Paradise Theatre

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Paradise Theatre
Studio album by Styx
Released	January 19, 1981
Recorded	1980 at Pumpkin Studios, Oak Lawn, IL
Genre	Rock
Length	40:37
Label	A&M
Producer	Styx
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link
Styx chronology
Cornerstone (1979) Paradise Theatre (1981) Kilroy Was Here (1983)

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

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

The signature song, "The Best Of Times" (written by group leader Dennis DeYoung), was a Top Five hit.

The song "Snowblind" (lyrics by James Young, music by Young as DeYoung) was an attack on drug addiction. The track would come under fire for supposedly having backward messages and be branded by reactionary fundamentalists and Tipper Gore's PMRC as "Satanistic." JY and DeYoung refuted this on the Paradise Theatre on the same In the Studio episode.

Paradise Theatre became Styx's first, and to date only US #1 album, as well the band's fourth consecutive triple-platinum album.

[edit] Structural differences in the album's pressings

Initial pressings of the vinyl record had a laser-etched design over the whole surface of side 2, showing the theater logo from the sleeve as a rainbow effect.
Initial pressings of the CD and on the original vinyl 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.

[edit] Track listing

1. "A.D. 1928" (DeYoung) – 1:07
   • Lead vocals: Dennis DeYoung
2. "Rockin' the Paradise" (DeYoung, Shaw, Young) – 3:35
   • Lead vocals: Dennis DeYoung, lead guitar: Tommy Shaw
3. "Too Much Time on My Hands" (Shaw) – 4:31
   • Lead vocals and lead guitar: Tommy Shaw
4. "Nothing Ever Goes As Planned" (DeYoung) – 4:46
   • Lead vocals: Dennis DeYoung, lead guitar: James Young (first solo) and Tommy Shaw (middle solo), sax solo: Steve Eisen
5. "The Best of Times" (DeYoung) – 4:17
   • Lead vocals: Dennis DeYoung, lead guitar: Tommy Shaw
6. "Lonely People" (DeYoung) – 5:22
   • Lead vocals: Dennis DeYoung, lead guitar: James Young
7. "She Cares" (Shaw) – 4:18
   • Lead vocals and lead guitar: Tommy Shaw, saxophone solo: Steve Eisen
8. "Snowblind" (DeYoung, Young) – 4:48
   • Co-Lead vocals and lead guitar: James Young, co-lead vocals: Tommy Shaw
9. "Half-Penny, Two-Penny" (Brandle, Young) – 4:34 (initial CD pressing), – 5:59 (subsequent CD pressing, see previous section for details)
   • Lead vocals: James Young, lead guitar: Tommy Shaw
10. "A.D. 1958" (DeYoung) – 2:31 (initial CD pressing), – 1:06 (subsequent CD pressing, see previous section for details)
    • Lead vocals: Dennis DeYoung, sax solos: Steve Eisen, lead guitar: James Young
11. "State Street Sadie" (DeYoung) – 0:27
    • Instrumental

[edit] Personnel

Styx

• Dennis DeYoung - keyboards, vocals
• Chuck Panozzo - bass
• John Panozzo - drums, percussion
• Tommy Shaw - guitars, vocals, vocoder
• James Young - guitars, vocals

Additional personnel

• Dan Barber - horn
• Steve Eisen - saxophone
• Mike Halpin - horn
• John Haynor - horn
• Mark Ohlson - horn
• Billy Simpson - horn

[edit] Production

• Producer: Styx
• Engineers: Rob Kingsland, Gary Loizzo
• Arranger: Styx

[edit] Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Singles - Billboard (North America)

[edit] External links

• Amazon.com