Kilroy Was Here (album)

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Kilroy Was Here
Kilroy Was Here cover
Studio album by Styx
Released February 1983
Recorded 1982 at Pumpkin Studios, Oak Lawn, IL
Genre Rock
Length 40:41
Label A&M
Producer(s) Styx
Professional reviews
Styx chronology
Paradise Theatre
(1981)		 Kilroy Was Here
(1983)		 Caught in the Act
(1984)


Kilroy Was Here is a rock opera/concept album by the rock band Styx. It was released in February 1983. The title comes from a famous graffiti saying.

Contents

[edit] Background

"Kilroy Was Here" was conceived by lead singer Dennis DeYoung as an album and accompanying stage show, which opened with a short film of the same name. While the supporting tour was a financial disaster, the album sold over 2 million copies and peaked at #3 in the US.

The album's somewhat rock-operatic story tells of a future where rock music is outlawed by a hyperconservative 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 (according to the album's famous song, Mr. Roboto), when he becomes aware that a young musician, Jonathan Chance, is on a mission to bring rock music back. The MMM was a fictitious pre-cursor to the Parental Music Resource Center (PMRC) whom would later attack Styx for "backmasking" the word "Satan" in the song "Snowblind" on 1981's Paradise Theatre.

The album spawned two hit singles, "Mr. Roboto" and "Don't Let It End".

[edit] The Story (from the album insert of "Kilroy Was Here")

T H E P A S T "Dr. Everett Righteous, founder and leader of the MMM (the Majority for Musical Morality) became influential in American politics through the use of his own cable/TV network. He spoke about the evils of Rock 'N Roll Music and how its permissive attitudes were responsible for the moral and economic decline of America. He was charismatic, entertaining, and above all, he understood the media. The MMM soon gained enough power to have Rock N Roll banned."

"Robert Orin Charles Kilroy was a world famous Rock N Roll star. As this new law was passed, Kilroy and his band were finishing a national tour. Their last performance at the Paradise Theater would serve as the test case. On the night of the concert, as Kilroy played to a packed house, the MMM marched in and stormed the stage. When it was over, a MMM protester was dead. Kilroy was convicted of the murder and sent to a prison ship with other Rock N Roll misfits."

T H E P R E S E N T "... is a future where Japanese manufactured robots, designed to work cheaply and endlessly, are the caretakers of society. Mr. Robotos are everywhere, serving as manual labor in jobs that were once held by humans."

"Dr. Righteous enforces his own morality by holding nightly rallies where crowds hurl Rock N Roll records and electric guitars into huge bonfires. Jonathan Chance, the rebel leader of an underground movement to bring back Rock N Roll, has made Kilroy the symbol of his cause. Meanwhile, Kilroy has spent a number of years in prison. With no hope of release, he is subjected to the humiliation of mind control via the MMM cable network. In an attempt to contact Kilroy, Jonathan jams the airwaves of the MMM network, replacing a mind control session with outlawed footage of a Kilroy concert. Inspired by Jonathan's message, Kilroy plots his escape. Late one night he makes a daring attempt to free himself by overpowering a Roboto guard. Disguised as a Roboto, Kilroy moves freely throughout the city leaving graffiti coded messages for Jonathan. Jonathan discovers the rock code which leads him to the old Paradise Theater, now the site of Dr. Righteous Museum of Rock Pathology. There he sees the last Kilroy concert mechanically depicted by Kilroy look alike robots as the violent end of Rock N Roll... and there he and Kilroy meet for the first time."

[edit] Music video

Three of the four videos for the album - "Mr. Roboto", "Don't Let It End", and "Heavy Metal Poisoning" - were filmed at the same time. A fourth video, "Haven't We Been Here Before", was filmed a few months after the album was released.

[edit] Track listing

  1. "Mr. Roboto" (DeYoung) – 5:28
  2. "Cold War" (Shaw) – 4:27
  3. "Don't Let It End" (DeYoung) – 4:56
    • Lead vocals: Dennis DeYoung, lead guitar: Tommy Shaw
  4. "High Time" (DeYoung) – 4:33
    • Lead vocals: Dennis DeYoung, lead guitar: James Young
  5. "Heavy Metal Poisoning" (Young) – 4:57
    • Lead vocals and guitar synthesizer solo: James Young, guitar solo: Tommy Shaw
  6. "Just Get Through This Night" (Shaw) – 6:06
    • Lead vocals and lead guitar: Tommy Shaw
  7. "Double Life" (Young) – 3:46
    • Lead vocals and synthesizer guitar solo: James Young
  8. "Haven't We Been Here Before?" (Shaw) – 4:06
    • Lead vocals: Tommy Shaw and Dennis DeYoung, lead guitar: Tommy Shaw and James Young
  9. "Don't Let It End (Reprise)" (Shaw/DeYoung) – 2:22
    • Lead vocals: Tommy Shaw and Dennis DeYoung, lead guitar: James Young

[edit] Personnel

Styx

Additional personnel

  • Dan Barber - Horn
  • Steve Eisen - Saxophone
  • Mike Halpin - Horn
  • Michael Mossman - Horn
  • Mark Ohlson - Horn

[edit] Production

  • Producer: Styx
  • Arranger: Styx
  • Engineers: Gary Loizzo, Will Rascati, Rob Kingsland
  • Apprentice engineer: Jim Popko

[edit] Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year Chart Position
1983 Pop Albums 3

Singles - Billboard (North America)

Year Single Chart Position
1983 "Don't Let It End" Adult Contemporary 13
1983 "Don't Let It End" Pop Singles 6
1983 "High Time" Pop Singles 48
1983 "Mr. Roboto" Pop Singles 3
1983 "Mr. Roboto" Mainstream Rock 3

[edit] External links

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