a trace of Queen's arrogance. The reality is that "The Grand Illusion" was a pretty good representative of the Styx sound, and, for most on this site, all you need from them.

Now. this is the apex of Styx!! "TheGrand Illusion" is the kind of prog-related melodic hard rock that Styx had struggled for years and years to accomplish through their previous catalogue. and now it became a vinyl reality!! Styx never really intended to become part of the prog movement, but they clearly were interested from the outset in developing a connection with some formal elements and artsy spirits from the genre. This thing that was shown in specific portions of preceding albums is now the highly dominant strategy. "The Grand Illusion" is a slightly conceptual album revolving around the miseries resulting from the advent of consumerism and the contradictions of the American "way of life" as an alleged ideal for the contemporary man. The namesake track states that perfectly, with those monumental amalgamations of synths, organ and dual guitars solidly orchestrated all over the rhythm duo's military vibe. 'Foolin' Yourself' goes to a more bucolic mood although the enthusiasm remains equally explicit. This song sounds like a cleverly ordained mixture of country rock and Wakeman-era Yes: even though this is a Shaw-penned song in which he shows off his soft, precise singing and his acoustic guitars, it is DeYoung who steals the limelight with his elegant keyboard layers and fluid synth solos. 'Superstar' is, to my ears, a frustrated epic: maybe the way it is the way that the band wanted it to be, but I truly believe that this piece could have benefited from a bigger development, perhaps adding a couple of more melodic section instead of heading for the fade-out after DeYoung's soliloquy. Anyway, that is not the problem of 'Come Sail Away', a true Styx staple that shows how well the band could intertwine the diverse spirits of a piano-driven ballad, the stamina of heavy rock with a good melodic component and an extended spacey symphonic rock interlude: more than AOR, this is prog rock from an AOR-ish perspective. The album's second half is actually the most consistent. 'Miss America' grabs you by the neck like only Young's heavy rocking vision can, but here it is augmented by prog-related ornaments during the instrumental sections; Shaw's 'Man in the Wilderness' states a sense of amalgamation similar to that of 'Come Sail Away' (to a degree), only this time the ballad parts are guitar-based and the symphonic element is more pompous and less spacey. And next is. 'Castle Walls', which to my ears is both DeYoung's best composition ever and Styx's best song ever. This piece brings a sense of PF-meets-Yes-meets-ELP with a truly American flavor like Kansas provided for some of their most ambitious compositions in their first 5 studio efforts. Despite the loud nature developed in the harder sections, this piece is obviously introspective, something like a portrait and a celebration of the inner self that still breathes, beats and lives, hidden beneath our material possessions and physical surroundings. The album's closure is a brief joint reprise of music and lyrics from 'Superstar', 'Come Sail Away' and 'The Grand Illusion', completing the idea of our modern society's futility as the intellectual guideline for the album. This album incarnates what Styx has always aimed to be, and things were naturally not meant to be the same after its release and subsequent tour. I won't go further into this, but rate this album as an excellent item for any rock and prog rock collection.

Welcome to the grand illusion!

Almost all previous Styx albums had shown some potential. But with the exception of their second album, the band had never really managed to create something that was without some serious flaws. Styx really took a giant step forward with The Grand Illusion. This album finally fulfilled all that unfulfilled potential of the previous albums and everything worked out for the best this time. If any comparisons between Styx and bands like Queen and Kansas were ever valid or relevant it was only with respect to this particular album. The final guitar solo towards the end of the title track is very much in Brian May's style. However, Styx released their debut album one year before Queen released their debut and two years before Kansas' debut, and Styx had developed their own style during these years, not anywhere near the originality and individuality of Queen or Kansas, but with The Grand Illusion they finally achieved the perfect mixture of their different sides; Hard Rock, Rock 'N' Roll, Pop and Prog. The pure Rock 'N' Roll aspect is weakened here, allowing more space for their progressive and harder rocking tendencies. Which is good!

While there are no weak songs as such, the least good songs are in the middle with Superstars, Come Sail Away and Miss America. But even these songs are better than most songs from previous albums and the fact that they appear in the middle, between a strong opening and a strong ending, makes them more acceptable. The best and most progressive songs are the title track as well as the Castle Walls and Man In The Wilderness. The closer, The Grand Finale, repeats some themes from earlier songs The Grand Illusion, Come Sail Away and Superstars in an intelligent way.

As always with Styx, I have a problem with the vocals which I seem not to be able to connect with somehow. An exception is Man In The Wilderness which I do connect with emotionally.

As many Prog fans and Styx fans alike will tell you, this is the band's finest hour and well worthy of inclusion in any Rock oriented record collection. This is no doubt worth three (and a half) solid stars. Recommended!