Reviewed! Styx - The Grand Illusion/Pieces of Eight Live

Styx

The Grand Illusion/Pieces of Eight Live

Eagle

The Grand Illusion/Pieces of Eight Live recounts one of the most intriguing tours Styx has ever embarked on, one that would see the band perform, in their entirety, their two biggest breakout records - The Grand Illusion and Pieces of Eight Live. The concert footage is great, finding the band sounding as good as ever, while the overall stage visuals, including Star War-esque text scrolling across a giant plasma screen and a kid dropping The Grand Illusion album on a turntable, are rather interesting. Hell, the band even alerts the crowd when they are moving from Side One to Side Two, as the same kid flips the record over. The material off of The Grand Illusions plays better than that off of Pieces of Eight, though “Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)” and “Renegade” aren’t to be missed, but even those hits aren’t enough to overshadow the sheer power of “Fooling Yourself (Angry Young Man)” and  “Come Sail Away.” The only true disappointment of The Grand Illusion/Pieces of Eight Live  would have to be the extras, which feature a series of brief interviews with the crew, giving us glimpses of their jobs, which adds up to about 30 minutes, though unfortunately, that's all there is. Still, the live footage is what will draw you to The Grand Illusion/Pieces of Eight Live, so focus on that, and just don’t worry about anything else – at least the concert is more than worth watching.

Grade: B