SCOTTS HIDDEN TREASURES 2012 #2 - Put Me On and Play Me Loud

Im following up the REO showcase with an obvious pairing...

Yup, Styx. Im looking at the A&M years because I've failed to procure the Wooden Nickel releases as I had hoped when Jon posted The Serpent Is Rising. Im moving that up on my purchase list as I type this...

Lets get to it....

ABOUT >>

Twin brothers Chuck and John Panozzo first got together with their neighbor Dennis DeYoung in 1961 in the Roseland section of the south side of Chicago, taking the name "The Tradewinds". Chuck Panozzo left to attend seminary school for a year but returned to the group by 1964. Tom Nardini had been brought in to replace Chuck on guitar and Chuck decided to play bass guitar when he returned to the band. John Panozzo was the drummer, while Dennis DeYoung had switched from accordion to organ and piano. By 1966, the Panozzo brothers had joined DeYoung at Chicago State University and kept the group together doing gigs at high schools and frat parties while studying to be teachers. In 1969 they added a college buddy, John Curulewski, on guitar after Tom Nardini departed. Guitarist James "J.Y." Young came aboard in 1970.

On the heels of its belated hit single, Lady, Styx signed with A&M Records. "Suite Madame Blue", which gained the band considerable recognition and airplay on FM radio. Following the move to A&M, Curulewski suddenly left the band in December 1975 to spend more time with his family just as they were to embark on a nationwide tour. After a frantic search, the band brought on guitarist Tommy Shaw as Curulewski's replacement. Curulewski later died of a brain aneurysm in February 1988.

The Grand Illusion was released in 1977 and became Styx' breakthrough album, reaching Triple Platinum certification. It spawned a top-ten hit and AOR radio staple in the DeYoung-written "Come Sail Away," which reached #8 in 1978. Shaw's "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)" was a second radio hit, and reached #29 the same year. The title track also received significant airplay. Through the late 1970s and early 1980s, the band enjoyed its greatest success.

On June 5, 1999, Styx played their final show with Dennis DeYoung for the Children's Miracle Network Telethon. At the time DeYoung had already been replaced by Canadian Lawrence Gowan, though no official statement regarding a firing or replacement had been made. As a result of the replacement, DeYoung filed a lawsuit charging that the remaining members of the band were using the Styx name without his consent, and he in turn was eventually countersued by Shaw and Young for using the billing of "Dennis DeYoung, the voice of Styx" in his solo concerts.

STUDIO ALBUMS...

Styx (1972)
Styx II (1973)
The Serpent Is Rising (1973)
Man Of Miracles (1974)
Equinox (1975)
Crystal Ball (1976)
The Grand Illusion (1977)
Pieces of Eight (1978)
Cornerstone (1979)
Paradise Theater (1981)
Kilroy Was Here (1983)
Edge Of The Century (1990)
Brave New World (1999)
Cyclorama (2003)
Big Bang Theory (2005)

PLAYLIST VITALS...

LINK: http://snack.to/oxn6lbC
LENGTH: 27 minutes, 48 seconds

TITLE: Born For Adventure

ALBUM: Equinox

YEAR: 1975

LENGTH: 5:15

DID YOU KNOW: The album's biggest hit was the track "Lorelei", which was Styx's second US Top 30 hit. Another well-known song in the album was "Suite Madame Blue," which was written about the upcoming Bicentennial of the US. The track became a staple for all Styx tours with Dennis DeYoung. It's a rare example of a Styx song that (briefly) requires four voice parts; during the Return to Paradise tour, the "America" bridge would be sung by DeYoung, Shaw, James Young and the usually silent Chuck Panozzo. Although Equinox stalled at #58, it went Gold in 1977 shortly before the release of The Grand Illusion.

TITLE: Put Me On

ALBUM: Crystal Ball

YEAR: 1976

LENGTH: 4:55

DID YOU KNOW: Daevid Jehnzen of Allmusic rated Crystal Ball three-and-a-half out of five stars. He stated that it was better than Styx's previous album, Equinox, although it was not as successful. He also said that the album "[showcases] Styx's increased skill for crafting simple, catchy pop hooks out of their bombastic sound." Alan Niester of Rolling Stone also found the album favorable, he also stated that the instrumentation "always seems on the verge of going out of control, giving the whole album an extra surge of excitement." Although the album stalled at #66 upon its 1976 release, it would go platinum in 1978 after the success of the next album The Grand Illusion.

TITLE: Man In The Wilderness

ALBUM: The Grand Illusion

YEAR: 1977

LENGTH: 5:50

DID YOU KNOW: the seventh studio album by Styx, released on July 7, 1977 (7/7/77). It became the band's first Triple Platinum album, and spawned the Top 10 hit "Come Sail Away" and the Top 30 hit "Fooling Yourself". According to lead singer Dennis DeYoung, the album's theme was the struggle to overcome self-deluding superficiality in order to affirm one's genuine value. The track "Miss America" was guitarist James Young's scathing attack on the Miss America pageant. The idea for the song came to him in the middle of the night. Its sole riff was inspired by the Jethro Tull song "Minstrel in the Gallery". The title of "The Grand Illusion" had been considered dating back to the 1975 album Equinox.

TITLE: I'm O.K.

ALBUM: Pieces of Eight

YEAR: 1978

LENGTH: 5:44

DID YOU KNOW: The band members produced the album and recorded it (like their previous three efforts) at Paragon Studios in Chicago with recording engineer Barry Mraz and mixing engineer Rob Kingsland. "I'm O.K" was recorded at Paragon and St. James Cathedral. This would be the last album to be produced at Paragon Studios. The theme of the album, as Dennis DeYoung explained, was about "not giving up your dreams just for the pursuit of money and material possessions". The album's cover was done by Hipgnosis. DeYoung stated in a 1991 interview with Redbeard that he initially hated the cover but grew to like it as he got older. The album peaked at #6 on the Billboard album chart, and like its predecessor would go Triple Platinum.

TITLE: Half Penny, Two Penny

ALBUM: Paradise Theater

YEAR: 1981

LENGTH: 6:01

DID YOU KNOW: A concept album, the album is a fictional account of Chicago's Paradise Theatre from its opening to closing (and eventual abandonment), used as a metaphor for America's changing times from the late 1970s into the 1980s. Vinyl copies of the album have a design featuring the name of the band laser etched directly onto the vinyl on side 2. The vinyl record sleeve was a gate-fold and was painted by artist Chris Hopkins. On the back cover, label and spine, the title is spelled "Paradise Theater", and on the front cover, the title is spelled "Paradise Theatre". Vinyl releases and initial CD pressings of the album had the musical segue between "Half-Penny, Two-Penny" and "A.D. 1958" indexed as the intro to "A.D. 1958". Subsequent pressings of the CD had the segue indexed as the fade to "Half-Penny, Two-Penny" instead.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by RJhog (Admin) on January 9, 2012 at 11:16am

Great band choice Scott. I really love this band. There catalog is vast and full of hidden gems. I'm sure you could do a whole month devoted to them and not play one song that's ever been on the radio.

My favorite from these selections would be Man In The Wilderness, followed closely by Put Me On. All songs are excellent however.

In my humble opinion, Styx needs to do 2 things:

1. Reunite with DeYoung.

2. Whether they do number one or not, put out some new, original music. It's been long enough and the last thing we need is more re-records.

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Permalink Reply by Scott on January 9, 2012 at 11:43am

So agree with your 2 points ... I refuse to support the band with Gowan in the line-up, he ruined the re-records anyway.

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Permalink Reply by Jon on January 9, 2012 at 11:20am

It's cool that you mostly picked deep tracks for this, maybe not so much with Man In The Wilderness.

Remember this Saturday on VH1 Classic, Behind The Music: Remastered featuring Styx!

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Permalink Reply by RJhog (Admin) on January 9, 2012 at 11:40am

I think Man In The Wilderness works well as a deep cut. The casual fan will not know that song. I only became familiar with it after I really, really started listening to Styx.

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Permalink Reply by Scott on January 9, 2012 at 11:42am

Hard to pick a hidden treasure from the Grand Illusion album, so it was either Castle Walls, Superstars or Man In The Wilderness - so I went with the one I prefer... whoda thunk!

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Permalink Reply by Scott on January 10, 2012 at 2:44pm

Timely column?... Im gonna pass on viewing any performances including Gowan and/or Rosie or that involves choreographed ice skating, but I may record the Behind The Music Remastered show.

STYX SET TO TAKE OVER TV AIRWAVES ALL THIS MONTH AS U.S. TOUR CONTINUES: January 9, 2012 -- Legendary rockers Styx--Tommy Shaw, James "JY" Young, Chuck Panozzo, Lawrence Gowan, Ricky Phillips and Todd Sucherman will be invading the TV airwaves throughout the month of January, perfectly timed with the upcoming DVD release, Styx: The Grand Illusion/Pieces Of Eight Live, coming January 31. It all starts Wednesday, January 11 with a performance on "The Rosie Show," which will air at 7pm ET/PT on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. For the performance of "Come Sail Away," host Rosie O'Donnell accompanied the band on her own drum kit.

The band's classic episode of VH1's "Behind The Music" has been updated now called "Behind The Music Remastered"--and will be airing on Saturday, January 14 at 9pm ET/PT on VH1 Classic.

Next up: NBC will air "Improve-Ice Starring STYX" on Sunday, January 15 at 4pm ET/PT, which was filmed in Greenville, SC at the Bi-Lo Center and features champion figure skaters Johnny Weir, Michael Weiss, Nancy Kerrigan, Jeremy Abbott, Ryan Bradley, Sasha Cohen, Nicole Bobek and Mirai Nagasu performing to various Styx classics. All of their routines were choreographed the day of the show.

The HDNet channel will re-broadcast the 2006 concert special, "One with Everything - Styx & The Contemporary Youth Orchestra of Cleveland," on Sunday, January 22 at 9pm ET/PT. Styx joined forces with Cleveland's Contemporary Youth Orchestra--a 171-piece orchestra and choir composed of students aged 13-19--to perform various Styx classics.

Fans should also check local listings for all of the programs.

On the DVD front, Eagle Rock Entertainment will release Styx: The Grand Illusion/Pieces Of Eight Live on DVD, Blu-Ray, and DVD/2CD on January 31. This show was recorded November 9, 2010 at the historic Orpheum Theater in Memphis, on the tour that saw them perform both these albums in their entirety for the first time. The 20-song, two-hour and 11-minute presentation features stunning high-definition visuals accenting the complex musical arrangements recorded in DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby Digital 5.1, and LPCM Stereo. The staging of these two multi-platinum albums and the fevered response makes this concert a must for all STYX fans. Styx: The Grand Illusion/Pieces Of Eight Live also includes the bonus feature "Putting On The Show," an inside look at the people and equipment needed to stage such a massive spectacle.

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Permalink Reply by Scott on September 1, 2013 at 3:32pm

Anyone, everyone ...

If you've already listened to the "CycloCRAPa" and "Regurgitation I&II" posts then this is the anecdote and will instantly cure any nausea caused by Jon and RJ's posts...