Epilogue
| If Jon
will display the same almost superhuman creativity from
now on that he has in the past two-and-a-half years, the
Savatage windjammer probably won't sink until sometime in
the very distant future. *Chris
Caffery and Jon Oliva at the airport. |
 |
What
the " Mountain King " has achieved since the death of
his brother, exclusive of the contributions of his colleagues,
can be qualified as almost superhuman: amongst other things Jon
has
- worked out and recorded the vocal lines for the Doctor Butcher
album within a very short period of time.
- written, played and co-produced the major part of the last two
Savatage studio albums.
- taken into his hands the mix and release of two live albums
together with Paul O'Neill
- finished the composition of an opera and prepared the musical
concept for at least one more.
- held the band together and lead them to new stylistical
horizons and into a new era as an exquisit live act.
And all of that after a strike from destiny, that would have
broken down or at least driven many others into a deep creative
crisis.
If a personal final remark is allowed ( even the author is a fan in the first place - although trying to maintain the necessary distance ) : To me this humane man, who at the same time manages to be excessively crazy and extremely simple, belongs to the greatest musicians of all times. Noone else but him could bring to life a musical pshycho-thriller like " When The Crowds Are Gone " .
Whether Savatage will bring the big blow to the hitlists tomorrow, two or even twenty years from now, whether his songs will be dug up in connection with some or other power-melody-revival, or his compositions will actually find their way into the major opera houses in the near future : The natural talent Jon Oliva will gather his recognition as the contemporary Mozart or Beethoven just as much as the complete Savatage band will gather their recognition as one of the most brilliant 'rock-'n-roll-teams' this planet has ever set eyes upon.
MATTHIAS BREUSCH
from RockHard Legends, Savatage
translated by Ellen Bakvis