Streets – A Rock Opera
Occupation
- Vocals: Jon Oliva
- Guitar: Criss Oliva
- Bass: Johnny Lee Middleton
- Drums: Steve Wacholz
Streets - A Rock Opera is a concept album by the American heavy metal band Savatage from the year 1991.
The Story
The main character in Streets is DT Jesus, a drug dealer in New York City who makes a career as a rock star before he himself becomes a drug addict and crashes. His friend and manager Tex helps him out of the gutter. Just as DTs comeback gets rolling, he is visited by his drug supplier Sammy, which he still owes money. Tex is adventitious and DT wants to help, but Sammy stabs Tex. DT flees shocked. On his wrong path through New York, he seeks answers to his questions in a church (St. Patrick's), with a pimp and a homeless man in his deep crisis. However, he found no satisfactory answers. When he begins to wonder if something was going to stay out of his life when he was dying, he discovers an idol of his youth, a musician, drunk, smelly, in rags, dying on the roadside. None of the surrounding onlookers will this be a help. DT, however, takes care of him. He sees the soul of the musician in the shape of a child come out of the body and feels after this experience deep peace and contentment expressed in the song " Believe."
Streets contains strong religious moments, however, follow the teachings of any religious denomination, God makes at the end is forgiving, as is the case in the official teachings of all the major Christian denominations.
Background
The story was already 1979, written by Paul O'Neill before his collaboration with Savatage. Originally the concept for a Broadway musical was thought up by Criss Oliva, the proposal was to turn it into an album. Although the concept album based on the story of O'Neill, most of the lyrics were written by Oliva. Two of the songs that originally belonged ( Gutter Ballet and When the Crowds Are Gone ) to the concept, have already been used on the previous album Gutter Ballet.
Jon Oliva plays on the songs Jesus Saves and Can You Hear Me Now drums, while Criss Oliva has recorded the bass. Because the record company with the original recordings was not satisfied, the two band members had to rewrite the song to add some more metal. The original version can be heard on the album From the Gutter to the Stage.
The recording of this album took almost a year and it was originally planned to release it as a double album.
Title
Bonus Tracks:
- On the European stainless Records re-release Desiree - 3:54
- Ghost in the Ruins (live) - 5:20
- Jesus Saves ( live) - 4:02