WCSX Classic Cuts : The Grand Illusion
WCSX Classic Cuts
Styx: “The Grand Illusion”
The Hook: Don’t buy into the showbiz lie.
Year: 1977
Album: The Grand Illusion
Writer: Dennis DeYoung
Stats: Never released as a single, it’s continued to be a rock radio favorite for the band.
Background: “The Grand Illusion” by Styx is the title track of a conceptual album. Its writer, Dennis DeYoung, tells how it fits into that concept.
Former Styx singer-keyboardist Dennis DeYoung on what he was saying in “The Grand Illusion.” OC:…into it. :28
“The idea behind the album is that we create illusions in show business, and what you see on the stage, what you hear on the records are illusions. You know, we’re regular people like you, have the same problems, deal with the same life situations and so don’t be fooled by it. Which is what we’re trying to tell people – that when you see advertising and motion pictures and entertainment in general it’s a big lie. It’s supposed to be. It’s supposed to be bigger than life. And ‘The Grand Illusion’ was really a song that was coming clean on it, telling the audience, ‘Enjoy it, look at it, revel in it. Don’t buy into it.’”
