Styx II
Styx II | ||||
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Studio album by Styx | ||||
Released | July 1973 (1973-07) | |||
Recorded | 1972–73 | |||
Venue | "Little Fugue in G" at St. James Cathedral, Chicago | |||
Studio | Paragon, Chicago | |||
Genre |
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Length | 34:20 | |||
Label | Wooden Nickel | |||
Producer | John Ryan, Bill Traut (exec.) | |||
Styx chronology | ||||
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Singles from Styx II | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Styx II is the second album by American band Styx, released in July 1973.[5]
Background
After releasing their debut album, which consisted mostly of cover songs, the band intended to write some strong original new material; Dennis DeYoung was particularly in favor of this. DeYoung had written a song by himself on an electric piano in the band's garage, and had originally intended for it to be on the first album. He later decided to play it on an acoustic piano. However, Bill Traut wanted to save it for the second album. The result was "Lady", written about DeYoung's wife Suzanne.
"Lady" failed to be a hit when it was first released in 1973; however, after the band released their fourth album Man of Miracles in 1974, they went to WLS, the most powerful Chicago radio station at the time, and convinced the program director (Jim Smith) to replay this song. It wound up being played frequently on the air in Chicago. In May 1975, the song broke out nationally, eventually peaking at no. 6 on the Billboard charts.
Besides "Lady," the album contained some upbeat and prog rock songs, such as the rockers "You Need Love" and "I'm Gonna Make You Feel It," which were written by DeYoung and sung by James "JY" Young.
This is also the first album on which John Curulewski wrote and sang on two songs: the proggish, jazzy "A Day," which has an unusual sound for the band, and the boogie humor song "You Better Ask," whose outro features a snippet of "Strangers in the Night" on calliope organ and an evil laugh.
Side 2 opens with a DeYoung rendition of "Little Fugue in G" by Bach, played on pipe organ at a Chicago Cathedral, and segues into the mellow prog rocker "Father O.S.A."
The rocker "Earl of Roseland" was written by DeYoung based on early memories from when he grew up in Chicago's Roseland neighborhood, where he had formed the band with the Panozzo brothers.
After Styx moved to A&M Records and achieved national success in the US, Styx II went Gold shortly before the success of The Grand Illusion (1977) and became the only big-selling album from the Wooden Nickel era, because of "Lady." The album was reissued in 1980 by their prior label, Wooden Nickel. Under the title Lady, the reissue had new artwork (though it is not to be confused with a Styx compilation album that was later released with the same name). Until the release of Crash of the Crown in 2021 it was the only Styx album to not feature material written or co-written by Young (apart from their covers 2005 album, Big Bang Theory).
Track listing
All tracks are written by Dennis DeYoung, except where noted
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
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1. | "You Need Love" | Young | 3:44 | |
2. | "Lady" | DeYoung | 2:56 | |
3. | "A Day" | Curulewski | Curulewski | 8:19 |
4. | "You Better Ask" | Curulewski | Curulewski | 3:54 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
5. | "Little Fugue in G" | Johann Sebastian Bach | (instrumental) | 1:17 |
6. | "Father O.S.A." | DeYoung | 7:08 | |
7. | "Earl of Roseland" | DeYoung | 4:39 | |
8. | "I'm Gonna Make You Feel It" | Young | 2:23 |
Personnel
Styx
- Dennis DeYoung – vocals, keyboards
- James "JY" Young – vocals, electric guitars
- John Curulewski – vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, synthesizers
- Chuck Panozzo – bass guitar
- John Panozzo – drums and percussion
Production
- Produced by John Ryan
- Executive producer: Bill Traut
- Engineers: Marty Feldman, Barry Mraz
Charts
Chart (1973) | Peak position |
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US Billboard 200[6] | 20 |
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United States (RIAA)[7] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
References
- ^ "Styx singles".
- ^ "Styx singles".
- ^ Planer, Lindsay. Styx: Styx II at AllMusic. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
- ^ Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 789. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
rolling stone styx album guide.
- ^ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. Canongate Press. p. 798. ISBN 9780862415419.
- ^ "Styx Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
- ^ "American album certifications – Styx – Styx II". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
External links
- Styx - Styx II (1972) album review by Lindsay Planer, credits & releases at AllMusic.com
- Styx - Styx II (1972) album releases & credits at Discogs.com
- Styx - Styx II (1972) album to be listened as stream at Spotify.com
- v
- t
- e
- Chuck Panozzo
- James "J.Y." Young
- Tommy Shaw
- Todd Sucherman
- Lawrence Gowan
- Will Evankovich
- Terry Gowan
- Styx
- Styx II
- The Serpent Is Rising
- Man of Miracles
- Equinox
- Crystal Ball
- The Grand Illusion
- Pieces of Eight
- Cornerstone
- Paradise Theatre
- Kilroy Was Here
- Edge of the Century
- Brave New World
- Cyclorama
- Big Bang Theory
- The Mission
- Crash of the Crown
- Regeneration: Volume I
- Regeneration: Volume II
- Caught in the Act
- Return to Paradise
- Arch Allies: Live at Riverport
- Styx World: Live 2001
- At the River's Edge: Live in St. Louis
- 21st Century Live
- One with Everything: Styx and the Contemporary Youth Orchestra
- Best of Styx
- Lady
- Styx - Classics, Volume 15
- Styx Greatest Hits
- Greatest Hits Part 2
- Extended Versions
- Styx Yesterday & Today
- Rockers
- Come Sail Away – The Styx Anthology
- The Complete Wooden Nickel Recordings
- "Best Thing"
- "Lies"
- "Lady"
- "You Need Love"
- "Lorelei"
- "Mademoiselle"
- "Crystal Ball"
- "The Grand Illusion"
- "Come Sail Away"
- "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)"
- "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)"
- "Sing for the Day"
- "Renegade"
- "Babe"
- "Why Me"
- "Boat on the River"
- "Borrowed Time"
- "The Best of Times"
- "Too Much Time on My Hands"
- "Nothing Ever Goes as Planned"
- "Rockin' the Paradise"
- "Snowblind"
- "Mr. Roboto"
- "Don't Let It End"
- "High Time"
- "Music Time" / "Heavy Metal Poisoning"
- "Love Is the Ritual"
- "Show Me the Way"
- "Love at First Sight"
- "Paradise"
- "I Am the Walrus"
- Discography
- Kilroy Was Here
Category