Styx: “You Need Love” (1975)

The second single from Styx II proves that lightning doesn’t strike twice in the same place.

Kronomyth 4.5: Lady or the tiger.

With the success of “Lady,” Wooden Nickel released a second single from Styx II, You Need Love. The opening track on their second album, it’s an exciting start and the prototype of opening tracks that “set the stage” for future Styx albums (see “Light Up,” “Put Me On” and “The Grand Illusion” for more on this). For the single version, the labels chopped off some of the intro and removed two of the verses after the middle solo, keeping it to a tight three minutes. Lacking the elegance of a “Lady,” the single didn’t perform particularly well, appearing briefly in the Top 100 on the long coattails of the aforementioned hit. The B side is You Better Ask, a rock & roller from John Curulewski that serves as a PSA for protected sex as the author gets a girl pregnant and then contracts an STD. I think it’s meant to be funny, if schadenfreude is your thing.

Original 7-inch single version

A1. You Need Love (Dennis DeYoung) (3:00)
B1. You Better Ask (John Curulewski) (3:10)

The Plastic

Released on 7-inch single on May 2, 1975 in the US (Wooden Nickel, WB-10272) with picture sleeve. Also released as promotional 7-inch single in 1975 in the US (Wooden Nickel, JH-10272) with A mono on flip. Reached #88 on the US charts (charted on May 17, 1975 for 2 weeks).