Today in rock history: on this date in 1981, American rock band Styx released its concept album, Paradise Theatre. The band’s 10th album told the story of a fictional theatre that went from being a thriving hotspot to an abandoned, forgotten building through the course of the songs on the record. The record was one of the band’s highest selling albums, achieving triple-platinum sales status for sales topping 3 million copies sold. It was also the band’s only album to go to No. 1 on Billboard’s pop albums chart in the U.S. The album produced two top ten hits: theDennis DeYoung ballad “The Best of Times” as well as rocker “Too Much Time On My Hands,” which was sung by guitarist Tommy Shaw. First pressings of the album included the band’s logo laser etched on the vinyl surface of the record, which created a prism-like effect when played on a turntable.
IN THE STYX
A Q&A with Styx vocalist/keyboardist Lawrence Gowan
Today in rock history: on this date in 1982, American punk rock band Bad Religion released its very first album, How Could Hell Be Any Worse?. Coming a year after the band’s debut EP, the record was made possible thanks to a loan guitarist Brett Gurewitz received from his father to help finance the recording sessions. The record was released on the then brand new record label Epitaph Records (started by Gurewitz as well) which went on to become one of the premier American independent punk rock record labels. The album consists of 14 short, sharp, hard-hitting tracks which were all original compositions by the band. The entire contents of the record would appear later as part of the band’s compilation 80-85 which collected all of the material the band released within those years. The albums marks the first chapter in the history of one of the band’s that would go on to be one of the most successful and significant American bands to emerge from the California punk rock scene.
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Today in rock history: on this date in 1987, Minneapolis-based rock trio Hüsker Dü released its final album, the exceptional 2-LP set Warehouse: Songs and Stories. After spending years recording for indie punk rock labels (most notably, influential California label SST Records), the band was signed to a major label, Warner Bros. Records, and wrote and recorded some of the finest material of its lifespan. The record was an instant college radio hit as all of the band’s previous releases were, and it featured the single “Could You Be The One?” for which a music video was made to accompany it as well. Sadly, the record would be the band’s final release as tensions within the band and specifically with songwriters Bob Mould (guitar, vocals) and Grant Hart (drums, vocals) would lead to the band’s breakup. The record was favorably reviewed by critics and remains a favorite among Hüsker Dü’s loyal fan base.
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Today in rock history: on this date in 1980, the brand new incendiary rock and roll band, The Pretenders, scored its very first No. 1 hit single in the U.K. with their catchy pop hit, “Brass In Pocket.” The band, made up of American-born lead singer, songwriter and guitarist Chrissie Hynde along with three British musicians, drummer Martin Chambers, bassist Pete Farndon and guitarist James Honeyman-Scott, had just released its self-titled debut album to worldwide acclaim. Regularly regarded as one of the very best debut albums of all time, Pretenders was an instant hit and helped establish Hynde as one of the most important and influential female rockers of the day as well as showing off the stellar talents of her bandmates. Coincidentally, the album also hit the No. 1 spot on U.K. charts on this very day, which meant the band occupied the top spot on both the singles and albums charts in England.
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This article appears in Jan 18-25, 2018.