Starcastle are one of the most lush and unabashedly symphonic bands American progressive rock ever produced — an Illinois group so steeped in the sound of Yes that their soaring harmonies and shimmering keyboards could fool you into thinking you had stumbled on a lost British classic. For a few golden years in the 1970s, they made some of the most gorgeous symphonic prog to come out of the United States, and remain a beloved cult name among fans of the genre.

The short version

Formed in Champaign, Illinois and named in the mid-1970s, Starcastle played lush, Yes-influenced symphonic prog — all soaring vocals, intricate keyboards and melodic, fantasy-tinged epics. Across four albums for Epic, beginning with their acclaimed self-titled debut (1976), they brought a distinctly American warmth to the British symphonic style. Often compared to Yes, but rich and skilful in their own right, they are a treasured name in 1970s prog.

Illinois: an American Yes

Starcastle grew out of the Champaign, Illinois music scene, evolving through a series of earlier bands before settling on the name Starcastle in the mid-1970s. Their classic line-up came together around singer Terry Luttrell — formerly the original lead vocalist of fellow Champaign band REO Speedwagon — alongside keyboardist Herb Schildt, bassist Gary Strater, drummer Stephen Tassler and guitarists Stephen Hagler and Matthew Stewart. After years of gigging, they signed to Epic Records and released their self-titled debut in 1976, immediately drawing both acclaim and inevitable comparisons to Yes.

Lush symphonic prog

There is no mistaking Starcastle’s chief inspiration. Terry Luttrell’s high, airy tenor is strikingly close to Jon Anderson’s, Gary Strater’s melodic Rickenbacker bass recalls Chris Squire, and Herb Schildt’s banks of Moog, organ and Mellotron evoke Rick Wakeman. Layered over the band’s twin guitars and rich vocal harmonies, the result is gorgeous, lush symphonic prog full of fantasy imagery and soaring melody. Yet there was an American flavour too — hints of Kansas, Styx and Boston — and beneath the Yes comparisons lay genuine skill and ambition. For lovers of the classic symphonic sound, few bands deliver it so generously.

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From Starcastle to Real to Reel

Their self-titled debut (1976) was their high point — a lush, confident symphonic statement built around the ten-minute epic “Lady of the Lake” — and remains their best-loved album. “Fountains of Light” (1977) continued in the same gorgeous style, before “Citadel”, produced in England by Roy Thomas Baker, showed the band growing in maturity and stretching slightly beyond their Yes-like beginnings. For their fourth album, “Real to Reel”, their label pushed them toward a more commercial, streamlined sound, a change that disappointed the band and hastened their breakup at the end of the decade.

Album by album

Four albums of lush, melodic, classic-styled symphonic prog. Tap any title for its guide.

The players

Starcastle’s classic line-up was a six-piece: singer Terry Luttrell, guitarists Stephen Hagler and Matthew Stewart, keyboardist Herb Schildt, bassist Gary Strater and drummer Stephen Tassler. Luttrell came to the band from REO Speedwagon, while Schildt would later leave music to become a celebrated author of computer-programming books. Bassist Gary Strater, a founding figure and the heart of the band’s sound, kept the Starcastle name alive through later reunions until his death in 2004. The band has continued to reform in various forms in the years since, but their classic 1970s albums remain their enduring legacy.

Where to start

Begin with the self-titled debut “Starcastle” (1976) — their finest hour, and one of the great American symphonic prog albums, home to the magnificent “Lady of the Lake”. From there, “Fountains of Light” (1977) offers more of the same lush, soaring sound, while “Citadel” shows the band maturing and reaching for something of their own. Three albums that capture Starcastle at their shimmering best.

Why they still matter

Starcastle matter as the most gloriously symphonic of America’s 1970s prog bands — a group who took the grand, soaring sound of British prog and rendered it with such skill, beauty and conviction that their best work stands proudly alongside their influences. Long dismissed by some as mere imitators, they have been steadily rediscovered as fans return to the pure pleasures of vintage symphonic rock. For anyone who loves that lush, melodic classic-prog sound, Starcastle are a treasure well worth seeking out.

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