References: Jefferson Airplane—Spinal Tap—The Band—black-light posters—K-Mart—Matthew Sweet—Spider-Man—Human Torch—King of Kensington—Fresh Prince of Bel-Air—Peter Frampton—Bach
Welcome to part II of my overview of the oeuvre of classic prog-rock band Styx. If you missed part 1 of this album-by-album take, my review of Styx I, let me introduce by saying I’ve taken this task on as a personal challenge, a way of coming to terms with a band I have always disliked as much on principle as on the basis of the song “Renegade” (to name one).
But a few weeks ago I became curious about this ’70s holdover, and its origins. Was it really worthy of such ire? How much of my opinion was merely reactionary? And isn’t it possible that, amongst their many records (during a 50-year span), some gems are hidden away? Or at least an explanation of how they came to dominate classic-rock radio of the ’70s.
Okay, now that that long-winded explanation out of the way, let’s move on to the subject at hand: Styx II, the band’s second album, released in 1973, a year after its six-song debut.
Let’s start with side I of Styx II shall we
If you have a passing acquaintance with classic-rock radio of the ’70s, you probably know-whoah-whoah “Lady”:
Lady
You’re my lady
Of the morning
Love shines in your eyes
This was their first hit and is pretty catchy. I like its martial drumbeat during the second chorus, and the arrangement is fairly inventive overall. The whole thing is cheesy as hell, of course, from the melody to the lyrics to the ’70s guitar tone (gear heads could probably explain this better. But it’s over and out in under three minutes, making it perfect FM (and maybe AM?) radio fodder.
But “Lady” is actually the second song. The album opens with the bombastic “You Need Love,” a hard-charging rocker with announces the band’s arena-filling intentions more than anything on the debut. Lots of riffage before the vocals kick in; Styx, now that I think about it, was always a positive band, and didn’t wear cynicism well (look at “Mr. Roboto”). This is an upbeat arena-rocker with lots of parts and another nifty arrangement. It’s not boring. Silly? Well, it is Styx… Lady also opens very similarly to a later Styx hit, “Sailing.” Don’t worry, we’ll get to that one.
“A Day”—The title screams “made-up-in-the-studio,” and so does the sluggish intro. For some reason (the vocals?) remind me of Jefferson Airplane. It also reminds me of “Listen to the Flower People” by Spinal Tap (this is not the first, nor will it be the last, Spinal Tap reference in this series). At 8:21, it’s eight minutes too long. (At about the four-minute mark, the song takes a prog-y left turn into freeform jazz odyssey territory. Load up the bong, everybody.) One thing to make note of (possibly) is that Styx made lots of use of organ, which I think—I’m no prog expert—makes them fairly unique among American ’70s prog-rock bands (of which I can think of none at the moment). Maybe the organ goes back to the groups’ cover-band origins; I would imagine they were playing a lot of R ‘n’ B during their early days.
“You Better Ask”—This has a The Band (!) feel, like “Up on Cripple Creek” or something. I like that Styx is experimenting with different styles, but it’s not a very memorable track. All the guitar solos are becoming tedious. Maybe if I had a blacklight poster and lava lamp… (gift me please! at amazon.ca). It ends with a flute or something playing “Strangers in the Night.” Not making this up.
Styx II side 2 begins
“Little Fugue in G”—A portentous, Phantom of the Prog-Opera breather between the four-minute “You Better Ask” and the next song, the seven-minute…
“Father O.S.A.”—Sorry, wigged out during this one while looking at black-light posters on Amazon (do yourself a favour). Here’s one that I remember from my youth (no, I never had it myself, but I remember it from the poster rack at K-Mart. Yes, this was a thing.):
“Earl of Roseland”—Believe it or not, this one blasts in with electric guitar like Mathew Sweet‘s “Girlfriend.” The lyrics seem to be about childhood or adolescence, and reference Spider-Man and the Human Torch (“Spider-Man and the Human Torch/They cover Barney’s newsstand”). I like that. I find this one interesting for its myriad parts, as well as a vocal bit that sounds vintage-mic’d or distorted or something. The chorus is big, with the title repeated (“Ohhhh, the Earl of Roseland”). But questions remain: who was the Earl? What was Roseland? Was this like a King of Kensington situation? Or The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air? (Apologies to any readers under 50 for the outdated reference.)
“I’m Gonna Make You Feel It”—All right, finally a good old-fashioned ’70s fuck song. I’m sure Peter Frampton didn’t lose any sleep when he heard it, but fine for what it is.
“Unfinished Song”—Talk about transparency. Generally, I hate songs that have “song” in the title, because a) they tell you what the song is about, b) the band actually has no fucking clue what the song is about, if anything, and c) can you be less imaginative. This one pretty much lives up to its title, and ends the album with the listener wanting less.
Facts about Styx II
• like Styx I, the album is only 35 minutes long (it seems longer, but in fairness to the band it’s because they do pack a lot of ideas into its relatively brief run-time)
• the Chicago band’s lineup (which I didn’t cover in the first post) consists of Dennis DeYoung (vocals/keyboards), James Young (vocals/electric guitar), John Curulewski (vocals, electric/acoustic guitars, keyboards), Chuck Panozzo (bass), and John Panozzo (drums)
• DeYoung wrote the song “Lady” about his wife, Suzanne. It wasn’t a hit initially but broke nation-wide two years later.
• “Fugue in G” is by Bach (which I’d know if I knew anything about classical music, which I do not, may the black light gods forgive me)
• Curulewski wrote and sings on two songs. Coincidentally, they are the two worst songs on the album (IMHO): “A Day” and “You Better Ask”
• It’s not a flute at the end of “You Better Ask,” but a calliope, a kind of organ popular in circuses
• mystery solved! According to Wiki, DeYoung wrote “‘The Earl of Roseland’ “based on early memories from when he grew up in Chicago’s Roseland neighborhood, where he had formed the band with the Panozzo brothers.”