Listened to 2 Styx LP's while cleaning house:
"The Grand Illusion" (1977) was OK (the hits are the best cuts, DeYoung's keyboards are mixed too hig and they sound very cheesy and dated)
"Pieces of Eight" (1978) is pretty good though (meatier production, better songs -- interestingly NO HITS BY DeYOUNG on this LP) . . . . yup, this the one to start with.
Also interesting that I never realized they had such prole-consciousness:
"America spells competition!
Join us in our blind ambition!
Get yourself a brand new motor car!"
. . . from "The Grand Illusion", which is a pretty great song that combines ELP's "Karn Evil 9" and "The Endless Enigma" into one tune that's probably better than either of those. The lyrics may not be poetry, but at least they make sense and are about something vs. Greg Lake nonsense.
The anthemic title track to "Pieces of Eight" is another anti-capitalist screed. (Chicago is a big union town ya know.)
|