References: great hair in ’70s rock—I’m Okay-You’re Okay—Ayn Rand—Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five—Cheech & Chong—Nazareth—outlaw rock—Easter Island
Welcome to 1978, and album #8, Pieces of Eight. The “classic” Styx lineup has solidified with the addition, on the previous two albums Crystal Ball and The Grand Illusion, of guitarist/vocalist Tommy Shaw, the only man in American rock who at the time could give Robin Zander and Peter Frampton a run for their hair money. Shaw is also proving to be a songwriting force to be reckoned with, contributing not one, not two, but THREE hit singles (including “Renegade”) to the album. Watch out, co-founder/keyboardist/vocalist Dennis DeYoung!
Pieces of Eight Side One
“Great White Hope”—Crowd noises to start. Boxing metaphors (“Up against the rope”). Keys. Some nice guitar work (Shaw or James Young? A real fan could probably tell their styles apart, but it also sounds like ’70s noodling to me). This is the theatrical side of Styx. I’m realizing how much they were influenced by Queen. I’m guessing though that DeYoung was a bigger fan than the others.
“I’m Okay”—I like the slashing guitar rhythm. It’s got kind of a magisterial, marching feel. You can almost see kids making graduation videos to this song if they’d had the technology at the time. This is a DeYoung song with feel-good lyrics: “I finally found the person I’ve been searching for/I’m feeling good I’ve found myself and that’s for sure.” Maybe he was reading I’m Okay—You’re Okay, the 1967 self-help bestseller by Thomas Anthony Harris. Or maybe he was reading Ayn Rand. One thing I’ll give Styx—they could pack a lot of ideas into a song. They’re not always good ideas (and some songs don’t even have one), but the sheer quantity keeps things interesting. Also, this epic goes on a little too long, but you can say that about many Styx songs.
“Sing for the Day”—This has a fun keyboard opening. “Sing for the Day” is maybe my second favourite of the band’s anthems (along with “Light Up,” my personal fave, and “Come Sail Away”). Feel free to agree/disagree in the comments section below. Plus, flute.
“The Message”—Not to be confused with Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five‘s “The Message,” which was three years away. Sounds like we’re in outer space, and damn if this doesn’t sound like a precursor to Kilroy Was Here, the band’s weird sci-fi concept album with “Mr. Roboto.” Is this about UFOs? Ancient aliens? Is this Christian? Who wrote this thing?
“Lords of the Ring”—”The Message” eases us onto Planet Styx: “All hail to the Lords of the Ring/To the magic and mystery it brings,” goes the chorus. This one’s full-on black-light-and-bong Styx, with Cheech & Chong sitting in on keyboards. By the end, the chorus has grown on me.
Pieces of Eight Side Two
“Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)”—Another straight-ahead rocker to open side two, and one that celebrates the band’s working-class roots. No wizards or faeries here. This one has a chugging rhythm that reminds me of Nazareth‘s cover of Joni Mitchell‘s “This Flight Tonight.”
“Queen of Spades”—DeYoung really lets loose on the word “jasmine,” and there’s something about “gold and lace.” Hey Dennis, Stevie Nicks called, she wants her lyric book back. This goes on for a couple of minutes and then guitarist James “JY” Young takes over with a rockin’, thoroughly ’70s classic-rock guitar groove. This one doesn’t sound like anything special to me, but apparently, the band continues to play it live. (Spoiler alert: yes, the band still tours, or was until COVID.)
“Renegade”—God I hate this song. I hate all poser “outlaw rock” FM radio rock like this, including the Eagles’ “Desperado,” Burton Cummings’ “Break It to Them Gently,” and Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead or Alive.” (Admittedly, The Clash, one of my favourite bands, recorded their share of “outlaw rock”; cf. their entire discography.) This Shaw hit went to #16 on the Billboard charts and Winnipeg’s 92 FM played it until my teenage brain erupted.
“Pieces of Eight”—Still shaking from “Renegade.” I don’t know how to feel about this one. When I pay attention I hear interesting things, but there’s nothing in it that makes me really want to pay attention, you know? I guess that describes my feelings about a lot of Styx songs. But it’s another one where, by the end of it, I’m kind of humming along with the chorus.
“Aku-Aku”—A nice instrumental to end things. It’s a toss-off but not bad as tossed-off instrumentals go. Nothing offensive here.
Facts about Pieces of Eight
• “Renegade” has proven popular among TV show music supervisors and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Supernatural, Freaks and Geeks, Narcos, and The Umbrella Academy have included the song. It’s also popped up in movies (well, Billy Madison) and video games (Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and the Damned). The Steelers regularly use (or used) it at games.
• like 1978’s The Grand Illusion, Pieces of Eight went triple platinum in the U.S.
• according to WIki, DeYoung told an American DJ who goes by the moniker “Redbeard” that the album was about “not giving up your dreams just for the pursuit of money and material possessions.”
• according to styxworld.com, “the design and positioning of the ‘mature” female heads on the Po8 cover”—designed by British firm Hipgnosis—”is patterned after the monolithic stone statues that appear all throughout Easter Island…”
• also according to styxworld.com, the “Hannah” whom Shaw addresses in “Sing for the Day” “is meant to be the representative embodiment of the mutual respect between the band and their substantive female following.”
• more from styxworld.com: DeYoung recorded his pipe-organ solo in “I’m O.K.” at the St. James Cathedral in Chicago, the oldest Episcopal Church in the U.S.