Audio CD review:
Savatage - From the Gutter to the Stage: Best of Savatage

Savatage - From the Gutter to the Stage: Best of Savatage

Band: Savatage Title: From the Gutter to the Stage: Best of Savatage Rating: Release Date: 23 May, 2000 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Sirens (Live) 2: Power Of The Night 3: Prelude To Madness 4: Hall Of The Mountain King 5: 24 Hours Ago 6: Gutter Ballet 7: When The Crowds Are Gone 8: Silk And Steel 9: New York City Don't Mean Nothing 10: Agony And Ecstasy 11: Believe 12: Edge Of Thorns 13: Chance 14: Mozart And Madness 15: One Child 16: Shotgun Innocence 17: Forever After 18: This Is Where You Should Be 19: D.T. Jesus

Customer Reviews Greatest moments on 1.5 discs. Three and a half stars here Well sort of. As opposed to the later collection initially from '99 entitled The Best and the Rest this best of collection of tunes by the hard rock/metal band Savatage is spread over two discs. You see there are 15 tracks on disc One and then four discs, allegedly bonus tracks, on a second disc. At least on my version! Which leads to my first annoyance with this release. I mean if your going to put a second disc in there why not make the release a double CD collection of music which this band cries out for. As I pointed out in my review for The Best and the Rest you just can't encapsulate such a long lived band who put out so many great metal tunes over two decades on a single disc. Having said that this collection comes pretty close to being a near perfect collection. Drawing more heavily on the early Oliva years than the aforementioned Best/Rest compilation it provides more outright rocking moments such as a live rendition of early classic Sirens and Power of the Night from the bands sophomore effort. As the collection progresses - thankfully in chronological order - the bands ability to pen good quality metal tunes over a number of albums becomes apparent. From the excellent and accomplished musically Hall of the Mountain King to the visceral 24 Hours Ago through to raw and plaintive songs such as When the Crowds Are Gone. The pivotal role the Streets: A Rock Opera album played in this bands career is shown by the way the tone of the collection alters perceptibly once the songs from that album arrive. After the songs from that release there is a slight shift away from the ferocity of intent in most of the heavier tunes as the band delve into more introspective and melodramatic material. Both aspects of this band have their qualities and numbers such as Edge of Thorns and Chance still rock out but they are also in possession of slightly slower power riffing and plaintive feelings of loss and despair. The choral effects of Chance also shows another aspect of this bands musical palette which was continued into later albums such as The Wake of Magellan and on into the Trans Siberian Orchestra project. The first disc is rounded out by Mozart and Madness and One Child, tunes that seem to be the only ones that don't fit well with the overall feel of the collection despite the fact that they are from the beautiful Dead Winter Dead concept album. On the edition I hold in my paw at present the second disc contains the four bonus tracks Shotgun Innocence, Forever After, This Is Where You Should Be and DT Jesus. IMHO none of these tracks are actually really up there with this bands best work and it's hard to imagine why they were selected. There are a range of blistering metal attacks in this bands history they could of chosen instead of some lovely ballads they've produced over the years so quite why the powers that be chose these numbers I'm not sure. Still, it is perhaps somewhat churlish to complain about a bonus disc. All up I found this release better portrays the hard rock and metal assaults this band graced us with as well as giving a better view of some of their more varied material that the (too few) people who got to hear them and become fans than the aforementioned Best/Rest compilation of `99. Anybody interested in getting some insight into this fine band could do a lot worse than pick this up. Both of their vocalists are represented here though the collection does lean towards the Oliva years. Overall, a darn handy buy. Wonderful Treatment of an incredible Metal Band They defy convention, and definition. Savatage breaks the molds of all metal bands. Another review hits it right on the head. It's hard to put them into any catagory. Their music is soaring, deep, and very much thought provoking. This album fits their style perfectly, and shows the strength and power of Savatage. A group that has gone through the tragic death of one of the founding brothers, Criss Oliva. There have been many changes of personel, but they still manage to bring out some of the most compelling,deep, complex metal you'll ever have the pleasure of hearing. There is no yelling, there is no distortion. This is pure metal at its best. This collection takes some of their best songs. Doing this group justice would take a set of at least 4 disks, so having two is very limiting. Sirens, their fist mega hit, off of the album of the same name. Prelude to Madness and Hall of the Mountain King are a very successful attempt to put classical music to metal. This is a trend that would led them to create Trans-Siberian Orchestra. This takes a piece orginally done by Greig to soaring metal heights. These two songs belong together because Prelude leads into Hall. It's off of Hall Of the Mountain King album. Gutter Ballet. This is their first attempt and metal orchestration. You can hear Criss Oliva battling with the Orchestra. When the Crowds are Gone. their first power ballad. Tells the story of a person who realized, much to their dismay, that their career is likey and it's time to give it up. It's off of the album Gutter Ballet. Edge Of Thorns, the first song featuring Zak Stevens was the start a milder more mellow Savatage. I like the album, and this song is the Title track. Chance - Released on "Handful of Rain!" This is the first attempt at counterpoint ever in the history of heavy metal. This showed that they were always breaking new ground with every release. The 5 voices are amazing. This style is done on almost every frequent album that they released. Mozart and Madness. Off of Dead Winter Dead, a rock opera. This is a full length track which included yet another first. This was recorded with a full orchestra. A relatively new concept which hsa been followed by many groups, including Metallica. No-one, though, has come close to matching the wonderful symetry that is created by Savatage and the orchstra on this piece. I've been a Savatage fan for over a decade now. I love every single album that they've released. They are a tremendous group that keeps impressing me, and changing their style of play, and the way in which they create their music. If you can find this one it's a great collection of great songs by an incredible group. . No 'Best of' could do justice for Savatage... but still... That means there are no songs from their last two studio albums The Wake of Magellan (1998) and Poets and Madmen (2001). From the Gutter to the Stage is a double compilation CD comprised of Savatage's songs from 1981 to 1995. I personally don't think it is at all possible to compile any 'best of' albums for bands whose career spans over two decades since I believe these bands go from style to style always growing, improving, maturing and progressing, be it for the better or worse. Well I won't get into any details about the songs here because no matter how I much tried I'd fail to verbalise my feelings about Savatage. . . my favourite band of all times. Basically this is a little insight into the progression of Sava's musical style from the early 80's to the mid 90's covering some of the band's major hits including "Sirens", "Hall of the Mountain King" and "Gutter Ballet" with original vocalist Jon Oliva. The songs are listed in chronological order so the change of style is pretty obvious. With the release of Gutter Ballet in 1989, Savatage signalled that they were going to become one of the most progressive bands ever embracing their earlier Beatles, Queen, The Who and Pink Floyd roots and combining them with their own unique form of heavy metal. Second vocalist Zak Stevens is introduced to the listener with "Edge of Thorns" and from here on three meticulously detailed songs off the Dead Winter Dead album follow. With songs like "Chance" and "One Child" the band explores with different vocal harmonies and counterpoint vocals reminiscent of 70's Queen, only fuller and stronger. 15 songs is no where near enough to give anyone a good idea of what Savatage is about, but it's enough to prove that musically and songwriting-wise they are among the most progressive bands in the world. Their use of keyboard and piano intertwined with soaring lead guitar work, fiery rhythmic bass and unpredictable drum work makes them stand head and shoulders above any other band, regardless of their genre. The best and most appealing thing about this CD, however, is on the second disc featuring the two bonus tracks on the Jap edition of Edge of Thorns. "Shotgun Innocence" and "Forever After" being officially the last two songs recorded by co-founder/guitarist Criss Oliva who was killed in a car accident shortly after the release of this album make this purchase quite worthwhile. Also there is the 1987 HOTMK outtake "This Is Where You Should Be" which is a heart-wrenching love song and "D. T. Jesus" which is basically a different version of the same song on the band's 1991 release Streets. This has got to be one of the most moving vocal deliveries by Jon Oliva ever accompanied by a destroying guitar solo performed by his brother Criss. To this day this remains as one of the most difficult Savatage songs to listen to because of the sheer power and intensity it encompasses. If you're a die-hard Sava fan, the second CD alone is worth buying this release. However if you're new to the band, I'd much recommend starting out with Streets and Edge of Thorns. Depending on how you enjoy these discs, you can decide where to go. The best way to immerse yourself in Savatage is to give their albums a full listen. . You can see a complete list of all Savatage discography, or go back to the Savatage tabs