Retro Spins: Styx - Kilroy Was Here

 

When you hate something, but it makes a lot of money, it makes it difficult to balk at. Such was the case with members of Styx agreeing to continue following DeYoung's lead of concept albums for their next project, Kilroy Was Here. The band had reached superstardom status from their prior album, Paradise Theatre, with its subsequent massive tour conceptualizing and implementing Broadway and film style theatrics into the show.

Tommy Shaw would go on to voice his concerns about this in a later interview, stating the band would be on stage for thirty minutes before they even started playing. But again, despite this, the money and popularity were there, so the members acquiesced to DeYoung's vision.

Take everything I liked about Paradise Theatre, and crush it under the weight of the bloated, overzealous Kilroy Was Here. About the only thing that really resonated was Mr. Roboto, and Don't Let It End. Neither are particularly strong songs, with Roboto being nothing more than 80's campiness.

The biggest disappointment here is that I really wanted to like this album. Like, a lot. I was so looking forward to hearing it.

In retrospectively reading about the band's history, it appears my opinion falls in line with the general consensus. Fans of the band hated the concept approach, and subsequent tour, all but booing the band off stage at Texxas Jam in 1983. It was so bad that when the tour concluded, Tommy Shaw quit Styx for a solo career.

While a reunion was planned for the late 80's, Dennis DeYoung needed to halt the plans because he was on the cusp of releasing a solo album. When it was later revisited in 1990, Shaw was committed to Damn Yankees, and unable to join. Edge Of The World would be released in that year, with Glen Burtnik taking over guitars in Shaw's place.

Shaw would return in 1995 to re-record Lady for the forthcoming compilation album. However, at this time, drummer John Panozzo was incredibly ill from liver disease caused by years of alcohol abuse. He would sadly pass away in July of 1996. The remaining member would eventually return to the studio to record 1999's Brave New World with new drummer, Todd Sucherman.

As the tour kicked off, bassist, and brother, Chuck Panozzo, was sidelined from his diagnosis of HIV / Aids. While he continues to survive the illness, this has limited his ability to fully participate with the band.

Further DeYoung would leave the band in 1999, citing health issues, an overall decline in his role, and issues with bandmates Shaw, and James Young. Depending on who you ask, it was either DeYoung who opted to leave, or was replaced when he asked for a postponement of continued tour dates due to his health. The general consensus was that he was fired, and, Lawrence Gowan was brought in to replace him.

Glen Burtnik would come back to Styx to be part of their 2003 album, Cyclorama, but then depart shortly thereafter to spend time with his family. Since then, the lineup has stayed consistent with Tommy Shaw, James Young, Chuck Panozzo (in limited capacity, aided on bass by Ricky Phillips), Todd Sucherman, and Lawrence Gowan.

While there have been rumors that Dennis DeYoung was going to rejoin the group, the band have stated otherwise. Shaw has been quoted as saying, "While the hard feelings between them have subsided, they don't see a future for DeYoung in Styx." Meanwhile, James Young has stated that he has forgiven him but has, "No desire to work with him again."

The fans seem split down the middle in this aspect, with some saying they'd like to see it, and others have said the current lineup is amazing.

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Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.

THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
September 19, 1981

 

THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
September 19, 1987

Retro Spins: Styx - Paradise Theatre

 

I don't know the in depth history of the band Styx. In fact, I'd be lying if I said I knew many songs from them at all. What I do know is that they were a massively successful 70's group who took their popularity, and flushed it straight down the toilet in the early 80's with a series of concept rock opera albums, and outlandish theatrical shows.

Right, so let's see if we can abridge this.

Though they formed in 1961, it wouldn't be until 1972 that Styx would release their self-titled debut, comprising of original line-up, Dennis DeYoung, James "J.Y." Young, John "J.C." Curulewski and brothers Chuck and John Panozzo. From there, they released albums annually all the way through 1979. During this time, they often had top ten hits, most notably, Lady (from 1973's Styx II), Lorelei (from 1975's Equinox), Come Sail Away (from 1977's The Grand Illusion), both Renegade and Blue Color Man (Long Nights) (from 1978's Pieces Of Eight), and Babe (from 1979's Cornerstone).

Just before embarking on their 1975 tour, John Curulewski suddenly left the band, leaving them scrambling to find a replacement. They found this in Tommy Shaw, who would not only take on the role as guitarist, and co-vocals, but also serve as one of the major contributors to the writing of material from that point.

Things would pick up for Styx when they scored their first number one hit, Babe, as noted as being from the album, Cornerstone. The album itself would reach number two on the Billboard 200, and help the band win a People's Choice Award for Best New Song in 1980. Though they would be nominated for the 22nd Grammy Awards in multiple categories, they wouldn't win any. However, they would be voted Most Popular Rock Band in the USA on the 1980 year end Gallup Poll.

Turmoil began to brew in the band at this point. Enjoying the success of his penned single, DeYoung pushed Styx to release more mainstream music, while Shaw and Young favored a more rock oriented approach. Things came to a head when objection's rose against releasing First Time as the group's next single, resulting in the brief firing of DeYoung. The irony is that the single became a huge hit in the Philippines, where it was actually released.

Despite the cracks that would begin to show, and ultimately lead to their demise, there's no doubt that DeYoung's vision of concept albums was a good idea at the time. Their 1981 follow-up, Paradise Theatre, would go on to become the band's best album of all time, spawning multiple top ten hits. The band embarked on a massive tour in support of the album, making it one of the top grossing tours of the year.

This would also be the start of the over the top theatrics which Styx incorporated into their shows. Each one would showcase numerous Broadway and movie infused elements, including a dramatic opening featuring a theatre sweep and DeYoung by himself next to a player piano and the show ending with traditional movie credits. Though it paid off (literally) in a big way, other members of the band would soon begin to hate the theatrics of it all, leading to Styx imploding.

But stop. Before we can get to the end, we first have to go back, and actually have a listen to Paradise Theatre.

There may be something to Styx that I've been missing out on. As I played through the album, I was treated to song after song that resonated on the "good" chart.

What stood out as the pros for me was the fine tuned instrumentation. I'll use Toto IV as an example. That album was so acutely produced, making every note sound just right, balancing out all the instruments. Professional in every sense of the word. That's what I got from Paradise Theatre.

As for the biggest con that stood out to me, I didn't particularly care for the harmonization of the members when they sang. It came off as screechy, almost obnoxious. It's like when Queen does it, but not as good. Additionally, the album features a gratuitous use of the word "paradise" from song to song, as if to really drive home the record's title and / or theme. Maybe the latter is nitpicking.

With that said, I did enjoy several songs, and added them all to my shuffle list. These included, A.D. 1928, Rockin' The Paradise, Too Much Time On My Hands, The Best Of Times, Half Penny Two Penny, and since it led into it, A.D. 1958.

Overall, I'm a bit excited to jump into their 1983 follow-up, Kilroy Was Here. I'm digging what I'm hearing, and I definitely want some more. Like I said, I feel like I may have missed out on Styx, and I'm down with rectifying that. I may even have to dust off the several 70's albums I have from them, and check those out too.

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Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.

THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
September 18, 1982