Lost Prog Gem by Styx!
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URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=19303
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Topic: Lost Prog Gem by Styx!
Posted By: Seinfeld
Subject: Lost Prog Gem by Styx!
Date Posted: February 21 2006 at 16:32
Now first off, I know a lot of you guys are immediately turned off by the name Styx, and I know many of you would never consider Styx a prog band, and for 95% of their material, I would agree. That said, the 5% of their output that is prog is among some of the best prog I've ever heard. The song I am specifically speaking of is Castle Walls. What a great song!  It's not an epic or ground-breaking song by any means, but that makes it no less awesome. Honestly, for those of you who detest Styx, please just give this one song a chance. I guarantee it will almost make up for most of their other obviously non-prog material.
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Replies:
Posted By: salmacis
Date Posted: February 21 2006 at 16:41
| I would say that Styx's early material from their shoddy debut through to the masterful 'Grand Illusion' and parts of 'Pieces Of Eight' was basically prog, albeit with an FM sheen to it. My favourite Styx prog song is the awesome 'Suite Madame Blue', which really floored me when I first heard it as I only knew their AOR material as on 'Paradise Theater' etc, but 'Madame Blue' equalled many of the great prog tracks in my opinion. |
Posted By: Thyme Traveler
Date Posted: February 28 2006 at 23:16
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the thing with Styx is... it is either hit or miss. When they were good, they were awesome. When they were bad, they were incredibly bad. ------------- Fire up the flux capacitor ! We're taking this Delorean through all four dimensions. What is the future of prog ? Genesis reunion ? I'm not telling!That could upset the thyme/space continuum. |
Posted By: Emiaj
Date Posted: March 01 2006 at 01:42
| Castle Walls is a good song..sure..that instrumental middle section is great.. |
Posted By: Sean Trane
Date Posted: March 01 2006 at 03:19
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Castle Walls is the best track on Grand Illusion. I agree with almost everything Samacis said about his fave track>> also mine But from Cornerstone onwards they were so bad IMHO, culminating in Mr Lobotto ------------- let's just stay above the moral melee prefer the sink to the gutter keep our sand-castle virtues content to be a doer as well as a thinker, prefer lifting our pen rather than un-sheath our sword |
Posted By: Zac M
Date Posted: March 01 2006 at 03:24
I didn't know there was such a thing as a good Stynx song  , I must hear it.------------- "Art is not imitation, nor is it something manufactured according to the wishes of instinct or good taste. It is a process of expression." -Merleau-Ponty |
Sean Trane wrote:Posted By: DantesRing
Date Posted: March 01 2006 at 03:43
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Is it just me, or does the middle section of 'Castle Walls' sound exactly like the theme from 'Halloween'?
------------- I'm the shadow man, the jumping jack The man who can, but won't look back |
Posted By: salmacis
Date Posted: March 01 2006 at 17:01
Never bothered with 'Cornerstone' and don't intend to. The first album I heard was 'Paradise Theater' and I didn't venture beyond that for years- it was AOR and fairly enjoyable at that, but no prog at all. I won't ever bother with 'Kilroy Was Here' as the press for that is almost unanimously negative. One song I do really like of theirs though post 80s is the (slightly soppy but I like it) AOR ballad, 'Show Me The Way'. I thought it had a great melody and poignant lyrics, and was probably their best song for me in years. |
Posted By: Sean Trane
Date Posted: March 02 2006 at 04:47
I am guilty of widely using the Stynx n ame (but it is a Peter Rideout copyright, I believe) because I find their first four albums ultra sloppy But Denis DeYoung has the most inflated ego HOWEVER: From 75's Equinox to 78's Pieces Of Eight, these guys were simply awesome in writing radio-friendly FM rock tunes with some good prog overtones Equinox's Suite Madam Blue and its intro was wild stuff for the teenagers I was (13 at the time) Crystal Ball has some real moments, the arrival of Shaw and the advent of James Young as songwriter (he represented the harder facet of Styx, but his songwriting skills were a bit limited) Grand Illusion is the their most even and has no weak tracks : Even Come Sail Away is superb, but Castle Wall is the prog moment Pieces Of Eight is a bit of a repeat, but is also more commercial than Illusion, but there are some scoarchers Renegade is awesome in its genre>> the album can be considered as a masterplan for many group's future success>> Journey, REO Speedwagon and others ------------- let's just stay above the moral melee prefer the sink to the gutter keep our sand-castle virtues content to be a doer as well as a thinker, prefer lifting our pen rather than un-sheath our sword |
. I also find that from Cornerstone onwards, they were also laughable (Paradise Theater had its moments, though.Posted By: Tony R
Date Posted: March 02 2006 at 15:06
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Here's an excerpt from the best version of Come Sail Away: http://www.southparkstudios.com/downloads/display_video.php?vid=http://images.southparkstudios.com/media/video/202/sp202_sailing.mov&vid_name=Cartman%20sings%20"Come%20Sail%20Away"&tab=30'>COME SAIL AWAY |
Posted By: salmacis
Date Posted: March 02 2006 at 15:19
| Couldn't agree more on their first 4 albums; I got the 2cd set 'The Wooden Nickel Years' which had their first 4 albums and they were mostly horribly embarassing; the 'Best of Styx' collection really was the best of this era, and it works well as an album in its own right. Certainly songs like 'Lady' and 'Man Of Miracles' are as good as anything they'd do later. |