Listening Party - Crystal Ball

[Toph]

Hot Damn, Tommy Shaw! The young Alabama singer/songwriter/guitarist makes his Styx recording debut on Crystal Ball and takes the band into yet further directions and expands its variety. Styx discovers the acoustic guitar and the harmonies get richer and stronger. Shaw brings three very different tunes to the table in his debut with Styx: an acoustic folk driven turned rock song in the title track, a pop ditty in Mademoiselle, and some stripped down southern rock/blues on Shooz. DDY admits that he was not fully engaged in this album due to personal reasons. As a result, some claim that CB is a step backwards after Equinox. Was it or is it more of a transitional stage for the band? You be the judge. Give Crystal Ball a listen....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT9-AGILFBM

[masque]

I couldnt wait......I actually listened to this one already earlier today in anticipation of this thread.

here is where things go way up for me. Yes, adding TS to the band was a huge boost in my opinion. You add TS along with JY and DDY being just more seasoned and arguably hitting their prime in songwriting and STYX is becoming a bonafide juggernaut of a band to deal with.

this album for me is one of my all time faves......I'm not going to claim that it's actually better than GI or POE, but in many ways it ranks right up there with them for me....to me this album arguably contains the best TS material he ever contributed......all three of his songs are in the top echelon of Styx songs, especially with Crystal Ball and Mademoiselle. Shooz is more of a basic rocker but there is never a time I dont want to listen to it......it doesnt have the depth of BCM or Renegade but I still enjoy it a great deal.

The other important factor for me is that "Put Me On" is literally my second favorite JY song only behind "Great White Hope". I love everything about this tune and just when you think it cant get any better here comes the super cool bridge with flat the beautiful contrast of DDY's voice during the bridge and then it comes back in rocking for the outro.

Now I know that toph mentioned DDY's claim that he wasnt fully engaged in this album and while that may be true to how DDY feels, it certainly isnt how I feel about it. he co-wrote Mademoiselle which is easily in my top 10 Styx songs. This Old Man is just beautiful and haunting. His redo of Clair de lune is still one of the best version I have ever heard. Then how can anybody not love Ballerina.......this song represents the side of DDY that I like the best. Beautiful, piano driven rock song. and the long outro dueling guitar solos are perfection.

The only song that I find myself at times not fully enjoying is "Jennifer".......I dont think it's a bad song at all, but just OK most of the time.....there have been times I have really enjoyed that song alot, but compared to the rest of the album it is by far the weakest tune on there to my ears.

If you replaced Jennifer with any DDY or JY song from Equinox then I could possibly say that CB may actually be my favorite Styx album.......certainly in the top 3. But even with Jennifer it still is up in the elite air of being one of my favorite albums from Styx.

Overall score for Crystal Ball, the album........... 8.7

[ztyxlynne]

Ok. Now the train starts rollin! Put Me On is a great song to start the album,great song from JY. Tommy Shaw gave this band a kick in the ass it needed. And with Dennis producing damn! I know its says produced by Styx but Dennis said he did the production. I also love Shoz! Clair de lune one of my favorite classical songs. Between the classical and theatrical overtones of this band is why they are my favorite. This old man is haunting I agree but great! I give the album a 8.5. I wish they would do this album live also.

[ztyxlynne]

Also by the way. From what I remember on the album. The inner record sleeve had a short bio about each member. Does anyone remember that or have a picture? Its not on the CD and I don't know where my old record is.

[Cassie May]

Also by the way. From what I remember on the album. The inner record sleeve had a short bio about each member. Does anyone remember that or have a picture? Its not on the CD and I don't know where my old record is.

"Hot damn, Tommy Shaw! Welcome the newest Stygian, who expanded the group’s all-Chicago cast when he joined them after the completion of the previous album “Equinox." Tommy is a native of the deepest Alabama. His presence was immediately felt by Styx when he toured with them only days after his first rehearsal. Tom was well prepared for it, however, having devoted 18 of his 23 years to the guitar, working continuously, waiting patiently for his opportunity. His impact was apparent onstage, immediately adding a refreshing dimension to the live Styx performance. He is a strong communicator onstage, despite his pixieish physical proportions, which is contrasted by J.Y.’s booted height. His desire to succeed is something shared with the rest of the band, and his talent will be an invaluable asset to Styx. In any event, his cohorts regard his addition to the group as the best thing since J.Y. joined the group five years back. During his years with hard working club bands, most notable “M.S. Funk," Tommy built up a wealth of material. By checking the credits on this album, you’ll note that he wasted no time in making his contribution to Styx music. The group has demonstrated their faith in the newcomer by titling the album after a song wholly written and sung by Tommy. Tommy’s contributions— both in studio and onstage— will ensure a continued growth for Styx, providing another musical style and a different approach to life. His dynamism will urge the group further toward the musical perfection and more individual style they’ve always been seeking."

I'll have to get my album out and take a pic of the inner sleeve for you. The above on Tommy I got off Tumblr.

If anyone is interested, MS Funk has a page on MySpace with a few of their songs. Listen to Musical Charades, and you can see where the intro to Put Me On came from; Mademoiselle springs from BitteSuite. Songwriting 101 is Tommy noodling on his acoustic into a tape recorder, working on a song. Off topic, but I really wish I had seen MS Funk back in the day. I have their Platform Shoes CD, and they were a great live band.

https://myspace.com/msfunkster/music/songs

[brywool]

GREAT album. Probably my favorite Styx album.
I remember Dennis saying he went through depression while making this. I wonder if it was because with Shaw being added that he felt threatened somehow or something. To me, this is when everything really gelled. Equinox was also a powerhouse, but, but Tommy just brought the band to such a higher level
Put Me On is a great opener and yeah, one of the best JY performances that he did. When Dennis comes in with the slower part it just makes the song. Mademoiselle- why does Styx ignore this one? GREAT tune with a great hook. Maybe because it was about Shaw's infidelity with a french canadian fan? They should resurrect it live. Jennifer- yeah, maybe the low point on the album for me, but it's still a great track. Crystal Ball was a favorite tune for years. Shaw sings this so well and the guitar solo at the end is one of my favorites ever recorded. Loved the tone he had on it. Shooz- yeah, this song kicks ass and I've never understood why people don't dig it much. Shaw plays some great slide and the song just was a really heavy hitter. A good LOUD tune. This Old Man- Father OSA part II. Again, a good song. Ballarina- man, what a melody this song has. LOVED it from the first time I heard it. Dennis' voice is just great on it. I was always curious why this was never done live. The fade gets a bit repetitious, but the guitar solos are really good. This album should've done better than it did.

[masque]

GREAT album. Probably my favorite Styx album.
I remember Dennis saying he went through depression while making this. I wonder if it was because with Shaw being added that he felt threatened somehow or something. To me, this is when everything really gelled. Equinox was also a powerhouse, but, but Tommy just brought the band to such a higher level
Put Me On is a great opener and yeah, one of the best JY performances that he did. When Dennis comes in with the slower part it just makes the song. Mademoiselle- why does Styx ignore this one? GREAT tune with a great hook. Maybe because it was about Shaw's infidelity with a french canadian fan? They should resurrect it live. Jennifer- yeah, maybe the low point on the album for me, but it's still a great track. Crystal Ball was a favorite tune for years. Shaw sings this so well and the guitar solo at the end is one of my favorites ever recorded. Loved the tone he had on it. Shooz- yeah, this song kicks ass and I've never understood why people don't dig it much. Shaw plays some great slide and the song just was a really heavy hitter. A good LOUD tune. This Old Man- Father OSA part II. Again, a good song. Ballarina- man, what a melody this song has. LOVED it from the first time I heard it. Dennis' voice is just great on it. I was always curious why this was never done live. The fade gets a bit repetitious, but the guitar solos are really good. This album should've done better than it did.

i think i read somewhere that they did do "ballerina" live one time……including a girl that came out and danced during the song…….I think I recall DDY saying that the crowd ignored it and were restless, he vowed to never do it again. i can't remember where I saw that, so don't take it as the gospel……but i'll try to find my source.

[gr8dane]

So long JC,thanks for some great tunes.
Welcome Tommy.
Initially i was not too thrilled about Crystal Ball after Equinox.
It has then grown on me a lot and now love it.Jennifer also.
These days this album along with Equinox from the A&M days are the only albums
I listen to from start to end.

[brywool]

GREAT album. Probably my favorite Styx album.
I remember Dennis saying he went through depression while making this. I wonder if it was because with Shaw being added that he felt threatened somehow or something. To me, this is when everything really gelled. Equinox was also a powerhouse, but, but Tommy just brought the band to such a higher level
Put Me On is a great opener and yeah, one of the best JY performances that he did. When Dennis comes in with the slower part it just makes the song. Mademoiselle- why does Styx ignore this one? GREAT tune with a great hook. Maybe because it was about Shaw's infidelity with a french canadian fan? They should resurrect it live. Jennifer- yeah, maybe the low point on the album for me, but it's still a great track. Crystal Ball was a favorite tune for years. Shaw sings this so well and the guitar solo at the end is one of my favorites ever recorded. Loved the tone he had on it. Shooz- yeah, this song kicks ass and I've never understood why people don't dig it much. Shaw plays some great slide and the song just was a really heavy hitter. A good LOUD tune. This Old Man- Father OSA part II. Again, a good song. Ballarina- man, what a melody this song has. LOVED it from the first time I heard it. Dennis' voice is just great on it. I was always curious why this was never done live. The fade gets a bit repetitious, but the guitar solos are really good. This album should've done better than it did.

i think i read somewhere that they did do "ballerina" live one time……including a girl that came out and danced during the song…….I think I recall DDY saying that the crowd ignored it and were restless, he vowed to never do it again. i can't remember where I saw that, so don't take it as the gospel……but i'll try to find my source.

ooh, that sounds vaguely familiar. To have a Ballerina come and dance is about as entertaining as guys in robot suits, but the SONG is amazingly good.

[FormerDJMike]

I believe Jennifer is a leftover track (re-recorded of course) from the Wooden Nickel days.

[Kilroy1983]

Really good album that mark a new direction in the Styx music after departure of John Curulewski and arrival of Tommy Shaw. The album where the band put all its trust in the newest member Tommy Shaw, titling the album after a song entirely written and sung by him. IMO, "Crystal Ball" is one of the best Shaw songs. The contribuition of Tommy Shaw in the new album is evident, he appears in 5 of the 7 songs of the album and gives a new guitar sound to the musics. The impression is that JY finally found the ideal partner. Finally another obscure song I really like in the Styx discography is the song "Shooz". A great hard rock song, imo.

[yogi]

I listened to this entire album twice on my way to & from Arkansas this past weekend. How I wanted to really like this album back in the day. Its a good album but IMO is a HUGE HUGE step backwards from Equinox.

My intro to Styx was my older brother purchasing the single Lady. I ABSOLUTELY loved the song. Stole it from him and made him go buy another copy. Still have his first copy.

From there, one day a year or two later later I heard the song Come Sail Away on KDWB radio and I was COMPLETELY hooked. I immediately recognized the voice and realized that my two favorite songs of all time up to that point came from the same voice from the same band. Went to Cheapos Record store on Grand Avenue and purchased The Grand Illusion. Listened to it non stop for months and loved EVERY song on the album. I then decided to go back into the Styx catalog. Went back to Cheapos and purchased the coolest album cover I had EVER seen 'Equinox' and I swear listened to that album until I wore out side 2. Then I joined RCA record club and repurchased that album along with Crystal Ball and Styx ( Wooden Nickel's) Greatest hits and boy was I disappointed in both of those albums.

Soon enough Pieces Of Eight came out and I played it non stop before finally rotating the 3 GREATEST albums EVER IMO Equinox, The Grand Illusion & Pieces Of Eight non stop until my family and friends couldnt stand my biased Styx only music rotation for years.

Great days those were. For some reason I just could never really get into Crystal Ball. Still couldn't this weekend.