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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Styx at their Best, April 9, 2000
This is the one album where Styx was firing on all cylinders. It was their first on the A&M label and probably their best. Obviously inspired by the promotion to a major label, having left Wooden Nickel, Dennis DeYoung seemed to be re-born. Before he gave up high energy rock for his all-ballads-and-broadway sound, Dennis had previously taken control on Styx' next best effort, Styx II. Possibly dejected by that album's lack of sales, he took a back seat on "Serpent is Rising" and "Man of Miracles," the albums susequent to II, but he came back strong here. "Light Up" opens the album with a hint to the light pop sound Styx would adopt on future projects, but the album breaks hard and fast with "Lorelei," an infectious power pop song with which I'm sure most Styx fans are now familiar. "Mother Dear," a song co-written by John Curulewski, one of the original band members, is hauntingly beautiful with a few power guitar riffs thrown in just to keep you guessing. The song also reminds us that DeYoung is a hell of a good keyboard player. "Midnight Ride" is James Young's hard rock offering -- before he seemed to lose confidence in his ability to write songs. Reminiscent of a Ted Nugent chord progression, the song offers those of us craving metal with melody. During that time period, we came to look forward to the one JY rocker on each album. There are no weak efforts on this CD. If only Styx were still making recordings like this.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great hard rock album with some prog, April 14, 2007
I waited at least (gasp) over 25 years from the time that I had first heard of Styx (maybe 79-80) before I purchased my first Styx album (The Grand Illusion, 1977). I enjoyed that album so much that I started right at the beginning with the Wooden Nickel albums and worked my way up through Pieces of Eight (1978). This 1975 release was the band's first major label release following the final Wooden Nickel album Man of Miracles (1974) and shows the band beginning to develop the signature sound that was brought to it's fullest expression on albums like The Grand Illusion and Pieces of Eight. In general, Equinoxe presents a good example of American hard rock with aspects of English Progressive rock mixed in that makes for a very enjoyable listening experience.
The lineup at this point included John Curulewski (electric and acoustic guitars, synthesizers, vocals); Dennis DeYoung (acoustic piano, synthesizers, Hammond organ, vocals); Chuck Panozzo (bass guitar and vocals); John Panozzo (drums, percussion, and vocals); and James Young (electric and acoustic guitars, vocals). All of the guys are solid players and there is some good ensemble work. The flourishes on the synthesizers (mini moog I think) are reminiscent of some English progressive rock and add a lot to the overall sound. All of the vocalists are great and there are some excellent vocal harmonies throughout the entire album. Equinoxe would be John Curulewski's last album with the band and he was replaced by Tommy Shaw on the follow up Crystal Ball (1976).
The eight tracks on the album range in length from 3'19 to the 7'52" Prelude 12/Suite Madame Blue suite. In large part, the music on Equinoxe is fairly sophisticated hard rock with some progressive touches here and there. All in all, this makes for a pretty good combination in my book. There are nice dynamic contrasts between the spacier sections dominated by acoustic guitars/synthesizers and the harder rocking tunes dominated by heavily distorted guitars, a "heavy metal" vocal style, and a thunderous rhythm section, e.g. Midnight Ride, Born for Adventure. Melodies are also used a lot on Equinoxe and leaven the heavier aspects of the music nicely. I have to say that as a hard core prog fan, my favorite moments on the album include the rich sounding 12 string acoustic guitars on Prelude 12; the spacey synthesizers on Suite Madame Blue, and the tracks Light Up and Lorelei, although all of the tracks are pretty enjoyable.
This album is recommended to those folks that like well arranged and well played hard rock, with touches of prog here and there along with The Grand Illusion and Pieces of Eight. Other stylistically similar albums that might be enjoyable include two by Kansas (Song for America, 1975; Leftoverture, 1976) and two by Rush (Farewell to Kings, 1977; and Hemispheres, 1978).
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Their best album ever, May 1, 2000
This is the one Styx album I can still listen to from start to finish without skipping any songs. It perfectly blends the keyboard/guitar sound that so many band were not able to do (including Styx in their later music). There is no weak song in the lineup. It also serves as the last album John Curelewski played on sadly. Although I like the song, "Light Up" is an indicator of things to come in the Styx sound. Dennis DeYoung wrote some great rockers in "Lorelei" & "Born For Adventure" that he was rarely able to do in later efforts and JY's "Midnight Ride" is the typical great hard rocking song we came to expect from him. It's a shame that since this album, JY has only been delegated an average of 1 song per album, a crime in my opinion, with vocals being taken over by Dennis DeYoung (and later Tommy Shaw). This comment however does not diminish the fact that this is a complete album from start to finish. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes classic rock!
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