They should definitely release it as a DVD... band sounds great, show looks fantastic, what's to lose there?
As far as re-activating Savatage in any capacity... I don't see a problem with them doing it while TSO is off? Or has TSO become a year-round project? I know they rent out the arena in Iowa or whatever for a few months to build the show, but what is wrong with a small pocket of tours here and there, especially if the offers are good enough to make money?
I understand that Paul owns the name, and if it's the case of just him not wanting it to happen that's a shame. It seems like the others are very interested in it still.
There's a bit of a problem with getting Savatage to play some actual shows seperate of TSO.
For one thing, yes, TSO is now a year round thing, and it has been for almost a decade. The band have been recording
four rock operas over the past six years, and the first one is just reaching completion now. Because of the sheer complexity of TSO albums, with so many people involved and whatnot, those records take an obscenely long time to make. Much of TSO's time away from touring is spent in the studio.
Which brings up another point; the way the recording scheduling works for TSO, the Savatage guys don't really have a lot of free time together. Jon and Paul write the albums, and while they are writing, that's when Caffery, Zak and the others get to do their own things. Then they all get into the studio together to record. And then, when the band is out on tour (or rehearsing for a tour, and those rehearsals take a couple months, every year), that's when Jon works on his JOP/solo records, and sometimes does a few short tours of his own. It's pretty much impossible to get Jon on the same page as the rest of Savatage cause he uses his time off to do his own thing, which (I suspect) is the stuff he's most passionate about.
And that brings me to a third point; I honestly don't think Jon Oliva has much of an interest in doing Savatage anymore. I've seen a lot of interviews he did from the Poets and Madmen era back in 2000-2002, and you can kind of tell he wasn't particularly happy with the way things were going in the Savatage camp. He really wanted to make straight forward metal album, and seemed rather annoyed that Paul turned it into another rock opera. I'm sure Jon genuinely enjoys working with Paul, but I think by 2001 he was starting to chafe under Paul's direction and wanted to go out and do his own thing. For whatever reason, he couldn't do it as Savatage.
Maybe it is because Paul owns the name (possible). Maybe Jon felt putting together a new band as "Savatage" would be a slap in the face to Caffery and the other guys (he's said as much). Or maybe Jon really does feel that Savatage was never quite Savatage without his brother (he has said this too, and a lot of people who have talked to him and Caffery and others over the years have gotten the impression that performing as Savatage became increasingly difficult for Jon after Criss died). Whatever the reason, Jon decided to strike out on his own making the records he wanted to make. And, for what it's worth, he seems generally happy doing it. Compare the interviews he's done for JOP or solo records/tours to the interviews he did for Savatage between 1994 and 2002 and you'll see what I mean. His passion for the band just wasn't there anymore, and he has clearly become happier doing his own thing. The Savatage fan in me really wishes it hadn't turned out that way, but given everything he's been through, I'd feel like a selfish asshole asking him for more.
Ultimately, I've kind of just come to terms with the situation over the past couple years. If TSO decides to bring back more Savatage songs into their sets, and maybe do some "reunion" shows here and there, I'd be up for it. And I'm really looking forward to the next JOP album. Of course, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want a new Savatage album and tour. But at this point, I can't get mad about it anymore. I've seen it said that Savatage just became to big for one band, and given the diversity of material in the Savatage canon, I've kinda come to agree. Compare Sirens to Dead Winter Dead and it sounds like two completely different bands. Just like TSO and JOP. Maybe what happened was, to a certain extent, inevitable. As far back as '93/'94, Jon was toying around with simultaneous side projects like Romanov and Doctor Butcher. I guess he just couldn't do everything under one name. And once TSO became the real money maker, he no longer needed that name anyways.
Topic: The Savatage Thread (Read 102667 times)
