Search - Savatage :: Poets & Madmen

HAIL THE MIGHTY 'TAGE!!!!!

Mike Nichols | Huntington IN | 04/12/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The New Savatage release "Poets and Madmen" is an overall impressive and entertaining effort from Jon Oliva + co. Featuring some of the heaviest guitar work Savatage has ever done {no offense to Criss Oliva R.I.P.}this band can never seem to dissapoint it's fans. The main guitar duties are handled by Chris Caffery with some leads done by ex axeman Al Pitrelli, who has since left for Megadeth. Outstanding work !! for favorites I would have to list "Morphine Child,"Surrender",and "Commissar"."

I am the Morphine Child

Justin Gaines | Northern Virginia | 08/12/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I suppose that after releasing two all-time classic albums like Dead Winter Dead and The Wake of Magellan, and then losing vocalist Zak Stevens, Savatage's 2001 release Poets & Madmen was bound to disappoint.



Even though the dynamic duo of Jon Oliva and producer Paul O'Neill were still in place, the loss of such a dynamic vocalist (who left to form the very Savatage-sounding band Circle II Circle) had a big impact on the band's sound. Oliva found himself in the spotlight as lead vocalist once again, which meant the album had to be more aggressive to suit his singing style. Songs like "I Seek Power", "Drive" and "Awaken" are prime examples.



Despite being more aggressive and for the first time in quite a while not featuring any instrumental tracks, Poets & Madmen is still a very progressive album. Songs like "There in the Silence", "Commissar", and especially the 10+ minute "Morphine Child" are complex, well-orchestrated tracks that compare favorably with anything on Wake of Magellan or Dead Winter Dead. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that "Morphine Child" is one of the better Savatage songs ever released. It's also worth pointing out that "Back to Reason" was later used on a Trans-Siberian Orchestra album.



Poets & Madmen is a bit uneven, and doesn't work as well as a concept album as the band's prior releases. Overall though, this is a very solid album with more strong moments than weak ones. It may have disappointed Savatage fans initially, but it holds up surprisingly well after a few years, and should be considered one of the band's better albums. Though to be fair, I consider everything besides Fight for the Rock among the band's better albums!



NOTE: There are three different versions of Poets & Madmen, each with different bonus material.



The standard version, released by Nuclear Blast, features the bonus track "Shotgun Innocence" which is, to date, the last Savatage studio track to feature Zak Stevens on vocals.



The limited edition, released by SPV, comes in a neat box and features a live version of "Jesus Saves" as a bonus track, as well as a video clip for "Handful of Rain." "Shotgun Innocence" is not included.



The Japanese import has the same track listing as the SPV version, but without the fancy packaging. It's priced a LOT higher though.



I think the smart money is on the standard version. Live material and fancy packaging is nice, but I'll take a new Zak Stevens Savatage track any day."

More poetic than mad

eveoflove | North York, Ontario Canada | 04/28/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Made in GER in 2001, Serial# SPV-088-72150, Playing Time 67:07This limited edition features the album in a little box, and includes a sticker, a poster, a picture of a girl in a bikini (in the context of "Back To A Reason"), along with 2 bonus tracks: a live version of "Jesus Saves", with Zachary Stevens on vocals, which is unfortunate since he just can't deliver the passion of Jon Oliva on this one, plus the videoclip of "Handful Of Rain".The lyrics of the new songs are included in the booklet. The album features Jon Oliva on vocals, and we get the "typical" sounds that make this band so easily identifiable. There's also a story in the booklet that helps putting this concept album into its context. I would suggest you read it prior to playing the disc: it's fairly long, and you'd otherwise miss out on the words to the songs written by long-time lyricist Paul O'Neill.As for the tracks themselves, they have the usual balance of calm/energetic arrangements. However, this time out, I found the arrangements to be a bit stale: there's nothing much that's new in here, and even though the album grows on you, it lacks some of the syncopated punches so traditional with SAVATAGE. Thankfully, the live version of "Jesus Saves" is at the end of the disc, because it would have made every track on the record pale in comparison if it would have been placed first.Good, but not for the novice. Oh, and I would suggest you replace the black CD tray with a clear one: it will reveal the Pulitzer-winning picture mentioned in the story..."