• Soundboard 8.6 - Starts off rough but quickly things improve and soon a really bright, vibrant tape emerges. Might be a touch too much high end here, but I interpret that to mean this must be a low gen source. Most everyone is going to dig this, add it to the collection for sure!
  • FM Broadcast 9.1 (Seattle)  and Audience 8.3 (Fresno) - Two very cool shows with the first one taking the cake for fidelity but the second one is a stomper. It is pretty clear with guitar being very good and loud (screaming in fact!) but not at the expense of everything else. It’s lacking maybe some lower end definition and separation of instruments during their jamming parts (might lose some of the drums in there, and keyboards are absent sometimes) but these are not going to bother you when you start listening to this gig because it’s a thriller. STYX Paramount Theater Seattle, WA March 26, 1976 Reel to Reel Master @ 3 AND 3/4 ips KZOK Too High Concert Aired March 19th 1979 THE BAND Chuck Panozzo bass backing vocals James Young guitar backing and lead vocals Tommy Shaw guitar lead and backing vocals Dennis DeYoung lead and backing vocals keyboards John Panozzo drums Disc 1 1 -Intro 2 -Born For Adventure 3 -Lorelei 4 -You Need Love 5 -Suite Madame Blue 6 -Midnight Ride 7 -Rock and Roll Feeling with Guitar and Drum Solos 8 -KZOK sTATION ID Disc 2 Selland Arena, Fresno, CA. August 14th 1977 1. -Intro (2:51) 2. -Put Me On (6:08) 3. -Lorelei (6:35) 4. -Mademoiselle (5:21) 5. -Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man) (5:38) 6. -Suite Madame Blue (10:21) 7. -Crystal Ball (6:23) Disc 3 1. -Light Up (4:55) (Sourced from Miami 1977) 2. -Come Sail Away (8:42) 3. -Lady (4:27) 4. -Midnight Ride (10:26) 5. -Miss America (6:54) 6. -Born For Adventure (6:20)
  • Audience 8.6 - A tape that benefited from a recent re-mastering which boosted the middle frequencies so that it is no longer “hollowed out” like it was. Good round bottom end on this one, not boomy but present. Jai-Lai Fronton, Miami, FL December 4, 1977 Band line up Dennis DeYoung - vocals, keyboards Tommy Shaw - guitar, vocals James Young - lead guitar, vocals John Panozzo - drums, vocals (passed away July 16, 1996, aged 47) Chuck Panozzo - bass, vocals Total Time = 01:33:31 Setlist Disc 1 01 The Grand Illusion 02 Lorelei 03 Mademoiselle 04 Fooling Yourself 05 Suite Madame Blue 06 Crystal Ball 07 Light Up 08 Man In The Wilderness Disc 2 09 Come Sail Away 10 Lady 11 Midnight Ride 12 crowd cheer 13 Miss America 14 crowd cheer 15 Born For Adventure
  • Audience 8.3 - A fun and rowdy crowd who seem to really appreciate the band and their music…a lot!  Recording is decent, not particularly detailed but it’s a lot like being thrown into the crowd so you get plenty of enthusiasm near the tapers. I found it to be kind of amusing and not a one and done. Apollo Theatre Manchester, England 1978-05-11 AUDIENCE 75 minutes TRACKS: 1. -The Grand Illusion 2. -Lorelei 3. -Mademoiselle 4. -Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man) 5. -Suite Madame Blue 6. -Crystal Ball 7. -Lady 8. -Man In The Wilderness 9. -Come Sail Away 10. -Midnight Ride 11. -Miss America STYX DENNIS DEYOUNG - keyboards, vocals & synthesizers CHUCK PANOZZO - bass guitar JOHN PANOZZO - drums & percussion JAMES YOUNG - lead guitar & vocals TOMMY SHAW - electric, 12-string and acoustic lead guitars & vocals This is the first time of STYX in England and Europe as well.
  • Long Beach 1978 Audience 9.3 - This recording could easily pass as a KBFH radio broadcast it is very well done, but my only complaint is one that probably has nothing to do with the tape itself but rather the stage mix. If you are a guitar guy, you will want more guitars in the mix – that being said you are going to be getting breathtaking keyboards, vocals, and solid drums and a bass that is there holding it together but not booming or rumbling. All in all, this one is quite different than other bootleg tapes of the era, it has a professionalism to it that you won’t hear often. I say this is probably a must have for Styx collectors. Oakland 1978 Audience 8.4 - Sadly, what tries to be a very good recording just doesn’t quite reach that status due mainly to what I believe is the wrong style of microphone used. To my ears, it sounds like a condenser mic, and consequently the audio is bunched up into the middle frequency leaving indistinct instrument separation. That being said, it’s “trying” to be very good and in spots it really is – mainly during quieter passages where you can tell the taper did bring pretty good gear. Almost but not quite, but still qualifying as a good addition to a Styx fan’s collection (and great as a “bonus” concert in this set). Styx Long Beach Arena Long Beach, CA January 27, 1978 Disc 1 01 The Grand Illusion 02 Lorelei 03 Mademoiselle 04 Fooling Yourself 05 Suite Madame Blue 06 Crystal Ball 07 Light Up 08 Lady Disc 2 09 Man In The Wilderness 10 Come Sail Away 11 Midnight Ride 12 Miss America 13 Born For Adventure Oakland Coliseum Arena Oakland, CA. October 19th 1978 Disc 3 1. -Great White Hope (7:01) 2. -Lorelei (6:39) 3. -I'm Okay (6:24) 4. -Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man) (5:42) 5. -Suite Madame Blue (9:58) 6. -Crystal Ball (7:50) 7. -The Grand Illusion (4:58) Disc 4 1. -Renegade (10:59) 2. -Lady (4:25) 3. -Blue Collar Man (Long Nights) (6:15) 4. -Come Sail Away (9:40) 5. -Miss America (10:08) 6. -Midnight Ride (11:00)
  • Audience 8.8 - A very clean, clear tape which to my ears only needs one thing – more “fatness” – but I found myself getting used to the more midrangey sound as I listened and then I realized it’s a very good recording that requires you to stick with it until it kind of normalizes. I mean, there’s bass here, and it’s actually somewhat detailed…that is what this tape offers more than anything is that each instrument is pretty distinct in this mix. That is what sucks you into the show and why I think it’s worth getting for the collection. Styx Ford Auditorium Detroit, MI 1976-11-29 01. Intro 02. Put Me On 03. Lorelei 04. Shooz 05. Madammoiselle 06. Light Up -> 07. Suite Madame Blue 08. Lady 09. Midnight Ride 10. Guitar Solo 11. 22 Years Band Members: Dennis DeYoung – vocals, keyboards, accordion John Panozzo – drums, percussion Chuck Panozzo – bass guitar, vocals James Young – vocals, guitar, keyboards Tommy Shaw – vocals, guitars, mandolin, autoharp, talkbox  
  • FM Radio Broadcast 9.2 - Very enjoyable, and tape runs stable and clean so you can blast this at your next gathering of friends (which is soon, hopefully). The bonus material (Kansas City 78) is very good also, an audience recording with nice atmosphere. All of the material in this set is prime era Styx, for me anyway. Styx Chicago Stadium, Chicago, IL December 18, 1978 Band line up Dennis DeYoung - vocals, keyboards Tommy Shaw - guitar, vocals James Young - lead guitar, vocals John Panozzo - drums, vocals (passed away July 16, 1996, aged 47) Chuck Panozzo - bass, vocals Disc 1 01 -Intro - Great White Hope 02 -I'm O.K. 03 -The Grand Illusion 04 -Fooling Yourself 05 -Queen of Spades 06 -Acoustic Instrumental 07 -Crystal Ball 08 -Intro - Suite Madame Blue 09 -Renegade (incl. drum solo) 10 -Lady 11 -Blue Collar Man Disc 2 12 -Come Sail Away 13 -Intro - Midnight Ride (incl. guitar solo) 14 -Miss America Kemper Arena, Kansas City, MO November 21, 1978 15 Lady 16 Fooling Yourself 17 Suite Madame Blue 18 Come Sail Away 19 Midnight Ride 20 Miss America
  • M Radio 8.9 - This is NOT the Mantra Studios 77, this is the concert from September of 1977 and it is GREAT!
  • Audience 9.0 - High quality microphones placed in the right spot yield terrific results like this. Bravo!
  • Audience 8.0 - Typical big rock sound. I like the Palo Alto show here, it’s the stronger of the two as far as clarity, but the San Francisco show sounds somewhat meatier ~ it’s a trade off.
  • Soundboard 9.6 - Superb recording that delights the senses in every way with precision attack. The distortion this band uses does not in any way mask imperfection as so many other bands use it for, in fact the band is unbelievably tight, and the mix highlights each of them in a very harmonious way but especially tantalizing is the bass sound and placement in the mix. You'd expect, and even almost prefer that the vocals be the star of the show but they are not particularly highlighted as good as they are. The guitar solos are breathtaking, and each player is panned to one side in a non-synthetic stereo sound-field giving the listener a sense of space, like natural surround sound. Great great recording! Stryper B.B. Kings Blues Club New York, NY. Sept. 24, 2005 Disc 1 1. Intro 2. For You 3. Open Your Eyes 4. Make You Mine (cut) 5. Loud N Clear 6. Loving You 7. The Rock That Makes Me Roll 8. Reach Out 9. Calling On You 10. Free 11. Lady 12. Honestly 13. Passion Disc 2 14. All For One 15. Band Intros - Drum Solo 16. Live Again 17. Reborn 18. The Way 19. To Hell With The Devil 20. More Than A Man 21. Soldiers Under Command 22. Closing Prayer
  • Audience 9.0 - Great low end and high end signal! Rare to find both intact, you can turn this up loud.
  • Audience 8.2 - Kind of bass heavy and muddy mix, but its OK once your ears adjust.

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