Paradise Theatre (album)
Paradise Theatre is the tenth album by the rock band Styx, released in January 1981. It was the most successful album by Styx, peaking at #1 for 3 weeks on the Billboard Album Chart in April and May 1981.
Four singles from the album charted on various charts, with two songs reaching the top 10 pop singles chart. The lead single "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 "The Best of Times" has been featured in multiple films. The song is in the 1999 film Big Daddy, in which Adam Sandler's character, like Sandler himself, is a Styx fan. It also appears in the 2005 film The Perfect Man.
Paradise Theatre became Styx's only US #1 album. It was the band's fourth consecutive triple-platinum album.
Background
A concept album, the album is a fictional account of Chicago's Paradise Theatre from its opening to closing, used as a metaphor for America's changing times from the late 1970s into the 1980s.Vinyl edition
Initial vinyl copies of the album have a design featuring the name of the band laser etched directly onto the vinyl on side 2. The vinyl record sleeve was a gate-fold and was painted by the 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
Personnel
Styx
- Dennis DeYoung – vocals, keyboards
- Tommy Shaw – vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, vocoder
- James "JY" Young – vocals, electric guitars
- Chuck Panozzo – bass guitar
- John Panozzo – drums, percussion
Additional personnel
- Steve Eisen – saxophone
- Dan Barber – horn
- Mike Halpin – horn
- John Haynor – horn
- Mark Ohlson – horn
- Billy Simpson – horn
Production
- Producer - Styx
- Engineers - Rob Kingsland, Gary Loizzo
- Arranger - Styx
- Mastering - Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound, NYC
Charts
Singles - Billboard
| 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 4 million copies to date.