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Kilroy Was Here

Styx - Kilroy Was Here Audio CD

A fair review of the Styx "Kilroy Was Here" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Styx reviews here, or go back to the Styx tabs.

Band: Styx
Title: Kilroy Was Here
Rating:

Release Date: 2009-04-28
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Mr. Roboto 2: Cold War 3: Don't Let It End 4: High Time 5: Heavy Metal Poisoning 6: Just Get Through This Night 7: Double Life 8: Haven't We Been Here Before? 9: Don't Let It End (Reprise)

One of the Greats

Great as they were they didn't last long by comparison. I've been around rock and roll so long that I hated the Beatles (yuck a Girl band) when they arrived.
I suffered with gritted teeth through stuff like Sgt. Pepper and Yoko Oh No.

Lady wasn't bad but I tired of it quick, and Lorelei left me cold - I was in that camp that viewed Styx fans as weenies. I was a hard rocker.

Then BLAM Blue Collar Man (that's Styx? You're kidding!).
Then I learned Crystal Ball was theirs too - and a few other songs I liked that I didn't even know were theirs.
Tommy Shaw was a quantum leap.

Problem was the too laid back DJ's of FM - they'd never tell who did what in a set.
Most of them weren't too swift.
Heard (and liked) Roboto a lot before learning that was Styx too.

Bottom line is I can't think of many bands that improved with time like Styx. Most of the ones I liked went rancid and died off (unfortunately not soon enough, making albums so bad they ruined whatever rep they once had).

Styx gets a bad rap and it isn't right - they earned the rep and deserve respect.
Their later stuff was better than the recent lame offerings of my once favorite band - the Rolling Stones.

Where I wish the Stones would retire before they get too painful to listen to, I wish Styx would reform before those fantastic voices start to fail.

They passed the Test of Time.
Most of the reputed "Greats" didn't.

The demise of a great rock band
Growing up in my pre-teen years, "Come Sail Away" was the first Styx song I heard and I right away took interest in the band. First I would like to open by saying that I was a die hard Styx fan and they were once my favorite band. Later exposure to the band came from the excellent "The Grand Illusion" album and then "Pieces Of Eight". By this time I took notice of Dennis DeYoung's keyboard playing and he quickly became my favorite member of the band.

Being in my pre-teen years and lacking money, the first Styx album I bought was "Cornerstone". I was a full fledged Styx fan at this point in time and I did like the pop-ballad "Babe" even though this was a departure from the norm for Styx, but it is something I grew to expect as their music was always very much varied and interesting. "Why Me" was my favorite song off the Cornerstone album.

Another thing that interested me about Styx was the beautiful album covers. The Cornerstone album in particular (I am talking the LP RECORD now), had an outer jacket that had a split fold down the middle and the inner jacket was the Cornerstone symbol. VERY nice!

But all this was about to be topped with the release of the next Styx Album: Paradise Theatre. Right away I liked the radio songs "The Best Of Times" and also "Too Much Time On My Hands". While the latter is definitely far from the rock sound I was used to with Styx, I still liked it. With those songs already out, I decided to buy the album.

When I first saw the album cover, it almost knocked me over. The sheer beauty of the theatre building depicted on the cover left me in awe. I said to myself, "They actually built theatres like this?". After purchasing the album and listening to the songs, I realized the album was a concept and a story based on the rise and fall of the real life Paradise Theatre that once existed in Chicago. I was totally pulled into the theme that it sparked my interest in old theatres which still runs strong today.

As for the music on the album, it opens with the more traditional Styx hard hitting "Rockin' The Paradise" which I liked right away. Styx introduced a bit more instrument variety in the mix via horns and saxes. used on "Nothing Ever Goes As Planned" and "Lonely People" (which has just about one of the oddest, yet most insteresting synth patches I ever heard towards the middle of the song). Again a departure for Styx, but for some reason on this album and with the theatre theme, it worked and it had me hooked.

Clearly Paradise Theatre is my favorite Styx album. I just about liked every song on the album, but unfortunately this album was some foreshadowing of things to come. The song "She Cares" is the weakest song on the album and it has a Billy Joel - bubblegum poppish type sound. While not a total disaster in itself, it didn't fit the theme of the album and seemed like it was a throwaway song Styx just tossed into the album to fill it out. Yet, all in all it was forgiving. BUT, it was something I hoped Styx wouldn't repeat on the next album. Well. . . what they did to was much worse. Enter "Kilroy Was Here".

At first when it was announced that a new Styx Album was going to be released, I wanted to buy it hoping to expect the same impact as Paradise Theatre had on me. The first song released was Mr. Roboto and at first when I heard the song, I didn't even think it WAS Styx. Overall I didn't think the song was bad, at first. However, the radio bored the song into the ground by constantly playing it. I got sick of the song very fast. The following release off the album, "Don't Let It End" was a repeat offender of "She Cares" from the previous album. At this point I realized something was drastically wrong with Styx and I didn't bother buying the album.

When Styx went on tour for "Kilroy Was Here", it then came out in the news that Styx tried to put theatrics into their show in theme to the album, but it was so bad that the band was booed. Hearing this news I was in utter shock at the severe down turn that Styx took. I was like how can you put Broadway theatrics into a rock concert??? I did ask around at how the rest of the album was and I was told time and again it was an utter disaster. I was even disappointed when I saw the album cover, which was a total reverse of the previous album. Worse, I found out that the down-turn was all Dennis DeYoung's doing. Yes, my favorite member of the band.

It was only recently I was able to listen to all of the tracks on the "Kilroy Was Here" album via YouTube and other on-line sources. In the videos of the band, you can see the painful expressions on the rest of the band's faces as they 'perform' to DeYoung's wishes. It is horrible and an utter travasty to what has happened.

I can understand if Dennis DeYoung wanted to persue an interest in theatre, but he should have done so on his own accord and not dragged his entire band into doing something that they didn't want to do in the first place. In the end we ended up loosing a great band.

Thus in my opinion and in conclusion, I have to agree with the naysayers here that this album is indeed a flop and to repeat what another poster here said, this album sure was indeed the "nail in the coffin" to a once great band. Avoid this album (yes, like the plague) and do yourself a favor and buy one of the other albums I mentioned. If you like rock, get "The Grand Illusion" first. For a good mix of both pop and rock, you can't go wrong with "Paradise Theatre", my personal favorite.

Pretty Darn Cool
For those who don't know, Kilroy Was Here is a concept album for a musical that Styx tried and failed to create. As a fan of cheesy 80s music, it was only a matter of time before I bought this CD. This would not have made it as a musical without a few more songs. Individially, the songs are quite entertaining, and some of them are just awesome, like Mr Roboto, Double Life and Don't Let it End. I personally like the harmonizing in these songs. The rest are good or great, but not extroardinary.

Overall it's not the best album in the world but it's pretty darn cool and a lot of fun. I have heard that this is not Styx's best album, but I day it's a good album, a jem from the early 80s.

Is it just me or do those Robotos on the cover of this thing look a little too....*ahem* racially-stereotyped?

The album that shook the "Cornerstone" of his band. Poor Dennis.
I gotta wonder just HOW those other guys were ever made to go along with this. . . everyone knows they didn't want to. Dennis must have had some serious presence to pull that one off!

But then again. . . . it was Dennis's songs I always liked the most. His voice too. . . . . it's not like this album didn't sell or anything. . . . and the other guys collected their checks too. Cry all the way to the bank they did!

For me, a newly minted Styx fan?

I just remember anxiously awaiting for their next studio release after Paradise. I was 14, had just become a full-blown Stygian of epic proportions thanks to Paradise Theater (Yep. . . The Best of Times).
By the time this one came out, I had their entire discography. LOVED their progressive rock albums Equinox. Crystal Ball, Grand Illusion, and Pieces of Eight. My favorite singer was (and is) Dennis, and his own or co-written songs were my favorites to listen to. . . .
Cornerstone was a little dorky. Mushy ballads just aren't me.

Then KWH hit the market.
Pretty damned freaky if you ask me. I was kind of. . . in shock. . . . and not in a good way when this album came out. But I dutifully bought the thing anyway. Saw the concert too, since it was going to be my first Styx concert.
Would have probably been happiest seeing them circa 1978. Best songs for their sets were all written by that time.

Honestly? I think it was meant to be an in-your-face, satire of sorts. Nothing subtle about it. . . . but then again. . . . . is there anything subtle about a guy like Freddie Mercury? No! But FM sure gets his share of accolades. DDY tries something no less subtle and gets strung out to dry. Poor guy! I think he's endured enough humiliation for this. And. . . even with KWH being his baby, he still didn't deserve to get booted from the band HE FOUNDED and made famous.

So even though I'm one of those Styx fans who falls SQUARELY in the DDY camp of loyalty. . . . . I can still admit he blew this record.

But Guess what?, DDY's latest release has redeemed my faith in him as an outstanding--and my favorite all-time singer/keyboardist/songwriter. It sounds like Classic Styx! NOT KWH.

However, I can't support "Styx sans Dennis DeYoung" of today. . . . and Cyclorama is nowhere close to as good as the classic Styx sound, largely created by Dennis's production on every album outside BNW.

This album only has two songs I like:
Mr Roboto---I've just grown to love that song. High-energy. . . . and catchy as hell (8/10)
Haven't we been here before--nice melody (5/10)

The others. . . . .

Don't let it end--the other single on here. . . . too mushy-sounding (1/10)
Cold War--sounds trite (1/10)
Heavy Metal Poisoning--decent enough. . . . I like the chorus (Sex and drugs. . . repeated over and over)(2/10)
Just get through this night--hmm. . . . perhaps a message from Tommy?. Decent. . . but not as good as Haven't we been here before(4/10)
High time--just plain. . . . bizarre(1/10)

.

A very heartfelt Domo!
"

This was the FIRST album I ever bought. Well, I guess it's about time I throw my two cents in on a review of the STYX classic form 1983 "Kilroy was Here. I became a Styx fan through this album and now I am the proud owner of all of their albums from the self-titled "Styx" to the latest "One with Everything. " People, don't believe some of the other reviewers who tell you not to become a fan throught this particular album.

I won't go through all of the songs, history hasn't treated this band too well, however I will say each and every song is a pleasure to listen to.
"Mr. Roboto", the moniker which I have taken on many a review in othre web pages, is my favorite song. Nuff said.
"Haven't we been here before" is the best DeYoung/Shaw song on record.
"Double Life" was my favorite JY song up until "These are the Days" from "Cyclorama. "
"High Time" is prophetic to the moral majority groups which tried to ban or censor music (Tipper Gore's group came out the year after this album and 2 Live Crew was one of the first targets).

I say give it a listen. Give Styx a little Domo for this gem. No songs are played in concert by the new lineup, but DeYoung still shares his love of it to his audience.

You can see a complete list of all Styx discography, or go back to the Styx tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.