The second band I totally fell for was Savatage. I picked up their then current compilation album From the Gutter to the Stage, and their blend of theatrical metal and symphonic rock totally blew me away. In a short time, I picked up all their albums, and being the total idiot I am, I just had to find out everything there was to find out about them. It was just a matter of time before I would get to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
I was going to work out the story, but then I got bored. Do your own research, crapdammit. Here are some songs.
- Savatage’s “Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)” [
download] was the song that started it all. It first appeared on the Savatage album Dead Winter Dead. After being rebranded to TSO, it was a huge radio hit, and is still the trademark song. - “A Star To Follow” [
download] is taken from Christmas Eve and Other Stories. - “The Three Kings and I (What Really Happened)” [
download] features the late Daryl B. Pediford on vocals is from the second album, The Christmas Attic. It’s the funky but true story of the the Three Kings. - “Wizards in Winter” [
download] from The Lost Christmas Eve is very close to be overly pompous, but hey, what’s wrong with that? - “What Child Is This?” [
download] is by far my most favorite song from the last album. Vocals are by sometimes Steinman-collaborator Rob Evan, which might explain the Broadway-vibe I get from this.
As a final note to TSO-mastermind Paul O’Neill: you can go ahead and keep making these very lucrative Christmas albums, but can the fans have Savatage back?