There is a version of this with Tommy Shaw and an all youth orchestra and choir that is just incredible! There is nothing like the sound of ROCK music, with a full orchestra!
You must check out the video of Tommy with the youth orchestra doing this song. It’s amazing! m.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-xpYHgbjOIq0.html
You have GOT to watch the version with the youth orchestra that Brian mentions. It is so, so incredible. You will not believe it. You will fall out of your chair. It's just incredible. It actually brings tears to my eyes.
I'm 60, and I wore out a couple of vinyl's of this album. I can remember my daughter telling me when she was a teenager, that the Album Cover freaked her out as a kid. 😊
Synthesizers are capable of millions of sounds. They are often just referred to as keyboards these days. Often back in those days keyboard players had a variety of keyboards. Dennis played many different keyboards so synthesizers weren't always listed specifically.
Now you need to hear their hit "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)". Very similar upbeat and inspirational message for when you're down and out and about to give up, just like this one.
This album was actually released in 1977. I first heard it on a senior high school flight back to the US from a 9 day tour of Europe. It still brings back the memories of that trip to this day. BTW the synth was more than likely an Oberheim synth at that time.
I got this album as an 8 track back in 78. Come Sail Away was what got my attention on the radio back then. It was a favorite album amongst many classic releases that year. A particularly annoying tech issue with 8 tracks, in this case Come Sail Away, was just as the song would start to fade out, it would go to the next program, THEN the song would finish fading out. Ugh, lol....
This entire albumn is awesome. You should start with the self titled song next "The Grand Illusion". I've always felt the best way to listen to this album is all the way through in a single sitting. Maybe I'm biased.
Next up has to be Blue Collar Man to complete the trifecta of classic Styx hits written and featuring Tommy Shaw. Also, from the Paradise Theater album, Too Much Time on My Hands.
So glad you're enjoying Styx! I'd love to see you react to some Three Dog Night. Joy to the World is a great start - especially the first line. You'll love it.
So now do you understand when people of my generation say "there's no real musicians or music anymore' you can see where we're coming from. There is some music I really like that has been produced in the last few decades but on the whole, nothing comes close to what we grew up with.
Started as a hometown pride band, and ended in love! Such a backdrop of my youth, in fact I had first heartbreak in 5th grade to "Babe" at the roller rink! 😂 (ok I'll give it the single tear) 😥 it was quite dramatic at the time & the song about killed me for a year or so. Lol Please take your time reacting to that one, I'll get my head together for it hahaa I kid... Great reaction to a great song choice! 😉♥️✌
Styx is one of those bands that just doesn't have bad songs....well, except for Mr. Roboto....but we'll let that one slide since there are a few who do 😊
"Keyboards" is a blanket term which can be anything from an electric piano like a Fender Rhodes piano or a synthesizer or a sampler. I used to own a Korg DSS-1 which stood for "Digital Sampling Synthesizer" which was one of the earlier sampling keyboards on the market. It could play sounds that were programmed in or loaded in through the floppy disk reader or you could create your own samples with it. Compared to today's keyboards, the memory was tiny so the samples had to be used somewhat sparingly but it was cool in its time.
I don't know if you do full album reactions but if you do "Grand Illusion" is a prime candidate. "It's one of those "go on a journey" concept albums. Get a glass of wine or a bowl, put on the headphones, kick back and take off for an hour. Each song compliments the others and adds to the musical and lyrical narrative. Pure flow. Great LP.
This song IS the late 70's early 80's if you were young, just out on your own and trying to make a living. We all got slapped down time and time again and this song helped to deal with it. This and Blue collar man
My favorite use of Synthesizer love the voicings and technical prowess of DeYoung here! Check out "a.d. 1928/rockin' the paradise" by them, a real treat!
They came to Milwaukee Wisconsin two summers ago and I was lucky enough to be able to see them live. They are still awesome and sound just as good as they did back in the day. ❤
There is a true story behind this song. It was written by Tommy Shaw about one of the other band members who was going through a particularly difficult time, "You've got it all in the palm of your hand, but your hand's wet with sweat and your head needs a rest". Check it out.
This specific song is quite reminiscent also of the sound of Supertramp which was a super group from the 70s and they could have done this song as well and it would have fit right into their album. These were the groups everybody was listening to in the late seventies along with ELO Queen and so many others like foreigner bad company blah blah blah the best time for music ever ever and it was still basically analog
Awesome reaction as always. I actually forgot about this song and am so stoked to add it to my playlist. TY for the fun and great memories of my youth!
This came out when I was 10 and I had the 8-track. Used to put my headphones on and fall asleep most nights listening to it or Pink Floyd's Animals album. Would wake up 8 hours later and the 8-track would still be going and the tape would be blisteringly hot. Carefully would pull it out and set it flat to cool off for the next night of play. I know this album so well after listening and sleeping to it for years on end. It's like an old friend.
Saw them way back in the day, then decades later are performing in my small hometown!! 👀 Missed them but... 🤯 Great band, adore the song, Tommy's birthday was the other day!! Great way to start my Saturday!! 😁👍🏽
This song always makes me think of my now late brother. This was great to heat back in the day. I will go to my grave with this album as their best. Even better than "Paradise Theater".
I really enjoy watching you react to this for the first time....I still love it even having heard it countless times since 1977. I saw Styx during their Kilroy Was Here tour when they still had their original lineup and they sounded identical to the album. Tommy Shaw and Dennis DeYoung had different writing styles but both super talented. And lets not forget James Young....I recommend Miss America from this album also! Pieces Of Eight and Cornerstone had some bangers on it as well.
This song was soooo popular. My brother had this album and i would take it and liaten to over and over . Even took it to music class, teacher was made at me. She was an ashole....lol
HAHA! Presets didn't exist on synths back in 1979. The laser effect you're hearing is the portamento or "glide" function which is when one note's pitch "slides" to the next note's pitch. When you increase the glide the rate of slide slows. Adding just a pinch of portamento creates that spacy laser effect. Pretty sure this is a Mini Moog Synth.
Try a song off the first Styx album called A Day I never knew they were that Proggy back in the day . If you like old Prog and Styx check it out Trippy tune
Would like you to check out a band no one else is reacting to. They are Shooting Star. Late 70s early 80s rock band from Kansas City Missouri. They were way underplayed on the radio but 5 of their songs got airplay from the 'Hang On For Your Life' album. Check out the songs ' Hollywood', 'Breakout', 'Flesh and Blood', 'Are You on my Side ' to start with. Every song on this album is good! Check it out.
And the only band I’ve seen that comes close to Nightwish as a live band. They were a great live band and put on a great show! “Last Chance” was an experience live!
I have over 3,000 vinyl albums in my collection mostly between 1968 and 1990 95 but mostly in the 70s and '80s... I don't need no stinking radio or RU-vid ... LOL
Pretty spot-on, your comparing it to a 70's video arcade game music, lol! And yet, yes...it ROCKS! I just checked: Glad to see you have heard "Come Sail Away" ! ---"Grand Illusion," "Miss America," and "Too Much Time on My Hands" still await you! And...if you REALLY want a mind-blowing intro of synthesizer overload, you really should consider Head East's one-hit wonder: "Never Been Any Reason." After said fire synth intro, all it does is...get better. Including the synth solo. You can thank me later.
