Dead People (1974)

Styx Tickets – Analyzing the Images of ’70s Rock

Back in the days when people actually bought albums-not digital downloads, but honest to God records-they had an appreciation for the art of rock. Vinyl gave artists the chance to display their work on a fairly visible canvas. A vinyl record cover, after all, is almost the size of a small poster. Prog-rockers in particular took advantage of this, blending surreal imagery into their artwork.

It sent a message to potential listeners that this was something different. This wasn’t just rock ‘n’ roll, though that was there, too; it was music that told stories and played with the abstract. That was the message, anyway. Not all the prog bands of the ’70s really had something intelligent to say.

Styx, however, managed to balance energetic rock with their prog tendencies, creating a happy balance of both. Some of their album covers from the 1970s are still iconic examples of prog art. Consider the following covers from the ’70s and what they said about the band.

The Serpent is Rising, 1974: Let’s start with the band’s third record. Their first two albums, with the declarative titles of Styx and Styx II, don’t really show the penchant for wild artwork that later albums would. Besides that, their first two covers are pretty unremarkable (their debut is actually hideous). But with 1974’s The Serpent is Rising, they begin to broadcast the message that they’re more than just a rock band. “There are like, ideas here, man,” the cover seems to say. It’s an arresting visual, combining desert and animal images into a composite not unlike Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, but with more llamas and a pirate ship. It’s trippy, but the bugged-out eyes on the cobra suggest this isn’t a band that takes itself too seriously.

Man of Miracles, 1974: This cover needs to be pointed out simply to give younger readers a sense of what rock bands used to get away with as cover art. When you’re 12, a wizard summoning floating spheres is mind-blowingly awesome. But these days, even hardcore Styx fans wouldn’t be caught dead wearing a T-shirt with this image on it.

Equinox, 1975: It’s a giant ice cube—but it’s on fire. See what they did there? Two opposites, coexisting.  One has to assume that this album’s opening song, “Light Up,” referred to more than just the cover art.

The Grand Illusion, 1977: The inspiration for this colorful cover is actually a well-known surreal painting which depicts a girl riding a horse through the woods. The trees hide part of the image of the horse—and in some places, the horse hides the trees. It’s a mind-bender of a painting, but in this cover, it’s also thrown a few extra colors and a woman’s face, just to keep things interesting.

Cornerstone, 1979: An unearthed stone gleams under a flashlight. What else lies buried in this dark frontier, where a temple seems to rise in the distance? There’s a palpable sense of mystery in this cover, and listening to the record behind the art makes unraveling that mystery a pleasure.

Styx is now on tour. Get <a href=”http://www.stubhub.com/styx-tickets/”>Styx tickets</a> at StubHub.

About the Author

This article is sponsored by StubHub.com and was written by Andrew Good.  StubHub.com is a leader in the business of selling <a href=”http://www.stubhub.com/styx-tickets/”>Styx tickets</a>, sports tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets and special events tickets.

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