Part 4 – Can't bite the hand that feeds ya...
Released 30 June 1986
Recorded England
Genre Heavy metal, hard rock
Length 37:54
Label Atlantic
Producer Stephan Galfas, Robert Zemsky, Steven Machat, Rick Smith
Track listing
Side one
1. "Fight for the Rock" Criss Oliva, Jon Oliva, Steve Wacholz 3:55
2. "Out on the Streets" C. Oliva, J. Oliva 3:58
3. "Crying for Love" C. Oliva, J. Oliva 3:27
4. "Day After Day" (Badfinger cover) Pete Ham 3:40
5. "The Edge of Midnight" C. Oliva, J. Oliva, Wacholz 4:52
Side two
6. "Hyde" C. Oliva, J. Oliva, Wacholz 3:51
7. "Lady in Disguise" J. Oliva 3:08
8. "She's Only Rock 'n Roll" C. Oliva, J. Oliva 3:14
9. "Wishing Well" (Free cover) John "Rabbit" Bundrick, Paul Kossoff, Simon Kirke, Paul Rodgers, Tetsu Yamauchi 3:20
10. "Red Light Paradise" Johnny Lee Middleton, C. Oliva, J. Oliva 3:56
Personnel
Band members
Jon Oliva – lead vocals, piano
Criss Oliva – guitars, backing vocals
Johnny Lee Middleton – bass guitar, backing vocals
Steve "Doc" Wacholz – drums, percussion
Additional musicians
Larry Dvoskin (credited as "Dvoskin") - keyboards
Brent Daniels - backing vocals
Production
Stephan Galfas - producer, engineer, mixing
Mark Jolley - engineer
Dan McMillan - assistant engineer
Bob Ludwig - mastering
Robert Zemsky - associate producer
Steven Machat, Rick Smith - executive producers
There is a scene in the movie
Get Him to the Greek where Jonah Hill's character, Aaron, is asked by his favourite rock star, Aldous Snow (played by Russel Brand), to give an honest opinion on Snow's most recent album, the critical and commercial bomb,
African Child. While discussing the record, at one point Aaron simply says, “It's just every artist has this one album that's just not good, and that's it. Honestly, I listen to that and I'm just like, 'What is this piece of shit I'm listening to? Do I even know this artist? What the fuck was he thinking?'” This is a sentiment with which many music fans of any age and any genre can certainly empathize. No matter how much we may like a certain band, it always seems that, sooner or later, our favourite artists all make that “one album that's just not good.” Sometimes, it's a matter of personal taste, but sometimes there is an album by a band that receives near universal condemnation from it's fanbase, the veritable black sheep of the discography. For each such album made by a band, there is a different story behind why the record ended up the way that it is, and why it became so reviled among the fans. Common re-occurring issues cited are record label interference, jarring stylistic changes, alterations to a band's lineup, and many more besides. Whatever the reasons, such pariah records are to be found in the careers of almost any band or artist with a significant catalouge to their name. Savatage has their own such untouchable record, an ill-fated 1986 outing entitled
Fight for the Rock, although Jon Oliva has since given it the scathing nickname “Fight for the Nightmare”, a title which is doubtlessly reflective of his feelings on the making of the album.
After Savatage's first album for Atlantic Records,
Power of the Night, failed to even crack the Billboard Top 200, the powers that be at the label sought to discover why exactly their new signing, who has appeared so full of promise, had failed to attract even modest mainstream attention.
Power of the Night had be produced by Max Norman, who had also produced for one of Jon Oliva's primary influences, Ozzy Osbourne, so the album's disappointing performance was not the result of a producer with a lack of pedigree. Neither could anything wrong be found with the band themselves; their talents were above reproach. In particular, Jon's songwriting abilities had been retained by the record label to write songs for some of their other, more commercially successful artists. It then must have occurred to the head honchos at Atlantic that perhaps that band simply needed some guidance in selecting mainstream friendly tracks for their next album. After all, if Jon Oliva could write such material for other bands, why couldn't he do the same for Savatage? The executives at Atlantic decreed that Savatage would record the songs Jon had been writing as their next album. The band was won over with promises that the record would make them into the next Journey, which, as Jon Oliva would later note, sounded very appealing to a bunch of guys living off of peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches. And so Savatage was sent into the studio post haste with three weeks to record what was assumed would be a sure fire hit of an album.
In hindsight, of course, it must be noted that the reasons why
Power of the Night failed to break big are much more obvious now then they were back in 1985 and 1986. As popular as heavy metal was becoming at the time, it was also becoming increasingly fractured, split between the ultra-slick and sleazy hair bands and the more rough and gritty thrash metal scene. Savatage, a band who could feature songs like “Necrophilia” on the same album as songs like “Hard for Love”, was not an easy sell in such a market. Perhaps Atlantic would have been better served had they chosen to market Savatage as the new WASP or Alice Cooper, since it was with such shock-rock acts the band seemed to share the most musical similarities. Yet Savatage lacked the theatrical presence needed to be a shock rock band, despite a few such experiments in their earlier days. Furthermore, in the mid-80's, Alice Cooper was still a little while away from making a comeback, while WASP was coming under fire from the PMRC, so perhaps billing Savatage as the next big shock rock act did not appear to be in the interests of the band or the label at the time. Of course, considering that both WASP and Alice Cooper would remain infamous for years to come while Savatage would dwell in perpetual obscurity, perhaps they should have just bit the bullet and re-imagined Savatage as a shock rock act anyways.
Truth be told, most of the material to make it onto
Fight for the Rock is not all that dissimilar from what was on
Power of the Night, particularly on the album's somewhat more consistent back half. This is still very much the same Savatage fans had come to know by 1985. Not quite as raw as they had been on
Sirens or
The Dungeons are Calling, a bit more slick and polished, but undoubtedly the same band. Jon still shrieks his sirens' wails and Criss' fantastic guitar work still shreds all over the record, and Wacholz still lives up to his Doctor Killdrums moniker. Johnny Lee Middleton, in his first appearance on record with the band, proves a more then worthy replacement for the recently departed Keith Collins. The band is still clearly Savatage, at least in sound.
The main issues with this record are the songs themselves, and it is here that many of their older fans, raised on a diet of such ballsy material like “City Beneath the Surface” surely found their greatest disappointments. Generally speaking, the tracks on
Fight for the Rock are mostly in the same vein as those on
Power of the Night, and, with the notable exceptions of the two cover songs, there is nothing on this record that would have appeared out of place on the previous album. The main problem, it seems, is not so much the style of the music as it is the relative lack of real hard hitting rockers. There are plenty of great songs on
Fight for the Rock, but with the notable exception of “Hyde”, there is really nothing here to fill the void left by the absence of any truly heavy tracks. What we find in their place is plethora of syth-laden ballads and mid-paced rockers with the typical 80's “sex, drugs, and rock & roll,” lyricism to be found on the offerings by many then-contemporary hair bands, and a near complete lack of bloody madness that had so characterized Savatage's earlier works, “Hyde” notwithstanding.
Power of the Night was a no-nonsense metal record with a couple of more commercially friendly tracks like “Hard for Love” and “In the Dream.”
Fight for the Rock is the near opposite; a slew of commercially friendly tracks with a couple of more metal cuts in the middle.
The album starts of promisingly enough, with the opening title track offering some good, mid-paced distinctively 80's pop metal. Sure, it's not as impressive at the opening title track of
Power of the Night, but it's a fun and catchy number that is perfectly fine for what it is, delivering something new with a nifty keyboard solo in the middle before Criss take the spotlight with one of his signature shred-fests. “Fight for the Rock” may be a bit family friendly, but it's still got some balls. The real issues start to crop up with track two, a re-recording of the
Sirens ballad “Out on the Streets”. Shortened by over a minute, and layered with all new synths and backing vocals, this version of the song is hardly
bad, but it certainly lacks some of the earnestness and youthful charm of the original. Worse, to anyone who had been following the band since their earliest days, this track will most definitely seem redundant. I can certainly understand why the band would want to give it a revisit if they had expected this album to be their big break, but honestly, while I like “Out on the Streets” as much as the next Savatage fan, the song's not exactly hit single material, and simply slathering it in synths and backing vocals doesn't make it any better.
The problems continue on the next song, “Crying for Your Love”. A demo of this song, entitled “Fighting for Your Love,” appears on one of the re-issues of
The Dungeons are Calling. Perhaps the title change was the result of the band attempting to make up for missing out on the opportunity for radio play with “Hard for Love”. Much like with “Out on the Streets”, “Crying for Your Love” is all dressed up in synths and reverb for it's appearance on
Fight for the Rock, and while not a bad version by any means, it's not quite on par with the original. Criss does gift us with a rather nice solo though, and as this isn't just a re-record of a song from a previous album, it's not quite as much as an annoyance as “Out on the Streets.” It's worth pointing out, though, that at this point, three songs deep, two of the tracks have been ballads, something unheard of for Savatage up to this point in time, and something that certainly hammers home the message that this record was made more to please the label rather then the fans. This trend continues on track four, the
third consecutive ballad on the album, a cover of Badfinger's “Day After Day”. There's some cool piano work here by Jon, but vocally he's very much phoning it in, and the melodies here are rather jarring compared to the established Savatage sound. Perhaps this song would have been better used as a b-side for a single, but it has no business appearing on a proper Savatage album.
Fortunately, we are in for a treat with the next song, a personal favourite, “Edge of Midnight.” A slick synthesizer rendition of a baroque organ fugue sets a horror house mood before giving way to a hard rocking beat courtesy of Wacholz and Middleton. Jon does his very best Dio impression here while Criss treats us to some of his finest licks on the album. Perhaps Jon should have offered up his song writing services to Konami, because this song would feel right at home in a Castlevania game. The lyrics here, doubtlessly intended to warn of supernatural dangers, are particularly ironic given album's dubious place in Savatage history (“Can't bite the hand that feeds ya”). Definitely one of the highlights on an album that has thus far been rather lacking. The creepshow thankfully continues on the next track, “Hyde.” By far the most traditional Savatage track to be found here, “Hyde” has Jon Oliva back in his element, with a lyrical mix of fantasy and insanity, his madman shrieks resounding while Criss, Johnny and Doc push the track along with a relentless and inexorable beat spiced with some eerie synthesizers.
The following track, “Lady in Disguise”, is, like “Crying for Your Love”, another song that underwent some rather significant changes on the journey from demo to album. While the lyrics are much the same, the music and vocal melodies have been completely reworked from the original. The demo, which is on one of the re-issues of
Sirens, is a guitar driven ballad much in the same vein as “Crying/Fighting for Your Love”. The final version is something rather different and unique; an upbeat rocker laced with keyboards throughout that, much like the last record's track “Warriors” (although in a rather different way), hints strongly at the Broadway influenced direction the band would take on later offerings. This time around, the changes made from demo to final product are mostly improvements, giving “Lady in Disguise” a rather distinctive identity, which the original demo lacked. (As an aside, I had the pleasure of hearing Jon Oliva perform this song, in album version form, live on his Storytellers tour, where he noted his fondness for the song, if not for the record as a whole.)
Next up is “She's Only Rock and Roll”. Rather reminiscent of “Unusual” and “Stuck on You” from
Power of the Night, this song is, despite the poppy hooks, one of the harder hitting tracks on
Fight for the Rock. If the last few songs were all about Jon Oliva, with so much focus on the vocals and keyboards, this track is all about the band. Criss delivers a notably ripping solo here, while Middleton and Wacholz give us their signature twin thumping assault. After that, we get the second cover tune, Free's “Wishing Well”. Compared to “Day After Day”, this song is a much better fit for the band. Wacholz and Criss in particular have some fun on this track with an avalanche of heavy beats and crunchy riffs. The vocal melodies are clearly not Savatage, but musically this track is a much better choice for the band, as evidenced by the fact that Jon Oliva has performed it live with Jon Oliva's Pain. One of the highlights of this track for me is the soft section before the solo, where the Castlevania keyboards make a brief return. The album closes out with the chugging “Red Light Paradise.” Much like “Hyde”, this is another of the more traditionally Savatage sounding cuts from the record, and would not have appeared out of place on
Power of the Night. Jon wails a bit more like his old self while Criss, Middleton and Doc let it rip all over the song, almost as if they've been waiting for much of the record to have a moment to just rock out. With “Red Light Paradise,” Savatage finishes their most difficult record with a relatively strong track.
It should be noted that in addition to the demos of “Fighting/Crying for Your Love” and “Lady in Disguise”, there was another song that did was recorded during the
Fight for the Rock time period but did not make it to the record in any form. “The Message” is a hard-rocking number that would have added some much needed “oomph” to the album, and why it was left off is a mystery to me. While not one of Savatage's most memorable tracks, it was certainly suitable for the album, and would have been a welcome addition, perhaps as a replacement for “Out on the Streets.” The band also demoed up a new version of a doomy old Avatar song called “No More Saturday Nights” around 1985, although whether or not that track was intended for
Power of the Night or
Fight for the Rock is unknown. “The Message” can be found on the same re-issue of
Sirens as the demo of “Lady in Disguise.” The '85 demo of “No More Saturday Nights” has never been officially released, although it can be heard on several bootlegs, as well as the original Avatar version. A drastically reworked version of the song was recorded as a bonus track for the JOP record
Global Warning. So, is
Fight for the Rock as bad as the legends say? Both the critics and the fans certainly thought so at the time. While the album was the first by Savatage to crack the Billboard charts, it was widely panned upon release. The metal press, who had heaped much love upon the first three Savatage albums, were scathing in their views of
Fight for the Rock, while the Savatage fanbase was rather vocal in their disapproval of the record. The band certainly took notice of this overwhelming dislike for the album, and while promoting it, only played songs from the album sparingly, mostly "Hyde" and the title track. But Jon Oliva, despite his frank criticism of the process by which this record was produced, has notably been rather restrained in his criticism of the music on the record itself. True, he has jokingly dubbed the album “Fight for the Nightmare” in interviews, but he has also played several songs from the album live, although not so much with Savatage as with JOP and his solo band. And, truth be told, the songs on here are really not all that bad. The cover tracks aside, all the original songs on the album sound Savatage enough. The main problem most people have with this record is the blatantly commercial angle presented here. With so many ballads and covers, and heavily produced synths and backing vocals, the album was clearly an attempt to polish the raw, young Savatage into something with more mainstream appeal, something that was at odds with the desires of the band's fanbase, and something the band themselves did with a distinct lack of enthusiasm. But the songs are, for the most part, solid. Jon Oliva probably put it best when he said that
Fight for the Rock isn't a bad album, it's just a bad Savatage album.
Perhaps it just wasn't time yet for Savatage to branch out into more mainstream territoy, or perhaps the band just didn't know how to do it on their own. Given the relatively higher degrees of success they would experience with albums like
Gutter Ballet and
Edge of Thorns, both records with lots of keyboards and ballads, perhaps the only real issue with
Fight for the Rock was that the band tried to do too much, too soon. Savatage was a band brimming with ambition and talent, but they were still limited to a very genre-centric view of what kind of music a heavy metal band in the 80's could make, and so were incapable of fulfilling Atlantic's command of delivering a record that would bring them to the next level. For that, they needed something more, and a fresh perspective on where they could go musically. They needed someone who could bring something truly new to the table, a real game changer. They needed someone like Paul O'Neill.
Topic: The Savatage Discography - Result and cause... (Read 37165 times)
