William's Song a Day Blog - est. September 2007

From: Dead Winter Dead ; Year: 1995; Genre: Symphonic Metal/Progressive Metal No really Christmas or Holiday-related music, but it is a great track from the album that essentially launched the whole "symphonic metal Christmas music" that has since become a holiday staple. I Am marks the point in the arching story concerning the Bosnian War at which open hostilities break out following the withdrawal of the U.S.S.R., which the record was a concept album/rock opera based on the devastating and bloody conflict. Very hard to believe that it has been nearly 30 years since the album was released and the conflict "officially" ended; a truly horrific chapter in human history.   Hear I Am on YouTube.       My song pick 1 year ago today: Lemmy Kilmister, Billy F. Gibbons & Dave Grohl - Run Rudolph Run   My song pick 2 years ago today: Booker T. & The MGs - Medley: Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight, The End, Here Comes the Sun, Come Together   My song p...

From: Handful of Rain ; Year: 1994; Genre: Progressive Metal Was rocking out to this song the other day whilst stuck in traffic; made the situation instantly much better. Taunting Cobras is really a perfect song they chose to lead this album; had everything the band is/was known for wrapped up in a small package like a "transistor glamour."   Hear Taunting Cobras on YouTube.       My song pick 1 year ago today: Gloryhammer - On the Wings of a Rainbow   My song pick 2 years ago today: Wishbone Ash - Drive   My song pick 3 years ago today: Queensrÿche - The Mission   My song pick 4 years ago today: C.W. McCall - Four Wheel Drive My song pick 5 years ago today: Black Sabbath - Neon Knights My song pick 6 years ago today: Savatage - Chance My song pick 7 years ago today: Megadeth - A Secret Place My song pick 8 years ago today: Wings - Live and Let Die My song pick 9 years ago today: Larry Graham & Graham Central Station - Are You Happy? ...

From: Maniacal Renderings ; Year: 2006; Genre: Metal Felt like picking something from Savatage/Jon Oliva's Pain today, and I went with the latter. This song kind of fits being that today being that it is the beginning of Día de Muertos. Nothing like some heavy metal to get the blood flowing in the morning anyway.   Hear Time to Die on YouTube.       My song pick 1 year ago today: Guns N' Roses - November Rain   My song pick 2 years ago today: Jethro Tull - War Child My song pick 3 years ago today: Geddy Lee - Runaway Train My song pick 4 years ago today: Yes - Step Beyond My song pick 5 years ago today: Creed - Torn My song pick 6 years ago today: Steeleye Span - The Fox My song pick 7 years ago today: Victor Wooten - When I Want to Get Funky My song pick 8 years ago today: Curved Air - What Happens When You Blow Yourself Up? My song pick 9 years ago today: Megadeth - We The People My song pick 10 years ago today: Rush - Red Barchetta My so...

From: Festival ; Year: 2010; Genre: Progressive Metal Was in the mood for some music from Jon Oliva and company. I love the interesting ideas in the music of this song, everything from the chords used to the phrasing of the notes; it's an interesting song. Hear Festival on YouTube.   My song pick 1 year ago today: Eddie Money - Baby Hold On My song pick 2 years ago today: Mr. Big - 1992 My song pick 3 years ago today: Fairport Convention - Dirty Linen My song pick 4 years ago today: Rush - Middletown Dreams My song pick 5 years ago today: Guns N' Roses - Get in the Ring My song pick 6 years ago today: War - Galaxy My song pick 7 years ago today: Savatage - Man in the Mirror My song pick 8 years ago today: Styx - Snowblind My song pick 9 years ago today: Edvard Grieg - Op. 46 - In the Hall of the Mountain King My song pick 10 years ago today: Ben E. King - Don't Play That Song (You Lied) My song pick 11 years ago today: Three Dog Night - One My song p...

From: Festival ; Year: 2010; Genre: Rock You can certainly hear the Beatles influence in this song; Paul McCartney's style in particular. There is more than enough of Jon Oliva and his own writing style in this one to keep it very much his own in my opinion though. Hear Looking for Nothing on YouTube. My song pick 1 year ago today: Pallas - Arrive Alive My song pick 2 years ago today: Devo - Are U X-perienced? My song pick 3 years ago today: Nena - ? (Fragezeichen) My song pick 4 years ago today: Rush - Mission My song pick 5 years ago today: Amnesty - Love Fades My song pick 6 years ago today: Gerry Rafferty - Days Gone Down (Still Got The Light In Your Eyes) My song pick 7 years ago today: Tommy James - Mirage My song pick 8 years ago today: The Rolling Stones - In Another Land My song pick 9 years ago today: Iron Maiden - Satellite 15... The Final Frontier My song pick 10 years ago today: Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) - Hold on Tight / Epilogue ...

From: Dead Winter Dead ; Year: 1995; Genre: Symphonic Metal/Progressive Metal Ah yes, the powerful closing song to Savatage's epic album Dead Winter Dead ; I absolutely love playing this entire disc around this time of year. Hear Not What You See on YouTube. My song pick 1 year ago today: Winger - Without the Night My song pick 2 years ago today: Eurythmics - Winter Wonderland My song pick 3 years ago today: Jackson Browne - Running on Empty My song pick 4 years ago today: Porcupine Tree - This Long Silence My song pick 5 years ago today: Blue Öyster Cult - Stone of Love My song pick 6 years ago today: The Crickets (Buddy Holley) - That'll Be the Day My song pick 7 years ago today: Alestorm - Keelhauled My song pick 8 years ago today: Jethro Tull - My God My song pick 9 years ago today: Wolfsheim - Once in a Lifetime My song pick 10 years ago today: Grand Funk Railroad - I'm Your Captain (Closer to Home) My song pick 11 years ago today: Pet S...

From: Poets and Madmen ; Year: 2001; Genre: Progressive Metal Heard some Savatage on my playlist this morning and it seemed like the perfect day to pick one of their songs. Stay With Me a While is basically the overture for the story that is a loose concept album. Hear Stay With Me a While on YouTube. My song pick one year ago today: Japan - Quiet Life My song pick two years ago today: Maddy Prior - Rosettes My song pick three years ago today: Funkadelic - Funky Dollar Bill My song pick four years ago today: Sky - Westway My song pick five years ago today: Asia - Wildest Dreams My song pick six years ago today: Don Henley - Dirty Laundry My song pick seven years ago today: The Scorpions - Big City Nights My song pick eight years ago today: Graham Central Station - Earthquake My song pick nine years ago today: John Denver - Season Suite - Fall My song pick ten years ago today: Kyu Sakamoto - Sukiyaki ( Ue o Muite Aruko )

From: Handful of Rain ; Year: 1994; Genre: Progressive Metal/Symphonic Metal This is one of those songs that no matter how many times I've heard it, it brings chills and goosebumps; it's that well composed and put together. In the time of minimalist music Savatage was one of the bands to buck the trend and still release masterpieces like this. I absolutely love the vocal work throughout this one; simply amazing. Hear Chance on YouTube. My song pick one year ago today: Megadeth - A Secret Place My song pick two years ago today: Wings - Live and Let Die My song pick three years ago today: Larry Graham & Graham Central Station - Are You Happy? My song pick four years ago today: Stone Temple Pilots - Creep My song pick five years ago today: The Moog Cookbook - Come Out and Play My song pick six years ago today: Hurricane Smith - Oh Babe, What Would You Say? My song pick seven years ago today: John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band - On The Dark Side ...

From: Gutter Ballet ; Year: 1989; Genre: Progressive Metal Yet another song I thought for sure I had picked before; one of my favourites from the Savatage/JOP/TSO family of bands. The music combined with the haunting and deep lyrics make for one awesome, epic track. Hear Summer's Rain on YouTube. My song pick one year ago today: John Denver - Everyday My song pick two years ago today: Pat Benatar - Heartbreaker My song pick three years ago today: Carmen - I've Been Crying My song pick four years ago today: Banchee - 38 My song pick five years ago today: Xerath - Unite to Defy My song pick six years ago today: John Fogerty - Centerfield My song pick seven years ago today: The Chambers Brothers - Time Has Come Today My song pick eight years ago today: John Denver - Take Me Home, Country Road My song pick nine years ago today: Nirvana - Lithium

From: Gutter Ballet ; Year: 1989; Genre: Progressive Metal This is always a song that I'll always have a special place for me, being the lead track on Savatage's epic Gutter Ballet and thus was the first one I heard on the album. This is one of those albums that is perfect to just "drop the needle" and listen to it from beginning to end. This one is pretty much as heavy as all of its counterparts both musically and thematically/lyrically. Hear Of Rage and War on YouTube. My song pick one year ago today: Frank Black - Headache My song pick two years ago today: Jethro Tull - Two Fingers My song pick three years ago today: Paul Simon - Hobo's Blues My song pick four years ago today: Megadeth - Sweating Bullets My song pick five years ago today: Kristoph Klover - Fire in the Sky My song pick six years ago today: David Bowie - The Supermen My song pick seven years ago today: The Rolling Stones - 2000 Light Years From Home   My song pick eig...

From: Maniacal Renderings ; Year: 2006; Genre: Heavy Metal/Power Metal I had some of Jon Oliva's music going on in my head this morning, so I thought I'd go ahead and pick one. This one, of course, comes from after the demise of Savatage, but is essentially the exact same sound. I love how this one starts with the lighter acoustic sound with the great harmonies backing up and then launches into full-blown metal in the signature JOP/Savatage styling; of course the lyrics and their delivery are incredible and heavy throughout. Hear The Evil Beside You on YouTube. My song pick one year ago today: Luther Davis Group - To Be Free My song pick two years ago today: Pearls Before Swine - Another Time My song pick three years ago today: Sir Arthur Sullivan - The Lost Chord My song pick four years ago today: Jimi Hendrix - Machine Gun My song pick five years ago today: Django Reinhardt & Stéphane Grappelli (Quintette du Hot Club de France) featuring Freddy Taylo...

From: Hall of the Mountain King ; Year: 1987; Genre: Progressive Metal/Power Metal I had a feeling that I should pick another one from Savatage today; this is one of my favourites off of their epic Hall of the Mountain King album. This one's got most of the prog metal goodness you'd need with a huge dose of the epicness that is power metal. Hear Beyond the Doors of the Dark on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Harlequin - Superstitious Feeling My song pick two years ago today: Les Paul - Hip-Billy Boogie My song pick three years ago today: The Byrds - Turn! Turn! Turn! (to Everything There Is a Season) My song pick four years ago today: Muse - Uprising My song pick five years ago today: Guns N' Roses - Don't Cry My song pick six years ago today: Puhdys, featuring Till Lindemann and Richard Krupse - Wut Will Nicht Sterben My song pick seven years ago today: Nightwish - The Pharaoh Sails To Orion

From: Poets and Madmen ; Year: 2001; Genre: Progressive Metal After listening to a lot of music from Savatage last night and this song in particular really has stuck with me through today. I absolutely adore the keyboards and Jon Oliva's vocals in this one; a pretty and deep song. Hear There in Silence on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: The Allman Brothers Band - Revival My song pick two years ago today: Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Pictures at an Exhibition My song pick three years ago today: Soundgarden - Pretty Noose My song pick four years ago today: S.M.V. - Mongoose Walk My song pick five years ago today: The Delgados - Come Undone My song pick six years ago today: The Doobie Brothers - China Grove My song pick seven years ago today: .38 Special - Fantasy Girl

From: Global Warning ; Year: 2008; Genre: Metal I was in the mood for some Savatage this morning and I thought I would go for something from the current incarnation of the band: Jon Oliva's Pain. This is one of my favourites off of the '08 Global Warning album; excellent theatricality and music throughout this great song. Hear Look at the World on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Foreigner - Blue Morning, Blue Day My song pick two years ago today: Voivod - Mechanical Mind My song pick three years ago today: Quasar - Fanfare/Seeing Stars My song pick four years ago today: Waylander - A Hero's Lament My song pick five years ago today: Queen - Seaside Rendezvous My song pick six years ago today: Warren Zevon - Werewolves of London My song pick seven years ago today: Band of Horses - Is There A Ghost?

From: Edge of Thorns ; Year: 1993; Genre: Progressive Metal Last night I had another song from Edge of Thorns come on my playlist and it got me in the mood for more Savatage and from the album as well. This one's an awesome song from all sides, but Criss Oliva's guitar and Zachary Stevens especially shine on this track; I especially love those middle-eastern modes played on the guitar, fantastic. Hear Degrees of Sanity on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Extreme - Get the Funk Out My song pick two years ago today: Bill Haley & His Comets - Rock Around the Clock My song pick three years ago today: Steve Vai - I'm the Hell Outta Here My song pick four years ago today: Fear Factory - Replica My song pick five years ago today: David Bowie - Changes My song pick six years ago today: Heart - Black On Black II My song pick seven years ago today: Fontella Bass - Rescue Me

From: Festival ; Year: 2010; Genre: Metal I was in the mood for some different kind of metal today and thought of Savatage/Jon Oliva's Pain; it seemed to fit really well. Anyway, this is one of the harder, less progressive tracks on the album and simply a nice track to be heard. Hear I Fear You on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Soundgarden - Blow Up the Outside World My song pick two years ago today: Genesis - For Absent Friends My song pick three years ago today: Santo & Johnny - Teardrop My song pick four years ago today: Rammstein - Bück Dich My song pick five years ago today: Lulu - To Sir With Love My song pick six years ago today: Primus - Nature Boy My song pick seven years ago today: Deep Purple - Space Truckin'

From: Streets: A Rock Opera ; Year: 1991; Genre: Progressive Metal Lately I've been binging on this album again and I thought it would be great to pick another one of their songs. This is the song that kicks off the rock opera and very much acts as an overture and at the same time is a great track. Hear Streets on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Rammstein - Feuer und Wasser My song pick two years ago today: David Bowie - Let's Dance My song pick three years ago today: Rush - Distant Early Warning My song pick four years ago today: David Bowie - Oh! You Pretty Things My song pick five years ago today: Santana - Every Step of the Way My song pick six years ago today: Megadeth - Washington is Next! My song pick seven years ago today: Rammstein - Stripped

From: Festival ; Year: 2010; Genre: Progressive Metal Last night while out and about I had some of the music from John Oliva's Pain come on and it got me in the mood for some more. This is a great track that goes all over the place; it's just such an amazing song in so many ways. It shows that Jon Oliva does still create great music in the vein of Savatage. Hear Afterglow on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: B.J. Thomas - The Eyes of a New York Woman My song pick two years ago today: Fleetwood Mac (Bob Welch) - Sentimental Lady My song pick three years ago today: Hawkwind - Fall of Earth City My song pick four years ago today: The Moody Blues - I'm Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band) My song pick five years ago today: Queen - One Vision My song pick six years ago today: Megadeth - Captive Honour

From: Sirens ; Year 1983; Genre: Metal I was drawing a blank for my pick today, so I 'spun the wheel' so to speak and came up with this gem from early Savatage. I absolutely love the 'thickness' of this song's sound especially on the bottom end the way they brought the rhythm section up in the mix. Hear Scream Murder on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Sweet - Fox on the Run My song pick two years ago today: Van der Graaf Generator - Whatever Would Robert Have Said? My song pick three years ago today: Steve Vai - Kill the Guy with the Ball/The God Eaters My song pick four years ago today: Banchee - John Doe My song pick five years ago today: Bob Dylan - Like A Rolling Stone My song pick six years ago today: Queen - Don't Stop Me Now

From: The Lost Christmas Eve ; Year: 2004; Genre: Christmas Music/Traditional Merry Christmas all! I considered picking something rousing or another comical parody today, but instead went for this rather pretty, light piece. It is a really good track to not only wind up and album, (like TSO did on this one), but to bring Christmas this year to a close. Hear the TSO version of the song on YouTube. My song pick a year ago today: Jethro Tull - A Winter Snowscape My song pick two years ago today: Elvis Presley - Blue Christmas My song pick three years ago today: Steeleye Span - Gaudete My song pick four years ago today: Ian Anderson - A Birthday Card At Christmas My song pick five years ago today: Jethro Tull - Another Christmas Song My song pick six years ago today: Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Wish Liszt (Toy Shop Madness)