Styx - Equinox

[skorb]

anyone else heard this killer 1975 album from Styx? (before Tommy Shaw joined the band and ruined it).



it's a super album with one great song after another. Lorelei is probably the best song, but Light Up is cool too. as is Suite Madam Blue. just good kickass rock from a time long before the band gayed out with the whole Mr. Roboto garbage.

I have a soft spot for early Styx, since my first exposure to a band was a group down the street from me when I was like 11-12 (1975-76), they used to let me and my buddies come in and watch their rehearsals, and one song they killed on was Lady. so that really stuck with me, and damn if I didn't want to rock out and be in a band after that.

[donf]

anyone else heard this killer 1975 album from Styx? (before Tommy Shaw joined the band and ruined it).



it's a super album with one great song after another. Lorelei is probably the best song, but Light Up is cool too. as is Suite Madam Blue. just good kickass rock from a time long before the band gayed out with the whole Mr. Roboto garbage.

I have a soft spot for early Styx, since my first exposure to a band was a group down the street from me when I was like 11-12 (1975-76), they used to let me and my buddies come in and watch their rehearsals, and one song they killed on was Lady. so that really stuck with me, and damn if I didn't want to rock out and be in a band after that.

I grew up in the 70's and enjoyed all of Styx music other than the Mr Roboto crap. I gotta disagree with you on Tommy Shaw. Though early Styx was good, they were equally as good when Tommy came into the picture. They had more diversity and had some rockin songs that Tommy contributed to. I think when Dennis DeYoung, who is a great singer, started heading down the road toward stage shows, like Mr.Roboto, is when they started to fall apart. I've seen them recently without Dennis and were pretty good.

[dg]

I'm with Don. I always thought it was DeYoung who took them in weird, less-rockin' directions, but I was just a casual listener & no expert.

[SEEGERMANY]

Blaming Shaw is wrong. Look elsewhere.

[skorb]

Blaming Shaw is wrong. Look elsewhere.

well, that wasn't the point of my post.

but you go listen to Too Much Time on My Hands again (a Shaw song) and if you still think he didn't dumb down Styx to pure radio garbage, then I don't know what to tell you.

but yeah I agree also that DeYoung got way goofy there and he also took the band way downhill.

[Rupe]

I dig old Styx alot but I also like Tommy Shaw era stuff. I saw them in '97 when DeYoung was still on vocals...the guy definitely still had some pipes, he was amazing!

[pro-fusion]

Equinox is a great album, but also check out Crystal Ball, which was the next album and the first with Tommy. It might be the better of the two. Both are better than the stuff that came after, when Styx started becoming more generic (though there certainly is good music after that).

[442w30]

I always agreed with the "Shaw Rocks, DeYoung went soft" camp. Still, good songs. I can't see how lady and Mr. Roboto are rock, but Too Much time on my hands is weak, but regardless, the early stuff is strong, and commercial success killed them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBdLJ7Pox9Y

[thetroy]

I like all of the Styx stuff - Mr Roboto included

[donf]

I kind of liked Too Much Time On My Hands, because of the 8 bar intro, then the drum beats coming in on the 5th measure on the "2 and" and "4 and", then the guitar comes in. I thought it was cool. A lttle poppy, but I've heard worse.
Some of them 'ballads' songs from the '80's were so lame. :ROTF:

[Rupe]

Miss America and Suite Madam Blue are my two favorite Styx tunes...we still do Miss America in my band but it is frequently lost on the crowd.

[bsteff666]

I always thought Tommy Shaw was the coolest, most rock-n-roll guy in the band....and that Dennis DeYoung was the one with the weird tendencies, as well as the lightweight, soft-rock tendencies as well.

I like Styx a lot though...

[FusionFarmer]

Hell, I had it on 8 track and vinyl, wore em both out, Shaw was a great addition to the band, I think Deyoung did get too pop-ish, Grand Illusion was a good album too

[quiksilver]

Miss America is a fantastic song. Blue Collar Man is cool, too.

[skorb]

I always thought Tommy Shaw was the coolest, most rock-n-roll guy in the band.....

IMO that was James Young.