The_Serpent_Is_Rising
The Serpent Is Rising
1973 studio album by Styx
The Serpent Is Rising is the third album by American band Styx, released in October 1973, a mere three months after their previous album Styx II in July 1973.
| The Serpent Is Rising | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 1, 1973 (1973-10-01)[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1973 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 40:07 | |||
| Label | Wooden Nickel | |||
| Producer | Styx, Barry Mraz | |||
| Styx chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Serpent Is Rising | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [3] |
The album was reissued in 1980 with new artwork and a new title, Serpent.[4]
The album peaked at #192 on the Billboard 200, their second-lowest charting album, and as of 2007 has sold fewer than 100,000 copies worldwide.[5]
Described as a loose concept album, The Serpent Is Rising contains a number of sexual innuendos. The baroque prog "The Grove of Eglantine" (written by DeYoung) was about a woman's vagina. It has some harpsichord and accordion, to give a British/European sound.
The proggish title track was written by John Curulewski, is about the serpent beginning to rise. Musically, it has some King Crimson influence especially on their debut album.
The screaming spoken word "Krakatoa" by Curulewski was named for the volcano event of the same name in 1883. It features an ending glissando which was taken from a Beaver and Krause track called "Spaced" in 1970, for which they were credited on the album.
The acoustic bluesy track "As Bad as This" by Curulewski has a hidden track called "Don't Sit Down on the Plexiglas Toilet" which is a calypso humor about a boy who is sitting on a Plexiglas toilet and having problems. The track features only Curulewski and the Panozzo brothers. The song was played on the Dr. Demento radio show and "Weird Al" Yankovic supposedly loved it.[6]
The album also includes James Young rockers "Witch Wolf" and "Young Man", the upbeat "Winner Take All" (written by DeYoung and sung by Young) and the boogie-woogie track "22 Years" (written by Curulewski but sung as a duet by DeYoung and Young); the outro for that track features the producer and president of Wooden Nickel records Bill Traut on saxophone.
The prog rocker "Jonas Psalter" was written by DeYoung and sung by Young. Lyrically, it was about pirates. Musically, it has elements of the contemporary sound of Yes, and also featured a Moog synthesizer.
The album finished with Handel's Hallelujah classical piece, features all the band members singing and DeYoung played a pipe organ on cathedral in Chicago.
Styx considers The Serpent Is Rising to be their worst recording. Dennis DeYoung is indirectly quoted as saying it was "one of the worst recorded and produced in the history of music."[7][8]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Witch Wolf" | James Young, Ray Brandle | J. Young | 3:57 |
| 2. | "The Grove of Eglantine" | Dennis DeYoung | DeYoung | 5:00 |
| 3. | "Young Man" | J. Young, Richard Young | J. Young | 4:45 |
| 4. | "As Bad as This"
| John Curulewski | Curulewski | 6:10 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Winner Take All" | DeYoung, Charles Lofrano | J. Young | 3:10 |
| 2. | "22 Years" | Curulewski | DeYoung, J. Young | 3:39 |
| 3. | "Jonas Psalter" | DeYoung | J. Young | 4:41 |
| 4. | "The Serpent Is Rising" | Curulewski, Lofrano | Curulewski | 4:55 |
| 5. | "Krakatoa" | Curulewski, Paul Beaver, Bernard L. Krause | Curulewski | 1:36 |
| 6. | "Hallelujah Chorus" (from George Frideric Handel's Messiah) | Handel | DeYoung, J. Young, Curulewski, C. Panozzo, J. Panozzo | 2:14 |
Styx
- Dennis DeYoung – vocals, keyboards, accordion
- James "JY" Young – vocals, electric guitars
- John Curulewski – vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, synthesizers
- Chuck Panozzo – bass guitar, backing vocals on "Hallelujah Chorus"
- John Panozzo – drums, percussion, backing vocals on "Hallelujah Chorus"
Additional personnel
- Bill Traut – saxophone on "22 Years"
Production
- Producers: Styx, Barry Mraz
- Engineer: Barry Mraz
- Cover art: Dennis Pohl
| Chart (1974) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200[9] | 192 |
- Planer, Lindsay. Styx: The Serpent Is Rising at AllMusic. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
- Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 789. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- "Styx - Serpent". Discogs. 1980. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
- Harrigan, Brian (1980). H.M.-- A-Z. Bobcat Books. p. 74. ISBN 9780860019282.
- "'Weird Al': 5 Songs to Scare the Neighbors". Rolling Stone. 16 March 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
- Koch, Bob (8 January 2011). "Vinyl Cave: "The Serpent is Rising" by Styx". Isthmus, Madison, Wisconsin. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
- Whitaker, Sterling (2006). The Grand Delusion: The Unauthorized True Story of Styx. S. Whitaker. p. 142. ISBN 9781419653537. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
- "Styx Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 26, 2024.