The Grand Illusion
Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)
Superstars
Come Sail Away
Miss America
Man in the Wilderness
Castle Walls
The Grand Finale
For Styx, seven was the magic number. The Chicago AOR band’s seventh album, The Grand Illusion, became the first of four consecutive triple-platinum albums that established Styx as one of America’s biggest rock acts. As guitarist James ‘JY’ Young says: “Seven is seen as a lucky number in America, and it sure proved lucky for us.”
While the band may have started out as a poor copy of Yes, by the time this monster appeared they were the grand masters of pomp. It’s the epitome of the genre: bristling with melody, good musicianship and just the right touch of arrogance.
The confidence in the songs is almost overwhelming, as the title track and Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man) swagger and dash. And it’s difficult to ignore Come Sail Away, a song brought back into focus by constant repetition on South Park.
While some of the band’s other albums are almost as good, this is the record that really marked out Styx’s territory.
Every week, Album of the Week Club listens to and discusses the album in question, votes on how good it is, and publishes our findings, with the aim of giving people reliable reviews and the wider rock community the chance to contribute.
Other albums released in July 1977
- I Robot - The Alan Parsons Project
- Going for the One - Yes
- On Stage - Rainbow
- My Aim Is True - Elvis Costello
- Terrapin Station - Grateful Dead
- Knnillssonn - Harry Nilsson
- Live! In the Air Age - Be-Bop Deluxe
- Moody Blue - Elvis Presley
- Radios Appear - Radio Birdman
- The Rambler - Johnny Cash
- Simple Things - Carole King
- The Whole Thing's Started - Air Supply
What they said...
"Shaw's induction into the band has clearly settled, and his guitar work, along with James Young's, is full and extremely sharp where it matters most. Even the songwriting is more effluent than Crystal Ball, which was released one year earlier, shedding their mystical song motifs for a more audience-pleasing lyric and chord counterpoise." (AllMusic)
"Grand Illusion sallies forth with cuts that encompass the rage of heavy metal and the lugubrious smoothness of the “progressive” haze. The most dynamic song on the album, Miss America, simply reeks of misogynistic misdirection. What Styx thinks is a compliance with current feminist fashion turns out to be nothing more than a spiteful acquiescence to sexual bigotry and impotence." (Rolling Stone)
"The Grand Illusion is a veritable who’s who of highly successful Styx songs, which makes it an excellent introductory album for anyone interested in diving into the band’s intimidatingly long discography... this record might be viewed as not only the group’s masterwork, but also the catalyst that led to one of the most fruitful five year periods in the history of rock 'n' roll." (Sputnik Music)
What you said...
Andrew Bramah: The best Styx album and a perfect example of pomp rock in all its glory. Sounds very "overdone" nowadays with its heavily produced sound. Very much of it's time.
Nigel Mawdsley: Superb production, but I always found Styx a little boring. Having said that, I do like the 'harder-edged' material like Miss America. I also love the 1990 album Edge Of The Century when Glen Burtnick added a lot more 'fire' to the band.
Edge Of The Century would have got a 9/10 from me, but The Grand Illusion, like most Styx albums, gets a 6/10.
Bill Griffin: The fourth of five stellar efforts from the band, there isn't a weak track on it (Babe mars the fifth, but that's a different album.) I don't remember if this was the first Styx album I heard, but being in my high school's radio club and program manager for the FM station, I had access and listened to all of the earlier singles.
Jeff Perry: Oh man, you got me in the feels with this one! My sister used to play this record along with Supertramp, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors and Black Sabbath. She introduced me to music other than what my mom and dad were playing, and it shaped what I listen to today. Although all three are no longer here, I still have this record and remember listening to this with my sister so fondly.
As far as the actual music, there are three very strong songs (Fooling Yourself, Come Sail Away and the title track) but the others didn't grab me. I'll give it an 8.5 for music, and a 3 for the great memories.
Mike Canoe: Listening to The Grand Illusion this week reminds me of how much I used to love Styx when I was in middle school/high school. I had five of the six albums from their glory run from 1977 to 1983. I was a cassette guy but I actually bought The Grand Illusion used for super cheap on 8-track. If I remember correctly, it was Castle Walls that was split in twain with the fadeout and dreaded *kerchunk* in the middle of the song. If you know, you know.
The truth is, I still love this album. It ticks a lot of proverbial boxes for me: Three different singers, oodles of vocal harmonies, synthesizers sounding like synthesizers, big and ostentatious cathedrals of sound.
The use of the word "cathedral" is intentional. While the lyrics are universally secular, there is a grandiose pageantry to the music that makes everything sound and feel bigger. Superstars is essentially a mash note to groupies but it sounds like it's sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Angels turn out to be <spoiler alert> aliens in the glorious Come Sail Away. And, like me, Styx sure do love their metaphors, used here mostly to show the schism between rock star fantasy and music biz reality.
A special kudo to James Young, who never seems to come up in guitar hero conversations but can power chord and solo like an amp champ. And his snarling, sneering Miss America is a nice contrast to the sweeter sounds of singers Tommy Shaw and Dennis DeYoung.
Gus Schultz: I never really knew much about Styx before this LP, with the exception of Lady, which kinda didn’t appeal too much to me. I first heard this album along with Rush's A Farewell to Kings the same night and was immediately impressed by both. I ran out and bought both together as soon as I could and was hooked by TGI and the band. The harmonies, the grand sound of the synthesizers and guitars of Young and Shaw. It sounded just a little different than want most bands were doing at the time and the girls liked it too which was a bonus. There isn’t really an unlistenable track on the album, with a good blend of rockers to gentler melodies.I think Come Sail Away kinda became the Gen X version of Stairway to Heaven at many high school dances.
I have Equinox to Pieces of Eight in my collection, with the latter coming a close second to The Grand Illusion as my fave. They lost me when Cornerstone was released as I just didn’t find it or other releases after appealing to my changing musical tastes then. TGl I think was Styx at their musical and creative best and worthy of being in one’s collection, but be warned it may bring back some not-so-great high school memories for some!
Gary Claydon: Arguably Styx's best album. Well constructed pomp which is hard enough in places to offset the more pedestrian elements and from a period when the band's theatricality had yet to spill over into pretension. Overall, The Grand Illusion has always been an enjoyable listen. Released on 7/7/77 so it's easy to guess my score for this one. That's right, 6/10.
Brian Carr: I’ve known this album for most of my life, and while many well-traveled classic rock songs reach the “no more!” status, The Grand Illusion by Styx never has and I imagine never will. Even the ubiquitous Come Sail Away is still welcome to me. It just seems to strike the right balance between JY and Tommy rock tunes and the bombast of Dennis DeYoung.
Chris Elliott: There's an old expression about the UK and US being separated by the same language. It really does apply to the whole FM rock thing.
We had no genre radio before the internet and just one national chart/pop station. Aerosmith never made UK radio before Run DMC, let alone Styx. In their entire career they've barely touched the UK album charts and only Babe ever really touched the radio.
I have never got the appeal of pomp rock, and this bored the pants off me quickly. It's just dull, an album of whiny 'I'm famous' songs dressed up in pretension. It did make me listen to Showaddywaddy again, which was a lot more fun.
Gino Sigismondi: You know how sometimes a certain band/album/song doesn't resonate until you connect it with another medium? That was Come Sail Away for me (and no...it's not because of South Park!).
Around the turn of the century, the greatest TV show ever debuted on NBC. Freaks and Geeks came and went before a full season was even completed, and even though the ratings were low, the soundtrack was 100% on point, to the point where it didn't get released on DVD until they had secured all the music rights.
The outstanding pilot episode concludes at the homecoming dance, where the lead geek, Sam (a very young John Frances Daly) finally screws up the courage to ask the out-of-his-league cheerleader crush, Cindy, to dance with him. He picks this moment because it has to be a slow dance, and to the sweet strains of Dennis DeYoung's vocals, Sam guides Cindy to the dance floor just at the moment the song kicks into overdrive. It's too late, he's trapped!
During the interlude section, his older sister Lindsey (Linda Cardellini), forced to attend the dance by hippie guidance counsellor Mr. Rosso, decides to invite special needs student Eli - whom she had inadvertently offended earlier - to dance with her. He accepts, and as Lindsey strips off her dad's army jacket and joyfully bops back and forth with Eli, the camera pulls backs to a wide shot of 1980s suburban teens in their high school gym while Come Sail Away fades away. Gives me a lump in my throat every time...
Anyway, sorry about that, but I pretty much laughed off Styx until that episode aired. What is it about American prog acts that always seemed to edge on this side of goofy when compared to their British counterparts? Musically, Chicago's finest prog-rockers are up to snuff, with complex arrangements, sky-high vocal harmonies, and keyboard wizardry to spare. But lyrics like "There the battle raged like hell, and every dove had lost its will to fly" are just plain silly.
That said, side one is unimpeachable. The lead-off title track is prescient in its observation of our modern obsessions with celebrity culture, Fooling Yourself and Superstars rock harder with stellar vocals from Tommy Shaw, and of course, Dennis DeYoung's tour de force closes out the side. The quality dips somewhat on side two, but overall, The Grand Illusion represents the moment with Styx fully becomes STYX. But for my money, it's still Pieces of Eight any day of the week. 8/10
Mark Herrington: Styx at their best , conjure up the image of a hushed theatre, heavy curtains drawing back as their show begins. If you’ve a mind to it, you sit back, dispel all belief, and let their Rock theatrics and Fantasy themes wash all over you.
Dennis DeYoung, centre stage in The Grand Illusion, carries much of the production along with his distinctive vocals and range. The opening act, the title track, ushers us in with its clarion call, Dennis DeYoung on vocals, followed by Fooling Yourself’ and Superstars awash with synth, and Tommy Shaw on vocals.
Then the album really picks up with the four-song core, kicking off with their hit Come sail Away, Dennis DeYoung back again. Then Miss America bulldozes in with a storming riff and James Young’s harder edge on vocals. The momentum continues with Man In The Wilderness, where Tommy Shaw returns. Castle Walls begins with a slow burn that gradually picks up pace, with Dennis DeYoung centre stage. The album closes out with – what else – The Grand Finale, and the curtain drops.
We stagger out into the foyer, blinking and feeling the sugar rush of the Styx album we’ve just listened to. Often cited as their definitive album, this is certainly a firm fan favourite, and receives a good score from me.
Evan Sanders: This was one of my favorite albums from my teen years, and I even wrote a school essay about Miss America, while helping a friend write his essay on the title song. This album is probably the best balance Styx achieved with stadium rock (e.g. the title song), progressive rock (e.g. Man In The Wilderness, Castle Walls), and radio-friendly pop/rock (e.g. Fooling Yourself, Come Sail Away).
Most of the songs are strong, although things do start dragging after Miss America. And unlike the concepts that Styx would try later in their career with Paradise Theatre and Kilroy Is Here, they are not as in your face on The Grand Illusion, where many of the songs are about disillusionment with image. This is the Styx album I continue to listen to. 8/10.
John Davidson: I remember borrowing Styx's Equinox from the local library and it became a bit of a guilty pleasure with its distinct pomp rocking style, but the guitars had enough crunch to outweigh the softer moments.
Crystal Ball was limp by comparison, and The Grand Illusion was something of a return to form even if it wasn't quite as good as Equinox. Their next album Pieces Of Eight was the real crossover hit. Rock songs you could play at parties and the girls wouldn't wander off.
I like The Grand Illusion well enough. Some of the tracks plod a bit and the more keyboard/vocal harmony there is in a song the less I like it. But when the guitars take centre stage it's great. The best track is Miss America.
Philip Qvist: My first introduction to Styx was their 1979 album Cornerstone, and the hits from it - Babe and (the big hit everywhere but the US) Boat On The River; followed by their Paradise Theatre album. I was also aware of songs such as Lady and Come Sail Away, so I was familiar with the band without being a huge fan of them.
As my music education started to grow, I was made aware of their Grand Illusion album but, apart from listening to the odd song from it such as the title track, I never got around to listening to it in full - until today.
I always thought that Styx was a balancing act between the pomp and soft rock sensibilities of Dennis DeYoung and the harder rock sensibilities of JY Young and Tommy Shaw, with the Panozzo Brothers going with the flow. To their credit, the band managed to pull off - until they released the polarizing Kilroy Was Here. The Grand Illusion is no exception; with the perfect compromise of ballads and rock songs.
I don't think there is a single dud on it, and there is something on the album that will appeal to everyone. My highlights are the title track, Miss America, Come Sail Away and Man In The Wilderness. It's not the greatest Pomp Rock album (that honour goes to Kansas's Leftoverture), but it still warrants a high mark from me. A great choice this week.
Greg Schwepe: Having listened to The Grand Illusion at least a million times, this is yet again an easy review as it is something I have completely committed to memory. And with the added bonus of seeing them perform it live in its entirely, I know every mood, time change, concept, and feeling this album conveys.
When I think of the term “Pomp Rock” this is exactly the band and album that defines it. This is the perfect marriage of harmonies, plaintive acoustic and ripping electric guitars, prog-style keyboards, a little bit of a recurring theme among the songs, and sing-along choruses, all mashed into 39 minutes of music. And the really cool fact about this album is that it is the band’s 7th album released on 7/7/77. How’s that for numerology? Guess there might have been some stress at the record pressing plant to get this done and to the record stores on that date.
Styx’s songs and albums have always been somewhat of a lightning rod for fans, critics, and heck, even the band itself. For every home run (spoiler: I really like this one) like The Grand Illusion, they also push us away a little with a too-syrupy single (Babe from Cornerstone), and then a whole polarizing concept album (Kilroy Was Here). The latter even caused a lot of friction within the band. Just watch the Behind The Music episode for all the sordid details. But in the case of The Grand Illusion, this was “the one” that made its biggest impact and the band’s setlist is chockful of songs from this album to this day.
The title track opens the album and yes, you get that “grandiose” feeling with Dennis DeYoung’s vocals and keyboards. And my favourite line towards the end of the song; “We made the grade and wonder, who the hell we are…” See, life’s not all it’s cracked up to be.
What follows next is to this day an FM radio staple in Tommy Shaw’s Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man” with its bouncy acoustic intro and “just try not to sing along” verse and chorus.
The brief Superstars comes next and is the gateway to the side one closer Come Sail Away. The piano intro eventually gives way to grinding guitars, “just try not to sing along” verse and chorus #2, and the ironic sci-fi twist ending; “I thought that they were angels, but much to my surprise…”
Side two enters with James “JY” Young vocal and the hardest rocker on the album, Miss America, telling the tale that winning that sash is not all that it’s cracked up to be.
What follows next might be my favourite song on the album, Man In The Wilderness. Tommy Shaw is pondering about where he sits in the big ol’ world of ours. The acoustic intro segues to a wicked wah-wah fest towards the end. Tommy and JY are a formidable guitar duo. My guess is that this one became a bit of a favourite, as it stayed in the setlist for a couple of tours after it was played every night on the Grand Illusion/Pieces Of Eight tour.
Castle Walls finds Dennis DeYoung again on lead vocals and you get a little mythology vibe with this one. Fittingly, The Grand Finale brings this to a close and you enjoy a little reprise of some of the themes presented during the album.
The Grand Illusion is a Desert Island Disc for me. This is one that I can (and have!) listened to over and over again. This was one of those bands that by initially just seeing the albums in the record store I thought “Hmm…I bet I’d like them.” A co-worker at my HS job was totally into them and after borrowing all the Styx vinyl he had at the time, I was hooked.
Since this album was released back in the vinyl age, it is sequenced with a distinct side one and side two, with much thought given as to how the album is laid out. Kind of bookending the album. After a show this summer, I have now seen Styx 14 times and have heard cuts from this album at every show. 9 out of 10 for me on this one. Play it three more times today? Sure!
Final score: 8.49 (102 votes cast, total score 866)
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