Styx

With the success of Styx's album The Grand Illusion, Wooden Nickel Records, Styx's previous label, released Best of Styx, which contained selected Styx songs in the Wooden Nickel catalog. Styx had left Wooden Nickel to sign with A&M Records several years earlier, so the compilation does not contain any songs from Styx's three A&M albums that preceded this album's release…

The 1972 self-titled album from Chicago-based quintet Styx could be considered an ambitious outing for any band's debut. Clearly influenced by the primarily U.K-centered progressive rock scene, Dennis DeYoung (keyboard/vocals) hooked up with twin siblings Chuck Panozzo (bass/vocals) and John Panozzo (drums/percussion/vocals) in a combo named the Tradewinds during the late '60s…

For Styx II (1973), the Chicago-based quintet continue much in the same vein as their eponymous debut. The primary difference was the inclusion of the Dennis DeYoung power ballad "Lady" – which catapulted the combo into the Top Ten pop singles survey at an admirable number six…

Assembled with the cooperation of the band, Styx's entry in Universal's 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection series of discount-priced best-of's, surveys the group's tenure at A&M Records, where they scored most of their popular success…

Man of Miracles was Styx' fourth and final album on the Chicago-based indie label Wooden Nickel and even though the band had co-produced their previous two efforts – The Serpent Is Rising and Styx II – former producer John Ryan returned to the fold for this project…

Caught in the Act is a live double album by Styx, released in 1984. It contains one new song, "Music Time", which was released as a single, reaching #40 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts…

The Serpent Is Rising is the third album by Styx, released in 1973. The album was reissued in 1980 with new artwork and a new title, Serpent. The band considers this to be their worst recording…

Crystal Ball wasn't as successful as Equinox, but it was a better album, showcasing Styx's increased skill for crafting simple, catchy pop hooks out of their bombastic sound….

The practice of performing albums in their entirety gives both artists and their fans the chance to hear the hits and underappreciated deep cuts as well. However, in many cases, most of a classic album is in the set anyway. Styx's 2012 three-disc (two CDs and one DVD) release The Grand Illusion/Pieces of Eight Live is a fine example of giving casual fans and diehards the best of both worlds, and there's certainly an audience for this, since both 1977's The Grand Illusion and 1978's Pieces of Eight went triple-platinum in the United States…