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

From: Edge of Thorns ; Year: 1993; Genre: Rock I cannot begin to state just how great Edge of Thorns is; not a single weak or filler track; it will always be one of my favourites from not just Savatage, but any band. This is a neat instrumental piano interlude played by Jon Oliva between a couple of intense tracks, which is perfect in placement.   Hear Exit Music on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: Santana - Leave Me Alone     My song pick 2 years ago today: Jethro Tull - Back to the Family     My song pick 3 years ago today: Klaatu - Hope   My song pick 4 years ago today: Midnight Oil - We Resist   My song pick 5 years ago today: Thin Lizzy - Borderline   My song pick 6 years ago today: Yes - Mood for a Day My song pick 7 years ago today: The Beatles - Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite   My song pick 8 years ago today: The Who - Athena My song pick 9 years ago today: Waylon Jennings - Do It A...

From: Edge of Thorns (Bonus Track); Year: 1993; Genre: Symphonic Metal/Power Metal Savatage, and the related bands for that matter, are another comforting band that gets me through rough patches. And since discovering that next year will be their first new studio release, ( Curtain Call ), since 2001's Poets and Madmen , I've been listening to them a lot more frequently; kind of hyping myself up for it. Whilst I am aware this will probably be it for Savatage and Jon Oliva's Pain as far as new material, I will savour it and the back catalogue. Plus, I highly doubt Trans-Siberian Orchestra is going anywhere.   Hear Forever After on YouTube.       My song pick 1 year ago today: Gil Scott-Heron - The Revolution Will Not Be Televised   My song pick 2 years ago today: Les Paul & Mary Ford - Bye Bye Blues   My song pick 3 years ago today: The Stylistics - Can't Give You Anything (But My Love)   My song pick 4 years ago today: Soundgarden - Somewhere ...

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: Edge of Thorns ; Year: 1993; Genre: Power Metal/Progressive Metal Been listening to a lot of late '80s and early '90s Savatage lately; it was such a great time for the band musically with arguably much of their greatest material. This was one of the last songs written by the fraternal writing team of Jon and Criss Oliva before Criss' tragic death. Miles Away is among the best from this album with some excellent dynamics and musicianship.   Hear Miles Away on YouTube.       My song pick 1 year ago today: The Eagles - New Kid in Town   My song pick 2 years ago today: The Rolling Stones - It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)   My song pick 3 years ago today: Positive Force - We Got The Funk   My song pick 4 years ago today: Everclear - Santa Monica   My song pick 5 years ago today: Icehouse - Electric Blue My song pick 6 years ago today: Jackson Browne - The Load-Out/Stay My song pick 7 years ago today: Blue Öyster Cult - Don't Turn Y...

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: Night Castle ; Year: 2009; Genre: Symphonic Rock/Christmas Music It really wouldn't be the Holiday Season without hearing some of Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Christmas-inspired music. Whilst Night Castle is not a Christmas album, this track very much is. Originally was conceived as a pop/rock interpretation by Kim Fowley of Tchaikovsky's march from his ballet The Nutcracker and recorded by noted studio musicians B. Bumble and the Stingers , which, of course became a hit. In 1972 Emerson, Lake & Palmer would perform their own rendition of it, and later Trans-Siberian Orchestra recorded their own take on it from this record. Interestingly enough, the late-great Greg Lake from E, L&P plays the bass on this track with the band, so it somewhat comes to a circle.   Hear Nutrocker on YouTube.       My song pick 1 year ago today: Bobby Helms - Jingle Bell Rock   My song pick 2 years ago today: The Brecker Brothers With Steve Khan - The Christmas Waltz ...

From: Poets and Madmen ; Year: 2001; Genre: Power Metal/Progressive Metal I had Savatage's Poets and Madmen on my mind today, you know the rest.... Unless I'm mistaken, this was the "swansong" for the band, and they really went out on a high note with it. Although, technically the band did continue as both Trans-Siberian Orchestra and Jon Oliva's Pain, but there was something special about Savatage. This track comes towards the end of the story told throughout the album and is definitely a highlight; the verses in particular with Johnny Lee Middleton's bass and Jeff Plate's drums really sets the mood especially when they launch into the chorus.   Hear Awaken on YouTube.       My song pick 1 year ago today: Rush - Cut to the Chase   My song pick 2 years ago today: Funkadelic - Tales of Kidd Funkadelic (Opusdelite Years)   My song pick 3 years ago today: The Moody Blues - No More Lies My song pick 4 years ago today: 3 Inches of Blood - Wykydtron My so...

From: Hall of the Mountain King ; Year: 1987; Genre: Progressive Metal/Power Metal Needed some more Savatage today, more specifically material from their Hall of the Mountain King album. This one fits in nicely with with its brethren on the record with excellent musicianship throughout in this progressive metal classic.   Hear Legions on YouTube.       My song pick 1 year ago today: Gerry And The Pacemakers - Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying   My song pick 2 years ago today: Steely Dan - I Got the News   My song pick 3 years ago today: Tarja Turunen - Undertaker My song pick 4 years ago today: Earth, Wind & Fire - Happy Feelin' My song pick 5 years ago today: The Fabulous Flee-Rakkers - Green Jeans My song pick 6 years ago today: Aerosmith - F.I.N.E. My song pick 7 years ago today: Coven - Lost Without a Trace My song pick 8 years ago today: Fairport Convention - Autopsy My song pick 9 years ago today: The Police - Every Breath You Tak...

From: Letters from the Labyrinth ; Year: 2015; Genre: Symphonic Metal Needed something a different for today's pick. This one from the latest of TSO album uses a lot from Modest Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain , but in a very metal way, which is not too far off from the original I suppose. Modest Mussorgsky's works are very "metal" in the imagery, music, and subject matter.   Hear Mountain Labyrinth on YouTube.         My song pick 1 year ago today: David Bowie - Star   My song pick 2 years ago today: Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) - Standing in the Rain My song pick 3 years ago today: David Bowie - Five Years My song pick 4 years ago today: Queen - Tenement Funster/Flick of the Wrist/Lily of the Valley My song pick 5 years ago today: Don Henley - Sunset Grill My song pick 6 years ago today: Bad Company - No Smoke Without a Fire My song pick 7 years ago today: Freddy Taylor and His Swing Men from Harlem - Viper's Dream My song pick 8 year...

From: Christmas Eve and Other Stories ; Year: 1996; Genre: Christmas Music/Symphonic Rock For me it wouldn't be Christmas time without some TSO to brighten the Holidays. This is a neat little medley of traditional Christmas tunes for vocals and piano.   Hear Prince of Peace on YouTube.       My song pick 1 year ago today: Bob Rivers - Flu Ride   My song pick 2 years ago today: The Pretenders - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas My song pick 3 years ago today: Bob Rivers & Twisted Radio - Didn't I Get This Last Year? My song pick 4 years ago today: Electric Jungle - Funky Funky Christmas My song pick 5 years ago today: Louis Armstrong - Winter Wonderland My song pick 6 years ago today: Joe Cocker - With a Little Help From My Friends My song pick 7 years ago today: Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band - The Little Drummer Boy My song pick 8 years ago today: The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man My song pick 9 years ago today: Trans-Siberian Orc...

From: Edge of Thorns ; Year: 1993; Genre: Metal This is one of my favourites from Savatage's Edge of Thorns album. I love how dynamic this song is with the light piano and vocals throughout the first half and then kicking into the hard metal section; I also like how they bring it back down at the end.   Hear All That I Bleed on YouTube.       My song pick 1 year ago today: Yes - The Remembering/High the Memory   My song pick 2 years ago today: Alphaville - Sounds Like a Melody My song pick 3 years ago today: The Spencer Davis Group - Keep On Running My song pick 4 years ago today: Blue Öyster Cult - Searchin' for Celine My song pick 5 years ago today: Queen - Thank God It's Christmas My song pick 6 years ago today: Faster Pussycat - House of Pain My song pick 7 years ago today: Dire Straits - Skateaway My song pick 8 years ago today: Charlie Parker & Dizzy Gillespie - Bloomdido My song pick 9 years ago today: Molly Hatchet - One Man's Pleas...

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: Edge of Thorns ; Year: 1993; Genre: Hard Rock/Progressive Metal This is a rather pretty interlude from this great album; the guitar and keyboard work really shine on this one. Hear Labyrinths on YouTube. My song pick 1 year ago today: Jethro Tull - To Cry You a Song My song pick 2 years ago today: Gentle Giant - All Through the Night My song pick 3 years ago today: Duran Duran - Save a Prayer My song pick 4 years ago today: Men Without Hats - Safety Dance My song pick 5 years ago today: "Weird Al" Yankovic - The Saga Begins My song pick 6 years ago today: The Moody Blues - Ride My See-Saw My song pick 7 years ago today: Hawkwind - Angela Android My song pick 8 years ago today: The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Manic Depression My song pick 9 years ago today: Jon Oliva's Pain - Through the Eyes of the King My song pick 10 years ago today: Nora Bayes - The Japanese Sandman My song pick 11 years ago today: Queen - We Will Rock You/We Are the ...

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: Edge of Thorns ; Year: 1993; Genre: Progressive Metal My playlist has been randomly choosing a lot of Savatage lately; I heard some from this album yesterday and thought I'd pick this song, which was heavily on my mind for some reason. I absolutely love tracks like this in which not only do you get great music, but deep lyrics with a lot of meaning. Hear Skraggy's Tomb on YouTube. My song pick 1 year ago today: Manfred Mann's Earth Band - Countdown My song pick 2 years ago today: a-ha - The Blood that Moves the Body My song pick 3 years ago today: Mr. Bungle - Carousel My song pick 4 years ago today: Tears for Fears - Cold My song pick 5 years ago today: Clarence Carter - Patches My song pick 6 years ago today: Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) - 21st Century Man My song pick 7 years ago today: "Weird Al" Yankovic - Dare to be Stupid My song pick 8 years ago today: AC/DC - It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' R...

From: The Lost Christmas Eve ; Year: 2004; Genre: Progressive Metal/Christmas Music Saturday before Christmas it is. I normally like to visit something from TSO this time of year and thought I'd go with this rendition of the timeless Christmas Carol. Hear What Child is This on YouTube. My song pick 1 year ago today: Dropkick Murphys - The Season's Upon Us My song pick 2 years ago today: Emerson, Lake & Palmer - Nutrocker My song pick 3 years ago today: Trans-Siberian Orchestra - O Come All Ye Faithful/O Holy Night My song pick 4 years ago today: Bob Rivers - Holidaze My song pick 5 years ago today: Bob Rivers - Aquaclaus My song pick 6 years ago today: The Honeycombs - Have I the Right? My song pick 7 years ago today: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Christmas All Over Again My song pick 8 years ago today: Rush - Tears My song pick 9 years ago today: Sylvia - Drifter My song pick 10 years ago today: Cheech & Chong - Santa Claus and His ...

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: Hall of the Mountain King ; Year: 1987; Genre: Power Metal/Progressive Metal After hearing one from Hall of the Mountain King earlier this morning it got me in the mood to hear some more. Kind of strange that I have yet to choose this one, but I like a lot of Savatage's material, so I guess I'm just getting around to it. 😁 Hear Strange Wings on YouTube. My song pick one year ago today: Bay City Rollers - Saturday Night My song pick two years ago today: Luther - It's Good for the Soul (Parts I & II) My song pick three years ago today: Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child 'o Mine My song pick four years ago today: Charles Blackwell Orchestra - Taboo My song pick five years ago today: Yes - South Side of the Sky My song pick six years ago today: Pallas - Eastwest My song pick seven years ago today: Finntroll - Ursvamp My song pick eight years ago today: Eric Burdon & the Animals - Sky Pilot My song pick nine years ago today: The Ro...

From: Christmas Eve and Other Stories ; Year: 1996; Genre: Progressive Metal/Christmas Music Well, it's here: Merry Christmas all! I thought I should pick at least one serious song for the Christmas season. This apropos original work from Paul O'Neil and Jon Oliva just seemed absolutely perfect for today's pick. Hear This Christmas Eve on YouTube. My song pick one year ago today: Bob Rivers - Joy to the World My song pick two years ago today: The Jive Turkeys - Get Down Santa My song pick three years ago today: John Lennon & Yoko Ono and The Plastic Ono Band - Happy X-Mas (War Is Over) My song pick four years ago today: Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Midnight Clear My song pick five years ago today: Jethro Tull - A Winter Snowscape My song pick six years ago today: Elvis Presley - Blue Christmas My song pick seven years ago today: Steeleye Span - Gaudete My song pick eight years ago today: Ian Anderson - A Birthday Card At Christmas My song pi...