The Grand Illusion (album)
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The Grand Illusion is the seventh album by Styx, released in 1977 (see 1977 in music).
The album's theme is the struggle to overcome self-deluding superficiality in order to affirm one's genuine value which Dennis DeYoung confirmed on In the Studio with Redbeard which devoted an entire episode to The Grand Illusion. DeYoung on this same interview revealed he had the title of The Grand Illusion dating back to the 1975 album Equinox.
The track "Miss America" was guitarist James Young's scathing attack on the Miss America pageants. JY on The Grand Illusion episode of the US radio show In the Studio with Redbeard said the track came to him in the middle of the night and its riff was inspired by the Jethro Tull song "Minstrel in the Gallery".
The Grand Illusion was the band's first Triple Platinum album, and spawned the Top 10 hit "Come Sail Away" and the Top 30 hit "Fooling Yourself".
Track listing
- "The Grand Illusion" (Dennis DeYoung) - 4:36
- "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)" (Tommy Shaw) - 5:29
- "Superstars" (DeYoung, Shaw, James Young) - 3:59
- "Come Sail Away" (DeYoung) - 6:07
- "Miss America" (Young) - 5:01
- "Man in the Wilderness" (Shaw) - 5:49
- "Castle Walls" (DeYoung) - 6:00
- "The Grand Finale" (DeYoung, Shaw, Young) - 1:58
Personnel
- Dennis DeYoung - keyboards, synthesizer, vocals
- Chuck Panozzo - bass, vocals
- John Panozzo - drums, percussion, vocals
- Tommy Shaw - acoustic and electric guitars, vocals
- James Young - guitars, vocals
- Barry Mraz - engineer
Trivia
The album cover art is an homage to a painting by Rene Magritte entitled "Carte Blanche."The album title resembles the English translation the title of Jean Renoir's 1937 film, La grande illusion.
Released on 7/7/77, "The Grand Illusion" was Styx' 7th album release. This numbering trend continued with the release of their 8th album, "Pieces of Eight."
Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Pop Albums | 6 |
Singles - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | "Come Sail Away" | Pop Singles | 8 |
| 1978 | "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)" | Pop Singles | 29 |
See also
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