The Grand Illusion the best cd ever?

[Abitaman]

The Grand Illusion is not only my favorite Styx cd, but IMO, the best cd EVER!!!!! I would not grade the cd a 100 (No cd is perfect sorry drew), but, this cd comes closer than any other, so an A+ (I know that is cheating). This cd has no filler, no fluff, no throwaway tracks. Each song stands on it's own, and complements the next.

The song Grand Illusion from start to finish, is a prog rocker, that comes across, demanding your attention. The message of the song is clear too, we are all the same in side, no matter who we are. Awesome song to open a cd with. It marches to beat of it's own drum, and the cd follows.
The live version off Return to Paradise, even blows this one away

Fooling Yourself, blaring keyboards, acoustic guitar, high harmonies, and again the message. A message that runs thru the cd.

Superstar, years ago I did not like this song, I considered the weak link of the cd. But over the years that has changed. Dennis and Tommy are great they way they play this song off. Is Dennis promising the us the power for selling our souls to stardom?

Come Sail Away, favorite song of all time, the song that got me hooked on Styx and rock and roll music. Builds slow and majestically. The middle still blows me away to day. And yes Dreams do come true

Miss America is JY's ride to glory, his best know song. This song has a base line that I love, and Jy's growl does the song justice. DDY does a good job on keys too. (Check out Caught in the Acts version that rocks)

Man in the Wilderness is a very haunting song, that makes you wonder are we really as lost and short sighted as this. The instrumentaion fantastic.

Castle Walls is another haunting song, but were the lyrics in Man..Wilderness made the song haunting, in Castle Walls it is the music. Dennis needs to play like this again. Probably his most outstanding keyboard work anywhere. The thud thud base in the middle that starts up after the wild keyboard ride, still sends chills down my spine.

Grand Finale is short sweet and to the point, great way to close the greatest cd of all time.

This is Styx' finest moment, they would have good moment afterward, but nothing like this. It all fell into place, all the pieces fit together to form a masterpiece, before the egos took over to ruin the team spirit. All the members hit a high here. They worked together!! Concept album or not, the message was clear, everyone is the same, same wants, fears, etc...Prog rock, heavy metal, hard rock, what ever you want to call it, it ROCKED!!

[DarrenUK]

My fave Styx CD's are PO8 and GI both would score in the high 90s

I also love


URIAH HEEP ABOMINOG
SUPERTRAMP BREAKFAST IN AMERICA
GIANT TIME TO BURN
DARE BELIEF
FOREIGNER 4
JOURNEY ESCAPE
LONESTAR ( British band from the 70s/80s) FIRING ON ALL SIX
ASIA DEBUT

[BlackWall]

This probably is the best Styx album from start to finish(with "Paradise Theatre" coming in an extremely close second), but there might be songs on some of the other albums that I enjoy a little more than these. For instance, I think "Come Sail Away" is a great song, but it's just been so overly exposed, I'd rather hear "Born For Adventure" or "Lonely People".

These are all great songs, and Abitaman is right about the message. This album has a set of songs that all run as deep as the title track did on "Crystal Ball", and "Suite Madame Blue" did on "Equinox". The only song that I feel comes close to being a bit of a clunker is "Superstars". That one is just a little too over the top for me, but the rest of the album more than makes up for it.

I remember that when I was first discovering the band, I really didn't care for the theatrical introduction of the title track, but the message really made an impression, along with the gritty guitar after the first chorus.

For "Fooling Yourself", I have to be in the right mood, but if I give it a minute or so, I usually can get into it. I like it once Tommy's guitar kicks in. My favorite version of this is on "Caught In The Act", that version really has some punch.

"Man In The Widerness": This sort of makes me think of "Crystal Ball"; it has a similar meaning, but explores some territory that "Crystal Ball" didn't. I've always felt that Tommy seems to relate a bit more to everyday people and life struggles..

"Castle Walls": Dennis really has some poetic lyrics here. A great eerie, theatrical piece.

"Miss America": I have a friend who absolutely hates this song. For me, I have heard it too much, but I used to really like it back in the day. J.Y. and the music both rock here. I get a kick out of the way J.Y. screeches the chorus on recent live albums.

"Come Sail Away": What really needs to be said here? This is a brilliant song.. I will admit there are times this one comes on the radio and I turn it, but every now and then it can really hit the spot. "I look to the sea, reflections in the waves spark(or is it start? my memory, some happy, some sad, I think of childhood friends and the dreams we had, we lived happily together, so the story goes, but somehow we missed out on the pot of gold, but we'll try, best that we can, to carry on": as I get older, it's amazing how those words really ring true. This is a great one to hear live..

[classicstyxfan]

Grand Illusion is one of my all time favorite CD's....in fact, it was the 1st CD I ever purchased during my conversion from Vinyl to CD.

6 of the 8 songs on this Album are masterpieces, the exceptions being Superstars and The Grand Finale, both of which are still enjoyable.

I remember the very 1st time I heard the opening to TGI, it grabbed me, and I had to hear more.......

Currently, my favorite tracks are MITW and CW...certainly due to oversaturation via FM radio.

Miss America is amongst JY's finest, though I dont feel he does it justice live........this is a song that I would retire from the setlist, and would replace it with These Are The Times.

Imagine if Superstars had been replaced with , say Queen of Spades, and The Grand Finale replaced with Born for Adventure ( moving Castle walls to the final track ) that lineup would rate a 100 to me !!!! as is I would rate this CD a 95 or 96.......right up there with Dark Side of The Moon and Abbey Road as Best Album ever.

[yogi]

GREAT GREAT GREAT ALBUM!!
This was the album that brought me to Styx.

As GREAT as The Grand Illusion Is, EQUINOX to me will ALWAYS be their GREATEST Album.

The Grand Illusion & Pieces Of Eight are about 1/2 step behind Equinox.

[bugsymalone]

Not much I can add to the glowing reviews for this one here. Like Yogi, it ranks behind Equinox for me, but this is a true masterpiece of music, songwriting, voices, musicianship…you name it.

What a great way to open up an album about the ephemeral qualities of stardom and fame than “The Grand Illusion”? I love that Dennis opens his shows with this song since he so fervently believes in its message. I am always amazed at the people who think of this song as some serious opus. It was always meant tongue-in-cheek, a mockery of fame, right down to the exaggerated pronunciation of “motah cah”.

“Foolin’ Yourself” is a Styx classic. I think it is Tommy’s finest overall song – music and lyrics. And the keyboard work in this song by Dennis is not just probably the best work by him but by ANY keyboard player. Certainly ranks in the top 10 keyboard breaks, IMO.

“Superstars” – the weakest track on the album by far. It is what makes this my third favorite Styx album behind Equinox and Pieces of Eight.

“Come Sail Away” has been played to death, and that colors my judgment on it, but it is truly a masterpiece of a song. Apparently all three -- DDY, JY, TS -- had large input into making this song what it finally turned out to be.

“Miss America” is a good rocking song by JY. I think they all came together as a strong unit on this one, too. I like the idea behind it as well.

“Man in the Wilderness” is fine, I like it a lot, but it is not among my favorite Tommy songs.

“Castle Walls”. I do believe this one ranks as my favorite song on this or any Styx recording. Just a true masterpiece of musical arrangement and Dennis’ vocals are spine-chillingly good. I really have a hard time not naming this one when people ask me what my favorite Styx song is. Certainly it and “Suite Madame Blue” for me.

“The Grand Finale” I actually like this musical summary very much. I think it does a great job of closing out this amazing work and tying all the themes together.

Bugsy

[sadie65]

TGI was Styx firing on all cylinders. Each song holds its own and stands up well.

This was the first Styx album I heard in it's entirety and I remember coming away from the experience thinking I had just heard something truly magical.

Perhaps Superstars sounds a little dated now...but I tend to put it into perspective as to what they were saying.

So much to genuinely love about this album (and for me...the best cover art of all of their albums).

[ek88]

I pretty much echo everything that's been said so far. Styx' best album, in my opinion, and probably one of the best albums of all time, as well.