STYX - The Serpent Is Rising LP - Wooden Nickel BWL 1-0287 - Original Album

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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 album was reissued in 1980 with new artwork and a new title, Serpent.

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 song later made it onto the THX audio snippet Deep Note.

The acoustic bluesy track "As Bad as This" by Curulewski has a hidden track called "Plexiglas Toilet" which is a calypso humor about a boy who is sitting on a Plexiglass 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.

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 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."

Track listing

• a. "As Bad as This" - 3:45
• b. "Plexiglas Toilet" (Hidden Track) - 2:22"

Personnel

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
• The Serpent Is Rising Studio album by Styx Released October 1973 Recorded 1973 at Paragon Recording Studios, Chicago; St. James Cathedral, Chicago Genre
  • Progressive rock
  • hard rock
  Length 40:07 Label Wooden Nickel Producer Styx, Barry Mraz