EQUINOX

Bingo! "Equinox" was the equinox in many ways for this band. It signaled 2 major changes: 1) The first album under A&M after they smartly ditched Wooden Nickel. 2) The last album with John Curulewiski.

With 4 albums behind them they seemed to have locked into a rhythm that would define them for the next few albums. In many ways it was no different than what they put out before but it was better organized and track sequences were better arranged. Production is more solid and coherent; the sound was much better. DeYoung does most of the singing on this album oddly enough and John C only has one vocal contribution but it is harmonized with DeYoung. JY has only 1 writing credit and a partial credit.

Dennis was always the control freak in the band which ultimately led to his eventual firing. He was a good leader but overstepped his authority by steering the band into ballad and theatrical land. But at this point things were going fairly well. With the move to A&M they made a move up from the Nickel days. John C's contributions to the band were in my opinion not that significant but he did contribute some. With the completion of this album and the tour going on, DeYoung threw him out of the band after a bad show and a deteriorating relationship. The excuse given was he wanted to be with family more but the band had struggled with him a long time. He was always the one who would choose the opposite of what everyone else wanted and was a very negative person. On the road the crew & band would dread being the one to bunk with him. He was kind of dissed about the fact that his contributions were not greater and he felt A&M were still not doing all they could to promote Styx.

All that aside, this recording was prime for opening the door to their breakthrough into success. The strong tracks on this album for me are "Mother Dear", "Midnight Ride" and "Born For Adventure." I like the entire album but these are my picks. "Midnight Ride" is in my opinion the best JY rocker he ever wrote. The other 2 tracks are more progish and I like the harmony between John C and Dennis on "Mother Dear". "Sweet Madam Blue" a DeYoung composition has some good features.

This album was a great launch into what would become Crystal Ball with the addition of Tommy Shaw. That would bring on its own challenges. But for now things were definitely looking up for Chicago kids.