Pieces of Eight

Last updated
Pieces of Eight
Styx - Pieces of Eight.jpg
Cover by Hipgnosis
Studio album by
Styx
ReleasedSeptember 1978
Recorded1978
Studio
Genre
Length42:18
Label A&M
Producer Styx
Styx chronology
The Grand Illusion
(1977)		Pieces of Eight
(1978)		 Cornerstone
(1979)
Singles from Pieces of Eight
  1. "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)"
    Released: September 1978 [1]
  2. "Sing for the Day"
    Released: October 1978 (EU)
  3. "Renegade"
    Released: March 1979 (US) [2]

Pieces of Eight is the eighth studio album by American progressive rock band Styx, released in September 1978. [3]

Contents

Like the band's previous album, The Grand Illusion (1977), it managed to achieve triple platinum certification, thanks to the hit singles "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)" and "Renegade".

The band members produced and recorded the album (like their previous three efforts) at Paragon Studios in Chicago with recording engineer Barry Mraz and mixing engineer Rob Kingsland. "I'm O.K." was recorded at Paragon and St. James Cathedral. This would be the last Styx album to be produced at Paragon Studios.

The album's cover was done by Hipgnosis. Dennis DeYoung stated in the 1991 interview with Redbeard on the In the Studio with Redbeard episode that he initially hated the cover but grew to like it as he got older.

Background

The record is considered by some [4] [5] to be Styx's most obvious concept album, as well as the last Styx album with significant progressive rock leanings. The theme of the album, as Dennis DeYoung explained on In the Studio with Redbeard which devoted an entire episode to Pieces of Eight, was about "not giving up your dreams just for the pursuit of money and material possessions".

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Christgau's Record Guide C− [7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [8]

Rolling Stone reviewer Lester Bangs was critical of the album, writing that "what's really interesting is not that such narcissistic slop should get recorded, but what must be going on in the minds of the people who support it in such amazing numbers. Gall, nerve and ego have never been far from great rock & roll. Yet there's a thin but crucial line between those qualities and what it takes to fill arenas today: sheer self-aggrandizement on the most puerile level. If these are the champions, gimme the cripples." [9] The Globe and Mail noted that "when Styx strays too far from its rock and roll foundations ... as on the Gothic-pretentious numbers by Dennis De Young like 'Lords of the Ring', it starts getting less credible." [10]

Mike DeGagne of AllMusic has retrospectively praised the album, saying that the songs on the album "rekindle some of Styx's early progressive rock sound, only cleaner." [6]

The album peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard album chart, and like its predecessor would go triple platinum. [11]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Great White Hope"YoungYoung, DeYoung (spoken intro)4:22
2."I'm O.K."DeYoung, YoungDeYoung5:41
3."Sing for the Day"ShawShaw4:57
4."The Message"DeYoung(instrumental)1:08
5."Lords of the Ring"DeYoungYoung4:33
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
6."Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)"ShawShaw4:05
7."Queen of Spades"Young, DeYoungDeYoung5:38
8."Renegade"ShawShaw4:16
9."Pieces of Eight"DeYoungDeYoung4:44
10."Aku-Aku"ShawShaw (whisper chant)2:57

Personnel

Styx

Production

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for Pieces of Eight
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) [19] Platinum100,000^
United States (RIAA) [20] 3× Platinum3,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Singles

YearSingleChartPosition
1978"Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)"US Pop Singles21
1979"Sing for the Day"41
"Renegade"16

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References

  1. ↑ "Great Rock Discography". p. 798.
  2. ↑ "Styx singles".
  3. ↑ "Great Rock Discography". p. 798.
  4. ↑ "How Styx Kept Getting Bigger with 'Pieces of Eight'".
  5. ↑ "Styx and Their Long Fall from Grace". 3 December 2015.
  6. 1 2 DeGagne, Mike. Styx: Pieces of Eight at AllMusic. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  7. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: S". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies . Ticknor & Fields. ISBN   089919026X . Retrieved March 13, 2019– via robertchristgau.com.
  8. ↑ 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. rolling stone styx album guide.
  9. ↑ Bangs, Lester (December 28, 1978). "Styx - Pieces of Eight (1978) album review". Rolling Stone . Wenner Media. Archived from the original on July 10, 2011. Retrieved June 23, 2011.
  10. ↑ Gilday, Katherine (25 Oct 1978). "Styx". The Globe and Mail. p. F9.
  11. ↑ Moseley, Willey (November 13, 2010). "Concert Review: The Grand Illusion/Pieces of Eight Tour - Atlanta, GA". Archived from the original on July 3, 2011. Retrieved December 26, 2012. Moreover, the choice of 1977's The Grand Illusion and 1978's Pieces of Eight probably didn't come as any surprise, either—those two releases were STYX's first Triple Platinum albums.
  12. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 299. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  13. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 0043a". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Styx – Pieces Of Eight" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  15. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Styx – Pieces Of Eight". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  16. ↑ "Styx Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  17. ↑ "RPM Top 100 Albums of '78". Library and Archives Canada . Retrieved January 11, 2025.
  18. ↑ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1979". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  19. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Styx – Pieces of Eight". Music Canada . Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  20. ↑ "American album certifications – Styx – Pieces of Eight". Recording Industry Association of America. November 14, 1984. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
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