Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Styx
Label: A&M Records / Interscope
Release: 1977
Duration: 38:59
Rating: 5/5
»The Grand Illusion« marks the first of two major artistic and commercial peaks in the magnificent career of American arena rock champions Styx. This masterpiece catapulted the cult Chicago outfit, who had spent years trying in vain to crack radio with their unique blend of prog rock, hard rock and pomp, straight into the stratosphere of the biggest rock bands of all time. The album went multi-platinum, and with it Styx finally became a ‘people’s’ band and, on home turf, even the poster boys of the then-emerging melodic rock scene, which ruled the top of the radio charts with the rise of bands like Kansas, Boston, Journey and Foreigner. But »The Grand Illusion« wasn’t just a total commercial triumph. It’s also where Styx finally reached the artistic maturity, polish and stability they’d been chasing, and it let them create some of the best work of their career. The album isn’t a concept record as such, but its title and most of the lyrics deal with life in a corporate, hyper-consumerist society, where an individual’s life is all too often shaped by, almost dependent on, media-produced soaking up of consumer patterns in the style of »what’s good for her and for him«, and the daily donning of socially desirable ‘masks’, all while a person’s individuality steadily falls apart.
Every single track on the album is a classic, starting with the epic title track, ruled by pompous arrangements, marching rhythms, a pulsing bass line and a soaring chorus that charges the listener with positive energy in an instant. The lyrics are a highly intelligent, slightly sarcastic jab at the American ‘culture’ of mass-producing plastic ideals and the hypnotic way people follow these corporate-generated patterns, which, to put it plainly, wash the nation’s brains. According to keyboardist and vocalist Dennis DeYoung (his silhouette on horseback is on the excellent cover), who sings this classic as masterfully as only he can, the lyrics are about an individual’s ability to rise above the unnatural, transparent trend implants that the mass media push every day and society has adopted as its own, and to call forth their true, inner ‘self’. The saddest part of it all is that, unfortunately, nothing has moved an inch since those days, or things are even much worse today.
Guitarist Tommy Shaw arrives with his youthfully rebellious vocals as if on cue on the evergreen »Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)«. Shaw’s lyrics are aimed at Dennis DeYoung, who, back when the band began its commercial rise, was nervously rattled by every little setback and, in Shaw’s eyes, came across as the “angry young man”. Only years later did Shaw realize he’d actually been addressing himself, and so this classic took on a much more introspective meaning. This songwriting gem is marked above all by tasteful guitar harmonies, ‘equipped’ with no fewer than three different keyboard solos and an unexpected tempo change. »Superstar« is the band’s guitar-hyperactive answer, armed with harmonized multi-part vocals, to the first pressures of unexpected fame, which applies not just to them but to everyone for whom sudden fame brought more bad than good. Shaw’s socially engaged vocal tone and wide range are synced incredibly effectively with the melodic bombast of the individual arrangements.
The gorgeous power ballad »Come Sail Away«, which was also released as a single and where DeYoung, born for confessional standards, once again sets the pace on lead vocals and piano, is one of the biggest hits in the band’s story. This incarnation of songwriting perfectionism features a wistful balladic opening section that, with the help of bombastic guitar escapades, morphs into a pompous arena rocker. The hard-rocking »Miss America«, where second guitarist James Young takes the lead vocals for the only time on the album, was, by his own account, written as a satire of the traditional ‘Miss America’ pageant, which, like all similar contests, is of course at odds with common sense. The succession of punchy guitar phrases, led by a phenomenal moog synthesizer solo, is really effective at building a mighty atmosphere. Young, meanwhile, clearly didn’t bother hiding the fact that he more than obviously ‘borrowed’ the central guitar phrase from the legendary Jethro Tull and their classic »Minstrel in the Gallery«.
Next comes a trio of ambient and thematically linked tracks where, after a more or less melodic-rock first half of the album, the band dips back into their prog rock roots. The first is the symphonic »Man in the Wilderness«, which draws parallels with the legendary Uriah Heep and Kansas, as well as some earlier Styx achievements. Tommy Shaw shines again with a bravura vocal performance, especially on the monumental chorus, while the guitar harmonies mesh beautifully with the symphonic textures of DeYoung’s synthesizers.
An even better achievement is the epic-mystical »Castle Walls«, whose intro is stuffed with mighty sacral arrangements, while DeYoung’s vocals bring indescribable melancholy and slowly ratchet up the dramatic mood. The fantasy-historical lyrics are also a kind of tribute to Styx’s roots. The epic grandeur hits boiling point in the pompous chorus, where suitably harmonized multi-part vocals give you goosebumps. A phenomenally structured ARP synthesizer solo then adds even more spice to the already white-hot atmosphere, whose intensity can even be compared with the most pompous creations of the masters of epic and drama like ELP, Genesis and Queen. The triumphant »The Grand Finale« is a short closer where DeYoung delivers the vocal victory lap while Young holds down the central guitar melody. Shaw adds the cherry on top with a short but sweet solo.
»The Grand Illusion« is still the top contender for the best album in the story of the legendary Chicago prog rockers, with its only serious rival being its follow-up, »Pieces of Eight« (1978). This unforgettable masterpiece, a wonderful hybrid of arena rock and prog rock, contains every single element that rightfully carried Styx to the top of the arena rock Parnassus, which is why it still holds a special place in the hearts of all their fans and of the band’s members, current and former.
Lineup
Dennis DeYoung – keyboards, vocals
Tommy Shaw – guitar, vocals
James Young – guitar, vocals
Chuck Panozzo – bass guitar, backing vocals
John Panozzo – drums, backing vocals
Production
Styx
Tracklist
1. The 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. The Grand Finale
