Man of Miracles

{{for-multi|the comic character|Man of Miracles (comics)|other uses of "Miracle Man"|Miracle Man (disambiguation)}}

{{Infobox album

| name = Man of Miracles

| type = Album

| artist = Styx

| cover = Styx - Man of Miracles.jpg

| alt =

| released = October 1974

| recorded = 1974

| venue =

| studio = Golden Voice Studios, South Pekin, IL

| genre = {{hlist|Progressive rock|hard rock}}

| length = 37:20

| label = Wooden Nickel

| producer = John Ryan, Bill Traut

| prev_title = The Serpent Is Rising

| prev_year = 1973

| next_title = Equinox

| next_year = 1975

}}

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|2.5|5}} {{AllMusic | class=album | id=man-of-miracles-mw0000207176 | title=Styx: Man of Miracles | first=Lindsay | last=Planer | accessdate=April 29, 2020}}

| rev2 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide

| rev2Score = {{Rating|1|5}} {{cite book| last = Brackett | first = Nathan |author2=Christian Hoard | title = The Rolling Stone Album Guide | publisher = Simon and Schuster | year = 2004 | location = New York City, New York | page = [https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/789 789] | isbn = 0-7432-0169-8 | url = https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac| url-access = registration | quote = rolling stone styx album guide. }}

| noprose = yes

}}

Man of Miracles is the fourth album by Styx, released in October 1974. It entered the Billboard Album charts on November 9, where it reached No. 154.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/styx/chart-history/tlp/|title=Styx chart history|magazine=Billboard }}

This would be the band's last original album on the independent Chicago-based label Wooden Nickel Records before moving to the major label A&M.

Background

The album had a diverse sound, it showcased the style of two band members and a pre-commercial sound: James "JY" Young songs were more straight ahead hard rockers, while Dennis DeYoung songs were more mellow ballads, classical, and prog rock songs.

The original issue contained the catchy upbeat cover of "Lies" by The Knickerbockers in 1965. A second release of Man of Miracles substituted this with "Best Thing", a song also contained on the first Styx album from 1972, as the opening track on side two. The album was again reissued in 1980 with new artwork and a newly abbreviated title, Miracles. This version started the second side with the ballad "Unfinished Song", which is sung by Dennis DeYoung.{{cite web |url=http://styxworld.com/news/news/435735/man-of-miracles-turns-42-today |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408154503/http://styxworld.com/news/news/435735/man-of-miracles-turns-42-today |archive-date=2019-04-08 |title=Man of Miracles Turns 42 Today! - Styx}}

Track listing

{{Track listing

| headline = Side one

| extra_column = Lead vocals
Lead guitar

| title1 = Rock & Roll Feeling

| writer1 = James Young, John Curulewski

| extra1 = Young

| length1 = 3:02

| title2 = Havin' a Ball

| writer2 = Curulewski, Young

| extra2 = Young

| length2 = 3:53

| title3 = Golden Lark

| writer3 = Dennis DeYoung

| extra3 = DeYoung
Young

| length3 = 3:23

| title4 = A Song for Suzanne

| writer4 = DeYoung

| extra4 = DeYoung
Young

| length4 = 5:15

| title5 = A Man Like Me

| writer5 = Young

| extra5 = Young

| length5 = 2:57

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side two

| extra_column = Lead vocals
Lead guitar

| title6 = Lies

| writer6 = Buddy Randell, Beau Charles

| extra6 = DeYoung
Young

| length6 = 2:41

| title7 = Evil Eyes

| writer7 = DeYoung

| extra7 = DeYoung
Young

| length7 = 4:02

| title8 = Southern Woman

| writer8 = Young, Ray Brandle

| extra8 = Young

| length8 = 3:10

| title9 = Christopher, Mr. Christopher

| writer9 = DeYoung

| extra9 = DeYoung
Young

| length9 = 4:02

| title10 = Man of Miracles

| writer10 = Young, DeYoung, Brandle

| extra10 = Young

| length10 = 4:55

}}

Personnel

=Styx=

Dennis DeYoung – vocals, keyboards
James "JY" Young – vocals, guitars
John Curulewski – vocals, guitars, synthesizers
Chuck Panozzo – bass
John Panozzo – drums, percussion

=Production=

Producer: John Ryan for Chicago Kid Productions
Engineer: Gary Loizzo

Artwork

The cover art was designed by Leon Rosenblatt, whose name is printed on the back credits as "Lee Rosenblatt."Personal interview.

Miscellaneous

The initials "LJR" are plainly visible in the wizard's beard, and were likely hidden there by the album's artist, Leon J. Rosenblatt.

Charts

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
scope="col"\| Chart (1974) ! scope="col"\| Peak position
{{album chart\|Billboard200\|154\|artist=Styx\|rowheader=true\|access-date=January 26, 2024}}

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

scope="col"| Chart (1974)

! scope="col"| Peak
position

{{album chart|Billboard200|154|artist=Styx|rowheader=true|access-date=January 26, 2024}}

References

External links

[http://www.allmusic.com/album/man-of-miracles-mw0000207176 Styx - Man of Miracles (1974) album review by Lindsay Planer, credits & releases] at AllMusic.com
[https://www.discogs.com/Styx-Man-Of-Miracles/release/2090633 Styx - Man of Miracles (1974) album releases & credits] at Discogs.com
[http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=2200 Styx - Man of Miracles (1974) album credits & user reviews] at ProgArchives.com
[https://open.spotify.com/album/09JEpdD4alldfqoUEHu33I Styx - Man of Miracles (1974) album to be listened] as stream at Spotify.com

Category:1974 albums

Category:Styx (band) albums