Background A concept album, the album is a fictional account of Chicago’s Paradise Theatre from its opening in 1928 to its closing in 1958 (and eventual abandonment), used as a metaphor for America’s changing times from the late 1970s into the 1980s. (Dennis DeYoung, who envisioned and developed the entire concept, confirmed this in an episode of In the Studio with Redbeard about the making of the album.) DeYoung has said that the theme of the album is “one of hope and renewal in the spirit of the American people to understand the problems that confront the world and this Read more on Last.fm.
