Ron Posted March 20, 2010 Report Share Posted March 20, 2010 http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/news_detai...y-for-styx.html Their heyday was 30 years ago, but that hasn't stopped this 21st century teen from being a huge fan of the one-time arena rock darlings. Thousands of people are packed into a single arena, all craning their necks to see the same five guys. As the explosive special light effects illuminate the arena and the screaming guitars echo throughout, it becomes obvious that these five men are not just the average Joes. Tommy Shaw, Dennis DeYoung, James Young, John Panozzo and Chuck Panozzo all made up the band Styx, a legendary classic rock band that was the first musical act to record four consecutive multi-platinum albums. Even though Styx is far from its heyday and has long since stopped recording together, the band's music lives on, still popular among those of us who have decent taste in music. (Just kidding ... kind of!) Lead singer DeYoung recently kicked off a tour that featured a show two Saturdays ago at Harrah's Chester Casino & Racetrack in Chester. If you haven't figured it out by now, Styx is one of my all-time favorite bands. One thing I love about this group that most artists today seem to lack is its ability to craft meaningful albums with story lines that are continued song to song, much like the chapters in a book. Each Styx album has a different concept behind it, whether it's the story of a world ruled by robots ("Kilroy Was Here"), or about people leading disillusioned lives ("The Grand Illusion"). My overall favorite album of theirs would have to be "Paradise Theater." The effort that went into crafting this masterpiece is mind-blowing, and no recent artist of this day can claim to have a more involved and complex work. Advertisement The album tells the story of the Paradise Theater, a large and beautiful venue built in Chicago in 1928. The first song, "A.D. 1928," tells how the theater was expected to be a huge success and last forever. However, as the album goes on, it tells how Paradise Theater falls on hard financial times, and, finally, has to be demolished in the song "A.D. 1958." The most amazing part of this album is that the story it tells is true. Paradise Theater was actually a real place that existed in the Garfield Park neighborhood of Chicago. It was considered the best work of architect John Eberson, its designer. The elaborate design was enough to make the building itself a piece of art. Unfortunately, because of financial problems, the theater was demolished and the land was sold to a supermarket chain in 1956. However, Eberson's design was so well constructed that it took two years for the theater to be completely demolished. On top of all this, the band's follow-up album, "Kilroy Was Here," was made as a continuation of the story of the Paradise Theater. The most memorable song of this album is "Mr. Roboto," though I don't think the story of the world being taken over by robots is based on any true events. So you may ask, what is the point of me rambling on about an album that was released decades ago? Well, as I said before, I don't think that any recent artist can claim to have put as much work and effort into their albums as this band. Sure, there are still concept albums being made, but not to the extent of the works of Styx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladybugking Posted March 20, 2010 Report Share Posted March 20, 2010 Nice article, Ron! "Paradise Theater" is probably 4th or 5th on my list of favorite Styx albums, but I WILL say that "Lonely People" is an underrated masterpiece of a song in every way. Lyrics, arrangement, vocals, everything. I did not like the fact it was hooked in with that hard-to-hear monologue that precedes it, but, wow, what a great, great song! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rubulator2k Posted March 21, 2010 Report Share Posted March 21, 2010 Nice article, Ron! "Paradise Theater" is probably 4th or 5th on my list of favorite Styx albums, but I WILL say that "Lonely People" is an underrated masterpiece of a song in every way. Lyrics, arrangement, vocals, everything. I did not like the fact it was hooked in with that hard-to-hear monologue that precedes it, but, wow, what a great, great song! Agree 100... Lonely People is in the top 5 of my fav's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 Nice article, Ron! <img src="http://www.ddytalk.com/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/1.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="1.gif" /> "Paradise Theater" is probably 4th or 5th on my list of favorite Styx albums, but I WILL say that "Lonely People" is an underrated masterpiece of a song in every way. Lyrics, arrangement, vocals, everything. I did not like the fact it was hooked in with that hard-to-hear monologue that precedes it, but, wow, what a great, great song! That and Half Penny Two Penny are the best songs on the album:) Haven't heard it in a long time!! PT was one of the two LPs I ever first purchased of my own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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