Savatage had thought about making a rock opera after their successful collaboration with producer Paul O'Neill in making Hall of the Mountain King. During the recording of its follow-up in 1989, guitarist Criss Oliva found a play and accompanying music written by Paul O'Neill, which the band intended to use on their album. Soon after, however, the band felt they were not ready yet, and postponed the idea for their next record. The record they were working on still received the name of the play, [[Gutter Ballet]], and one of the tracks from the play was also recorded for Gutter Ballet, namely "When the Crowds Are Gone". The band then decided that their next album would be based on the play, and the band entered the studio to record what would become Streets.
After the Gutter Ballet tour however, rhythm guitarist Chris Caffery left the band on friendly terms to rejoin his brother's band, where he could play lead guitar instead of rhythm guitar. He would later rejoin Savatage in 1995 for the recording of Dead Winter Dead and has remained a member ever since.
The album was originally due to be a double CD record, but record label Atlantic Records lost reels of the sessions in their vaults. These "lost tracks" were re-written over the years and eventually formed parts of songs on Edge of Thorns and later works. The album as a double CD as originally intended will never see the light, partly because the only recordings that remain are on audio cassette of the master tapes, and partly because most of the original ideas for the songs were used in later works. Originally the album would contain more spoken tracks than the one used for the introduction for Jesus Saves (which was a reworking of DT Jesus after Atlantic did not like the original version, and was recorded with only Jon and Criss in the studio, much like Gutter Ballet). However, a 31-track narrated version of the album was released by EarMusic Records on September 27 2013.
| |
Savatage had thought about making a rock opera after their successful collaboration with producer Paul O'Neill in making Hall of the Mountain King. During the recording of its follow-up in 1989, guitarist Criss Oliva found a play and accompanying music written by Paul O'Neill, which the band intended to use on their album. Soon after, however, the band felt they were not ready yet, and postponed the idea for their next record. The record they were working on still received the name of the play, [[Gutter Ballet]], and one of the tracks from the play was also recorded for Gutter Ballet, namely "When the Crowds Are Gone". The band then decided that their next album would be based on the play, and the band entered the studio to record what would become Streets.
After the Gutter Ballet tour however, rhythm guitarist Chris Caffery left the band on friendly terms to rejoin his brother's band, where he could play lead guitar instead of rhythm guitar. He would later rejoin Savatage in 1995 for the recording of Dead Winter Dead and has remained a member ever since.
The album was originally due to be a double CD record, but record label Atlantic Records lost reels of the sessions in their vaults. These "lost tracks" were re-written over the years and eventually formed parts of songs on Edge of Thorns and later works. The album as a double CD as originally intended will never see the light, partly because the only recordings that remain are on audio cassette of the master tapes, and partly because most of the original ideas for the songs were used in later works. Originally the album would contain more spoken tracks than the one used for the introduction for Jesus Saves (which was a reworking of DT Jesus after Atlantic did not like the original version, and was recorded with only Jon and Criss in the studio, much like Gutter Ballet). However, a 31-track narrated version of the album was released by EarMusic Records on September 27 2013.
|