"From a period when the band's theatricality had yet to spill over into pretension": Styx successfully fight the pomp rock wars on The Grand Illusion

Styx - The Grand Illusion cover art.

Styx - The Grand Illusion

(Image credit: A&M)

The Grand Illusion
Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)
Superstars
Come Sail Away
Miss America
Man in the Wilderness
Castle Walls
The Grand Finale

For Styx, seven was the magic number. The Chicago AOR band’s seventh album, The Grand Illusion, became the first of four consecutive triple-platinum albums that established Styx as one of America’s biggest rock acts. As guitarist James ‘JY’ Young says: “Seven is seen as a lucky number in America, and it sure proved lucky for us.”