If you were a teenager in the late 1970’s you experienced Styx at their peak. Just short of two years after the late John Curelewski was replaced by Tommy Shaw the band released two classic albums back to back, “The Grand Illusion”and “Pieces of Eight.”
Both albums epitomized what made albums an art form, great music, great packaging and “Pieces of Eight” featured a gatefold cover suitable for cleaning out the seeds of the herb you smoked while listening to the fantastic soundscape.
In recent years, the current incarnation has revisited those classic albums, perhaps as a testament to their durability. The latest packaging of the shows is a two disc audio set, each album given its rightful spot on its own disc with the cover art from the classic album beautifully imprinted on the disc. The packaging is too small for cleaning out seeds, but hopefully most Styx fans grew out of that habit by now.
Musically the album shows don’t deviate too much from the original recordings. The Tommy Shaw and James “J.Y” Young songs pack some extra punch thanks to the powerhouse drumming style of Todd Sucherman, who took over from the late John Panozzo (whom I feel blessed to have met before he passed away in 1995).
J.Y’s vocal performance is the most impressive. Having to compete with Tommy Shaw and Lawrence Gowan is no easy task, but J.Y sounds better on these recordings than he did on the originals.
As for Tommy Shaw, I am happy to report his voice has not suffered the same fate that many of his contemporaries from the era have suffered; he sounds every bit as great today as he did back in the 1970’s.
Lawrence Gowan had the unenviable task of singing the Dennis DeYoung parts, and as he has been doing for years, Gowan nails the vocals. There are some distinct differences between Gowan and DeYoung, but since These two albums leaned more towards progressive rock than later albums like “Paradise Theatre” and “Cornerstone,” Gowan’s voice is well suited for the material. Of note is his take on “I’m O.K” a deep cut on “Pieces of Eight” that has long been one of my favorites.
Original bassist Chuck Panozzo appears on a few of the tracks, when Panozzo is not playing bass Ricky Phillips adds his unique playing style which has fully gelled with Sucherman’s drumming.
The only thing missing on “The Grand Illusion, Pieces of Eight Live” is the pops and crackles I remember on the worn out vinyl copies of the original. I think there may still be some seeds stuck in the gatefold too.
