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
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