Paradise Theatre | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | January 16, 1981 [1] | |||
Recorded | 1980 | |||
Studio | Pumpkin Studios, Oak Lawn, Illinois | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 40:37 | |||
Label | A&M | |||
Producer | Styx | |||
Styx chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Paradise Theatre | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
The Daily Vault | A (2003) [3] C (2006) [4] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [6] |
Paradise Theatre is the tenth studio album by American rock band Styx, released on January 16, 1981, by A&M Records. It was the band's most commercially successful album, peaking at #1 for 3 weeks on the Billboard 200 in April and May 1981 (non-consecutively). It was also the band's fourth consecutive album to be certified triple-platinum by the RIAA.
Four singles from the album charted on various charts, with two songs reaching the top 10 pop singles chart. The lead single "The Best of Times", written by Dennis DeYoung, went to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Too Much Time on My Hands", written by Tommy Shaw, went to #9 on the Billboard Hot 100, Shaw's only top 10 hit for Styx. "Nothing Ever Goes as Planned", written by DeYoung, went to #54 on the US Pop Chart. "Rockin' the Paradise"—written by DeYoung, Shaw and James Young—went to #8 on the Top Rock Track Chart.
A concept album, the album is a fictional account of Chicago's Paradise Theatre from its opening in 1928 to its closing in 1956 (and subsequent demolition), used as a metaphor for America's changing times from the late 1970s into the 1980s. [7] (Dennis DeYoung, who envisioned and developed the entire concept, confirmed this in an episode of In the Studio with Redbeard about the making of the album. [8] [9] )
DeYoung has said that the theme of the album is "one of hope and renewal in the spirit of the American people to understand the problems that confront the world and this country and find solutions themselves to those problems. Don't depend on heroes to do what you must do for yourself. If you hate your job but you have a dream, then pursue it. Just don't sit around and complain about it." [10]
Newsday critic Wayne Robins stated that the songs "deal with people out of sync with themselves and their environment." [10] For example, "Too Much Time on My Hands" is about a man who is unemployed and has given up, he regards "Lonely People" as a "contemporary rewrite of the Beatles' 'Eleanor Rigby,'" and "Nothing Ever Goes as Planned" is about "the inevitability of failure." [10]
Initial vinyl copies of the album have a design featuring the name of the band laser-etched directly onto the vinyl on side 2 (some copies had a wax design of the cover art). The vinyl record sleeve was a gatefold and was painted by artist Chris Hopkins. On the back cover and label, the title of the record is spelled "Paradise Theater", while on the front cover, the title is spelled "Paradise Theatre". On the spine, the album title is "Paradise". "Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Albums 1955-2001 Billboard" lists the album title as "Paradise Theater".
Vinyl releases and initial CD pressings of the album had the musical segue between "Half-Penny, Two-Penny" and "A.D. 1958" indexed as the intro to "A.D. 1958". Subsequent pressings of the CD had the segue indexed as the fade to "Half-Penny, Two-Penny" instead.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "A.D. 1928" | DeYoung | DeYoung | 1:08 |
2. | "Rockin' the Paradise" | DeYoung, Young, Shaw | DeYoung | 3:35 |
3. | "Too Much Time on My Hands" | Shaw | Shaw | 4:31 |
4. | "Nothing Ever Goes as Planned" | DeYoung | DeYoung | 4:48 |
5. | "The Best of Times" | DeYoung | DeYoung | 4:19 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
6. | "Lonely People" | DeYoung | DeYoung | 5:28 |
7. | "She Cares" | Shaw | Shaw | 4:17 |
8. | "Snowblind" | Young, DeYoung | Young, Shaw | 5:00 |
9. | "Half-Penny, Two-Penny" | Young, Ray Brandle | Young | 5:58 |
10. | "A.D. 1958" | DeYoung | DeYoung | 1:06 |
11. | "State Street Sadie" | DeYoung | (instrumental) | 0:28 |
Chart (1981) | Peak position |
---|---|
Argentina (Ránking Argentino) [11] | 2 |
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [12] | 27 |
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [13] | 3 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [14] | 23 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [15] | 21 |
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [16] | 30 |
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [17] | 5 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [18] | 6 |
UK Albums (OCC) [19] | 8 |
US Billboard 200 [20] | 1 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) [21] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [22] | Gold | 25,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [23] | Silver | 60,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [24] | 3× Platinum | 3,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Styx is an American rock band formed in Chicago, Illinois, in 1972. They are known for blending melodic hard rock guitar with acoustic guitar, synthesizers mixed with acoustic piano, upbeat tracks with power ballads, and incorporating elements of international musical theatre. The band established themselves with a progressive rock sound during the 1970s, and began to incorporate pop rock and soft rock elements in the 1980s.
Pieces of Eight is the eighth studio album by American progressive rock band Styx, released in September 1978.
The Grand Illusion is the seventh studio album by American rock band Styx. Recorded at Paragon Recording Studios in Chicago, the album was released on July 7, 1977, by A&M Records, intentionally choosing the combination 7th on 7-7-77 for luck. The release was a smash worldwide, selling three million copies in the US alone. Some estimates have the album at over 6 million copies sold. The album launched the band to stardom and spawned the hit singles "Come Sail Away" and "Fooling Yourself." The title track also received substantial FM airplay, but was never released as an official single.
Crystal Ball is the sixth album by Styx, released in 1976.
Equinox is the fifth studio album by American rock band Styx, released in December 1975. The lead single "Lorelei" became Styx's second US Top 40 hit.
"Mr. Roboto" is a song by American rock band Styx, released as the lead single from their eleventh studio album, Kilroy Was Here (1983). It was written by band member Dennis DeYoung. In Canada, it went to #1 on the RPM national singles chart. It entered on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and US CashBox Top 100 on February 12, 1983. On April 30 the song peaked at #3 on Billboard,but fared better on Cash Box, where it reached #1.
Dennis DeYoung is an American singer, songwriter and keyboardist. He was a founding member of the rock band Styx and served as its primary lead vocalist and keyboardist from 1972 until 1999. DeYoung was the band's most prolific and successful writer, having been credited as the writer of more Styx songs than any other band member. DeYoung penned seven of the band's eight Billboard top 10 singles as well as a solo top 10 single.
Cornerstone is the ninth studio album by the American rock band Styx, released in 1979. Styx's third straight multi-platinum selling album, Cornerstone was Styx's first album to earn a Grammy nomination, which was for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group. Like the four previous Styx albums, the band produced the album themselves. Styx recorded the album at Pumpkin Studios in Oak Lawn, Illinois.
Kilroy Was Here is the eleventh studio album by the American rock band Styx, released on February 22, 1983. A concept album and rock opera about a world where rock music is outlawed, it is named after a famous World War II graffiti tag, "Kilroy was here." It was the last album of original material to be released by the "classic" lineup of Dennis DeYoung, Tommy Shaw, James "J.Y." Young, John Panozzo, and Chuck Panozzo.
Caught in the Act is a live double album by Styx, released in 1984. It contains one new song, "Music Time," which was released as a single, reaching #40 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.
Return to Paradise is the second live album by Styx, released in 1997, and their first album after signing with CMC International. It features songs from their successful reunion tour with Tommy Shaw, but without John Panozzo, who died in July 1996. It includes three new studio tracks, "On My Way," "Paradise," and "Dear John." Shaw wrote the latter as a tribute to Panozzo, while "Paradise" featured upon Dennis DeYoung's solo album and was newly recorded with the band.
Brave New World is the thirteenth studio album by Styx, released in 1999. It is the band’s first studio album to feature drummer Todd Sucherman, replacing John Panozzo, who died in 1996 and the last album to feature keyboardist/vocalist Dennis DeYoung. This is the last album that bassist Chuck Panozzo is credited as a full-time member, he would continue with the band as a part-time member. The album peaked at #175 on the Billboard 200 and reached the top 10 on the Top Internet Albums chart. However, its position on the Billboard charts was the lowest from a Styx album of new material since 1973's The Serpent Is Rising.
"Renegade" is a 1979 hit song recorded by the American rock band Styx on their eighth studio album, Pieces of Eight. Although songwriter Tommy Shaw and fellow Styx guitarist James Young usually played lead guitar on their own compositions, Shaw asked Young if he, Young, could take the solo on "Renegade". Young agreed, and Young later returned the favor by allowing Shaw to play lead on his "Half-Penny, Two-Penny" on the Paradise Theatre album. When performed live from 1978 to 1983, drummer John Panozzo increased the tempo of the drum pattern during the guitar solo sections. Also, the track would serve as the drum solo spot for Panozzo during that time frame.
Greatest Hits is a compilation album and primary Greatest Hits album by the American rock band Styx. It was released by A&M Records on August 22, 1995. It contains 16 tracks, 8 of which were Billboard Top 10 Pop Singles, another 4 that were Billboard Top 40 Pop Singles, and 4 that received heavy airplay on FM album oriented rock stations.
"Babe" is a song by the American rock band Styx. It was the lead single from the band's 1979 triple-platinum album Cornerstone. The song was Styx's first, and only, US number-one single, spending two weeks at No. 1 in December 1979, serving as the penultimate number-one single of the 1970s. "Babe" also went to No. 9 on the Adult Contemporary chart. It additionally held the number-one spot for six weeks on the Canadian RPM national singles chart, charting in December 1979 and becoming the opening chart-topper of the 1980s. It was also the band's only UK Top 40 hit, peaking at No. 6. It also reached No. 1 in South Africa.
"Snowblind" is a song by Styx that appears on the Paradise Theatre album released in 1981. The song is about the helplessness of cocaine addiction, alternating between slow, brooding verses and a faster, harder-edged chorus, representing the addict's cycle of highs and lows.
"The Best of Times" is a song by American rock band Styx, released as the first single from their tenth album Paradise Theatre. It reached No. 1 in Canada on the RPM national singles chart, their second chart-topper in that country, and No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks in March and April 1981. In the UK, the song peaked at No. 42 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Too Much Time on My Hands" is a song by American rock band Styx, released as the second single from their tenth album Paradise Theatre. It was written and sung by Tommy Shaw, who also plays the lead guitar solo during the break in the song. It was Shaw's only top 10 single as a writer and vocalist with Styx.
"A.D. 1928 / Rockin' the Paradise" is a song by American rock band Styx, released as the fourth single from their tenth album Paradise Theatre. The song peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Rock Chart. "A.D. 1928" is a short, piano-based song by Dennis DeYoung, set to the same melody as "The Best of Times", that segues into "Rockin' the Paradise". These two tracks would serve as the opening songs of not only the Paradise Theatre album but also its subsequent tour and the 1996 Return to Paradise reunion tour.
The Mission is the sixteenth studio album by American rock band Styx, released on June 16, 2017, through UMe. It is the band's first studio album since 2005's Big Bang Theory and their first release of original material since 2003's Cyclorama. The album reached #45 on the Billboard 200, propelled by pre-sales prior to its official release date, but fell off the chart after 2 weeks. In an era with limited album sales, total U.S. Sales were approximately 15,000 copies, a far cry from the band's triple platinum past. Yet, the album did briefly reach the Top 100 in four other countries. The concept album tells the story of a mission to the planet Mars in the year 2033. The album's story was written by Tommy Shaw and Will Evankovich. Evankovich played a significant role, serving as producer and co-writing all but one of the full length tracks.
rolling stone styx album guide.