"This Is STYX"....what's your pick

[masque]

let's play a game. let's say you ran into someone that had never heard our beloved band and you had just once chance to play this person ONE song to turn them into a fan........what song would you pick and why? it's ok to not only list your overall list of choices but you MUST narrow that list down to your final song.

here's mine;

COME SAIL AWAY

why? this song has it all.......beautiful/iconic piano intro with FABULOUS vocal performance by ddy. lyrics full of inspiration, thought, hope and remembrance.

proggy middle section

upbeat big guitars during the chorus........end verses are stellar and has great lead work by JY and tommy both. tommy's vocal harmony on the chorus represents a bit of what they do vocally, although they have other songs that would have better represented them vocally overall.

the song is very sonically accessible to the listener while not being just a straight forward pop song.

possible other choices;

fooling yourself
grand illusion
renegade
the best of times
lady
crystal ball
suite madame blue

songs off the "beaten path" that could also be picked but riskier choices;

lights
castle walls
great white hope
rocking the paradise

[yogi]

Lady would be my choice.

It is short, and is the ULTIMATE power ballad. Maybe the first power ballad EVER.

Its a song that grabs you and never lets go. I have a lot of friends that are country music fans and they even like Lady.

Its pretty much a PERFECT song.

Dennis got it right the first time.

[Toph]

Both are great choices. Totally agree Yogi about Lady - I think it is first power ballad ever. Was there really one before it? Some people like to say Open Arms or Babe or Keep On Lovin You were the first ones, but they were all preceded by Lady.

But I agree with Masque in that the one song that really elaborates and defines Styx is "Come Sail Away"

Why? It contains (almost) everything that defines the band in one song. It is truly an eclectic song.

Think about it - the first half of the song is a straight ballad. You want more of this? Go listen to "Babe" "Show Me The Way" "Best of Times" "Don't Let It End" "Paradise" "Boat On the River"

The rocking guitar intro to the chorus - You want more of this sound? Go to Renegade, Blue Collar Man, or Grand Illusion

Strong Chorus harmonies - You want more of this? See Rockin the Paradise, Show Me The Way, Blue Collar Man, etc. etc. (millions of these)

In depth, bordering on spiritual lyrical content - You want more of this? See Show Me The Way, Sing For The Day, Man In The Wilderness, Suite Madame Blue

Proggy bridge - You want more of this? See Madame Blue, Castle Walls, Miss America, Man In the Wilderness, Snowblind

Guitar heaviness (last chorus and fade) - You want more of this? See Renegade, Grand Illusion, Queen of Spades, Borrowed Time, Snowblind, Miss America, Half Penny, etc. etc.

In short, in my opinion, CSA represents all the diverse styles of Styx better than anything. I think that is universally liked no matter what "aspect" of the band you enjoy. The ballad people like it, the rockers like it, and the pop people like.

It just works!

The only "sound" of Styx it does not cover is the heavy Tommy acoustic guitar mixed with synthesizer aspect. I'm thinking Foolin Yourself, Crystal Ball, Lights, Sing For The Day, She Cares, Never Say Never, Waiting for our Time, etc.etc. Not sure what song best represents that "sound"? Fooling Yourself.

Of course nothing really represents Roboto, but that is granted, an outlier.

[masque]

i agree with all of that toph and i would have to say that the aggressive acoustic side to my ears would be best represented by fooling yourself.

[Kilroy1983]

COME SAIL AWAY (a perfect Styx song)

[Boomchild]

I would have to agree with others here that CSA is the best choice. While it's not one of my favorites it does seem to represent what they were about as a whole.

[Toph]

i agree with all of that toph and i would have to say that the aggressive acoustic side to my ears would be best represented by fooling yourself.

Either that or Lights. I think a really good, underappreciated song - great Stygian harmonies. If I were ever to talk to DDY and or the rest of the band about their past, I would ask him why the hell Lights wasn't released as the 2nd single off Cornerstone. Think about that Babe followed by Lights would have been a #1 followed by maybe another #1 or at least a top 10. Tommy had been the voice of the band on the previous album and this would capitalize on that plus give them cred at rock radio. Then they could be allowed, if they desired, to release First Time as the third single and then move on to another Tommy song (BOTR) as a 4th single. It would have made for a huge album.

[Boomchild]

Either that or Lights. I think a really good, underappreciated song - great Stygian harmonies. If I were ever to talk to DDY and or the rest of the band about their past, I would ask him why the hell Lights wasn't released as the 2nd single off Cornerstone.

I never thought about it before but I think this is a good observation. I think the tensions created over selecting First Time as the follow up single screwed the pooch on making the best choice as the follow up single for this album.

[gr8dane]

As Equinox is THE Styx album,and whatever after ,was a letdown compared for me,
the ultimate Styx song is on this album.
It's between Lorelei and Suite Madame Blue,but the latter takes the price.

[Toph]

As Equinox is THE Styx album,and whatever after ,was a letdown compared for me,
the ultimate Styx song is on this album.
It's between Lorelei and Suite Madame Blue,but the latter takes the price.

I'll give you Suite Madame Blue for the more "progressive" / harder side of Styx. In a way, It is a preclude to Come Sail Away with some similarities but less "poppy" but does have some similar refrains - a softer beginning, but not necessarily a ballad-type beginning like CSA, a harder sound earlier on, the bridge is much harder with lots of heavy guitars. Very crunchy. CSA's guitars are more "restrained" and built for the pop audience.

Suite Madame Blue really has a number of various movements within it. The slower 12 string guitar verses for the first minute in a half, the harder, yet restrained guitars over the next 1/4 of the song with solid harmonies for the chorus. Then the progressive middle which turns into some of the most shredding guitars ever produced on a Styx album. Then the "America" refrain with the guitars calming down just enough to get us back to the original chorus to a slowing momentum and hard stop ending (vs. a typical pop fade out like CSA).

If I'm talking to a harder rock fan or a progressive music fan, I may very well be pulling out SMB.

[yogi]

I agree with Topher 100% on his observation about the song Lights being release #2 off of Cornerstone and also how he broke down Suite Madame Blue.

Very good and insightful.

[RPM]

Come Sail Away ! ......Lady is also a great choice, but IMHO is second.

[masque]

i agree with all of that toph and i would have to say that the aggressive acoustic side to my ears would be best represented by fooling yourself.

Either that or Lights. I think a really good, underappreciated song - great Stygian harmonies. If I were ever to talk to DDY and or the rest of the band about their past, I would ask him why the hell Lights wasn't released as the 2nd single off Cornerstone. Think about that Babe followed by Lights would have been a #1 followed by maybe another #1 or at least a top 10. Tommy had been the voice of the band on the previous album and this would capitalize on that plus give them cred at rock radio. Then they could be allowed, if they desired, to release First Time as the third single and then move on to another Tommy song (BOTR) as a 4th single. It would have made for a huge album.

toph i agree with you......lights is one of the best songs they ever had and was plenty capable of being a radio hit......the latter years of their history could have been different if they had done what you suggested!

[Baron Von Bielski]

I think tracks like Suite Madame Blue, Come Sail Away, Man in the Wilderness and Castle Walls give you all the elements of true, epic Styx material. The formula if you will. Start off slow and melodic all the while building to something heavier and hard hitting, but still demonstrating progressive overtones. This is Styx to me. Guitars, keys, drums and amazing vocals. I would probably go with Suite Madame Blue, but without Tommy present it's hard for me to select that over one where he is. So I'd choose Come Sail Away. It has it all. Shows the strength of all members of the band as well as being progressive, hard rocking, melodic and anthemic. It's not my favorite Styx song, not even my favorite on GI, but that wasn't the game.