Audio Gear News & Reviews

Vintage Music Review (Special Limited Edition HQ Recording)

 

Styx - The Grand Illusion, 180 gram Vinyl Pressing, by Friday Music       *****

Performance; This is exceptional vinyl! Dubbed a “HQ recording” it’s mastered directly from the original A&M tapes, NOT from a distant relative as is too often the case with many “re-masters” re-issues, and sometimes even "so-called special editions". The mastering company is Friday Music Studios who specializes in creating “collector quality recordings”. They are a small company (when compared to the Sony’s, WB’s, or RCA's. of the world). Needless to say, The Grand Illusion as a performance and record release by Styx has been reviewed so many times I won’t bore you with yet another review about the musicians themselves, what comprises this as a theme album, or how it went on to become one of the most popular albums of all time, selling millions of the standard vinyl copies worldwide, and so on and so forth...

The only comment I will make about it is that what allowed this to become the performance it is, is in large part due to the era this came out of, a time of exceptional inspiration for rock musicians which I personally miss! Coming out of the melting pot of 60's and 70's. So many great guitar rock bands were either born during this unique time, or reached the ultimate culminating edition of themselves, resulting in an unparalleled world of original musical blends and styles, (psychedelic, Space, Industrial, jazz, blues, soul, big band, orchestra, and even Country - ROCK). Sadly, for fans like me, this level of musical artistry has not been even vaguely approached in all the time since then - combined). Guitarist James Young's said his inspiration for the guitar riff in “Miss America” came to him in the middle of the night when he was thinking about Jethro Tull’s “Minstrel in the Gallery".

Regardless, I must say that this heavy 180 gram vinyl itself appears to be a perfect pressing! It's so nice to not have even a "hint of warp". It is also housed in an extra thick gatefold cover with additional photo’s and liner notes, and includes a rice paper album sleeve (lint free ideal for record preservation and storage). So from a quality stand point, I cannot give high enough praise to such a masterful work of musical art!

Style: If you’re not familiar with it, it’s comparable to Toto or Kansas, and even hints toward Jazz Rock Fusion type bands, like Pablo Cruise. All seven band members harmonize, lots of synthesizers, piano, violin, and of course guitars, drums and bass.

Sound Quality: Sonically, this is an impressive recording. Rich instrumental textures, vocal layering, and exceptional frequency response seaming to extend from the highest highs to the lowest lows. Should you indulge yourself with one of these recordings, you will so appreciate the refreshing break from the over equalized re-masters that can end up being essentially just the mid range of an original recording). The outstanding sound quality should be appreciable even on the most entry level high fidelity system.  For instance I did all of my comparative listening tests (compared to the standard vinyl) using only modest equipment such as a set of our Monitor bookshelf speakers ($389.00/pr.) and Pro-Ject turntable/Ortofon cartridge combo ($369.00). (to be reviewed in upcoming blogs).

Too often sacrificed in today’s convenience machine is the sound quality. Thank the Gods for some small audiophile recording labels who still care about musicality, sound and build quality. Friday Music is one of these companies who take the time to remaster the recording from the original tapes, and not just make a copy of a copy (as mentioned above) or use some higher bit or scan rate (in the case of digital transfers), or who use flimsy (low cost) vinyl that typically warps or wears out prematurely. In fact, the 180 gram pressing is an impressively substantial masterwork and is perfectly flat! When we first opened and played it, I could not believe the difference in sound.  To use the cliche “night and day” is to undermine the significance of the contribution that audiophile labels can bless true music fans with.  Yes our Friday Music Remaster is a $25.99 dollar record, but OMG what an absolutely awesome musical treasure this is.  I found the layering of the vocals (as all seven band members sing) to be extraordinary – you can pick out the individual voices – do you know how many people think there is only one or two singing?  Like most audiophiles (true music lovers) I normally let the system warm up for a least 20 minutes prior to listening, most good amps sound considerably better at this point, so (do try this at home), but with this recording I was so blown away with what I heard as soon as the needle hit the groove, I had to immediately sit down and give it my undivided attention. So obvious was the sonic superiority that I actually pined for someone else to join me (my musical enjoyment is usually solely personal), just to hear what I was hearing.  I like Styx well enough, but honestly, no more than several other bands, but with this album, I now LOVE STYX, their music was like a narcotic, I had no idea the level of musicianship this band is cable of. Driving guitar work, celestial keyboarding, and hypnotic vocalization backed by a drummer who now sounded as if he was using small Louisville Sluggers instead of his normal drum styx, but what really blew me away, was the shock of how much larger the sound stage was over my original copy. When the system reached that 20 minute point at which time the amp started strutting its stuff, my connection to the music went from the equivalent of sitting in a lounge enjoying a live performance in the next room, to being transported to FRONT ROW CENTER with aural elements literally bouncing off walls to my sides and behind me.  I can now unequivocally state, that for my favorite recordings, it is these special 180 gram albums that I now intend to fill my music collection with!  Cheers!!!