Styx

When StyX makes album such as Grand Illusion and Crystal Ball , they are great - not very prog but great.

Their earlier (first four)and proggier are patchy at best and sloppy at worst.

After Pieces of Eight (excellent radio-friendly FM rock), Cornerstone was not that bad but held the horrible Babe. Paradise Theater was  not a bad concept but they were much too pompous.

And then their major mistake came and discredited them for many years to come and it even brought the band to break up. Loyal fan base fled but other came mainly though the MTV videoclip. Mr. Lobotto  has done permanent damage on their career. Stynx

I was actually surprised they had a career in the 90's. I spent my youth in Canada but moved to Europe at the end of the 80's and Styx was never big or even well-known. If you can believe that they opened concert for Saga in the 80's on the continent, this was hard to belive for Northern Americans.

Nothing personal and this bashing thing is good-natured or else they would not be on the site.

Now please do not go bash Mariah if you want to make friends in this forum.

I believe people is unfair with STYX, because in the best of the cases they were the simples possible form of art rock musicians, always played at the border that divides Prog from plain pop, later albums are more prog oriented than later ones, so you can't compare a light weight as STYX (In prog' terms) with Heavyweights like Yes, Genesis or even ELP.

When John Curulewsky was replaced by Tommy Shaw, almost all the hopes of being aprog' band left with him, but what they lost in proggieness they gained in sound.

If you listen them forgetting they are barely prog', you'll find they have soome great stuff.

The Grand Illusion has only one remotely prog' track (Fooling Yourself), but the album is outstanding in musical terms, all the tracks are good and they don't have a single filler. I'm not ashamed to admit I still enjoy some of their  stuff  ubtil Cornerstone (Except Babe) very much when I'm in the right mood.

Iván

Well Rob, I believe Supertramp's earlier albums like Crime of the Century, Crisis What's Crisis or Even in the Quietest Moments are much closer to prog' than Breakfast in America.

A Soapbox Opera, School, Crime of the Century  and Fool's Overture are is  wonderfull and 100% prog tracks.

But I agree BIA is not remotely progressive.

Iván