Part 7 – I never wanted to go, always wanted to stay...
Released October 4, 1991
Recorded January–July, 1991
321 Studios, New York
Genre Progressive metal, heavy metal
Length 68:33
Label Atlantic
Producer Paul O'Neill
Track List
All songs written and composed by Criss Oliva, Jon Oliva and Paul O'Neill
1. "Streets" 6:48
2. "Jesus Saves" 5:13
3. "Tonight He Grins Again" 3:28
4. "Strange Reality" 4:56
5. "A Little Too Far" 3:25
6. "You're Alive" 1:51
7. "Sammy and Tex" 3:07
8. "St. Patrick's" 4:17
9. "Can You Hear Me Now" 5:11
10. "New York City Don't Mean Nothing" 4:01
11. "Ghost in the Ruins" 5:32
12. "If I Go Away" 5:17
13. "Agony and Ecstasy" 3:33
14. "Heal My Soul" 2:35
15. "Somewhere in Time" 3:17
16. "Believe" 5:42
The Band
Jon Oliva – Vocals, piano, keyboard, drums(On "Jesus Saves" and "Can You Hear me Now")
Criss Oliva – Guitar, backing vocals, bass(On "Jesus Saves" and "Can You Hear me Now")
Johnny Lee Middleton – Bass, backing vocals
Steve "Doc" Wacholz – Drums
Additional musicians
Robert Kinkel – Keyboard
John Zahner – Keyboard, rhythm guitar, backing vocals (touring member)
Female Background Vocals by Abi Reid
Child Background Intro (on "Streets"): Mozart's Magic Flute
Director of Children's Choir: Elena Doria
Children's Choir Conductor: Bob Kinkel
Further credits
Produced by Paul O'Neill
Recorded and Mixed at 321 Studios, NYC, Jan-July '91
Mastered by Greg Calibi/Sterling Sound, NYC
Engineered by John Kayne and James A. Ball
Assistant Engineer: Joe Daley
Second Assistant Engineers: Scott Pizzo, J Kael Trstram, Jay DeVito
Technical Assistants: Chris Fountain and Kurt Johnson
Photos by William Hames
Back Cover Illustration by Gary Smith
Cover Development by Tory Chartier
As the 80's gave way to the 90's, the world of rock music in America found itself approaching a great watershed. While hair metal still ruled the airwaves, a reaction that had been taking shape for quite a while was starting to find a larger audience. The thrash metal movement, led by Metallica, was starting to attract mainstream attention, while even in Los Angeles itself, Guns 'n Roses created a sleazy, gritty counterpoint to the all too slick glam bands, who seemed fake and phoney by comparison. And all the while, an entirely different alternative to the hair bands was forming up north in Seattle by way of the grunge scene. Rock was changing, it was simply a question of what shape the new status quo would take, and when the monumental change would occur.
Before Seattle became famous for the likes of Nirvana and Pearl Jam, a very different sort of rock band from that same city offered up their vision of how music could progress beyond the power ballads and rock anthems of the 80's. Queensryche's third full length studio record, 1988's
Operation: Mindcrime, would create shock-waves throughout the underground of the the rock and metal world of the time. Combining the high minded lyrical concepts and psychedelic soundscapes of 70's progressive rock with the power and majesty of 80's heavy metal, Queensryche laid the foundation for what would become progressive metal. Queensryche had not been alone, and on the other side of the continent, bands like Fates Warning, Crimson Glory, Savatage and an as of yet little known group called Majesty had been dabbling in similar musical territory. Nevertheless, it was Queensryche who placed the keystone of the new movement with a sprawling rock opera comparable to
The Wall or
Tommy. Queensryche followed up their magnum opus with even greater commercial success with 1990's
Empire, and had poised themselves at the forefront of the progressive metal revolution.
Operation: Mindcrime has set a precedent for the new sub-genre, and for all other aspiring prog-metal bands, Queensryche would be the standard against which they would all be judged.
While the world of music was changing around them, Savatage had been busy at work with Paul O'Neill developing their sound into something far more unique then they had ever dared to dream. The inclusion of classical elements on 1987's
Hall of the Mountain King had been matched by flirtations with Broadway on 1989's
Gutter Ballet. Savatage had certainly appeared to be a cutting edge heavy metal band in the late 80's. But by 1990, the pace of history was threatening to leave them behind. To what extent Paul and the band was aware of what was transpiring in music at the time is purely conjectural, but it certainly seems reasonable to assume that after
Gutter Ballet, the band felt confident enough to craft their own masterpiece, one which they were sure would give them their place in rock history. The last two albums had won them a sizable fanbase and a strong following on
Headbanger's Ball. Their next, so they hoped, would break them through to the next level.
The band elected make their next record a rock opera, much in the vein of
Operation: Mindcrime, and yet, one that was very distinctly Savatage. According the Jon Oliva, the band spent a good deal of time studying the great rock operas of The Who and Pink Floyd, as well as the musicals of Andrew Loyd Weber, when setting the groundwork for their next album. For the narrative of their most ambitious record yet, Savatage had returned to Paul's unpublished musical
Gutter Ballet, which had provided much inspiration for the Savatage album of the same name. The story would detail the life and times of a drug dealer turned rock star, named D.T. Jesus, as he struggled with the consequences fame, fortune and addiction on the mean streets of New York City. In hindsight, the story was nothing particularly original. Many bands had traveled similar conceptual paths before, and many would do so after Savatage had contributed their own chapter to the age old rock and roll tale. Yet with Jon's first hand experience that oddly mirrored the story Paul had crafted, as well as the band's unique talents, surely Savatage could breathe new life into an old idea.
The original concept for the album that was eventually named
Streets: A Rock Opera (as
Gutter Ballet had already been used for the previous record) was grand in scale, and, if fully realized, would have spanned a double album. Sadly, for all of Paul's power and influence in the record industry, he found himself incapable of convincing Atlantic to make such a sizable investment on a niche act like Savatage, so several tracks would need to be cut for the album to fit a single CD. Again, in retrospect, it might have been a better idea to spread the concept out over two releases, as Helloween had done for
Keeper of the Seven Keys when they had been faced with a similar dilemma. Sadly, Atlantic lost the masters for the songs cut, so any plans for a complete version of the record to be released at a later date were ultimately scrapped. Much of the ideas from the unused tracks would reappear on subsequent Savatage and Jon Oliva's Pain records, and a revised version of the
Streets story would form the basis of a later Trans-Siberian Orchestra record, also called
Gutter Ballet. Furthermore, Jon had recorded many short tracks of narration to fit between the album's many songs, to better explain the story, but all, save one, were removed from the final product. A narrated version of the album would eventually see the light of day over two decades later.
The true star of
Streets would prove to be Jon Oliva himself. Given that the album was indeed a rock opera, the lyrics would be told from the point of view of various characters, each with their own unique personality and voice. Jon, with his distinctive gift of morphing his voice to sound like different characters, would use his talents to their fullest on
Streets, slipping in and out of the album's many roles with ease. But even more importantly then his Mel Blanc like vocal prowess, what really sells
Streets is the degree of genuine emotion Jon pours into each and every single line. While Paul may have come up with the story, Jon embellished it with many elements of his own past, offering up little pieces of his own heart and soul into every song, rendering the album all the more personal. Singers often give their best performances when they feel a personal connection to their music and lyrics. For Jon Oliva,
Streets would prove to be his finest hour, and the singers who would later follow him in Savatage and TSO would always have the Mountain King himself to serve as an awe-inspiring inspiration, as well as a daunting example of just how much would be expected of them.
The album opens with a haunting and decidedly creepy childrens' choir and keys before Jon and co. bring the madness into play. A thunder of drums from Wacholz kicks off
Streets' title track, and slow, plodding number of doom and gloom. Jon cries and shrieks like a psychopath while Criss' guitar wails in the ghostly atmosphere, “Streets” aptly setting the stage for what is to follow. This song leads into a narration that introduces the listener to our main character, D.T. Jesus. Jon does an excellent impersonation of a homeless bum here, while the sound effects, recorded at Times Square, envelop the audience in the setting.
After about a minute of narration, the next song properly kicks off with a groovy riff while Jon rants about our protagonist, detailing his origins and initial rise and fall. “Jesus Saves” was originally intended to be a gospel flavoured song, as heard on the original demos from the the bonus disc on
From the Gutter to the Stage, as well as the narrated version of
Streets. The Oliva brothers, however, insisted that the song be rocked up, a position that was supported by the label. Each Oliva brother crafted their own version of the song, with Jon's using a simpler riff with more swing, while Criss' version was far more technical and progressive. The final version of the song is a hybrid of the two, using Jon's riff to form the basis for the main portion of the song, while Criss' riff was used as the foundation for the instrumental middle section. “Jesus Saves” was chosen to be the albums first, and ultimately, only, music video, with Savatage artist Gary Smith, who had been creating the band's album covers since
Hall of the Mountain King, appearing in the guise of D.T. himself. Despite the rise of grunge, the video would receive a respectable amount of airplay on MTV, proving that the fans Savatage had won over in the late 80's were at least remaining loyal despite the vicissitudes of mainstream tastes.
The next song, a dreary piano driven rocker entitled “Tonight He Grins Again”, finds D.T. Jesus contemplating his fallen state, wallowing in his addictions. Originally entitled “Screwed Up” on the album's demos, this song has attained a special place among the Savatage fans, in particular due to it's status as Jon favourite song he has ever written. The Mountain King bears his soul, and more then a little of his sordid past on this track, his incredible high-pitched screams leaving one in awe of his sheer vocal power. Criss takes us into the following track, “Strange Reality”, with some slick guitar work, as D.T. via Jon experiences life on the rough streets of NYC. If “Tonight He Grins Again” was a Jon track, this one certainly belongs to Criss, his lightning quick fingers weaving musical mastery all over the song. We then find Jon in a more mellow form on “A Little Too Far”. Jon performs this song entirely solo, both vocals and piano, his voice every bit as smooth and subtle as his earlier performances were harsh and crazy. The lyrics here are rather cheesy, with their John Wayne and Star Trek references and all that, and yet it somehow all still seems genuinely from the heart, doubtlessly because of Jon himself. Not the strongest song on the album, but still, in it's own way, rather special.
The pace picks up again with the short, up-beat “You're Alive”, as D.T. makes his grand return to the stage. At under two minutes, this is one of the shortest songs in the Savatage discography that can even be considered a song, though it is still highly enjoyable for it's breif length. “You're Alive” as abruptly interrupted by a mean riff and some gruff vocal from Jon as we are introduced to D.T.'s drug dealer, Sammy. The hard rocking “Sammy & Tex” tells of a confrontation between D.T. and Sammy wherein his friend, Tex, comes to his defense only to be mortally wounded in the process. Wacholz and Middleton deliver an avalanche of beats to drive the action while Criss deftly weaves his licks throughout the song. D.T. then attempts to seeks answers for Tex' seemingly meaningless death from God in the ballad “St. Patrick's”. Again, Jon cuts himself open and lays his emotions out for all to see. The guitar, bass and drums are joined by ethereal organs and a sweeping orchestral section, giving this song a ganduer that builds to a heartbreaking climax as D.T. mourns his lost friend. Certainly one of the most emotional tracks on record, and one which is often overlooked, “St. Patrick's” should warrant some extra attention from listeners.
After leaving St. Patrick's Church, D.T. returns to aimlessly wander the streets in the atmospheric “Can You Hear Me Now?” One of the highlights of the album, the song opens with a Jon raving over a haunting acoustic melody, before the song explodes into a full on metal onslaught for the chorus. The process repeats itself for the second verse and chorus before Criss changes up the pace a bit for the middle. The epic orchestrations return as Criss shreds to his heat's content, his guitar crying for D.T.'s loss in one of his most expressive solos of his career. The song ends with a long, lingering fade out, leading me to believe that had the complete double album been released, this song would have closed out the first “act” before giving way to a second.
A bluesy guitar and Jon's crooning vocals draw us into the next song, “New York City Don't Mean Nothing”. One of D.T.'s friends contemplates life in the big city, with all it's trials and tribulations as the song picks up with some aggressive riffing from Criss, Middleton and Wacholz. The song's middle section, with a notably superb and hard rocking solo, had become particularly well known to many Savatage fans, and was later reused in a TSO track entitled “Child Unseen” from the forthcoming TSO
Gutter Ballet project, serving to cement the connection between the two records. “New York City Don't Mean Nothing” was slated to be the second video and single from the record, but the fully finished video, much like the masters for the unused
Streets tracks, would disappear into some black void in the Atlantic vaults, never to be found.
Criss returns to his creepy mode for the next track's acoustic intro, before bringing the thunder with some heavy riffage, along side Middleton and Wacholz. Jon takes on the persona of a street pimp as D.T. experiences the seedy underbelly of NYC on “Ghost in the Ruins”. This song, which was nearly the album's title track before
Streets was selected, is a solid mid paced rocker, the middle featuring some rather slick bass work by Middleton while Criss shreds high overhead. Jon closes out the song with some of his signature screams, once again proving his formidable range. After “Ghost in the Ruins”, Savatage takes us into more somber territory with the ballad “If I Go Away”. Jon brings forth the passion and heartache as D.T. reminisces about a long lost girlfriend. One of the more commercially friendly tracks on Streets, “If I Go Away” would most certainly have been a single had the album been released less then a year earlier. The Olivas share the spotlight on this song, with some rather nice soloing by Criss complimenting Jon's singing and particularly emotional piano work. The song ends on a strangely unsettling note, no doubt to set up listener for the most metal of
Streets' tracks that is to follow.
An especially sinister riff and psychotic vocals brings us to D.T.'s lowest point as he battles with his addictions on “Agony and Ecstasy”. The band lets loose on this track, with Criss, Middleton and Wacholz tearing up a metal storm as Jon delves deep into the darker portions of his psyche to sound particularly malicious. “Agony and Ecstasy” takes the listener on a three and a half minute hell ride before bringing us to yet another abrupt transition, this time to a piano and vocal ballad, “Heal My Soul”. Jon performs this song solo, save for some choir vocals in the background, telling how D.T. experiences a spiritual awakening as he witnesses a ghost arise from the body of a recently deceased street bum. Based off an Welsh folk song, “Heal My Soul” would later be re-recorded by TSO for a 2007 Wal-Mart CD sampler. A gentle and haunting number, “Heal My Soul” brings the story of D.T. Jesus to a close, leaving our main character to reflect upon his previous experiences. Said reflection takes place on the following track, “Somewhere In Time”. The band goes all out Broadway on this track as D.T. asks some rather poignant “big questions” to which mere mortals will never know the answers while vowing to turn his life around. A grand climax, one would expect a track like this to be the albums finale, but for Savatage, there would be one more song to play before bringing
Streets to a close...
A gentle Jon Oliva vocal and piano performance bring us into the album's final song as D.T. looks back upon his life and considers his own mortality and his new-found spiritual awareness as he hears the voice of the divine. The band then explodes into an epic, sweeping ballad as Jon delivers an impassioned plea from heaven to earth, asking it's people only to believe in something more. As the song reaches it's midpoint, a awe-inspiring choir lifts up the band to lofty heights and Jon takes us back to a lyrical reprise from the last record's ballad, “When the Crowds are Gone” (which was also based off Paul's original
Gutter Ballet story). Here, Criss opts to take the route of subtlety, and the beauty and grace of his solo on “Believe” cannot be adequately described in words, and can only be experienced. Even for the cynical unbeliever, there is just something about this song that cuts straight to the very soul, and it is truly one of the most heartfelt and resonant lyrical things Paul would ever craft. Yet it is the band that makes it all work. Jon's vocals, Criss' guitar, Middleton's bass and Wacholz's drums, all in unison here as Savatage closes out their greatest album to date in style. While the band would make many records after
Streets, none of them would ever end on such a perfect track as “Believe”. Jon Oliva would later say that no less then Ronnie James Dio would call this his favourite Savatage song, and it's power would be brought to the TSO crowd when the track was re-recorded for the
Night Castle album. Savatage would later become very strongly associated with the strength of their ballads, and no other song would so perfectly capture their melodic side better then “Believe”.
Topic: The Savatage Discography - Result and cause... (Read 37192 times)
