Monday, January 29, 2018

Music Monday (Styx II, Side 2)

After me basically drooling over side one, it has now become the time to focus on the flip side of Styx II. Prepare for more drool. But first, the album cover from the 1980 re-issue:




Obviously re-named after the classic hit from side one. Once again, just like the Styx I re-issue, this is the album that I knew and played over and over again. I like this cover better than the original as well.

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Side Two


5) Little Fugue in "G"/Father O.S.A - After using some Aaron Copeland on the first album, Dennis DeYoung plays a piece by Bach on a church organ as an intro to the longest song on side two. Even though they are listed separately, I always think of them as being one unit.

Best. Song. On. The. Album.

I cannot tell you how much I love this song. It is my favorite of all the Wooden Nickle tracks. From the organ playing throughout, along with church bells, and the dual guitars cranking away, it's just magnificent all the way to the fade out where if you listen closely it ends with DDY on piano. Along with "Lady" (and also "A Day"), this is the reason to own this album.

Father - you're a sad old man, your tawdry vest is gray
Memories of a former man are all your words convey

Father - oh can't you see the tarnished robe you wear
A crown for fools, the people laugh - You never seem to hear

Father - you're life's a ship that's never been to sea
The bottle that surrounds your life you'll sail eternally

Children please understand a man must stand alone
And face a world he'll never know and never call his own

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6) Earl of Roseland - DDY sings another one, basically about growing up in the Roseland area of Chicago. It's another good song, but I always felt like this was a regional "suck up" song.

Penny pitching on the walk waiting for the bus to arrive
Me and Davy playing sport watching for the cops to go by
Spider man and the Human Torch, they cover Barney's newsstand
Morning crowds start to gather round, fast finger steals what he can

Morning leaves for the afternoon, the boys show up on time
In the streets near the People's store below the electrical sign
Catch a glimpse of a passing car, raced and ready to drag
Then the skirts start to tantalize, the boys how they boast and they brag

Oh the Earl of Roseland
Oh the Earl of Roseland

Where has he gone? 
A memory at dawn
You're just a bit of the past

Oh the Earl of Roseland
Oh the Earl of Roseland

Me and Davy gazing back, see ourselves as we were
How we laugh when we think of things that we did yesteryear
I can see Charlie on the porch, Johnny clicking his sticks
And two boys I don't even know rehearsing electric string tricks

Oh the Earl of Roseland...


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7) I'm Gonna Make You Feel It - This one kind of reminds me of "Best Thing" from Styx I because it has DDY and James Young sharing vocals. It's a short little rocking number that finishes the album, but it's a good one. This song also appears on the Best of Styx album. It was also released as a single, but apparently did not chart.



Every day I get the feeling when you move on down the street
Wondering when I’ll be your lover and you’ll make my dream complete

The way you walk is so inviting that I quiver and I shake
The way you move it makes me wonder how much more can I take

I’m gonna make you feel it
Basically that’s what I say
I’m gonna make you feel it
Cause you want it just that way

Every time that we’re together my head starts to rock and roll
I get this strange electric feeling that I simply can’t control

I’m gonna make you feel it
Basically that’s what I say
I’m gonna make you feel it
Cause you want it just that way

I’m gonna make you feel it
I’m gonna make you feel it
I’m gonna make you feel it 

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As far as albums go, this is a must have. It is the best of early Styx and a small glimpse into the future success of the band.

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