Paradise Theatre (album)

Paradise Theatre
Studio album by Styx
Released January 19, 1981
Recorded 1980 at Pumpkin Studios, Oak Lawn, Illinois
Genre Rock, progressive rock
Length 40:37
Label A&M
Producer Styx
Styx chronology
Cornerstone
(1979)		 Paradise Theatre
(1981)		 Kilroy Was Here
(1983)
Singles from Paradise Theatre
  1. "The Best of Times"
    Released: 1981
  2. "Too Much Time on My Hands"
    Released: 1981
  3. "Nothing Ever Goes as Planned"
    Released: 1981
  4. "Rockin' the Paradise"
    Released: 1981
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
The Daily VaultA (2003)[2]
C (2006)[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[4]

Paradise Theatre is the tenth album by the rock band Styx, released in January 1981 (see 1981 in music).

A concept album, the album is a fictional account of Chicago's Paradise Theatre from its opening to closing (and eventual abandonment), used as a metaphor for America's changing times from the late 1970s into the 1980s. (Dennis DeYoung confirmed this in an episode of In the Studio with Redbeard which devoted an entire episode to the making of the album.)

Four singles from the album charted. "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.

The song "Snowblind" (lyrics by Young, music by Young and DeYoung) was an attack on drug addiction. The track would come under fire for alleged backward messages and was branded by Tipper Gore's Parents Music Resource Center as "Satanistic". James Young and DeYoung denied this on the In the Studio episode devoted to the making of Paradise Theatre.

Paradise Theatre became Styx's only US #1 album. It was the band's fourth consecutive triple-platinum album, and (as of 2015) the last multi-platinum album by the band.

Vinyl edition

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 gate-fold and was painted by artist Chris Hopkins. On the back cover, label and spine, the title of the record is spelled "Paradise Theater", while on the front cover, the title is spelled "Paradise Theatre".

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.

Track listing

Side 1:

  1. "A.D. 1928" (Dennis DeYoung) - 1:08
    • Lead vocals: DeYoung
  2. "Rockin' the Paradise" (DeYoung, James Young, Tommy Shaw) - 3:35
    • Lead vocals: DeYoung
    • Lead guitar: Shaw
  3. "Too Much Time on My Hands" (Shaw) - 4:31
    • Lead vocals and lead guitar: Shaw
  4. "Nothing Ever Goes as Planned" (DeYoung) - 4:48
    • Lead vocals: DeYoung
    • Intro guitar solo: Young
    • Middle guitar solo: Shaw
    • Alto Saxophone solo: Steve Eisen
  5. "The Best of Times" (DeYoung) - 4:19
    • Lead vocals: DeYoung
    • Lead guitar: Shaw

Side 2:

  1. "Lonely People" (DeYoung) - 5:28
    • Lead vocals: DeYoung
    • First guitar solo: Shaw
    • Second guitar solo: Young
    • Saxophone solo: Steve Eisen
  2. "She Cares" (Shaw) - 4:17
    • Lead vocals and lead guitar: Shaw
    • Tenor Saxophone solo: Steve Eisen
  3. "Snowblind" (Young, DeYoung) - 5:00
    • Lead vocals: Shaw, Young
    • Lead guitar: Young
  4. "Half-Penny, Two-Penny" (Young, Ray Brandle) - 4:33
    • Lead vocals: Young
    • Lead guitar: Shaw
  5. "A.D. 1958" (DeYoung) - 2:27
    • Lead vocals: DeYoung
    • Lead guitar: Young
    • Saxophone solo: Steve Eisen
  6. "State Street Sadie" (DeYoung) - 0:28
    • Piano: DeYoung

Personnel

Styx
Additional personnel
Production

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year Chart Position
1981 Pop Albums 1

Singles - Billboard (North America)

Year Single Chart Position
1981 "Nothing Ever Goes As Planned" Pop Singles 54
1981 "Rockin' the Paradise" Mainstream Rock 8
1981 "Snowblind" Mainstream Rock 22
1981 "Too Much Time on My Hands" Mainstream Rock 2
1981 "Too Much Time on My Hands" Pop Singles 9
1981 "The Best of Times" Mainstream Rock 16
1981 "The Best of Times" Pop Singles 3

The album has sold 3 million copies to date.

References

  1. ↑ Allmusic review
  2. ↑ The Daily Vault review #1
  3. ↑ The Daily Vault Review #2
  4. ↑ 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.
Preceded by
Hi Infidelity by REO Speedwagon		 Billboard 200 number-one album
April 4–17, 1981
May 9–15, 1981 		Succeeded by
Hi Infidelity by REO Speedwagon
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