The Serpent Is Rising

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
Styx chronology
Styx II (1973) The Serpent Is Rising (1973) Man of Miracles (1974)
Singles from The Serpent Is Rising
"Winner Take All" Released: 1973

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[2]

The Serpent Is Rising is the third album by Styx, released in 1973. The album was reissued in 1980 with new artwork and a new title, Serpent. The band considers this to be their worst recording. Dennis DeYoung has gone far as saying it was "one of the worst recorded and produced in the history of music." Described as a loose concept album, the recording contains a number of sexual innuendos, including the title track, Grove of Eglantine, and Krakatoa. 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.

Track listing

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Witch Wolf"	James Young, Ray Brandle	3:57
2.	"The Grove of Eglantine"	Dennis DeYoung	5:00
3.	"Young Man"	J. Young, Richard Young	4:45
4.	"As Bad as This" a. "As Bad as This" - 3:45 b. "Plexiglas Toilet" (Hidden Track) - 2:22"	John Curulewski	6:10

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Winner Take All"	DeYoung, Charles Lofrano	3:10
2.	"22 Years"	Curulewski	3:39
3.	"Jonas Psalter"	DeYoung	4:41
4.	"The Serpent Is Rising"	Curulewski, Lofrano	4:55
5.	"Krakatoa"	Curulewski, Paul Beaver, Bernard L. Krause	1:36
6.	"Hallelujah Chorus" (from George Frideric Handel Messiah)	Handel	2:14

Personnel

Styx

• John Curulewski - guitars, vocals, 12 string guitar, Moog synthesizer
• Dennis DeYoung - Hammond organ, piano, vocals, Moog synthesizer, mellotron, pipe organ
• Chuck Panozzo - bass, vocals
• John Panozzo - drums, vocals, percussion
• James Young - guitars, vocals

Additional personnel

• Bill Traut - saxophone on "22 Years"

Production

• Producers: Styx, Barry Mraz
• Engineer: Barry Mraz
• Cover art: Dennis Pohl

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year	Chart	Position
1974	Pop Albums	192

References

1. Planer, Lindsay. The Serpent Is Rising at AllMusic. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
2. 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.