Styx - Paradise Theatre
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CD Details
Artist: StyxBrand: STYX
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Original Language)
Published: 1990
CD Release Date: 1990-10-25
Music Label: A&M
Soundtracks:
- A.D. 1928
- Rockin' The Paradise
- Too Much Time On My Hands
- Nothing Ever Goes As Planned
- The Best Of Times
- Lonely People
- She Cares
- Snowblind
- Half-Penny, Two-Penny
- A.D. 1958
- State Street Sadie
Music reviews of Paradise Theatre
Music Review: The Pinnacle of Styx - 5 and 1/2 stars
Rating: 5 Stars
This is about as good as Styx ever was, as far as I am concerned. All the elements are there, the songwriting is excellent, vocals are great, the production is immaculate, it sounds like they are having a good time (even if they were probably partying themselves right into rehab centres to keep from killing each other at this point :) Using one of the album's centerpieces (The Best Of Times) to bracket the start and close adds a nice unity to the album, it's been done before and since, but it works very nicely here. It doesn't sound like they just threw it all together (see : end song on Brave New World), they made some inspired choices in their arrangements, from the pseudo-reggae jazz of Nothing Ever Goes As Planned, headphone psychedelia in Snowblind, a bit of prog rock in Half-Penny Two Penny.
The album starts out with the familiar "Tonights the night we'll make history" bit of music, which acts as an intro to 'Rocking The Paradise'. This is just on the verge, musically and lyrically, of getting Dennis-cheesy, but compared to future debacles (High Time, Hiphop-cracy) it is still just Styx rocking out. Acceptable rocker, good solos and riffing.
The next song, Too Much Time On My Hands, is prototypical 80s rocker, starts out with ye olde standard crazy synthesiser sweeps and clears up into a good rocking beat. Excellent chorus, this is one of the strongest songs Shaw ever wrote. And the solo (!) Absolutely an excellent hard rock guitar solo, doesn't fall into the trap of finger tapping and too many notes, he makes good use of the wah wah pedal for a very intense musical flight. This song has a slight influence of Pink Floyd, from the spacey intro that turns into a driving beat, the emotional blues guitar solo. Harmonies are out of this world.
"Nothing Ever Goes As Planned" is not exactly a pop song, but a very original arrangement and melody, very nice groove. Check out the bassline at the start. Typical wry Dennis lyrics and song, but above average delivery and energy.
"The Best Of Times" ye gods, what a good song! Starts out as an above average Dennis ballad (I'm not a big fan of his ballads in general) and turns into a real stomper of a chorus, with excellent vocals by James Young, nice vocoder work and of course guitar work by Shaw, superb understated rhythm section. These are the best - OF TIMES!
Side 2 is just a bit stepped down from Side 1, but sometimes after hearing the hits on side 1 being so overplayed, it's a relief to hear something different. "Lonely People" starts it off with another decent DeYoung groove, albeit probably a bit weaker than his side 1 showings. Nice horn shots and simple keyboard break redeems it. "She Cares" is a teeny bit cheesy (it makes Babe sound like Crazy Train), probably a bit of a weak song, but very nicely played, nice harmonies.
"Snowblind" is where James Young starts influencing the record, and for someone whose quality tends to vary wildly, he's in top form here. Psychedelic, creepy, moody, this would have been just another hard rock song about the dangers of drugs, without Dennis adding that keyboard sound that fades in and out, as well as lots of striking production tricks. Young and Shaw trade off vocals about being enslaved by Peruvian marching powder, excellent drumming by John Panozza here. Perfectly produced. This song was nominated "Most Likely To Corrupt Young Minds With Backward Lyrics" in 1981. Just kidding.
"Half-Penny, Two-Penny" is as good a song as "Best of Times". Here, James Young finally tops "Miss America" for a hard rocking song with lots of heavy riffs, vocal snarling, and real dynamics (you can tell the chorus apart from the verses). He rips the hopeless seeming corruption that occurs in his home country, with a lyrical particularity that's clearly personal (or at least fakes it well enough). Not quite a bridge, but a good turnaround after the second chorus, and another insane guitar solo / wah wah workout by Shaw. The song builds into a bridge back into the Best of Times music, absolutely brilliant music. When the song finally ends you KNOW it, as Dennis' voice announces the end of the album, the end of the hegemonic economy, the end of the century, the end of the world, etc. And a nice little fade-out throwaway in State St Sadie.
I was disappointed after this album, they never seemed to recapture the spark they had going here. All of the most pleasing aspects of each member is highlighted, rarely sounding forced. This is the sound of a BAND playing, not the Dennis show, not the Tommy show. If you're going to get a Styx record, this should be the first.
Description of Paradise Theatre
Japanese-only SHM-CD (Super High Material CD) paper sleeve pressing of this album. SHM-CDs can be played on any audio player and delivers unbelievably high-quality sound. You won't believe it's the same CD! Universal. 2009.One album before Styx cut loose with an honest-to-goodness concept album, Kilroy Was Here, they flirted with the idea on Paradise Theater. The concept here has something to do with the decline of America in the '70s, based on the condemnation and destruction of the Paradise Theater, a famous showplace in the band's hometown of Chicago. Truth be told, the concept hasn't held together that well, though the individual songs have, led by the optimistic ballad "The Best of Times," and the rockers "Too Much Time on My Hands" and "Snowblind." Dennis DeYoung gives some of his most theatrical performances throughout, presaging his overly ambitious Kilroy concept, but also his successful run performing in the legitimate theater, as Pontius Pilate in Jesus Christ Superstar. Paradise, meanwhile, was about as good as it got for Styx. --Daniel Durchholz
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