The Grand Illusion



The Grand Illusion is the seventh studio album by Styx, recorded at Paragon Recording Studios in Chicago and released on July 7, 1977. It launched the band to stardom, spawned the hit singles "Come Sail Away" and "Fooling Yourself", and sold over three million copies in the US (Triple Platinum).

As with much of Styx's catalog, many of the songs have quasi-medieval/fantasy lyrics and themes. Some are allegories and commentaries on contemporary American life and the members' experiences in an American rock band in the mid-to-late 1970s.

The album cover art, created by Alton Kelley and Stanley Mouse, is an homage to a painting by René Magritte entitled "Le Blanc-Seing".

Side One

 * 1) "The Grand Illusion" (Dennis DeYoung) – 4:36
 * 2) *Lead vocals: DeYoung
 * 3) *First guitar solo and guitar fills: Tommy Shaw
 * 4) *Second guitar solo: James Young
 * 5) "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)" (Shaw) – 5:29
 * 6) *Lead vocals: Shaw
 * 7) "Superstars" (Young, DeYoung, Shaw) – 3:59
 * 8) *Lead vocals and lead guitar: Shaw
 * 9) *Soliloquy: DeYoung
 * 10) "Come Sail Away" (DeYoung) – 6:07
 * 11) *Lead vocals and synthesizer solo: DeYoung
 * 12) *ARP Odyssey: Young
 * 13) *Lead guitar: Shaw

Side Two

 * 1) "Miss America" (Young) – 5:02
 * 2) *Lead vocals and guitar solo: Young
 * 3) "Man in the Wilderness" (Shaw) – 5:51
 * 4) *Lead vocals and guitar solo: Shaw
 * 5) "Castle Walls" (DeYoung) – 5:59
 * 6) *Lead vocals: DeYoung
 * 7) *Lead guitar: Young
 * 8) "The Grand Finale" (DeYoung, Young, Shaw) – 1:57
 * 9) *Lead vocals: DeYoung
 * 10) *Lead guitar fills: Shaw
 * 11) *Melodic guitar lead: Young

Styx

 * Dennis DeYoung – keyboards, vocals
 * Tommy Shaw – guitar, vocals
 * James Young – guitar, keyboards, vocals
 * Chuck Panozzo – bass
 * John Panozzo – drums

Production

 * Barry Mraz – production assistance, engineer
 * Rob Kingsland – engineer
 * Mastered by Mike Reese at the Mastering Lab, Los Angeles, California
 * Derek Sutton – management, direction
 * Jim Vose – tour manager
 * Jeff Ravitz – lighting designer
 * John "Tarkus" Schaefer – stage manager
 * Bob "Yaz" Jastrzembski – equipment, motorcycle stunts
 * Judson Terry Phelps – monitors
 * Roland Young – art direction
 * Jim McCrary – photography
 * Chuck Beeson – album design
 * Kelly and Mouse – album cover painting