Top 10 Songs on Savatage's Streets: A Rock Opera
Savatage are an American metal band founded in 1979 by brothers Jon and Criss Oliva. Criss died at 30 in 1993 in a car accident caused by a drunk driver. R.I.P. Criss.Subgenres Savatage played - heavy metal, progressive metal (late), speed metal (early), power metal, rock.
'Streets: A Rock Opera' (aka Streets for short) is a 1991 concept album by Savatage, telling a story about the rise and fall of a fictional character - musician DT Jesus.
The concept of the album is based on a book written by Paul O'Neill many years prior to his involvement with Savatage - he wrote it in 1979 as a Broadway play and stored it in a drawer at his home until guitarist Criss Oliva found it and suggested it be Savatage's next album.
Personnel:
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
This song is so powerful and emotional. Jon vocals are fantastic and convincing. Besides, he's got a real 4 octave vocals range.
This is the opening track and it is a very strong song.
I like the riff and, of course, everything else.
There's a video clip on YT that would help to better understand the whole story of the album.
Jon Oliva's got one of the most emotional voices in rock/metal and this song is one of the best examples.
It starts slower but at 1:00 gets the sound I like
It's a short song, under 2 minutes, but it's the most upbeat song on the album - no surprise, the song title is "You're Alive" after all.
It's the closing track (#16) on the Original CD release. This song was intended for Broadway performances and its style is so Broadway.
Fans love this song, I guess mostly for its message "Believe" (and maybe because it's a soft song).
It was re-recorded by Trans-Siberian Orchestra with Tim Hockenberry on vocals on their 2009 album Night Castle.
The song title refers to the main character's drug issues
