Music Monday: Styx/Return to Paradise

At this point, Styx has gotten back together due to reconciliation and a renewed popularity partially due to the release of their greatest hits album. They embarked on a reunion tour with everyone on board, except John Panozzo. If you remember Todd Sucherman had taken over for him for the "Lady '95" re-recording because he was fighting an illness. Before they embarked on the tour, they asked John to stay behind and get healthy while Todd would continue to fill in for him. John would never play with the band again. On July 16th, 1996 John Panozzo passed away from complications due to alcoholism. The band had lost one of its founding members. Styx dedicated the rest of the remaining tour to John. This tour was captured on Return to Paradise.

Music Monday: Styx/Greatest Hits

Styx - Classics, Volume 15 is a greatest hits compilation for the band Styx, released in 1987 by A&M Records as part of A&M's classics series of greatest hits albums for artists on its label. Like Best of Styx (one of my favorites that I covered here), this compilation is label-exclusive. Therefore it only contains Styx's hits on the A&M label. This means it excludes Styx's significant hit "Lady", which was recorded for Wooden Nickel Records.

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Music Monday: Styx/Kilroy Was Here (Side One)

Directly caused by the accusations of backward Satanic messages on "Snowblind" from Paradise Theater, Dennis DeYoung conceived a concept album that was a rock opera telling the story of a future where rock music is outlawed by a fascist government and the "MMM" (the Majority for Musical Morality). The story's protagonist, Kilroy, is a former rock star who has been imprisoned by MMM leader Dr. Righteous. He escapes using a disguise when he becomes aware that a young musician, Jonathan Chance, is on a mission to bring rock music back. The album was called Kilroy Was Here.

Music Monday (Styx I, Side 1)

So as I was finishing up the last few albums in the Yes discography, I began planning ahead for what I would do next. That answer was simple: Styx. In a way I know these albums far better than the Yes catalog because I was a fan of Styx first.

I will go into much more detail on it later, but in the early 80's when I got my first big boy stereo (and headphones) the first album I wanted on my turntable was Paradise Theater. I was massively hooked. That's when I began collecting the back catalog, but there were some albums I just couldn't figure out. Some of them had weird album covers and contained songs I had never heard of before. I later found out that these were re-issued albums from their original record company Wooden Nickel Records.

But first, some background on the band: