Styx - The Grand Illusion [180g Black Vinyl LP]

Chicago's Styx launched into the premier league of album rock with The Grand Illusion, their seventh studio album released on July 7, 1977. Recorded at Paragon Recording Studios in Chicago with producer Barry Mraz, the album marked a creative breakthrough for the band following guitarist Tommy Shaw's arrival the previous year. The release became Styx's first Triple Platinum album, fueled by hit singles "Come Sail Away" and "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)," and spent an impressive 127 weeks on the Billboard chart. This 2015 180-gram vinyl reissue on A&M Records brings the album's progressive rock ambitions and arena-ready hooks back to vinyl with enhanced clarity and warmth.

The eight-track album showcases the band's refined balance of progressive rock complexity and radio-friendly accessibility, blending Dennis DeYoung's keyboard flourishes and pop sensibilities with the guitar work of Shaw and James Young. The title track opens with synthesizer fanfares and existential musings on fame and illusion, setting the conceptual tone for what follows. "Come Sail Away" begins as a tender piano ballad before transforming into a soaring anthem complete with choral harmonies and rock firepower, while "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)" features Shaw's acoustic guitar work alongside introspective lyrics about self-deception and fame. "Castle Walls" straddles medieval imagery and hard rock riffing, and "Miss America" delivers crunching guitars with Young's snarling vocals taking center stage.

This 180-gram pressing delivers robust sound quality that captures the layered production and instrumental interplay throughout the album. Mastered by Mike Reese at the Mastering Lab in Los Angeles for the original release, this vinyl edition maintains the dynamic range from DeYoung's synthesizers and keyboards to the twin-guitar attack of Shaw and Young. The LP includes a fold-out poster of the band and picture sleeve featuring artwork inspired by Rene Magritte's painting "The Blank Signature."

• Format: 180g Black Vinyl LP
• Standout tracks: "Come Sail Away," "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)," "The Grand Illusion"
• Pressing details: 180-gram vinyl, 2015 reissue, includes fold-out poster, picture sleeve, recorded at Paragon Recording Studios
• Genre/style: Progressive Rock, Arena Rock, AOR, Album Rock
• UPC: 602547040916

The Grand Illusion propelled Styx to international stardom and remains one of the defining albums of 1970s arena rock. This 180-gram pressing honors the album's legacy with substantial sound quality that showcases the band's musical craftsmanship and the chemistry between DeYoung's theatrical keyboards and Shaw's guitar-driven rock edge.

* The Spotify track list may not exactly represent the tracks and audio of this LP edition.

Track List:

Side A:

1. The Grand Illusion
2. Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)
3. Superstars
4. Come Sail Away

Side B:

1. Miss America
2. Man In The Wilderness
3. Castle Walls
4. The Grand Finale