5. The Grand Illusion - Styx
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5MAg_yWsq8 I always felt a little bad for Styx. Too cheesy to be taken as seriously as groups like Led Zeppelin, but too serious to be lightly enjoyed like Journey. Sure, they racked up the hits, but will anyone really admit to loving Lady (even though we all secretly do)? But in 1977 they were still going strong, and released one of their biggest hits, The Grand Illusion. The songs are all bit over-the-top (I think Come Sail Away is about aliens) and a little too earnest for what are basically cheese-rock anthems. The grandiosity comes from the meaning band leader Dennis DeYoung swears is implicit in the album. While not a concept album, it deals with the modern struggle to defeat superficiality and find our true worth. For a taste, heres a few lines from the title track: so if you think your life is complete confusion/'cause your neighbor's got it made/just remember that it's a grand illusion/and deep inside we're all the same. Im being a little mean, now; I really do wish we had more bands like Styx around today. I mean, a lot of them (not naming any names) take themselves just as seriously. Wouldnt it be nice if they sang songs about being true to ourselves?