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Do people hated Styx in the 70s?

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yogev View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote yogev Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Do people hated Styx in the 70s?
    Posted: July 17 2022 at 05:40
I just watched an episode of that 70s show and one of the characters (eric forman) wanted to go to a Styx concert. Throughout the episode people laugh at him for loving Styx, like listening to them is an embarrassing thing to do.  
Yeah they were't the best band that played that kind of music in the united states around that time, and yeah they're may be a bit cheesy sometimes, but they're still pretty great, so I wonder if there were actually some sort of a gag around them?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Grumpyprogfan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 17 2022 at 05:52
No gag that I'm aware of. I never was enthusiastic about Styx. As you said, cheesy AOR. REO Speedwagon was another similar band.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Psychedelic Paul Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 17 2022 at 06:50
I can't remember who or what it was that first Put Me On to the music of Styx, but I'm O.K. with them. Styx may not be the Best Thing that's ever happened to prog, but a Styx album A Day is perfectly fine for A Man Like Me. I only have two Styx albums in my CD collection - Babe: The Collection and Paradise Theater -  but one day, when I have Too Much Time on My Hands, I may decide it's High Time I gave all of their albums a listen. After all, there's a First Time for everything and I'll Never Say Never again. The melodic Pomp Rock of Styx certainly beats getting Heavy Metal Poisoning from the likes of Megadeath and Metallica, so the answer to your question is an emphatic "No", I don't know anyone who hates Styx or considers it embarrassing to like them. On the other hand though, if Styx doesn't exactly Light Up your life, you can always appreciate the fabulous artwork on their colourful album covers with their name up in Lights above the Paradise Theater.  Smile




Edited by Psychedelic Paul - July 17 2022 at 06:53
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Sean Trane Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 17 2022 at 07:23
Originally posted by Grumpyprogfan Grumpyprogfan wrote:

No gag that I'm aware of. I never was enthusiastic about Styx. As you said, cheesy AOR. REO Speedwagon was another similar band.


From Toronto & Montreal's perspective during the 70's, Styx was no laughing matter and thought of +/- cool (at least the albums Equinox, Crystal, Illusion and Pieces).
Things started souring once Cornerstone and the song Babe hit the airwave, and most males (roughly 75% of the concert audience) started reneging them.  Paradise Theatre made things worse (concept albums had became ridiculous after The Wall) and KilljoyLOL made them the laughing stock (Mr LobottoLOL)
Sooo if Styx became the butt of jokes, it was mostly because of the 80's... Which tends to show that the writer of That 70's Show probably didn't really live through the decade.

REO was unknown to the wider public before they struck the charts with their album High Infidelity
Ditto for Journey: they were relatively cool until they were forced to hire their Censoredsinger or lose the contract they'd signed with Columbia/CBS in 73.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote JD Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 17 2022 at 08:43
I think the vocals had a lot to do with the impression of 'cheesy'.

But tunes like this get gravely overlooked when the proginess is questioned.


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Heart of the Matter Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 17 2022 at 08:58
I used to listen to Sing For The Day on the radio in those days, and it was a good moment for me. Journeys' Wheel In The Sky was also good, but REO Speedwagon not so much.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Grumpyprogfan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 17 2022 at 09:18
Styx, REO Speedwagon, and Loverboy are currently touring the States together.

If memory serves, Styx and REO toured together a lot in the 70's. Was called "Summer Jam" in my neck of the woods. All day festival at stadiums - several bands would play.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Psychedelic Paul Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 17 2022 at 09:54
Originally posted by Grumpyprogfan Grumpyprogfan wrote:

Styx, REO Speedwagon, and Loverboy are currently touring the States together.

If memory serves, Styx and REO toured together a lot in the 70's. Was called "Summer Jam" in my neck of the woods. All day festival at stadiums - several bands would play.

The only song I remember by REO Speedwagon is "Take It on the Run", which was played endlessly on the radio back in the early 1980's. It's a nice song and a nice video too, unlike the Lufthansa Terminal song below, which is a Nice Video, Shame About the Song. Smile 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Logan Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 17 2022 at 11:13
Originally posted by yogev yogev wrote:

I just watched an episode of that 70s show and one of the characters (eric forman) wanted to go to a Styx concert. Throughout the episode people laugh at him for loving Styx, like listening to them is an embarrassing thing to do....


I don't know, but it was another Eric (Eric Cartman) from another show that made me willing to come sail away with Styx.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote nick_h_nz Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 17 2022 at 11:35
^ I had never even heard of Styx, until that South Park episode.
I’m not sure their music ever made it to NZ, and if it did, it definitely did not feature on the radio stations down my way. 🤷🏻‍♂️

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote The Dark Elf Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 17 2022 at 11:58
Meh. They were not on my playlist in high school. Never bought an album, as I heard more than enough on the radio. They were a vacantly bland AOR band. There were simply too many great and innovative bands at the time to waste time listening to Styx.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dr wu23 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 17 2022 at 15:30
Originally posted by JD JD wrote:

I think the vocals had a lot to do with the impression of 'cheesy'.

But tunes like this get gravely overlooked when the proginess is questioned.



I was going to say... a pretty good imitation of early Kansas ,but that was recorded a year before Kansas first ,lp
Shocked
Any way they did some solid tracks on the earlier lps up through Pieces of 8.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mathman0806 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 17 2022 at 15:48
From my perspective, 79 to 82, as middle school-aged, D&D playing needs, Styx had some appeal with their pseudo-fantasy. Allegorical lyric and semi-prog approach to music, but would definitely not be 'cool' with the older hard rocking teens. That puts it past That 70s Show time period but maybe there was some of that. Styx was kind of weak in the "rock" spectrum. In particular, once the insipid "Babe" came out and then there was the shark-jumping Mr. Roboto. I would think the writer had that hindsight inind ad Sean Trane mentioned.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BrufordFreak Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 17 2022 at 17:42
NO! We LOVED Styx in the 1970s! Their concerts were often in the big stadiums with the likes of Boston, Foreigner, and REO Speedwagon! They were BIG, and they were popular (in the American Midwest).

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https://progisaliveandwell.blogspot.com/
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Sean Trane Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 18 2022 at 02:52
Originally posted by BrufordFreak BrufordFreak wrote:

NO! We LOVED Styx in the 1970s! Their concerts were often in the big stadiums with the likes of Boston, Foreigner, and REO Speedwagon! They were BIG, and they were popular (in the American Midwest).



I don't know about stadiums in Canada (even in the Midwest), but at least filled hockey arenas for sure. (Saw them for the Po8 tour - Toronto's MLG if memory serves).

But because of their catastrophic cheesy 80's and MTV things, I won't openly admit to "loving" them until I cited some 200 acts beforehand.

I'd say that I wouldn't listen to an album of theirs (even the classic ones) or even a track (unless on the radio) for the rest of my life and I voluntary missed the "recent" European tours with Kansas.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote Blacksword Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 18 2022 at 05:52
I'm no authority on Styx, but The Grand Illusion is a very good album.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Jared Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 18 2022 at 05:57
Originally posted by Blacksword Blacksword wrote:

I'm no authority on Styx, but The Grand Illusion is a very good album.

Yes, The Grand Illusion and Pieces Of Eight were about as good as it got, before Cornerstone compromised their artistic integrity...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Steve Wyzard Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 18 2022 at 13:32
Pre-Grand Illusion: an occasional good song.
The Grand Illusion: masterpiece!
Pieces of Eight: masterpiece!
Cornerstone: "Babe" isn't the problem - "First Time" is!
Paradise Theater: not bad, not great, just all right.
Kilroy was Here: only Tommy Shaw's songs are worth hearing.
Post-Kilroy was Here/Pre-The Mission: don't bother.
The Mission: masterpiece!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mellotronwave Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 18 2022 at 16:36
Originally posted by Jared Jared wrote:

Originally posted by Blacksword Blacksword wrote:

I'm no authority on Styx, but The Grand Illusion is a very good album.


Yes, The Grand Illusion and Pieces Of Eight were about as good as it got, before Cornerstone compromised their artistic integrity...


I agree
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Trickster F. Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July 18 2022 at 21:22
Found the video the OP mentioned:
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6e21bb

The comments at the end really illustrate the points Sean Trane and others in the topic made. LOL
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