By: William Clark
One of the quintessential classic rock bands, Styx has been playing the music scene for over three decades with their signature combination of distortion guitars, dominative synthesizer playing, and some of the best harmonious group vocals in the genre.
Throughout all fifteen of the group’s studio albums, Styx have continued to dominate the charts and the airwaves with a plethora of anthems and instant classics.
So, it was a momentous occasion when the band decided to play two of their classic albums, The Grand Illusion and Pieces Of Eight, back to back in their entirety. So momentous, in fact, that it was complete common sense to record this show to be released as a two disc CD set.
This same set is the appropriately titled The Grand Illusion/ Pieces Of Eight Live .
You can’t get any more specific than the title; this album has the band tearing through both albums with complete note-for-note accuracy, musical passion and surging youthful power.
These two albums contain a considerable number of Styx’s greatest hits and most heavily hailed songs, from “Blue Collar Man [Long Nights]” and “Queen Of Spades”, to “Come Sail Away” and “Miss America”. So any fan, casual or diehard, will easily be able to appreciate this release.
Guitarist and lead vocalist, Tommy Shaw, gives a noteworthily standout performance at this particular show, especially on The Grand Illusion classic “Man In The Wilderness”. On the studio rendition, Tommy nailed some soaring primal screams towards the end of this track, and thirty years later he still hits those notes with absolute ease.
Styx give a spectacular performance throughout this two-disc release, that will have any classic rock fan quickly cranking their speakers up to full volume. If you’ve been looking for a live album by a band that not only sounds as good as they did in their heyday, but arguably even more so, than look no further than The Grand Illusion/ Pieces Of Eight.
Tracks:
Disc 1: The Grand Illusion
1) The Grand Illusion
2) Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)
3) Superstars
4) Come Sail Away
5) Miss America
6) Man In The Wilderness
7) Castle Walls
8) The Grand Finale
Disc 1: Pieces Of Eight
1) Great White Hope
2) I’m Okay
3) Sing For The Day
4) The Message
5) Lords Of The Ring
6) Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)
7) Queen Of Spades
8) Renegade
9) Pieces Of Eight
10) Aku-Aku
