The album had an accompanying stage show (?!?), which opened with a short film of the same name. While the supporting tour was a financial disaster, the album sold over 1 million copies and peaked at #3 on the US charts. However, it broke the streak of multi-platinum albums for Styx and ushered in a more keyboard-oriented, progressive rock direction that would divide DeYoung and guitarists James Young and Tommy Shaw, ultimately leading to their acrimonious split in 1984. This was the proverbial straw that broke the camels back.
The Pre-Concert Video
The characters: Dennis DeYoung as Robert Orin Charles Kilroy (ROCK), Tommy Shaw as Jonathan Chance, James Young as Dr. Righteous, Chuck Panozzo as Lt. Vanish and John Panozzo as Col. Hyde.
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1) Mr. Roboto - Yeah, this one. I had read where this was originally just supposed to accompany the concert video but it tested so well that they included it on the album. The song tells part of the story of Kilroy (DDY), a rock and roll performer who was placed in a futuristic prison for "rock and roll misfits" by the anti-rock-and-roll group the Majority for Musical Morality (MMM) and its founder Dr. Everett Righteous (JY). The Roboto is a model of robot which does menial jobs in the prison. Kilroy escapes the prison by overpowering a Roboto prison guard and hiding inside its emptied-out metal shell. When Jonathan Chance (Tommy) finally meets Kilroy, at the very end of the song, Kilroy unmasks and says "I'm Kilroy! Kilroy!", ending the song.
This was the first single released from the album and reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. As an "in your face" moment, the B-side was a live version of "Snowblind".
Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto [Thank you Mr Robot],
Mata au hi made [Until the day we meet again
Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto [Thank you Mr Robot],
Himitsu wo shiri tai [I want you to know my secret]
You're wondering who I am (secret secret I've got a secret)
Machine or mannequin (secret secret I've got a secret)
With parts made in Japan (secret secret I've got a secret)
I am the modren man
I've got a secret I've been hiding under my skin
My heart is human, my blood is boiling, my brain I.B.M.
So if you see me acting strangely, don't be surprised
I'm just a man who needed someone, and somewhere to hide
To keep me alive, just keep me alive
Somewhere to hide, to keep me alive
I'm not a robot without emotions. I'm not what you see
I've come to help you with your problems, so we can be free
I'm not a hero, I'm not the saviour, forget what you know
I'm just a man whose circumstances went beyond his control
Beyond my control. We all need control
I need control. We all need control
I am the modren man (secret secret I've got a secret)
Who hides behind a mask (secret secret I've got a secret)
So no one else can see (secret secret I've got a secret)
My true identity
Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto, domo...domo
Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto, domo...domo
Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto,
Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto,
Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto,
Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto,
Thank you very much, Mr. Roboto
For doing the jobs that nobody wants to
And thank you very much, Mr. Roboto
For helping me escape just when I needed to
Thank you, thank you, thank you
I want to thank you, please, thank you
The problem's plain to see:
Too much technology
Machines to save our lives.
Machines dehumanize.
The time has come at last (secret secret I've got a secret)
To throw away this mask (secret secret I've got a secret)
Now everyone can see (secret secret I've got a secret)
My true identity...
I'm Kilroy! Kilroy! Kilroy! Kilroy!
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2) Cold War - Tommy Shaw song here (or should I say Jonathan? I don't know anymore...). Anyway it is basically about a young rebellious youth who is growing up into a "street fighting man". This song always fell kind of flat to me. Not one of Tommy's better songs.
I'm tired of your psychology to bring me to my bended knees
And if I could only talk to you I'm sure that I could make you see
'cause time has a way of bringing even mountains down, down, down
Storm clouds are coming I suggest you head for higher ground
I say you're a thing of the past and you ain't gonna last
No matter what you say or do
It's all caught up to you
You're duty-free, you're tax-exempt, you party with the president
And you dance the dance so naturally why not believe you're heaven-sent
But time has a way of bringing even mountains down, down, down
There's a storm cloud a-comin' I insist you head for higher ground
You talk talk and you get so intense that you almost make sense
And that's what scares me the most
You as the host of celebrity lies
It's prime time, baby
Can't you see in my eyes, it's a
Cold war-runnin' in the streets
Everybody you meet knows
It's going down, don't you know
Cold war-blowing in the air
Everyone everywhere says it's time
To get ready for a cold war
Don't you look now
But the skinny boy's becoming a man
You say it's the luck of the draw and you can't have it all
And I'll die young trying to make it into something that ain't gonna last
You ought to reconsider 'cause I'm coming fast with a
Cold war-running in the streets
Everybody you meet
Know's it's going down, don't you know
Cold war-blood is in the air
Everyone everywhere says it's time
To get ready for a cold war-looking at me
From behind every tree
There's a scared man running from a
Cold war-don't you look now
But the skinny boy's a street fighting man
Funny thing is, sometimes doing this walk down memory lane I find some things I wasn't aware of before. Case in point: extra lyrics for "Cold War" when sung in concert. I found a live clip that actually included them. Cool.
[extra verses sung in concert during the kilroy tour:]
Try as you will, you can't escape the chill
That penetrates your clothing,
Demanding that you feel
All the trouble that surrounds you,
The bad mixed with the good,
The heartless bits of data waiting to be understood
Information central promptly processed your request,
The task we're told honestly requires you acquiesce.
Well, blind faith put you where you are now
You're a selfish old cow gettin' high on society's milk.
We pay your bills, life should be so tough.
You'd better watch your fat ass, 'cause we've had enough!
With this cold war-running in the streets
Everybody you meet
Knows it's going down, don't you know
Cold war-blood is in the air
Everyone everywhere says it's time
To get ready for a cold war-looking at me
From behind every tree
There's a scared man running from a
Cold war-don't you look now
But the skinny boy's a street fighting man
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3) Don't Let It End - Even in the middle of a political opera DDY can throw in a love song. This was the second single released from the album (but was originally going to be the first) and it reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. For some reason I can't find the video that accompanies this song but it starts out with Dennis portraying Kilroy looking at a picture of a girlfriend he lost (the picture is of Dennis' wife in real life Suzanne) and then gets up to go in another room which changes into the prison that his character of Kilroy was in. Then Dennis changes into the Kilroy as prisoner character and joins the members of Styx who play prisoners in the video performing the track and then the end shows Dennis as he appeared at the intro.
What can I do pictures of you still make me cry
Trying to live without your love, it's so hard to do
Some nights I'll wake up I'll look at your pillow
Hoping that I'll see you there
But I get up each day
Not much to say I've nowhere to go
Loneliness fills me up inside 'cause I'm missing you
So if you'll give us a chance to remember the love we had once together
Wait and see time is all that we really need
I'm praying you won't say no, I mean to tell you
Don't let it end
Baby we could have so much more
Don't let it end
Honey please don't walk out that door
I'm telling you baby, I made my mistakes
But I'll make you this promise to do what it takes
I'll be there to protect you and hold you tight
You got my lovin' baby every single night
Don't let it end
I'm begging you, don't let it end this way
Don't let it end
I'm begging you, don't let it end this way
Don't let it end
Baby we could have so much more
Don't let it end
Honey please don't walk out that door
Don't let it end
I'm begging you, don't let it end this way
Don't let it end
I'm begging you, don't let it end this way, no, no, no
No, no, no
What will I do if you say we're through?
I need you to stay, honey don't let it end this way
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4) High Time - Another DDY song which continues the Kilroy storyline. This was the third and final single from the album and it reached number 48 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. According to a 2009 interview by Dennis DeYoung, "High Time" was released as the third single at the last minute by A&M Records. This happened because Tommy Shaw refused to have one of his songs from side two, and its accompanying music video released. There was also animosity over the band refusing his choice of a live version of the Kilroy Was Here track "Cold War" (the video I posted above I'm guessing) to be included on the band's 1984 live album Caught in the Act, but instead was only released as a video. Because of Shaw's actions, in part, momentum on the Kilroy album stalled, and it quickly fell out of popularity. Yeah right, it's Tommy's fault that this clunker of an album failed. Whatever.
I flip the switch on my laser video
And there's the man staring back at me
He starts to speak in a voice so righteous
About the sins of society
He's got answers to all my problems
Says he'll decide what I should hear and see
I try to change to another station
But all I get is more of his morality
And morality, yeah
But I see the kids of a new generation
And they won't stand for this mind control
They're gonna change this world we live in
They're gonna bring back the rock and roll
So if I can, I'm gonna break from this prison
Gonna get out and join in the fight
Take a chance on what I believe in
Win or lose, I know it's right
'Cause it's high time
For us to start a revolution
High time
Just like an A-bomb explosion
High time
It ain't the music that's in question
High time
It's more the freedom of expression
Change is comin'
Mind Police are comin'
We're on the move
The Old World is crumblin'
A new day's comin'
Tell your friends and relations
We're on the move
We're gonna start a rockin' nation
High time
yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
High time
We're gonna start a revolution
High time
Everybody lay back now I tell you why...
[Roboto]
"I've been instructed to inform you that your privileges have been penalized.
Your avoidance tactics have proven disappointing."
[Kilroy]
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha
Up yours, Roboto!"
[Roboto]
"No deviance, Kilroy!"
High time
For us to start a revolution
High time
Just like an A-bomb explosion
High time
It ain't the music that's in question
High time
It's more the freedom of expression
Change is comin'
Mind Police are comin'
We're on the move
The Old World is crumblin'
A new day's comin'
Tell your friends and relations
We're on the move
We're gonna start a rockin' nation
B-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-band on the move, yeah
High time
Yeah
High time
B-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-band on the move
High time
"What will this thing cost, man? Look at the costs!"
"Hundreds and hundreds!"
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As a side note, my Styx journey had only started a year or so before this album. Paradise Theater made me a huge fan and that is when I started diving into the back catalogue. So Kilroy Was Here was the first album I got brand new on the day of its release on February 22, 1983 (I was 15! Ugh!) I still remember my first impression of this album: what the Hell am I listening to? None of this even remotely sounds like Styx! And they even changed their logo! I was so disappointed and even to this day I am embarrassed about Mr. Roboto whenever I hear it. And to paraphrase Tommy, "Is it any wonder this band survived at all?"
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