Crystal Ball (1976)
1.Put Me On
2.Mademoiselle
3.Jennifer
4.Crystal Ball
5.Shooz
6.This Old Man
7.Clair De Lune/Ballerina
For many longtime fans, this is where the real story ofStyx begins. The years spent toiling under the Wooden Nickel label were behind them, and with a fresh deal at A&M and a bit of momentum courtesy of a resurrected hit single (Lady, of course), the band seemed poised for a breakthrough. But just as the clouds were starting to part, fate threw them a curveball—original guitarist John Curelewski departed the band right before the big national tour. At the time, it may have seemed disastrous. In hindsight, it was anything but.
Enter Tommy Shaw—a young, wiry talent from Alabama who happened to be playing with a band named MS Funk in Chicago when the call came in. His audition? Sing the high notes on Lady. He nailed it, naturally. What no one could have known was that they’d just found the missing piece. Shaw brought strong vocals, a knack for songwriting, blistering guitar chops, and—let’s be honest—a whole lot of appeal for the female contingent. He may not have seemed like a natural fit at first (a Southern rock kid dropped into a Midwestern band that dabbled in mythology and pipe organs?), but any doubts were quickly erased once this album hit.
Shaw’s presence is felt immediately. The title track, Crystal Ball, remains a fan favorite despite receiving little airplay at the time. It’s the kind of track that doesn’t need a radio push—it finds its home onstage, where it thrives. Shooz, co-written with JY, is a snarling riff-driven rocker that wouldn’t have sounded out of place on a ZZ Top record. And then there’s Mademoiselle, a bright pop tune with Shaw’s fingerprints all over it, co-written with DeYoung and hinting at what this new lineup was capable of.
Ironically, Dennis DeYoung—the man who dominated the writing on Equinox—feels a bit off his game here. His solo contributions (Jennifer, This Old Man) aren’t without charm, but they lack the punch of his earlier work. Still, he saves face with Ballerina, a sweeping piece co-written with Shaw that draws from Debussy and showcases DeYoung’s piano prowess in full bloom. It’s theatrical, emotional, and very much a sign of things to come.
Unlike the earlier Wooden Nickel efforts—which now feel hopelessly stuck in their time—Crystal Ball sounds almost futuristic by comparison. It's a transitional record, yes, but one that looks forward instead of back. Ironically, it sold fewer copies than Equinox when it came out in 1976, but history would be far kinder. Fans still hold this one close, and rightly so. With Tommy Shaw now firmly in place, the final piece was in the puzzle. The rocket was fueled and ready.
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