Music Monday: Styx/Paradise Theater (Act Two)

Act one told the story of the opening of the theater and the "best of times" it had in its glory days. Act two tells of its decline and eventual demolition.

The back side of the album cover shows the Paradise closed and in disrepair. You can barely make out the banner for Sparky the Flying Dog which states he was appearing until July 7th, 1958. That was the exact date that workmen finished the demolition of the theater.

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6) Lonely People - Sung by DDY, this is actually one of my favorite tracks on the album. It starts to the sound of rain and then a saxophone playing in the distance. Then you hear a banging on the walls and complaining: "Hey , Hey out there knock it off will ya?Hey give it a rest will ya? I'm tryin' to get some sleep! Want me to call the cops? I tell ya Erma I can't wait till next week when they start to tear that damn old theatre down."

The rain was hot, the streets were empty

As downtown closed her eyes

The movie house stood in silence as I said my last good-byes

Her silver screen was stained with memories

As Cagney shot them down

And as I watched I was that hero

In dreamlands lost and found

Oh my God, well we both are empty Paradise and me

Do you believe I'm still chasing rainbows

When everywhere I see

Lonely People, Lonely People

Up above these ghetto streets

In penthouse suites they sit and stare

Lonely People, Lonely People

They smile and say they're fine

But behind their eyes they just don't care

Lonely People

They just don't care

Lonely People, Lonely People

Lonely People, Lonely People

Beneath these neon streets in subway seats they crowd for air

Lonely People, Lonely People

So close and yet so far they share the secrets of despair

Lonely People, Lonely People

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7) She Cares - The second of only two songs (gasp!) that Tommy gets on the album, and as always it's a gem. This is like Tommy's "Best of Times" for this side, because when things go bad he knows his woman still cares.

I tried to be the perfect soldier

I tried to be what everyone said was expected

Somehow I was selected

Well, my hands were steady, my aim was true

But deep inside of my heart I knew

That I lacked the will

I just couldn't shoot to kill

And still she treats me like a human

She says she'll still be there

I may not be a hero, but I'll be there

Because I know she cares

I worked hard to be the greatest lover

I wanted to be sure that I was her only one

That's how I thought it was done

But I went too far, assumed too much

The need to feel a younger one's touch

Seemed important then

Oh what a fool I've been

And still she treats me like a human (like a human)

She says she'll still be there (that she'll be there)

I don't quite understand it, she's been too fair

'Cause somehow she cares

I guess that's the way it goes, the way that it goes

And nobody knows what compels her

She's seen my highs and lows and never let go

Oh yes she treats me like a human (like a human)

She says she'll still be there (that she'll be there)

I don't quite understand it, she's been too fair

'Cause somehow she cares

I guess that's the way it goes, the way that it goes

And nobody knows what compels her

She's seen my highs and lows and never let go

And when the world has turned its back on me

I won't have to feel alone

'Cause I know she cares

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8) Snowblind - Definitely the darkest and most controversial song on the album. Sung by JY, the song is about the helplessness of cocaine addiction, alternating between slow, brooding verses and a faster, harder-edged chorus, representing the addict's cycle of highs and lows.

Claims were made by anti-rock-music activists during the early 1980s that the song's lyrics were "Satanistic" and contained backwards messages. The line "I try so hard to make it so" when played in reverse was said to be "Satan move through our voice". Aural inspection suggests that any resemblance the line's reversed phonemes had to this phrase was slight, and likely coincidental. The protesters used "Snowblind" as one of several examples of rock songs that they claimed contained hidden Satanic phrases, and they lobbied for laws to require warning labels on records containing such messages.

Styx repeatedly and angrily dismissed these claims as baseless. Dennis DeYoung told a US radio show that "Anyone who plays their records backwards is the Anti-Christ. We have enough trouble making these records sound right forward. People have nothing better to do. It's the name Styx. Can you imagine attacking the guys who made 'Babe', I mean please".

Styx's next project would be deeply affected because of these attacks, and the California ruling that followed (more on that later).

Mirror, mirror on the wall

The face you've shown me scares me so

I thought that I could call your bluff

But now the lines are clear enough

Life's not pretty even though

I've tried so hard to make it so

Mornings are such cold distress

How did I ever get into this mess

I'm snowblind, can't live without you

So fine I just can't get away

Now I'm snowblind, snowblind, snowblind

Harmless and innocent you devil in white

You stole my will without a fight

You filled me with confidence, but you blinded my eyes

You tricked me with visions of Paradise

Now I realize I'm

Snowblind, can't live without you

So fine I just can't get away

Now I'm snowblind, snowblind, snowblind

Mirror, mirror I confess

I can't escape this emptiness

No more reason to pretend

Here comes that same old feeling again

Snowblind, can't live without you

So fine I just can't get away

Won't you throw me a lifeline

I'm going down for the third time

I'm snowblind, and I can't get away

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9-10) Half Penny, Two Penny/A.D. 1958 - Just like the opening two tracks of the album, the final two tracks also flow into one another as one piece. This first part is a rocker by JY which is a commentary on the rich and poor. There is an interlude in the middle (around the 1:51 mark) where you can hear the demolition happening with a dialogue between two workers.

Half penny, two penny, gold Krugerrand

He was exceedingly rich for such a young man

Sad story, old story - 

Bring out the band

Another divorce just a few hundred grand

Half penny, two penny, back of the queue

Yes mister poor man this means you

Justice for money what can you say

We all know it's the American Way

Yes, I'm gonna shake myself loose

Back home across the sea

Where I know that I will be free

Half penny, two penny, back in the States

You just couldn't take that African pace

Yes, Mrs. Cleaver your son's home to stay

We all know it's the American Way

Yes, I'm gonna shake myself loose

Back home across the sea

Where I know that I will be free

 (interlude with demolition sounds)

"Come here - hey Angelo... what's happenin'?"

"Hey, Stosh, good to see ya"

"What the hell you doin'?"

"We're tearing this old building down here"

"Oh you're kiddin' me. 

Remember when we were kids, and we used to come here every Saturday afternoon to see a cartoon?"

"Yeah, I remember"

"Well what's she lost to?"

"Who knows- politicians, taxes...it's a disgrace"

"I'm not surprised, they make me sick. They don't make theaters like this any more."

Half penny, two penny, ashes to dust

The almighty dollar says "In God we trust"

Justice for money how much more can I pay

We all know it's the American Way

Yes, I'm gonna shake myself loose

Back home across the sea

Where I know that I will be free

(I want to be free)

Yes, I'm gonna shake myself loose

Back home across the sea

Where I know that I will be free

(We all want to be free)

The song then sequeways back into the theme heard in "A.D. 1928" and "The Best of Times". DDY sings on piano that the theater can always last as long as you hold onto the memories.

And so, my friends, we'll say goodnight,

For time has claimed his prize,

But tonight can always last,

as long as we keep alive,

the memories of Paradise

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11) State Street Sadie - This is a ghostly little piece that plays off the album like echoes of the past. It named after a 1928 silent film that would have debuted at a theater like the Paradise.

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One of the reasons I love this album so much was the packaging. My copy was a gatefold cover, but the inside was to be looked at vertically, instead of horizontally and showed the playbill of the album with Act One, Act Two, the "players" and lyrics. 

And also on the album itself, the A-side has the listings for both sides of the album. The B-side has a laser etched image with the Styx logo:

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Paradise Theatre became Styx's only US #1 album. It was the band's fourth consecutive triple-platinum album, and (as of 2015) the last multi-platinum album by the band.