Nothing Ever Goes as Planned explained

Nothing Ever Goes as Planned
Cover:Nothing Ever Goes as Planned cover.jpg
Type:single
Artist:Styx
Album:Paradise Theatre
B-Side:Never Say Never
Released:July 1981[1]
Recorded:1980
Genre:Rock
Length:4:48
Label:A&M
Prev Title:Too Much Time on My Hands
Prev Year:1981
Next Title:Rockin' the Paradise
Next Year:1981

"Nothing Ever Goes as Planned" is a song written by Dennis DeYoung and released by American rock band Styx on their tenth album Paradise Theatre, as well as being the 3rd single released from the album. A chart disappointment following the first two singles off the album, it peaked at No. 54 on the U.S. pop chart in late summer 1981. It also reached No. 33 on the Canada RPM Top Singles chart in the week of September 5, 1981.

Lyrics and music

The lyrics are about the "inevitability of failure."[2] Charlie Martin of The Catholic Advance said "The song suggests we can't count on anything, that life's somehow a losing proposition."[3] According to DeYoung, the song was inspired by Joseph Heller's 1979 novel Good as Gold and reflects Murphy's law.[4] DeYoung said "The song is about three characters who plan things out, then something happens."[4] The lyrics include lines such as "Nothing ever goes as planned/Even Pharaohs turn to sand" and ends with the lines "I strut around the stage like a little king tonight/But when the show is over/I've got the big star blues."[2] [4]

Kansas City Times critic Leland Rucker said that the song has reggae rhythms and jazz changes that resemble Steely Dan.[5] Muncie Star critic Kim Teverbaugh noted that the song shows a newfound ability by Styx to incorporate significant horn sections into their work.[6]

Reception

Billboard described it as a "midtempo rocker" and praised the "lead vocals, harmonies and fluid rhythmic support."[7] Record World said the song has "an ambitious arrangement, complete with smart tempo shifts, bright horn charts and a perky beat."[8] Pittsburgh Press critic Pete Bishop described it as a "romping calypso-rocker."[9] Kingston Whig-Standard critic Greg Burliuk identified "Nothing Ever Goes as Planned" as his favorite song on Paradise Theater, saying that it's "the album's most effective statement of how illusory are our dreams."[10] The Leaf Chronicle critic Tony Durr called it a "perfectly beautiful solid rock entry" that "keeps surprising you with its excellence," saying that "you cannot sit still, and the orchestration on the bridge and finale flattens you with horns! horns! horns!"[11]

Allmusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine criticized the compilation album Come Sail Away – The Styx Anthology for excluding this song.[12]

Notes and References

  1. Book: The Great Rock Discography. 1995. 799 . 9780862415419 . Strong . Martin Charles .
  2. News: newspapers.com. 2022-06-16. Newsday. April 24, 1981. II-29. Robins, Wayne. Styx takes it seriously.
  3. News: newspapers.com. 2023-01-21. The Catholic Advance. Martin, Charlie. Readers tell who is a winner. October 15, 1981. 4.
  4. News: newspapers.com. 2023-01-21. The Billings Gazette. Olson, Gail. Neglected theater is Styx metaphor for U.S. decline. June 19, 1981. 22-D.
  5. News: newspapers.com. 2023-01-21. Kansas City Times. Rucker, Leland. Styx has crossed river to success. C-1, C-3. March 16, 1981.
  6. News: newspapers.com. 2023-01-21. Muncie Star. Teverbaugh, Kim. Styx – Chicago's Other Band. February 15, 1981. B-9.
  7. Billboard. July 4, 1981. 2023-01-21. 82. Top Single Picks.
  8. Record World. July 11, 1981. 1. 2023-02-28. Hits of the Week.
  9. News: newspapers.com. 2023-01-21. Pittsburgh Press. Bishop, Pete. This Group 'Styx' With Its Winning Formula. G-6. February 15, 1981.
  10. News: newspapers.com. 2023-01-21. Kingston Whig-Standard. Burliuk, Greg. An antidote to February. February 7, 1981. 12–13.
  11. News: newspapers.com. 2023-01-21. The Leaf Chronicle. Durr, Tony. It's Paradise from Styx!. 2C. April 10, 1981.
  12. Web site: Come Sail Away: The Styx Anthology. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Allmusic. 2023-01-21.