Rockin' the Paradise
"A.D. 1928 / Rockin' the Paradise" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Styx | ||||
from the album Paradise Theatre | ||||
B-side | "Snowblind" | |||
Released | November 1981[1] | |||
Recorded | 1980 | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Label | A&M | |||
Songwriter(s) | Dennis DeYoung Tommy Shaw James "J.Y." Young | |||
Styx singles chronology | ||||
|
"A.D. 1928 / Rockin' the Paradise" is a song by American rock band Styx, released as the fourth single from their tenth album Paradise Theatre. The song peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Rock Chart. "A.D. 1928" is a short, piano-based song by Dennis DeYoung, set to the same melody as "The Best of Times", that segues into "Rockin' the Paradise". These two tracks would serve as the opening songs of not only the Paradise Theatre album but also its subsequent tour and the 1996 Return to Paradise reunion tour.
According to Bismarck Tribune critic Patrick Miller, the message of "Rockin' the Paradise" is "for Americans to get back to the honest hard work that made the country great.[2] DeYoung expanded on this saying that that what is needed in order to turn things around in American "common decency between human beings and people feeling useful. One of the biggest crimes in the United States is people not feeling useful. People need to feel like they're a useful part of society because they are. We need to get people to believe in themselves—that they are important.[2]
Newsday critic Wayne Robins felt that some of the lyrics "are worthy of a politician's adventures in locution," for example "Let's stick together and futurize our attitudes / I ain't looking to fight but I know with determination we can challenge the schemers / who cheat all the rules.[3]
Allmusic critic Eduardo Rivadavia called the song "a total team effort of wonderfully stripped down hard rock."[4] Classic Rock critic Malcolm Dome rated "Rockin' the Paradise" as Styx 4th greatest song, praising the "sparkling sense of fun and nostalgia" and the band's "inspired performance."[5]
The music video for the song was the tenth to air on MTV when it debuted in the U.S. on August 1, 1981.
Personnel
- Dennis DeYoung - lead vocals, keyboards
- Tommy Shaw - lead guitar, backing vocals
- James Young - rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- Chuck Panozzo - bass
- John Panozzo - drums
References
- ^ "Great Rock Discography". p. 798.
- ^ a b Miller, Patrick (June 27, 1981). "Styx". The Bismarck Tribune. p. 5. Retrieved 2022-06-13 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Robins, Wayne (April 24, 1981). "Styx takes it seriously". Newsday. p. II-29. Retrieved 2022-06-16 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Paradise Theater". Allmusic. Retrieved 2022-06-16.
- ^ Dome, Malcolm (February 18, 2022). "The 10 best Styx songs". Classic Rock. Louder Music. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
- v
- t
- e
- Chuck Panozzo
- James "J.Y." Young
- Tommy Shaw
- Todd Sucherman
- Lawrence Gowan
- Will Evankovich
- Terry Gowan
- Styx
- Styx II
- The Serpent Is Rising
- Man of Miracles
- Equinox
- Crystal Ball
- The Grand Illusion
- Pieces of Eight
- Cornerstone
- Paradise Theatre
- Kilroy Was Here
- Edge of the Century
- Brave New World
- Cyclorama
- Big Bang Theory
- The Mission
- Crash of the Crown
- Regeneration: Volume I
- Regeneration: Volume II
- Caught in the Act
- Return to Paradise
- Arch Allies: Live at Riverport
- Styx World: Live 2001
- At the River's Edge: Live in St. Louis
- 21st Century Live
- One with Everything: Styx and the Contemporary Youth Orchestra
- Best of Styx
- Lady
- Styx - Classics, Volume 15
- Styx Greatest Hits
- Greatest Hits Part 2
- Extended Versions
- Styx Yesterday & Today
- Rockers
- Come Sail Away – The Styx Anthology
- The Complete Wooden Nickel Recordings
- "Best Thing"
- "Lies"
- "Lady"
- "You Need Love"
- "Lorelei"
- "Mademoiselle"
- "Crystal Ball"
- "The Grand Illusion"
- "Come Sail Away"
- "Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)"
- "Blue Collar Man (Long Nights)"
- "Sing for the Day"
- "Renegade"
- "Babe"
- "Why Me"
- "Boat on the River"
- "Borrowed Time"
- "The Best of Times"
- "Too Much Time on My Hands"
- "Nothing Ever Goes as Planned"
- "Rockin' the Paradise"
- "Snowblind"
- "Mr. Roboto"
- "Don't Let It End"
- "High Time"
- "Music Time" / "Heavy Metal Poisoning"
- "Love Is the Ritual"
- "Show Me the Way"
- "Love at First Sight"
- "Paradise"
- "I Am the Walrus"
- Discography
- Kilroy Was Here
- Category