BRAVE NEW STYX IN PARADISE

[yogi]

Two years after Styx releases Paradise Theatre and immediately after the Paradise Theatre tour ends they release their next album. The track listing is as follows:

Everything is Cool
Fallen Angel
Brave New World
While Theres Still Time
Paradise
What Have they Done To You
Witness
Number One
Heavy Water
Goodbye Roseland
Brave New World Reprise


How do you think this album would have done?

[chickenbeef]

what are you talking about they never had an album with those songs on it in the 80's?

[BlackWall]

"Paradise" would have been a massive hit in the early '80s.

[styxfanNH]

Two years after Styx releases Paradise Theatre and immediately after the Paradise Theatre tour ends they release their next album. The track listing is as follows:

Everything is Cool
Fallen Angel
Brave New World
While Theres Still Time
Paradise
What Have they Done To You
Witness
Number One
Heavy Water
Goodbye Roseland
Brave New World Reprise


How do you think this album would have done?

Those songs would never have existed at that time , Yogi. They are based on the experiences of their time apart as well as the issues that arose during the 97 tour and making of the BNW album.

[yogi]

Thats not what I am asking. I know that those songs didnt exist.

What I am asking is if these songs were on Styx's follow up album to Paradise Theatre, and the album came out immediately after the conclusion of the Paradise Theatre Tour, How do you think this album would have done?


I personally think it would have been MASSIVE, because Styx was at the height of their popularity and all of these songs are pretty strong.

[Archetype]

Since they employed many styles that came to be in the 1990s for BNW, they would be the ones pioneering those styles if it was released 2-3 years after Paradise Theatre. It would have been a ground breaking, genre-defining album. Triple platinum at minimum.

[chowhall]

If my aunt had... oh never mind.

[masque]

ok i'll play.....it would have done well but not sure it would have done any better than Kilroy did.....which did pretty well.

styx still was very popular but their run at the top was probably getting ready to diminish a bit.

now I will say that nothing on your album you mentioned above would have alientated long time styx fans as much as roboto did at the time.....so who knows what would have happened.

to me the biggest mistake of the Kilroy release was not pushing the living shit out of havn't we been here before.....it could have been one of their biggest hits and propelled that album into larger sales.

[yogi]

Your Aunt DOES have a.....

I thought that was the whole problem between you and Glen in the restroom after the DDY concert

[Boomchild]

to me the biggest mistake of the Kilroy release was not pushing the living shit out of havn't we been here before.....it could have been one of their biggest hits and propelled that album into larger sales.

Since it seems that both TS and JY were so against "lighter", "slow songs" becoming what Styx "is" I am pretty sure they would have been against pushing that song.

[LtVanish]

to me the biggest mistake of the Kilroy release was not pushing the living shit out of havn't we been here before.....it could have been one of their biggest hits and propelled that album into larger sales.

Since it seems that both TS and JY were so against "lighter", "slow songs" becoming what Styx "is" I am pretty sure they would have been against pushing that song.

It is a shame actually, that is one of Styx's best songs IMO. Styx history sure is full of what ifs.

[Boomchild]

to me the biggest mistake of the Kilroy release was not pushing the living shit out of havn't we been here before.....it could have been one of their biggest hits and propelled that album into larger sales.

Since it seems that both TS and JY were so against "lighter", "slow songs" becoming what Styx "is" I am pretty sure they would have been against pushing that song.

It is a shame actually, that is one of Styx's best songs IMO. Styx history sure is full of what ifs.

IMHO, they suffered from too many people wanting to be the leader of all things Styx.

[BlackWall]

"The Best Of Times"
"Too Much Time On My Hands"
"Rockin' The Paradise"
"Mr. Roboto"
"Don't Let It End"
"Haven't We Been Here Before"
"Double Life"

These could have been a string of early '80s hits had they played their cards right.

[BlackWall]

Everything is Cool
Fallen Angel
Brave New World
While Theres Still Time
Paradise
What Have they Done To You
Witness
Number One
Heavy Water
Goodbye Roseland
Brave New World Reprise



In my opinion, the only two songs on that list that would have really worked in the early '80s were "Paradise" and "I Will Be Your Witness". "Number One" and "Everything Is Cool" sound too modern.

[yogi]

I think that Roseland would have been HUGE

[brywool]

take out Fallen Angel and you might have something there. BUT, some of those tracks would've needed better production, which is surprising as I really like Nevison.

[Rockwriter]

to me the biggest mistake of the Kilroy release was not pushing the living shit out of havn't we been here before.....it could have been one of their biggest hits and propelled that album into larger sales.

Since it seems that both TS and JY were so against "lighter", "slow songs" becoming what Styx "is" I am pretty sure they would have been against pushing that song.

I have to say, I've never understood Tommy not wanting his own song to be a single from that record. Why write and record it, then? Puzzling.


Sterling

[Boomchild]

to me the biggest mistake of the Kilroy release was not pushing the living shit out of havn't we been here before.....it could have been one of their biggest hits and propelled that album into larger sales.

Since it seems that both TS and JY were so against "lighter", "slow songs" becoming what Styx "is" I am pretty sure they would have been against pushing that song.

I have to say, I've never understood Tommy not wanting his own song to be a single from that record. Why write and record it, then? Puzzling.


Sterling

Maybe he felt the songs he did for KWH were not good enough for him. After all, we know he wasn't interested in the whole project to begin with. I think he said "I couldn't write songs about robots" or something similar.

[brywool]

to me the biggest mistake of the Kilroy release was not pushing the living shit out of havn't we been here before.....it could have been one of their biggest hits and propelled that album into larger sales.

Since it seems that both TS and JY were so against "lighter", "slow songs" becoming what Styx "is" I am pretty sure they would have been against pushing that song.

I have to say, I've never understood Tommy not wanting his own song to be a single from that record. Why write and record it, then? Puzzling.


Sterling

Maybe because he realized his days were numbered with Styx?

[Hippie]

This would be my ideal lineup for a follow to Paradise Theater:

Do Things My Way
Fallen Angel
Together
Show Me the Way (On piano rather than keyboard)
Homewrecker
All in a Days Work (W/ Tommy on Lead vox)
While There’s Still Time (a more acoustic version)
On My Way
Carrie-Ann
Heavy Water
Back To Chicago

"Paradise" was not included b/c that should've been the finale for PT (or at least included there somewhere)

[Toph]

This would be my ideal lineup for a follow to Paradise Theater:

Do Things My Way
Fallen Angel
Together
Show Me the Way (On piano rather than keyboard)
Homewrecker
All in a Days Work (W/ Tommy on Lead vox)
While There’s Still Time (a more acoustic version)
On My Way
Carrie-Ann
Heavy Water
Back To Chicago

"Paradise" was not included b/c that should've been the finale for PT (or at least included there somewhere)

If you want a follow up that reflected the times, you would have had an album (and this could have worked before or after Kilroy) of the following

Don't Wait For Heroes
Girls With Guns
Desert Moon
Free To Love You
Dear Darlin'

City Slicker
Lonely School
Gravity
Little Girl World
Something To Remember You By

[Hippie]

This would be my ideal lineup for a follow to Paradise Theater:

Do Things My Way
Fallen Angel
Together
Show Me the Way (On piano rather than keyboard)
Homewrecker
All in a Days Work (W/ Tommy on Lead vox)
While There’s Still Time (a more acoustic version)
On My Way
Carrie-Ann
Heavy Water
Back To Chicago

"Paradise" was not included b/c that should've been the finale for PT (or at least included there somewhere)

If you want a follow up that reflected the times, you would have had an album (and this could have worked before or after Kilroy) of the following

Don't Wait For Heroes
Girls With Guns
Desert Moon
Free To Love You
Dear Darlin'

City Slicker
Lonely School
Gravity
Little Girl World
Something To Remember You By

Oh man! You're right! That would've SMOKED!

[LtVanish]

This would be my ideal lineup for a follow to Paradise Theater:

Do Things My Way
Fallen Angel
Together
Show Me the Way (On piano rather than keyboard)
Homewrecker
All in a Days Work (W/ Tommy on Lead vox)
While There’s Still Time (a more acoustic version)
On My Way
Carrie-Ann
Heavy Water
Back To Chicago

"Paradise" was not included b/c that should've been the finale for PT (or at least included there somewhere)

If you want a follow up that reflected the times, you would have had an album (and this could have worked before or after Kilroy) of the following

Don't Wait For Heroes
Girls With Guns
Desert Moon
Free To Love You
Dear Darlin'

City Slicker
Lonely School
Gravity
Little Girl World
Something To Remember You By

It would be very interesting to hear what those songs would of sounded like with the actual Styx sound.

[cittadeeno23]

Yogi, I will answer your question. I have said it several times. If Styx would have put out an album of straight forward rock songs (like what you suggested) and accompanied them with some good videos, the band would have gone to the next level. I mean they could have had by far their most successful album. Kilroy was just too strange for some people. If they had put out a great normal album, MTV would have helped Styx become one of the biggest acts of all time. I truley beleive this. Kilroy sold OK, but if it had normal sounding Styx songs on it, It would have sold like crazy. Kilroy DID NOT sound like a normal Styx album. Especially Mr. Roboto. I understand what Dennis was trying to do, but his fatal flaw was changing the way the band sounded. It turned a lot of people off. And they missed a huge opportunity.