A tattoo design that's probably too elaborate for a tattoo lol.
I always think, if I wanted to get a tattoo, it would be like this; it'd represent my three favorite bands and have the names of songs I enjoy the most. The skull represents The Grateful Dead, the dragon represents Kansas, and the peach in the hat represents Allman Brothers Band.
idk I really like how this came out. Not sure if I'll ever get a tattoo, but I'll keep this in mind. :)
Label: Kirshner – KIR 83644, Kirshner – S KIR 83644
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo, Gatefold
Country: UK. The US pressing (EPIC records) didn't have the wonderful art on the record.
Released: 1979
Genre: Rock
Style: Pop Rock, Prog Rock
Cover art:
As Phil Ehart, drummer for the band Kansas, shared with Jeb Wright (a legendary rock radio and print interviewer) in a Goldmine interview called "Behind the Paintbrush", Ehart told stories about the artwork for Kansas album covers, including Monolith:
Bruce Wolfe, an artist that did a Levi’s commercial, did that album cover. He had done one of the first animated commercials on television. By the time CBS approached him, he had been doing some album covers. We had sent him the song “People of the South Wind” and he sent back this fricking painting … it was huge. It was not a drawing; it was a real painting of this Indian whose headdress was a space helmet. There were all of these overpasses that were broken and there were a bunch of Indians on the back that looked like they were at a Boy Scout camp or something. He did an incredible job. He took our logo and made it work. It was always a challenge to take that logo and make it look cool. He used the features on it and it really worked. Again, what an icon … it was a 9-foot-tall Native American chief wearing some sort of buffalo robe and a space helmet with horns. The guy must have done a lot of drugs, but we thought it was really cool.
Livgren's lyrics on Monolith were partly influenced by The Urantia Book, of which he was a devotee before his conversion to Christianity.
(Also on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/LUl6msuU1-c)
If anyone here is familiar with Kansas beyond the three famous ones, you may know the song "Lamplight Symphony". It tells the story of an old man, haunted one night by the ghost of his wife. It's a longish song, but it's very good. And also fits the story of this animatic exceedingly well.
The song association has jumped from one fictional couple to another over the years. But this time, it gave me inspiration. This time, it stuck. So, I drew a few pictures (complete with shading), edited them together, and created this animatic.
The story here, basically, is one of the Woodsman. One night, maybe while he's the lantern-bearer, he finds the memory of his wife keeping him awake. He's grieving, he's running out of hope, and he's alone. He misses his daughter, yes, but right now, he misses his wife terribly.
Then he hears a voice. He feels a presence - as supernatural as the Beast, but utterly different.
He was filled with fear, but, filled with joy, he arose
And turned to face the image that he knew
The Woodsman's wife comes to him that night. Shining, comforting, giving him hope. And when her ghost fades, he watches the dawn. Though it's seen through tears, he watches it with a heart less heavy.
...yes, I know, I'm sorry, but I promise tomorrow will be something less painful. Less visual, too, but also less painful. Hopefully, this was still good despite the pain.
(The actual pictures that made up the animatic are below the cut, if anyone's interested!)
She stood before him, and her hand reached out for his
[Panel 1: the glowing figure of a woman stands with her hand out, and a man faces her, startled. Panel 2: she steps forward and takes him by the hand.]
Peaceful lights shone in her eyes
[Panel 3: the woman, now clearly seen, looks up at the man with a loving smile and softly glowing eyes.]
She said she'd come to soothe him
[Panel 4: the Woodsman, tears streaming down his face, stares down at her, his cheek cupped in her hand.]
And that someday they'd be as one
[Panel 5: both of them, the Woodsman and his wife, stand together, hand in hand, with eyes shut and their foreheads touching.]