Attention Deficit ~ The Idiot King (album review) ... Alex Skolnick strikes again from left field!

Style: instrumental, funk-rock, jazz-rock
Label: Magna Carta
Year: 2001
Home: n/a (disbanded)

Members: Alex Skolnick ~ guitars
Michael Manring ~ bass
Tim "Herb" Alexander ~ drums

While the outcomes don't always interest me as sometimes I feel they careen out of focus & are often one-off affairs that need more developing, I do greatly respect former Testament/Savatage guitarist Alex Skolnick who not not just refuses to sit in any box but destroy it completely more times then not ... oh, he's also a nice guy too having met him once. How many thrash guitarists do you know who have checked themselves into jazz guitar college courses? Well, there's been a few, but none have pursued a degree like Skolnick & none have gone on to make as many non-thrash albums albums as thrash ones. Though, like I said, I loved to see him develop a few more facets of his sound out over time versus a bunch of one-off 'here's a funk album, here's a jazz album.' AD is one of his many instrumental projects that brings together jazz funk & rock in a weird quasi-rock mix that might just be the highlight of Skolnick's non-thrash career. It's also one of the few developed ones, the trio having done three albums together, & while it may dip in the focus at times it gels musically in a way that makes up for that far more than Skolnick's other projects. AD includes experimental drummer Tim "Herb" Alexander formerly of Primus & master jazz bassist Michael Manring, on 10 string bass, who studied with Jaco Pastorius & has becomes the top session man for Windham Hill Records. They've done two albums together, this is their more focused second, & Alexander & Skolnick where on Manring's solo album Thonk & Manring & Skolnick where together in the cop-themed funk band Skol-Patrol. The time together shows. The problem I have with some of Skolnick's forays is that its ultimately about a lot of shredding & riffing, but in different styles, here he might lay back more than he ever has for his truest fusion jazz release turning in major quasi-rock riffs alongside light turns of phrase & giving the other boys lots of time. The outcome is a true group effort. Perhaps intentionally or not, it hearkens a bit of a slow moody Primus though this is because of Manring not Alexander. Alexander turns in atmospheric jazz drumming, I think of the late Paul Motion of the Bill Evans Trio, versus straight rock drumming. Alexander rides the wave of the beat instead of forcing it & cluttering it. Manring actually has one of those thick gritty sounds, perhaps Tony Levin might be a comparison for rockers & certainly Jaco's influence comes through, that's everything but what one expects to hear from a bass & you'll be shocked from his first notes. He creates this thick wall of sound that's often as upfront as Skolnick. Both AD albums are masterpieces of experimental jazz-funk-rock. Lots of space between the notes just the way I like them & certainly not anything you've come to expect from Skolnick, so two bonuses, plus AD introduced me to a new bass player so three bonuses. Folks listening will also be amazed by Manring & Alexander to the point where Skolnick is the least of your focus at time, as I said, true group effort. This is the album Skolnick went to school to make without a doubt. Sometimes soft & atmospheric, sometimes fast & furious, sometimes a bit rock, sometimes a bit jazz or funk. Skolnick fans shouldn't miss this for anything. Both albums are great, but I prefer this second one as it feels more group-cohesive & less experimental.

Savatage ~ Fight For The Rock (album review) ... Don't fight over this album!

Style: hard rock
Label: Atlantic
Year: 1986
Home: Florida

Members: Criss Oliva ~ guitar/b. vocals
Jon Oliva ~ vocals/piano
Johnny Lee Middleton ~ bass/b. vocals
Steve Wacholz ~ drums

Additional: Brent Daniels ~ b. vocals

 

Fight For The Rock is an interesting album. It's reputation often proceeding it into the room & doing more harm than good. Much of this reputation has spun off of not necessarily the music itself, but the history of the making of the album & the feelings of the band itself. But, I don't subscribe to the belief that whatever a band says about the album is the same opinion the listener should have of the album. So, while I may agree with some of the reputation I also believe it's given the album an unfair advantage that it can surely pull out from under if given a second chance. The general agreement is that Fight For The Rock is the worst album by Savatage - all agree: fans, critics & the band, who disown the album as much as they can, while none of the songs were performed live. The album would nearly destroy the band's reputation, let alone drive frontman Jon Oliva into alcoholism & leaving the band, while leading to producer/songwriter Paul O'Neill being brought in to rescue the struggling rockers. The main problem is that Oliva was hired as a songwriter for Atlantic records & when the previous Savatage album failed to earn enough money, the label forced Savatage to record his newest songs. Not having much control over their career, they acquiesced. Oliva in turns has decried the existence of the album ... though, he's done that since before the album was even recorded, & as so much of the animosity for the album comes from him in the long-term, though its not the best album its no monster, one must recognize his bias in judging it ... as much as mine as a fan & band biographer in wanting to try to give it a second chance before blanket agreeing with him. But, thus, Savatage ends up recording songs meant for other bands. But, there's something here that gets lost in translation by critics & Olivia himself - if Oliva was hired as a songwriter, a rare move by a label, that says something about the quality of his work. He's certainly not going to pen horrible songs for other bands. He's out to make a reputation, it's ironic the tide turned. So, essentially, these songs are actually not as bad as reputation says, but just not being interpreted by the right band. The result is like an album of cover tunes by bands that never covered the tunes. Sometimes this works & a band has success with a song written for someone else, but here it's mixed. The faults of the album domino effect making the result weaker than it might really be. It's not going to win any awards, but it may not deserve the complete demonizing that it gets. Certainly, if the band endorsed the album its legacy would be different. One problem is that Savatage had changed so much musically since their debut that at this point in time what is the Savatage sound? They may not even have known & thus are unable to put a strong enough stamp on the songs taking them away from the bands they were written for & making them a Savatage product. That's the real problem here. The late Criss Oliva was a great Randy Rhoads-eque guitarist, raw & over-playing at times. Here, he's turned into Bon Jovi light. The irony is that if one looks at his playing from the beginning this album stands out because of this change. He grew so much as a guitarist in a few short years. He's far from raw & unfocused here. Further, unlike earlier albums there's no general mood or feeling that permeates the whole album. Since the songs where written for others & Savatage hasn't stamped them enough the result feels like a compilation of songs taken from different record sessions. It's like a B-Sides collection, back when such things existed. As for being B-Sides ... it's not Oliva's worst collection of songs but it's not his strongest. At his best Oliva crafted dark songs of a personal flavor, such as "The Dungeons Are Calling", but he also had more than his fair share of bland love songs & shake your fist rock'n'roll songs. Here, half the songs are of the bland flavor. So, it's a collection of the weaker side of Savatage, not necessarily bad, just weak. Probably half the album is salvageable & worth a relisten ... a lot of peers of the time could only be so lucky. The dark story "Hyde" might be as close as he gets to a new "The Dungeons Are Calling", though the spoken opening is a good idea but poorly executed & the bad production the album suffers from pulls the song down into imitative realms. The dark undertones "Crying For Love" & "Lady In Disguise" are similar, but are moments of glimmering. If the entire album was like these tracks history would be very different for the boys. The magic with Savatage is that earlier albums featured bland songs but the mood & playing made up for it. Here even the intricate textures that are lost in the personality crisis that laces the album. It's interesting that a remake of "Out On The Streets" is included, originally on their debut Sirens. It's far more polished & over a minute shorter. It's not so bad, but the bland lyrics come through while on the Sirens original it doesn't sound so bland. Covers of Badfinger's "Day After Day" & Free's "Wishing Well" are good, but returns to my earlier thought about this being like a collection of songs previously released from different albums ... these are culled from tribute albums. Good songs but strange filler for such a prolific composer. They aren't standout singles so what's the point of their inclusion? Also of note, is that this is the debut of bassist Johnny Lee Middleton, the only member to appear on every forthcoming Savatage album, who gets a few writing credits right off the bat. If anything, the album begs some questions: How far could have Criss gone as a guitarist? If Savatage hadn't done this what album would have come in its place? If it hadn't been a failure what would have happened instead & would Criss still be alive, being in a different place at a different time? Would Paul O'Neill have come into the picture if it had been successful? The ground-breaking Hall Of The Mountain King followed, changing their career path & sound, but would that just be another Grieg song if things had been different for Fight For The Rock? Savatage is a band of what if's. Fight For The Rock proves that point.

Savatage ~ Gutter Ballet (album review) ... I dare you to choreograph this ballet!

Style: prog-rock, heavy metal
Label: Atlantic
Year: 1989
Home: Florida

Members: Jon Oliva ~ vocals/piano
Criss Oliva ~ guitars
Steve Wacholz ~ drums
Johnny Lee Middleton ~ bass

Additional: Bob Kinkel ~ keyboards

 

  Gutter Ballet is often touted as the moment Savatage went from a heavy metal band to a prog-rock band with epic inclinations. But, this isn't really true. With a good listen of their earlier albums one can hear the pieces were being laid down since day one. Founder Jon Oliva always wanted something that was more than ordinary metal band. But, one has to get out the door, build a reputation, move from a small recording budget to a large one, develop out a sound. It's a process. Also, Paul O'Neill was introduced as producer who dovetailed Oliva's weaknesses, while able to stand back from the music. But, the real difference here is that Oliva was driven. The previous album Fight For The Rock, often called the lowest point of Savatage's output, was a collection of songs Oliva had written for others & was forced to record by the label. Oliva now was feeling desperate & was ripe for a spark of inspiration. That inspiration came through watching the Broadway show Phantom Of The Opera. Oliva could now present an example of the feeling he wanted to achieve to his guitar playing brother, Criss, & O'Neill. It makes all the difference, as before Savatage might have sounded like a take on Meat Loaf meets Randy Rhoads, the band now introduced complicated arrangements & epics. The instrumental classical interpretations are still in the mix (i.e. "Temptation Revelation"), having been introduced in the earlier release Hall Of The Mountain King, not yet a cliched & worn out feature as they would become with Trans-Siberian Orchestra. While Oliva still churns out dark lyrics, but now he pushes his vocals to the max in every direction. Criss Oliva still churns out metal riffs that deserve more credit than he's given, but the range is more than ever including an acoustic instrumental (i.e. "Silk & Steel") & not always being the top most instrument in the mix. Gutter Ballet is a band wanting to make a statement. Such songs as the title track & the under-rated "Hounds" & "When The Crowds Are Gone" are indeed statements. There's even an inclusion of a story stretched over the final three songs (i.e. "The Unholy", "Summer's Rain", "Thorazine Shuffle"). But, Gutter Ballet not the grand statement it sets out to be. It's certainly a highlight of the Criss Oliva era, not that Savatage ever really did anything embarrassing or clichéd, but it's only the beginning. There are a few weak tracks that sound like they were composed in pre-Phantom writing sessions & give the album a bit of a bumpy ride as it sounds like two bands, one with a piano as its foremost instrument a la Queen (i.e. "Gutter Ballet", "Temptation Revelation", "When The Crowds Are Gone") & one with typical driven guitar riffs (i.e. "Of Rage & War", "Silk & Steel", "She's In Love", "Hounds"). Oliva pushes his vocals into the direction that would stay with him but sometimes he reaches the peak of his range to a painful listen (i.e. "When The Crowds Are Gone", "Of Rage & War"). The final three song suite, from now on Savatage would make a point of doing concept albums, is not a strong suite as the songs sound too much alike & fall into the riffing style that Savatage would move away from on some level. While in the download era one is not likely to be able to tell just from the lyrics that the songs go together. But, Savatage was giving it their all & more & on that's what's required to eventually find the comfort zone. Later albums such as Streets: A Rock Opera & the Al Pitrelli era of albums would smooth out the hurdles & ironically retire the band in the process as it morphed into the very different Trans-Siberian Orchestra. On later tours the title track would be turned into a vocal duet between Oliva & baritone Zak Stevens & later tenor Damond Jiniya. The change is minor but it completely turns the song into a monster & shows what might have been if the band had pursued such vocals on later albums. It's also the video I share with anyone when they ask why I like heavy metal - it has everything. It's strange that not even Trans-Siberian Orchestra has pursued the duel vocal approach given its array of strong singers, perhaps they will as they are currently re-recording Gutter Ballet.

Backhill Project ~ Tribute To Savatage (EP) (album review) ... Savatage ballet!

Style: tribute, prog-metal, hard rock
Label: self-released
Year: 2010
Home: Finland

Members: Kimmo Peramaki ~ vocals/guitars/keyboards/drum programming
Mikael Kontolampi ~ bass

This tribute to Florida prog-metal legends Savatage by the BP is not as bad as the Return Of The Mountain King compilation by an array of European underground prog-metal bands or the one copycat album by the Trans-Sylvanian Orchestra ... it also isn't the best, but getting far closer than probably any tribute before it. Albeit, really, nobody can do a Savatage song quite right with the same spirit ... even including off-shoots Jon Oliva's Pain, Circle II Circle & Savatage's later incarnation as Trans-Siberian Orchestra ... & that's why no Savatage tribute is a spotless affair. Criss Oliva was raw & rough with his Randy Rhoads licks flying, so raw it hurt at times, while later guitarists Alex Skolnick & Al Pitrelli had a long background of session & lead guitar work spanning the musical range that is hard to duplicate by a young player. Nobody has brother Jon Oliva's theatrical voice & few Zak Stevens deep nuanced deep croon. Then there's producer Paul O'Neill who brought prog-rock & classical music together in a fusion not heard by Dream Theater, Rainbow or Yngwie Malmsteen, ELP or any other classically infused musician. Maybe someone can imitate part of the equation, but there's so many variables that makes Savatage an enigmatic entity that it's impossible to truly imitate. One can get the notes right but the spirit lacks. While the songs loose everything when disassembled to become a new entity & so far no band has tried that approach. The problem is that imitation over recreation is a fine line to walk, whoever the band being imitated or doing the imitating. BP is the solo work of guitarist/vocalist Kimmo Peramaki of Finland's Masquerage plus bassist Mikael Kontolampi. Imitating Savatage puts a lot on Kimmo's shoulders & its a bit too much. It's not that he doesn't turn out four great songs, the problem is he falls under the weight. The songs are interesting, but don't quite hit the same emotional highs as the originals. He hits the notes, but doesn't get the soul inside the songs. It seems that the best tributes are when a band just does a song or two on an album, which has seen lots of successful outcomes, versus giving over an entire album to a single band. The biggest problem is that Kimmo is not the vocalist of either Oliva or Stevens. While Savatage is a prog-metal with not a hint of L.A. hair metal but in Kimmo's fingers it sounds like a hair metal band. There's a poseur show-off quality typical of that genre. But, it should be said in Kimmo's defense he knows the challenge of copying his favorite band. As he writes in the linear notes notes: "[Savatage's] music is not only energy, it's pure art! ... In my opinion, nobody can learn & play the guitar solos like Criss did." The album is offered free so there's no reason not to look for it & draw your own conclusion, but largely only fans of Savatage, BP or Masquerage will be interested. If nothing else its just nice seeing someone give tribute to Savatage, who greatly deserve more than they've received. Songs covered include: "Gutter Ballet", "Power Of The Night", "Edge Of Thorns" & "Strange Wings".

Savatage ~ Live Japan '94 (aka Live In Japan) (DVD review) ... The rising sun of Savatage!

Style: prog-rock, heavy metal
Label: SPV
Year: 1994
Home: Florida/New York

Concert location: Club Citta Kawasaki, Tokyo, Japan
Year Recorded: November 1994
Length: 95 minutes
Bonus Features: none

Members: Jon Oliva ~ lead vocals/piano/rhythm guitar
Zak Stevens ~ lead vocals
Alex Skolnick ~ guitar
Johnny Lee Middleton ~ bass
Jeff Plate ~ drums

Kicking off with the fierce "Taunting Cobras" followed by "Edge Of Thorns", from the albums Handful Of Rain & Edge Of Thorns respectively ... with those two songs one should not anymore wonder why Savatage is my favorite band. These two songs pretty much set out everything that is great about Savatage at this point in their career: non-typical lyrics that you can sing-along with, neo-classical prog-metal arrangements with not a whiff of hairspray pretentiousness, great guitar playing & strong singing that isn't the usual 80's screaming & an array of studio albums churning out cult hit after cult hit. At this point in their career Savatage had tragically lost their founding guitarist Criss Oliva in a car accident, his heart-broken brother Jon had handed over the reigns of the band to producer Paul O'Neil who turned it into a progressive rock opera beast, while all other original members had moved on to be replaced with very different rockers including a singer with the voice of Thor & a famed thrash guitarist. This concert finds the band on the last night of touring Handful Of Rain that features Savatage in their second or third era depending on how one wants to count transitions. Fronting the ensemble is still rookie singer Zak Stevens, who'd later form Circle II Circle. He sings with amazing vocal chops that are deep & powerful, yet nuanced, without following into any of the rock clichés of growls or screams. Original drummer Steve Wacholz was on the album but replaced before the tour by Jeff Plate. The rhythm section is rounded out by second bassist Johnny Lee Middleton. Both of these guys would follow Savatage's morph into the less venomous but more profitable Trans-Siberian Orchestra ... the metal band for grandparents & kids alike. On the album Oliva only contributes some keyboards & is the omni-present co-songwriter, having left in a alcoholic stupor & working on his Romanov opera & Doctor Butcher with former Savatage rhythm guitarist Chris Caffery. Oliva is not even given a photo in the linear notes & with him gone its hard to call this Savatage anymore as there's few obvious similiarities with the group that turned out the proto-black metal treasures Sirens & The Dungeons Are Calling. Though, really, what the band became, as can be seen on this tour in some of the classically-tinged piano interludes, with Paul O'Neill writing & producing is the vision Oliva had in the beginning but was unable to reach on his own ... it's just a shame that it had to happen through tragedy. Oliva returned for this tour, even singing lead vocals with Stevens after a 2 years absence from the role. Replacing the late Criss Oliva for the album & tour was top-notch thrash guitarist Alex Skolnick who'd recently left Testament. After this tour he'd move on, replaced by Al Pitrelli, though would return for Trans-Siberian Orchestra where his second hat as a jazz guitarist had a better fit. Here Skolnick is playing both his creations & those of Criss Oliva, but gives all of them his own touch. Criss was very much in the mold of Randy Rhoads with a bit too much energy, while Skolnick is more of a prog-metal guy & the distinction is obvious. But, Skolnick is nothing but a worthy successor & there is no disappointment. Because his time with Savatage was so brief Handful Of Rain sometimes gets lost in the shuffle between the multi-year terms of Oliva & Pitrelli. But, this might be their last in your face album & certainly their most progressive before going full on classical & commercial with the follow-up Dead Winter Dead. All but three songs from the album (i.e. "Visions", "Symmetry" & "Alone You Breathe") appear on this concert making this a great introduction to the brief Skolnick days that should be anything but the footnote it has become. One can only wonder what would have happened if he'd stayed & been given the chance to create an album with a more active Oliva plus Chris Caffery on rhythm. This video is the first official video release by Savatage ... it would also prove to be their only video release, ironically featuring a band that was essentially in line-up flux, & it is by the grace of bootleggers that the rest of Savatage's days have been preserved. It's a shame that this is their only official video as it's an outstanding performance. Though, honestly, this is not the most visually exciting band preferring the stand & sing approach over the go crazy & scream tactic. But, then, it's no different than Megadeth, Metallica or any thrash band, all who Savatage had opened for many times. L.A. hair metal gave standing still a bad name. But, one doesn't need physical distractions as the music is heavy, the band tight & the arrangements sounding amazing transferred to the stage, which isn't always the case. The only bad part is that Oliva, grown quite heavy, wanders the edge of the stage playing piano with but bad fingering & playing rhythm guitar on an upside down right handed guitar. He's a shadow of the man that was given the name the Mountain King & once strutted the stage like Meat Loaf meets Ozzy. But, Oliva only returned because Atlantic Records wouldn't support his new project Doctor Butcher & Savatage at the same time. As he's said repeatedly, with the death of his brother came the death of Savatage in anything but name only so there is a sense that he is a sideman in his own band. But, he gets a moment to shine with "Gutter Ballet" now turned into a duet, which would remain that way for ensuing tours featuring Damond Jinya taking over the lead role. The new arrangement far exceeds Oliva's sole vocals on the original & makes one wonder what if it had been like if more duets had been proposed. It's surprising that the band has never seen the magic in this set-up even through Trans-Siberian Orchestra where the array of great, if not as distinctive as Oliva, vocalists make this even more potentially powerful. No bonus features as it this released only on VHS, with the label sold before a re-released on DVD could happen. It would take a decade to be available on DVD & then as a bonus disc on the greatest hits compilation Still The Orchestra Plays: Greatest Hits Vol. 1 & 2 

Trans-Sylvanian Orchestra ~ Music Of The Night (album review) ... The night castle down the lane!

Style: prog-rock, instrumental, hard rock, tribute, covers
Label: Shout! Factory
Year: 2008
Home: n/a

Members: Dan Marfisi ~ drums/bass/rhythm guitar
Mark Adam Watkins ~ keyboards
Andrew Synowiec ~ lead guitar

Additional: Cameron Stone ~ cello

Only the unknowing won't realize this is a take-off of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, even down to a artistic castle on the cover, see Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Night Castle, & a tuxedo'd guitarist on the cover holding up a guitar in a very Al Pitrelli-esque pose. While the name might be cute & the linear notes about travelling deep into the woods to record with a batch of creatures who "represent all that is evil & heinous" the creativity sadly pretty much ends there. The dozen songs include heavy metal versions of classical songs by Bach, Grieg, Dumas, Orff, Mussorgsky, Gounod & Stravinsky, while the rest of the album features hard rock interpretations of "The Munsters" TV theme, Edgar Winter's "Frankenstein", "Tubular Bells", The Doors' "People Are Strange" & the title track taken from The Phantom Of The Opera. However interesting this reads on paper the weaknesses of the album overwhelm it. The linear notes claim it as a "first of a kind album for Halloween", but if that means classical music done scarily, the album is neither scary nor is this a first as Dee Snider already did it with Van Helsing's Curse. Further, of the classical songs at least four have already been reinterpreted by Trans-Siberian Orchestra & Van Helsing's Curse & even Trans-Siberian Orchestra's earlier incarnation Savatage who even named an album after Grieg. Of all the classical music out there why must bands continuously mine from Classical Music 101 for the most over-played classical songs ... a collection already exhausted by Trans-Siberian Orchestra? Anyone heard of Prokofiev? Or, is it a matter of these musicians not actually knowing anything beyond this elementary school tier & not actually being classical music fans & thus just in it for the gimmick ... or maybe they can't play the more complicated pieces? As for the music this is far from the texture of Van Helsing's Curse nor the orchestrated over-the-top rock of Trans-Siberian Orchestra, but actually comes across as a slower-paced Yngwie Malmsteen with some heavy keyboards in the background ... just keyboards for sound effects, not the acoustic piano solos of Trans-Siberian Orchestra. While there's no story to weigh the project down there's also no singing, which is some of the most creative aspects of Trans-Siberian Orchestra & moves it beyond the classical-metal gimmick that this album flounders in dying. As a trio one shouldn't necessarily expect something as grand as the bands its copying, but TSO comes across not as a group but something akin to Wetton/Downes, a modest project of friends wanting to make a guitar album & not investing too heavily on the creative side. It's one good idea stretched to its limit. The best song of the classical pieces is "Vampires", a take off of Orff's "Carmina Burana", that rocks fierce & powerful with big chords that might be an improvement over the Trans-Siberian Orchestra or the Van Helsing's Curse version. Though, the non classical songs are the far more interesting, with greater dynamics & relying not so much on distorted guitars but a mix of keyboards & guitars that intertwine. TSO also fully expands upon the initial compositions & sound like a full band rocking out not just a gimmick. But, sadly, these rock covers are half the album & the later half & with seven songs coming before them of hackneyed imitation it's a let down. The ears have become bored by this time & it takes repeated listens to get interested stuff is here. If only the classical pieces had been removed this would have been more interesting or if the songs were mixed up more with less of a side A/side B feel. TSO's 'People Are Strange' might be the best song on the album as it nearly does away with the melody in a weird esoteric keyboard twist that makes it almost unrecognizable with a haunting cello plucking away in the background. But, as the next to the last it's lost in the shuffle. If only the whole album had been like this it would have set-up a challenge for Trans-Siberian Orchestra, which, honestly, they could probably use. 

Savatage ~ Power Of The Night (album review) ... Breaking out from the dungeons!

Style: heavy metal, prog-rock
Label: Atlantic
Year: 1985 Home: Florida

Members: Jon Oliva ~ vocals/keyboards
Criss Oliva ~ guitars
Keith Collins ~ bass
Steve Wacholz ~ drums

Power Of The Night is the third album by legendary prog-metallers Savatage, though in some ways the second as both Sirens & The Dungeons Are Calling are from the same exhaustive three day session. This is also the final with the original line-up. Being that the first two Savatage albums are from the same session there's no growth in the music, so its here that we first see the band move a step forward ... & a slight step back. That step forward is most obvious in the slick commercial polish that graces the album via a bigger budget & more time in the studio courtesy of their new label Atlantic, though the Randy Rhoads-esque riffing & Dio-esque rock opera singing are still there courtesy of brothers Jon & the late Criss Oliva. Jon gives all his trademark growls, screams, force & power unlike few other singers on the scene then, attempting to do more than just sing but create vocal magic & move heavy metal into the realm of prog-rock. There's also a step forward in that guitar riffs are now more focused & tighter showing the development of Criss's playing. But, with the slick polish & tighter playing comes with the removal of any overall feeling & mood, while the roughness that made the previous releases feel like a climb out of the Florida swamp is washed away. It's still a dark & gloomy band, but not dark, gloomy & wild man raw. Further, the lyrics are much weaker than what came before. Insted of creating more songs like the fantastic epic "The Dungeons Are Calling", a song actually about drug addiction, songwriter Jon Oliva has taken more to songs of fist raising poser rock'n'roll & sex. There were some of these on Sirens & are the weakest tracks, so its a shame he goes in that direction more than not here. He's one of the most under-rated wordsmiths in heavy metal ... with Power Of The Night not helping his reputation much. Though, "Unusual" is a haunting love ballad of a strange woman that would fit perfectly on MTV if given the chance, let alone opens the door to discovering Jon's lyrical talents, making up where some of the others songs fail. As for those failures it's like he didn't really have anything to sing about or he was trying to blend in more with the surrounding music scene, while what would eventually make him a cult legend was his not blending in. In terms of not blending in there are some hints of where Savatage would later go. Original bassist Keith Collins has said that Jon Olivia always wanted the rock opera outcome that would later transform Savatage into the enigmatic Trans-Siberian Orchestra but was unable to get there on his own terms. This vision makes itself first known here, as hindsight displays. Check out the dramatic keyboard break on "Warriors", while "Fantasy Of Youth" has the same feeling that would come to dominate the ballads in the years ahead. The final track "In The Dream" ends the album on a tremendous high with the biggest ballad yet created by Savatage & its nothing but early Trans-Siberian Orchestra. It's not to be missed. If all one hears are these few cited songs one will certainly walk away inspired. Savatage is a band that does inspire & that's what keeps it alive fifteen years after its death while so many other bands lie forgotten. Given its the original line-up there's also a different feeling in the rhythm section. Keith Collins, though he's quoted as saying he's not the player his successor Johnny Lee Middleton is, has a style that's more driving in a Geezer Butler style, versus Middleton who shadows more & throws in flourishes. The difference might be indiscernible to non-musicians. Collins would actually have some of his parts overdubbed by Criss Oliva when the brothers weren't happy with the result. This was a fact Collins wouldn't discover until 2011 from a note I wrote to him. In an interesting footnote the producer of the album is the same that would go on to do Megadeth's classic groundbreaking Countdown To Extinction. "Hard For Love" & "Skull Session" earned a parental advisory sticker for the album increasing sales, a technique employed on the follow-up Fight For The Rock. 

The Kings Of Christmas ~ 365 Days A Year (album review) ... When Trans-Siberian Orchestra got a facelift!

Style: pop, soul, holiday, hard rock
Label: self-released
Year: 2011
Home: n/a

Members: Maxx Mann ~ vocals/keyboards/percussion
Tommy Farese, Tony Gaynor, Guy LeMonnier ~ vocals
Dave Silva ~ guitars/bass/b. vocals

Additional: Tommy Byrnes ~ guitars/keyboards
Paul Morris, Frank Gruden ~ keyboards
Wes Stout ~ guitar
Tommy Wynder ~ drums
Mark Woodyatt ~ violin

This is not the album I ever expected to be released by TKOC ... it's better! Being that five of the members are alumni of Trans-Siberian Orchestra (i.e. Maxx Mann, Tommy Farese, Guy LeMonnier, Tony Gaynor, and Paul Morris also of the reunited Rainbow), the band that essentially has broken & remade the template of hard rock Christmas music, I expected something that would be a shadow if not direct imitation. It would be blazing guitars & keyboard flourishes, lots of over-the-top vocals, in your face powerful music, probably a somber story & very much big stage rock but with a socially relevant heart warming attitude ... but this is actually quite the opposite. It might just be everything that TSO doesn't tend to be, given their current arena rock format - upbeat songs verging on slow dance music, unpretentious, fun, deep emotions side by side with light weight songs, a range of musical styles & most of all intimate & very personal. & there's not an instrumental nor modernized classical piece in sight. To even compare the two groups is a wasted effort because the differences are too polar. TKOC feels & sounds about as much TSO as the other legendary Christmas group Mannheim Steamroller. Except for the shared theme, the two are very distinct musical entities. I probably believed that this would be like TSO because I've fallen under the illusion, having heard too many uninteresting & imitatively boring Christmas albums, that there was nothing else that could be done with the Christmas theme that was interesting. TSO basically has the tightest hold on the theme, pushing it farther than anyone else, though even they felt some limits & repetition after three albums. TKOC has somehow found a new space to hibernate in for the winter. There's some electric guitars on a few songs but nothing to the hard rock scale of TSO & at times there's a bit of a heavy keyboard AM jazzy radio feel that's similar to Mannheim Steamroller, but there's no light jazz instrumentals here. TKOC creates a Christmas experience that mixes together addictively groovy 70's R&B/funk complete with backing vocals (i.e. "Sleighride", "How Do You Feel"), hard rock (i.e. "Christmas Wreath", "Soldier's Wall (The Wall)", "Time Of Year") & even AM radio 70's-esque soft rock (i.e. "The Empty Chair", "Pages Of My Life"), acoustic ballads (i.e. "How's Your Life"), danceable worldbeat (i.e. "Letter To Santa", "New York Christmas"), traditional crooning (i.e. "Christmas On Long Island"), a touch of operatic metal (i.e. "Christmas Passed") & even a children's song (i.e. "Henry The Horse"). It's such a surprisingly refreshing mix that on repeated listens it really does seem to live up to the band's PR that they're taking back Christmas. For those looking for a TSO hard rock experience this is not it. Even with the rock numbers it generally feels like a smooth & upbeat easy listening experience great for an intimate dinner party. TSO has often been criticized by fans for its forced emotions & lack of irony. It's former members must have been listening. TKOC also isn't over-reaching for grand social commentary but keeps it all very personal, as Long Island crooner Tommy Farese, a member of TSO from their debut & bandmate of guitarist Al Pitrelli since their earliest days, sings in the opener "Christmas On Long Island": "In my mind I go back to Long Island/Holding tight to those sweeter memories/When we were all we had". At the same time, one will find in the highlight "Sleighride", with theater singer Guy LeMonnier on lead vocals, that its chorus of "Take a little trip/On a sleighride/Give a little kiss/To the one you love" is anything but personal with its 70's soul pop inspired sound that provides a nice contrast lyrically. Probably the weakest spot of the album is the big concept lacing the songs together. There is a story that runs through the linear notes, in the fashion of TSO, but like TSO is completely unnecessary to enjoy the album as a whole. Each song is about a different emotion, represented as a different ornament: yearning, desperation, commitment, uncertainty, abandonment, fulfillment, confirmation, sorrow, courage, elation, loneliness & anticipation. They're rather abstract emotions that feel like they were added after the fact to make this more than just a collection of Christmas songs. But, in the downloading age when linear notes are optional or when folks might be playing this for friends over dinner where linear notes aren't going to be passed along with the potatoes, it does end up being a collection of Christmas songs, but it's a strong collection that doesn't need help or a sub-text. As it is, the retro feeling of many of the songs give them a sub-text of music history. Also, on first listen, there's some feeling that each singer has been assigned a particular style that they're to exclusively sing in, such as Maxx Mann as the rocker while Guy LeMonnier takes the operatic moments, & that the singers don't get an equal number of solo songs, as most of the album is just solo songs with the others in backing roles versus duet or group arrangements. "Christmas Wreath" & "Soldier's Song (The Wall)" are the only two songs featuring more than one singer in the lead. But, though each singer might be stuck in a style it's the style that they do best, & it keeps the album strong, even when some of the songs might be a bit slow lyrically. Nobody is trying to sing in a way they can't or sound forced. While the four singers are so diverse, from rough Italian crooning to wild man hollering to soft crooning to a bit of Broadway, it helps towards keeping the surprise level high as there's no predicting what might come next either lyrically, musically or vocally. But, surprises & not being able to predict was the theme of this project over 2011 as the band was formed & music created. Expectations, let alone curiosity, were high for this project. The surprise highlights might just be those songs that follow a classic sound such as the 60's R&B "Sleighride" & "How To You Feel" & the Neil Diamond-esque "The Empty Chair" & "How's Your Life". It'll be interesting to see where TKOC goes considering some of the members have left to pursue other projects ... such as Maxx Mann & members of the band are now in the hard rock group Seven with Seven (aka Alan Plotkin), former engineer on Public Enemy's Sounds Of A Black Planet ... leaving TKOC squarely the hands of Tommy Farese, Guy LeMonnier & Tony Gaynor for 2012. TKOC has its roots in the TSO tribute group 12/24, which at one point featured Maxx Mann fresh from TSO. Narrator Cornelius Goodwin of 12/24 even contributed some sax playing to TKOC but those tracks didn't make the final product. Maxx Mann left after a single season with the desire to create something that was Christmas themed but not TSO, something more intimate. Through a year of ups & downs & controversy he definitely did it & it's something Maxx & company can be proud of as they go their separate ways into new seasons with new emotions to write about. Sadly, their future ended too soon, as the band broke up & Maxx has since left this earth.

Kelly Keeling ~ Giving Sight To The Eye (album review) ... Rising of the snake!

Style: hard rock, pop rock
Label: Mascot Records
Year: 2005
Home: Louisiana

Members: Kelly Keeling ~ vocals/guitar/bass/keyboards/flute

Guests: Carmine Appice ~ drums/b. vocals
Vinnie Appice, John Perrine, Shane Gaalaas, Richard Mann ~ drums
Tony Franklin ~ bass
Roger Daltrey, Don Dokken ~ b. vocals
Kerry Livgren, Wayne Hammerly, Pat Regan ~ keyboards
John Norum, Danny Johnson, Wayne Findlay, Drake Bell, Danny Johnson ~ guitar
Bernie Smith ~ trombone
Denny Laine ~ rhythm guitar/b. vocals

You may not be familiar with AOR/hard rock singer/songwriter & multi-instrumentalist KK, though his career has included frontman or session guest with Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Alice Cooper, Dokken, John Norum's Blue Murder, all three Carmine Appice's Guitar Zeus albums, O'2L with Megadeth's Al Pitrelli, Erik Norlander, Lana Lane, Paris Keeling, George Lynch, Michael Schenker Group, Baton Rouge & King Kobra with the array of superstar musicians gracing these projects being a mind-numbingly impressive list. Some of these all star players of the past were called in to add some salt & pepper to KK's his first & so far only solo album, the Who-esque titled Giving Sight To The Eye, including mixing by Yes's Billy Sherwood & work at prog-keyboardist Erik Norlander's studio. It all adds up to quite an impressive resume for a guy you may not be familiar with even if Baton Rouge graced MTV so long ago. Which obviously begs the question ... should you make the effort to dig into the under-rated world of KK? Absolutely! Giving Sight To The Eye might be the best starting point for his career as KK pulls out all the different aspects of his varied efforts for examination & revisiting including varied musical & vocal styles. But, first the problems with this revisit. No, it's not top-heavy with guest stars, which is often the problem with solo albums, as none of them dominate the songs but instead become another dash of pepper in the salad. Some might even feel that the guests have been under-utilized being relegated to just another layer in the mix. Certainly one doesn't want to hear The Who's Roger Daltrey as a backing vocalist but considering how much KK feels & sings like him on so many tracks its enjoyable hearing him honoring his student by not dominating. No, the main problem is that the album, both with a wide & small critical lens, feels more like a compilation, such as a greatest hits collection, than a cohesive whole. Like the linear notes that look like a scrapbook the album feels much the same. Considering many songs were written during KK's previous efforts in some ways it might actually be a greatest hits collection. While, on the other hand, that there's no dominant feeling allows KK to stretch himself far beyond what he could ever do with any band proving his worth not just as a singer-songwriter but also as a pianist & a really great & adventuresome guitarist. Thus comes one of the important things a band does - it allows one's individual quirks & excesses to be tempered by one's bandmates or one's limitations to not be a hurdle. For example, Jimmy Page is a great guitarist but it's the arranging skills of bassist John Paul Jones that focused Page's meanderings in Led Zeppelin ... the lack of focus being a noticeable problem Page & Robert Plant's Walking Into Clarksdale plus Page's own generally weak solo output. KK stretches himself but Giving Sight To The Eye needs a producer to reign in & focus. Not just do the tracks feel disjointed from each other, jumping between differing styles & moods with little obvious flow, but the individual arrangements themselves could do with a bit of 'less is more' philosophy as many of them suffer from internal disjunction. KK is trying to throw out every Trump card he has. He wants to prove himself, it's obvious, but is so intent on it that he overworks when he should step back & the output fails when it should succeed. Opener "Rising Of The Snake" is the best example of this problem as KK takes all the guitar duties & puts in a flight of fancy that would make Yngmie freak out ... but there are so many overdubs, particularly within the solo, that it sounds like a tribe of guitarists in a guitar battle trading licks. It ends up sounding more like a Jeff Beck in a crazy nose dive ... if not a Spinal Tap moment ... taking a great riff & song in too many places instead of letting the riff sink in first & then accentuating it versus riding over it & loosing the feeling. This is a common problem with many songs. At first listen one just hears an onslaught of powerful music ... but without an identity to remember. Later listens actually bring out how great so many of the songs are. KK has a strong classic rock approach & shines as he pulls out some prog & hard rock & lots of ballads. As a songwriter he suffers from vagueness & abstract ideas not always easy to decipher, somewhat typical of rock music, but his arrangements make up for the vagueness. But, then, as one begins to feel just how great the songs groove one also feels how cluttered & lost in the shuffle the groove is. A refrain on some of the instrumentation would make this nothing less than a collection of potential AOR radio singles yearning to be heard. But, it should be noted that the cluttering isn't necessarily a detriment in the long run as it forces one to want to go back & listen again, then again ... demonstrating how one should never judge an album on a single listen. It also makes one want to see KK do an album with less ornamentation & instrumentation, such as just him & a piano or small band like his live work with Paris Keeling that dots youtube. This theoretical future release with Giving Sight To The Eye would make perfect bookends to the KK experience truly showing all of his potential & creativity. "Parasite" has the crawl of later day Steve Morse Deep Purple, making up where "Rising Of The Snake" flies wrong, while there's the funky organ of "Broken", some modest prog-rock with "Ground Zero" & unexpected country on the too brief closer "Jesse". To truly hear how great these songs are it might take listening of others covering KK's songs. The quasi-ballad "Perfect Day" is one example where it's strengths are in full blossom & one is singing along in a newly recorded & released version featuring former KK bandmates legendary drummer Carmine Appice & former Firm bassist Tony Franklin from the forthcoming KK tribute album Tune In To Mind Radio. Considering KK has spent his career along the sides of others it's almost ironic that his songs might be best handled by others. This doesn't mean one shouldn't check out Giving Sight To The Eye ... much to the contrary, as no matter how others handle a song only the songwriter can give it the true personal touch. KK is just trying to hard when he doesn't have to & needs to let the music bubble to a boil without helping it at every step. Listening to this collection one knows that the music can & will. I almost feel sad writing something bad about the album as after numerous listens I can clearly hear its potential. But, it should be mentioned that not all the blame for its faults should be laid at KK's door. His original mixes were not liked by the label so the album was remixed by an outsider before pressing. A good mix would certainly be a step towards cleaning up a lot of the internal disjunction as it would turn the parts that dominate into parts that merely accentuate. In the meantime Giving Sight To The Eye should inspire one to hunt up KK's under-rated music.

Savatage ~ The Dungeons Are Calling (EP) (album review) ... The crypt keeper awaits!

Style: heavy metal, black metal, thrash, speed metal
Label: Metal Blade
Year: 1985
Home: Florida

Members: ~ Jon Oliva ~ vocals
Criss Oliva ~ guitars/b. vocals
Keith Collins ~ bass/b. vocals
Steve Wacholz ~ drums

The first two Savatage albums, Sirens & its follow-up two years later The Dungeons Are Calling, were actually recorded in the same three day marathon session. Although the music is essentially the same on the two releases the choice in what songs were given to what album makes a big difference. The both have a few weak tracks but due to its shorter length of only six songs Dungeons has a tighter focus, feels heavier because of it, is less experimental & has the added appeal of seemingly being thematically arranged around dark topics such as torture, witches, hell. It's lyrically black metal, though the songs don't fall into the typical approach as frontman/composer Jon Oliva is actually a storyteller in disguise lacing tales that feel like they come out of his own life, with the witches & dungeons only literary devices to discuss things like drug addiction, with his equally enchanting Alice Cooper-esque vocalizing. Some have called Sirens one of the earliest examples of death metal, which by association includes this album since they are both from the same session. But, really it's a combination of many of the metal forms that were floating around & a desire to just play fast, furious & venomous like no one had before. It can only be blamed on marketing & distribution that Savatage didn't become bigger than Metallica, who were going for similar sounds, or other early speed metal bands. For those familiar with the later prog-metal Savatage ... or the Savatage after the death of guitarist Criss Oliva & the introduction of composer/producer Paul O'Neill & would include guitarists Chris Caffery, Alice Cooper's Al Pitrelli & Testament's Alex Skolnick ... this is really a completely different band. Some might even call this the true Savatage as it's the Savatage as helmed by Jon Oliva with his & the vision of his guitar playing brother to guide him, sink or swim. Though, surely it would be swim as one listen will belay that Criss Oliva very well could have been the next Randy Rhoads if given the big break & a little time to polish up his playing. He's raw & wild in a way that wasn't dominating the hair metal charts at the time culling from Accept, Judas Priest & Venom. For those who are curious about early Savatage if you are familiar with the Oliva/Caffery side project Doctor Butcher or Jon Oliva's Pain this is a short leap. For those who know Savatage via its current incarnation as Trans-Siberian Orchestra, in which Oliva doesn't perform with the band, The Dungeons Are Calling has a similar sense of vocal theatrics but this is the heavy metal that TSO just poses as without ever actually pushing itself to fist-pumping levels. There's a few weaker tracks such as probably the most sex-laden song Savatage ever did "The Whip", but this is due to more to the shallow lyrical topic than anything else as it actually contains some great guitar slinging that current metal fans would fall in love with immediately ... if Savatage was still a viable entity in the current metal community. The later Special Edition release includes remastered songs & bonus tracks making it worth getting.

Caitlin Moe ~ Caitlin Moe (aka debut) (EP) (album review) ... Siren song!

Style: experimental, instrumental, classical
Label: self-released
Year: 2009
Home: New York, NY

Members: Caitlin Moe ~ violin

22 year old Caitlin Moe found her spotlight a lot brighter in 2011 as she joined Trans-Siberian Orchestra on their first European tour followed by a mini-tour of the States. TSO, one of the top-grossing rock tours, is known for its revolving door which has given many lesser known musicians both a career highlight & a national audience they might not have found otherwise. Moe already got a great critical response when she released her self-titled EP in 2009 but being in the TSO family just confirms her talent. But, many who know her only from TSO might be surprised by her incredibly creative originals on her self-titled debut EP that mix multi-layered violin sounds with a electronic foundation that is a perfect musical face for her sexy street attitude & energetic solo live performance. "Someone To La-La-Love" includes shy vocals reminiscent of a southern folk singer alongside an upbeat drum beat, violin flourishes & a pop sensibility that makes it surprising that this wasn't a bigger hit & one can only fault the difficulties of distribution/getting heard in the internet age. While "Siren Song" consists of layered plucked violins against a drum beat & layered vocals. Anyone expecting long violin solos a la Carnegie Hall need look elsewhere. This is almost dance music with its inviting combination of beats with sliding textures that sound like the ocean moving, as its supposed to. Though Moe's "Instrumental" gets close to Carnegie with the lack of a electronic beat but with at least 3 layers of violin sounds, each played or plucked in a different way, building to a large crescendo its more akin to Phillip Glass. The remaining two tracks are just as different as those before them, just as experimental. On one hand its good that Moe got a gig with TSO as it opens her fanbase beyond those who might have seen her live in NYC or discovered her myspace page, but her music is so different than the over-the-top guitar/piano driven epics of TSO that the quasi-restrictive requirements of the show where she's playing others' musical creation doesn't show her at her best. Though, on the other hand, one hopes that the restrictiveness of TSO, let alone I'm sure much needed additional income, prompts her to explore her creative side even more in a follow-up to this EP. Moe is not the first rock chick to pick up the violin but no one before her have sounded like this. There will be no regrets investigating this rising star.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra ~ Christmas Eve & Other Stories (album review) ... Bosnian war stories!

Style: holiday, heavy metal, instrumental, hard rock
Label: Atlantic
Year: 1996
Home: n/a

Members: Bob Kinkel ~ keyboards
Al Pitrelli ~ guitars/bass
Paul O'Neill ~ rhythm guitars
Johnny Lee Middleton ~ bass
Jon Oliva ~ keyboards/bass
Jeff Plate ~ drums
Tommy Farese, John Margolis, Marlene Danielle, Michael Fawcette, Ken Williams, Babi Floyd ~ lead vocals

Additional: Mary Wooten ~ cello
John Clark ~ french horn
Chris Caffery ~ rhythm guitar
Zak Stevens, Nancy Jackson, Peggy Harley, Latasha Spencer, Danielle Lander, Jeffrey Stackhouse, Timonty Carosi, Peter Valentine ~ b. vocals
Joseph Murray, Adrian Ross, Nigel Tangredi, Warren Wilson, Beth Butler, Cabiria Jacobson, Rachel Rosenfield, Caroline Ross ~ children's choir

In the 80's if anyone had said that the struggling Florida metal band Savatage would eventually become one of the most popular, let alone physically largest bands in music with two independent groups on the road, everyone probably would have laughed including the band itself. But, it's one of the more unique histories, transformations & successes in the rock archives, let alone spawning one of the most popular Christmas rock albums a musician could hope for. Briefly, with new New York guitarist Al Pitrelli, who would later spend two years kicking it the thrash way with Megadeth, Savatage recorded the excellent concept album Dead Winter Dead based upon the Bosnian War, which Atlantic Records largely considered the last chance for the band to break into needed commercial heights. The instrumental "Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)", musically representing a brave lone celloist in the middle of a battlefield, gave a modern metal edge to the traditional holiday song "Carol of the Bells". This wasn't the first time the band had given traditional &/or classical music metal flourishes, let alone the tradition extended back to Led Zeppelin, Yes, Emerson, Lake & Palmer & others. The single became the success the band was looking for ... sort of. It's climb up the charts was marred by the band's metal sounding name that frightened radio DJs. TSO was created to boost the single past preconceived notions, though it was actually the same line-up but with rotating vocalists, a slightly less venomous stage act & a prominent composing role for Savatage session keyboards Bob Kinkel. "Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)" was reissued & given a new story about an angel looking for something done on Christmas Day that represents everything good. At one point he flies over Bosnia & hears a lone celloist. Christmas Eve & Other Stories pushed everything Savatage had tried before to a new level - a complex storyline as always courtesy of Paul O'Neill, a positive moral message of a strong Christian nature, radio friendly metal, operatic vocals & well-known classical/traditional songs given a metal twist. The jury has remained out, despite numerous albums later both holiday themed & not, on what exactly TSO is. Many metal fans don't consider it's heavily choreographed light show & radio friendly tunes true metal, while purist classical fans cry sacrilege ... albeit, honestly, it doesn't take much for either group to cry out in discontent. As for everyone else listening the band has been praised to the highest & what is undeniable is that TSO appeals to the widest age bracket that any band could ever hope for, from children to grandparents, creating something for everyone ... even the purists if they give it a chance. Christmas Eve & Other Stories was focused on re-releasing "Sarajevo" a second year & hoping it would be a chart success again, but was essentially a one-off project working alongside Savatage. As much as Savatage wouldn't have been able to predict the creation of TSO, none of them would have predicted that Savatage would also eventually completely morph into TSO. But, there's no Christmas album like this & it remains a favorite holiday album over a decade later & the highlight of the TSO catalog, let alone one of the best Christmas rock albums made ... so it's really no surprise that TSO would eclipse its root band. The lyrics are sometimes a bit maudlin & cliched & the storyline takes itself too serious, but there's no questioning the widest range of musical styles any metal band could ever experiment with on a single album, let alone the high caliber of playing & singing across the board. The biggest loss, though, is Savatage vocalist Zak Stevens relegated to the chorus, as he's one of the most under-rated powerhouses in rock & his operatic vocals are perfect for this project. But, luckily, he's found new success in Circle II Circle where he also gets more time in the spotlight. Speaking of lyrics, the biggest hurdle with the album is that the 2 page synopsis in the linear notes often puts emphasis on events that get only a passing reference in song, if not skipped at all, while the songs often focus heavily on events passed over in the synopsis, which also suffers from stilted writing. The story can't be fully understood via music along, but this is a problem shared with all the Savatage/TSO albums finding a climax with Savatage's "The Wake Of Magellan" where the songs were written & then a story put over it afterwards. On later albums & on future tours TSO would eventually flesh out its ranks before expanding into two bands to bring the show to as many cities as possible in their short touring season, but on this debut it was still a small band. You don't have to wonder who is playing guitar or piano on what track as would be the case later. TSO is still a small musical unit plodding forward with joy but also not yet sure of how far they can go with their new experiment. It's quite a contrast to 2009's double album Night Castle with 26 musicians, strings & a large choir. But, that being said, for Christmas albums this is an undoubtable highlight because it has just enough solos for the rockers but is melodic enough for everyone else, while everyone wants to sing along.