Savatage Still The Orchestra Plays Greatest Hits Vol 1 and 2

Lari wrote:

What do you guys think of the track list for the best of? I thought it's a great selection of songs for a new fan, but where's Sirens? And there should be at least one track off of Dungeons Are Calling (Midas Knight!!!). Does it have something to do with rights to the songs.

I think it may have something to do with Edel, I don't think they have released any versions of Sirens or Dungeons (I could be wrong) which in turn wouldn't allow them to use tracks from either album unless they were live tracks which may have been released on an Edel record.

I did not want to start a new thread, and I personally not heard any rumors of a Savatage reunion, but here is the official word from Classic Rock Mag:

Jon Oliva has poured cold water upon the rumours of a Savatage reunion.
Words: Dave Ling
Famous for such albums as Hall Of The Mountain King (1987), Gutter Ballet (’89) and Streets – A Rock Opera (’91), the Floridian progressive-power-metal band has lain dormant for the past eight years.
Vocalist Oliva and various group members past and present have focussed their efforts instead upon the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
In a recent interview TSO mastermind Paul O’Neill, who also produced the classic Savatage records, hinted that the band were considering coming out of mothballs to promote a new anthology called Still The Orchestra Plays: Greatest Hits Vol. 1 & 2, when it appears in March.
2001’s Poets and Madmen, the final Savatage album is also set to be re-released, and Oliva and O’Neill are working on a Broadway musical version of Gutter Ballet. No wonder Jon says there simply isn’t the time for a reunion.
“Paul was misquoted, there is not going to be a Savatage reunion tour – even a one-off show,” he insists.
“The idea was discussed, but logistically and time-wise it’s impossible. There are three TSO projects on the go, and that’s six years worth of work – even for someone like Paul O’Neill.
“It would make no sense to shut down everything else and put together a Savatage show,” he continues. “Savatage wasn’t even a million-selling band when it was together, so why jeopardise what everyone else is doing right now?
“It wouldn’t be real; just a bunch of guys who’d got back together for two weeks in order to cash in by recreating something (from the past). It would cheapen everything.”
However, Oliva does recommend that Savatage fans check out Festival, the fourth album from his band Jon Oliva’s Pain, which is issued via AFM Records on February 19.
He says: “If you like Savatage then you will definitely like Jon Oliva’s Pain because besides my vocals, every album has music from Criss Oliva (his guitar-playing brother, who was killed in a car accident in 1993) and they sound more like Savatage circa Power Of The Night (1985) or Hall Of The Mountain King than anything we did (as Savatage) after Criss died.”
Jon is also among the many guests to feature on the new Avantasia album, Angel Of Babylon, to be released in April.
In related news, Trans-Siberian Orchestra are set to play their first European live shows this spring. We will pass on the dates as soon as they are confirmed

My travel to Sweden last night confirmed many of my worst suspitions regarding Savatage. My traveling companion is a dear friend of Jon Oliva, and we had quite the talk about his curent state. Now, I won't come into details, as this is stuff Jon himself is not talking about, but there are more then meets the eye when it comes to why Savatage is no more.

Aw Kurt, you can't just give us vague information like that. I'm now overly curious, haha.

kmorg wrote:

My travel to Sweden last night confirmed many of my worst suspitions regarding Savatage. My traveling companion is a dear friend of Jon Oliva, and we had quite the talk about his curent state. Now, I won't come into details, as this is stuff Jon himself is not talking about, but there are more then meets the eye when it comes to why Savatage is no more.

You know Claus Jensen, too?

I watched the DVD tonight. Real nice, no frills kick-ass Savatage show.

I've been listening to the CDs too. Surprisingly it's not Power of the Night or any of the older tracks that benefit the most from remastering. I'm thinking it's newer epic tracks like Chance that sound even more massive now. I guess it comes down to the quality of the original recordings.

Still waiting for mine to come in the mail... stupid amazon...

I can't hear the difference between the remastered tracks nad my originals

Love the acoustic demo takes though....

I have almost all of them. but there are some without lyrics so those albums I'll get. I can't wait

kmorg wrote:

My travel to Sweden last night confirmed many of my worst suspitions regarding Savatage. My traveling companion is a dear friend of Jon Oliva, and we had quite the talk about his curent state. Now, I won't come into details, as this is stuff Jon himself is not talking about, but there are more then meets the eye when it comes to why Savatage is no more.

spit it out, home skillet.

DenimAndLeather wrote:

kmorg wrote:

My travel to Sweden last night confirmed many of my worst suspitions regarding Savatage. My traveling companion is a dear friend of Jon Oliva, and we had quite the talk about his curent state. Now, I won't come into details, as this is stuff Jon himself is not talking about, but there are more then meets the eye when it comes to why Savatage is no more.

spit it out, home skillet.

MAKE ME!!

Come on come on just spill the beans

I enjoyed buying this one.

Of course, i already own most of the Savatage back catalogue, but this one is more of a collection item that will sit on my shelves.

The DVD is really nice, but the quality is far from perfect.