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 , seven was the magic number. The Chicago AOR band’s seventh album, , 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 , 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 swagger and dash.
And it’s difficult to ignore , a song brought back into focus by constant repetition on . 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.
. "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 , which was released one year earlier, shedding .