MR

i was wondering what are thoughts on the cornerstone album? i think this is the album that took styx from a hard rock band into a pop type group.i think certain songs are good but i think they should've rocked more on it.paradise was a great one but then kilroy is where it ended for a while.

Yes I like it. I even like "First Time". I think Tommy did some great writing here as well. Only thing I don't like is "Eddie".

I DON'T like it as much as GI, POE, PT or even KWH for that matter....but I still like it.
Contrary to what a lot of people think, I applaud Styx (Dennis) for going in a slightly different direction. I think had this been a carbon copy of POE or GI, the public would have gotten tired very quickly and Styx would have gone down in history as a band like .38 Special or Foghat (sorta one dimensional). Besides I probably would have never discovered them.

I can still remember roller skating to "Babe" in the 7th grade....ah memories.

Cinj

My answer: Yes. I like the Cornerstone album.

Bugsy

Zan wrote:For the most part, although I think it's the weakest of the albums from the glory years.

Exactly. I never understood why people said this was the best of those. Music direction aside (it's not like DDY was the only one writing non rockers here ...), it's definitely ok to listen to, but not high in the rotation for me.

VERY VERY good POP album.

I think Lights, Love In The Midnight and Borrowed Time are EXCEPTIONAL songs.

When I bought the album I had not heard any of the songs at that time. I was mystified looking at the label on the plastic as it read "Including the hit BABE". I knew right then something was different but was not ready for what I later heard. When I first put that record on my turntable, Lights came on (the song) and I seriously thought something was wrong with my stereo. I was standing there like a dopey teenager with bell bottoms and hair that is long gone, adjusting knobs, trying to get more of that power out of my speakers that I heard on my other Styx albums. Soon, I realized nothing was wrong with my stereo, it was the band I loved greatly when first hearing Grand Illusion and then Pieces of Eight in the summer of '78 that had changed. I was at first disappointed but being a rabid Styx fan, of course I grew to like songs off of that album. I rarely listen to it these days and I never listen to Babe or First Time. I find something good in Lights, Why Me, Boat On The River, Borrowed Time and Love In The Midnight but not to the level of my favorite Styx songs.

Little did I realize at the time how this record would affect those who made it and those who listened. I'm glad I didn't know of any of the troubles in Styx back in my youth. There are many days now I wish the same.

I think "Lights" & "Borrowed Time" are very strong live tunes. I was always fascinated with "Boat On The River," and I'm one of the few around these parts who actually digs "Eddie."

In fact, like most of the individual songs out of context, but all strung together, I find that too much of the Cornerstone vibe is....well, too much.

stabbim wrote:I think "Lights" & "Borrowed Time" are very strong live tunes. I was always fascinated with "Boat On The River," and I'm one of the few around these parts who actually digs "Eddie."

In fact, like most of the individual songs out of context, but all strung together, I find that too much of the Cornerstone vibe is....well, too much.

Love in the Midnight, all the way, baby.

Zan wrote:

stabbim wrote:I think "Lights" & "Borrowed Time" are very strong live tunes. I was always fascinated with "Boat On The River," and I'm one of the few around these parts who actually digs "Eddie."

In fact, like most of the individual songs out of context, but all strung together, I find that too much of the Cornerstone vibe is....well, too much.

Love in the Midnight, all the way, baby.

Aka "The Chicks Look Better At Closing Time."

Yeah, that one's cool too. Don't care for the lyrics much, but the music and arrangement are great. One of the few times the softer production on the album works in its favor.

Do I like Cornerstone?
Compared to most of their albums...? No.
Compared to all the cd's out there ,it is good.
It was the album that broke my heart,when I realised that there would never be another Equinox,and compared to GI and PO8,this was like,ehh ,a wet limp noodle,with no sauce.
OK,I like 3 songs,Borrowed time,Love in the midnight and Lights.

gr8dane wrote:It was the album that broke my heart,when I realised that there would never be another Equinox,and compared to GI and PO8,this was like,ehh ,a wet limp noodle,with no sauce.

I know where you're coming from on that, and it makes me glad that I discovered most of the A&M albums in retrospect so I didn't have to go through it myself. Being a fan of a band with a varied history to pick and choose from is one thing, but being a fan during that history and having to watch them change into something you don't like is another.

I loved Cornerstone, i don't listen to it on a daily basis though.

Love in the Midnight and Borrowed Time are my favorites off of the album.

I enjoyed Babe and Eddie wasn't too shabby but it ranks last on the album for me. First Time was okay and Boat on the River was different but excellent!! Why Me, Never Say Never, Lights, it never ends! I love it.

I DO like Cornerstone. I really appreciate the diversity they've shown over their career, and different is not always bad, it's just... different. Like most of the rest of you, I missed the punch that was delivered with GI and PoE... but it didn't detract from my enjoyment of something new. Love in the Midnight, Borrowed Time, and even Eddie were probably favorites for me... and who can't relate to "Why Me?"

I actually really do like 'Cornerstone'. Maybe not as much as some others, but I still think it's a good album. For me, it never mattered that the sound of the band had changed; in fact, it was something that I thought was cool, that the same band was capable of diversity. In retrospect I really do think it's the album with a few weaker tracks - "Never Say Never", "First Time" and "Eddie" - but none of them are terrible, they just aren't the band at its best. But I really like the rest of the album, particularly "Lights", "Why Me", "Boat on the River" and "Love in the Midnight".


Sterling

I never liked it.

I never liked it.

Cornerstone was a radial change for me when I first heard it. But my buddy played it EVERY day and it eventually grew on me. I still skip Babe and First Time, but Borrowed Time and Love in the Midnite are my 2 favorite Styx Songs of all time. And I am one of those rare people, I guess, that actually likes the song Eddy. I have always loved JY's voice and guitar playing. I guess I am in the minority here!

I loved it. I even thougt Eddie was one of JY's better tunes. Borrowed Time is a classic. Never say never was an underated tune.

stabbim wrote:

Zan wrote:

Love in the Midnight, all the way, baby.

Aka "The Chicks Look Better At Closing Time."

Subtitled "Just Don't Marry Them Or You'll Wind Up With Four Separate Alimony Payments That Will Keep Me On the Road Until 2035."

stabbim wrote:

Zan wrote:

stabbim wrote:I think "Lights" & "Borrowed Time" are very strong live tunes. I was always fascinated with "Boat On The River," and I'm one of the few around these parts who actually digs "Eddie."

In fact, like most of the individual songs out of context, but all strung together, I find that too much of the Cornerstone vibe is....well, too much.

Love in the Midnight, all the way, baby.

Aka "The Chicks Look Better At Closing Time."

That is why you should always have a bottle of vodka hidden under your pillow.
So when you wake up,you can inhale that and she will look just as great as the night before.