Cornerstone (album)

Infobox Album |
Name = Cornerstone
Type = Album
Artist = Styx


Released = October 19, 1979
Recorded = 1979 at Pumpkin Studios, Oak Lawn, IL
Genre = Rock
Length = 38:17
Label = A&M
Producer = Styx
Reviews =
* Allmusic Rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:16ae4jo70wav~T1 link]
*"Rolling Stone" (mixed) [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/styx/albums/album/112671/review/5944097/cornerstone link]
Last album = "Pieces of Eight"
(1978)
This album = "Cornerstone"
(1979)
Next album = "Paradise Theatre"
(1981)

"Cornerstone" is the ninth studio album and third concept album by Styx, released in 1979 (see 1979 in music).

Cornerstone was Styx's follow-up to the Top 10 selling Triple Platinum album, 1978's Pieces of Eight.

Like the four previous Styx effort, the band produced the album themselves. However, the band started using a new recording studio Pumpkin Studios in Oak Lawn, Illinois and shied away from the art-rock/prog-rock influences that dominated their first eight studio albums.

The album was the band's first move towards pop/rock direction.

Dennis DeYoung had two ballads on the album. The first was the album's first single and Styx's only US #1 single "Babe" which Dennis wrote for his wife Suzanne. The track performed as demo with just him and the Panozzo brothers but then James Young and Tommy Shaw heard the track and decided to put it on Cornerstone with Shaw overdubbing a guitar solo in the song's middle section. Another ballad was "First Time" which was intended to be Cornerstone's second single until Shaw complained and threatened to leave the band. "Borrowed Time" was released instead, reaching #63 on the charts. DeYoung also wrote the Top 30 hit, the poppish "Why Me", which was the third single release from the album. Dennis pre-dominantly used a Fender Rhodes electric piano on half of the tracks.

DeYoung and Shaw co-wrote two tracks. The opening "Lights" was music by DeYoung and lyrics by Shaw (who sang the track). The rocking "Borrowed Time" had music by Shaw with lyrics from DeYoung (who sang this track). "Borrowed Time" would open concerts on the group's tour in support of Cornerstone nicknamed The Grand Decathlon tour.

Shaw's famous song on the album was the folkish sounding Boat on the River which became the band's biggest European hit. He also penned the poppish "Never Say Never" and the epic closer "Love in the Midnight," which has been sampled to create the hip-hop song "The Streets been good to me" by the artist Maino, on the album "Death before Dishonor".

JY contributed the rocker "Eddie", which was about Edward Kennedy.

Cornerstone became Styx's first US Top 5 album peaking at #2 on the Billboard album chart and is currently sitting at Double Platinum according to the R.I.A.A. although A&M said it went Triple Platinum (3 million copies sold in the US).

Track listing

#"Lights" (DeYoung, Shaw) – 4:38
#*"Lead vocals, vibraslap, guitar fills in middle: Tommy Shaw, synthesizer solo at start of song: Dennis DeYoung, guitar solo in middle: James Young
#"Why Me" (DeYoung) – 3:54
#*"Lead vocals: Dennis DeYoung, saxophone solos: Steve Eisen and lead guitar: James Young
#"Babe" (DeYoung) – 4:25
#*"Lead vocals: Dennis DeYoung, lead guitar: Tommy Shaw
#"Never Say Never" (Shaw) – 3:08
#*"Lead vocals: Tommy Shaw
#"Boat on the River" (Shaw) – 3:10
#*"Lead vocals and mandolin: Tommy Shaw, accordion and backing vocals: Dennis DeYoung, string bass: Chuck Panozzo, bass drum and tambourine: John Panozzo and acoustic guitar: James Young
#"Borrowed Time" (DeYoung, Shaw, Young) – 4:58
#*"Lead vocals: Dennis DeYoung, lead guitar: Tommy Shaw
#"First Time" (DeYoung) – 4:24
#*"Lead vocals: Dennis DeYoung, lead guitar: James Young
#"Eddie" (Young) – 4:15
#*"Lead vocals and lead guitar: James Young
#"Love in the Midnight" (Shaw) – 5:25
#*"Lead vocals: Tommy Shaw, synthesizer solo: Dennis DeYoung, lead guitar: James Young

Personnel

Styx
*Dennis DeYoung - keyboards, vocals
*Chuck Panozzo - bass, vocals
*John Panozzo - percussion, drums, vocals
*Tommy Shaw - Electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vibraslap, mandolin, autoharp, vocals
*James Young - guitars, guitar synthesizer, autoharp, vocals

Additional personnel
*Steve Eisen - saxophone
*Arnie Roth - strings on "First Time" and "Love in the Midnight"
*Ed Tossing - horn

Production

*Producer: Styx
*Engineers: Rob Kingsland, Gary Loizzo
*Arrangers: Arnie Roth, Ed Tossing
*Design: Mick Haggerty
*Photography: Aaron Rapoport

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)