Paradise Theatre (album)

For the 1929 Loew's Theater in the Bronx, see Paradise Theater.

Untitled

Paradise Theater 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. (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 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. "Rockin' The Paradise" -- written by DeYoung, Shaw and James Young -- went to #1 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 supposedly having backward messages and was branded by reactionary fundamentalists and Tipper Gore's PMRC as "Satanistic." JY and DeYoung denied this on the In the Studio episode devoted to the making of Paradise Theater. Other impartial sources have also said that the claim of Satanic messages on this record is completely false.

Paradise Theater became Styx's only US #1 album. It was the band's fourth consecutive triple-platinum album.

Vinyl

Vinyl copies of the album have a holographic rainbow design featuring the name of the band etched onto side 2. On the front side of the album cover, the title is spelled 'Paradise Theatre'. On the back it is 'Paradise Theater'.

Track listing

Side 1:

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

Side 2:

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

Personnel

• 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

Production

• Producer: Styx (Dennis DeYoung)
• Engineers: Rob Kingsland, Gary Loizzo
• Arranger: Styx
• Mastering: Ted Jensen

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 up to date.

External links

• Paradise Theater at Amazon.com