Gutter Ballet

Gutter Ballet

Track Listings

1. Of Rage and War

2. Gutter Ballet

3. Temptation Revelation

4. When the Crowds Are Gone

5. Silk and Steel

6. She's in Love

7. Hounds

8. Unholy

9. Mentally Yours

10. Summer's Rain

11. Thorazine Shuffle [*]

Tracks:

Of Rage and War
Gutter Ballet
Temptation Revelation
When the Crowds are Gone
Silk and Steel
She's in Love
Hounds
The Unholy
Mentally Yours
Summer's Rain
Thorazine Shuffle

Album Description

1997 reissue on Edel of their 1989 Concrete album with anacoustic version of 'All That I Bleed' added as a bonustrack, for a total of 12 selections.

Album Details

Includes Never Before Released Bonus Track 'all that I Bleed'.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting prologue to "Streets".......2006-08-02

I always thought Savatage reached their creative peek with "Streets" even though they released some excellent albums following that. No matter what, "Gutter Ballet" is a very interesting album that serves as an introduction to what was about to come. The songs are not yet fully orchestrated and lack the elements of "Streets" and afterwards Savatage but that doesn't make them bad. Very interesting moments on the album are the title track, "When the Crowds are Gone", "Hounds" and "Thorazine Shuffle". I can't say much about this album rather than if you like Savatage you'll probably like this one as well. Again if you're a fan of progressive/power metal, this is one of the best in the genre so get this one...

Of Rage and War.......2006-07-03

Gutter Ballet marks a real turning point for Savatage. Their previous album Hall of the Mountain King was a triumphant return to form, but Gutter Ballet was the beginning of something new and exciting.

This is where producer extraordinaire Paul O'Neill's influence would truly be felt. While Gutter Ballet still retained the power metal sound Savatage was known for (and after Fight for the Rock, you know they weren't giving that up again), the band was developing a grander, almost theatrical style, incorporating progressive elements, powerful instrumentals and finally making use of Jon Oliva's monster keyboard talents.

The best example of this new direction is right after the album opener. The three song block of Gutter Ballet, Temptation Revelation, and When the Crowds Are Gone shows exactly what the more mature Savatage is capable of. The album isn't perfect. Songs like She's In Love and Mentally Yours are not of the same quality as the rest, but overall Gutter Ballet is truly exceptional, and is rightly viewed as a classic metal album.

The best part is that as good as Gutter Ballet is, the band's next album is even better. So is the one after that. And the one after that. They just keep getting better.

NOTE: While the standard version of Gutter Ballet is a bargain at $9.98, you may want to spend a few more dollars on the German import reissue by SPV. It hasn't been remastered, but the 2002 SPV reissue does have a few extras that make it a better buy. It features 2 additional tracks - live versions of Hounds and When the Crowds Are Gone, but the real bonus is that the liner notes have been expanded to include several pages of very detailed information about the band during this particular stage of their career. When added to the chapters from the other SPV Savatage reissues, you'll get the real story behind one of the best (and most underrated) metal bands of all time.

How was I missing this band? :-|.......2006-03-25

"Oh my God! Jon Oliva is a monster singer!" -- was the sentence constantly hitting my mind while listening to this album. Yes, this is my first Savatage album. Should I cry or laugh? Well, whatever I'd do now I have some more material to consume, and man how good it is! It's SOOO good! In few words, Savatage is a pompous, aggressive, dramatic and sonically greedy band that can deliver the most lyrical and the rawest music at the same time. In addition, Chris Oliva is an amazing guitar player. He's able of both shredding and making the axe sing, as well as riffing like the best out there. What else can I say? I'm so excited with this album that I'm just speechless. Being a newbie to the band I know I'm just scratching the surface, but I had to write a review anyway to share with someone all my enthusiasm and fascination. What an incredible music! Their control of the dynamics, their rage, their excellent lyrics, their melodies and everything in them is SOOO GREAT! But again, Jon Oliva leaves me hands down, totally breathless... The guy sings with a rare passion, like barely hitting some notes here while showcasing an ultra-wide range there. He is just metal expressiveness incarnated into one person. Talk about deliverance and talk about emotional power! So, if you already knew this band, you're really really lucky. If you don't, please do yourself a favor and start buying their albums right now -- as I'll certainly do. Once more, I'm new to them so I don't know which album is the best or the worst, but now at least I know that when you're talking about Savatage you're talking about high quality heavy metal. Five huge, brilliant stars!

A Turning Point For The 'Tage.......2005-11-18

With Gutter Ballet, Savatage began to add more piano and pomp to their music. The songs became more orchestrated and lost some of the heaviness found on earlier albums. But despite that there are some very good songs on this album and guitarist Criss Oliva is able to shine on several tracks. My favorite songs are Gutter Ballet, Temptation Revelation (piano and guitar), When The Crowds Are Gone (excellent vocals by Jon), Silk & Steel (acoustic guitar), Hounds (haunting heavy rocker), and Summer's Rain (a good ballad). Their next album, Streets, continued in this direction and I think it is a little better than GB. But being a huge Savatage fan I think all of the albums featuring the Oliva brothers should be in your collection!

Gutter Rocks!.......2005-02-27

First off, If you like Savatage(any era) YOU MUST OWN THIS CD!!!

Honestly, if it weren't for this cd I never would've gotten into them. I Had heard Hall of the Mountain king and liked 2 songs "Strange Wings" and "HOTMK" from that album but when I 1st heard "Gutter Ballet" I was hooked! I mean coming out 1989 and remaining timeless is a feat within itself! I mean how many other bands from the late 80's do you still listen to? Jon And Criss Oliva Are at their best on this cd if you want a mix of Hard Rockers and very progressive music. The only song that doesn't sit well with me is "She's in Love" it's pretty much an ode to all the hard rock songs of that era. but the rest of the album is totally awesome and Jon's voice is amazing compared to their earlier material.
On a side note you should take another listen to "Gutter Ballet" and "When the Crowds are Gone" as Jon played all the drums and Criss played the bass on these 2 tracks! As Johnny Lee and Doc had already went back home to Florida when they decided to record these tracks.

GUTTER BALLET IS A MASTERPIECE!

Average customer rating:

Of Rage and War

Gutter Ballet

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Progressive Metal | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

Hard Rock & Metal | Imports | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Edge of Thorns
Streets-a Rock Opera
Hall of the Mountain King
Handful of Rain
Power of the Night

ASIN: B000066I5V
Release Date: 2002-06-10

Tracks:

Of Rage And War
Gutter Ballet
Temptation Revelation (Instrumental)
When The Crowds Are Gone
Silk And Steel
Shes In Love
Hounds
The Unholy
Mentally Yours
Summers Rain
Thorazine Shuffle
Hounds (Live) (Bonus Track)
When The Crowds Are Gone (Live) (Bonus Track)

Album Description

2002 reissue of the U.S. metal act's 1989 album with 2 added bonus tracks 'Hounds' (live) & 'When The Crowds Are Gone' (recorded live at the Hollywood Palace 6/29/90). Steamhammer Records.

Customer Reviews:

Of Rage and War.......2006-05-29

Gutter Ballet marks a real turning point for Savatage. Their previous album Hall of the Mountain King was a triumphant return to form, but Gutter Ballet was the beginning of something new and exciting.

This is where producer extraordinaire Paul O'Neill's influence would truly be felt. While Gutter Ballet still retained the power metal sound Savatage was known for (and after Fight for the Rock, you know they weren't giving that up again), the band was developing a grander, almost theatrical style, incorporating progressive elements, powerful instrumentals and finally making use of Jon Oliva's monster keyboard talents.

The best example of this new direction is right after the album opener. The three song block of Gutter Ballet, Temptation Revelation, and When the Crowds Are Gone shows exactly what the more mature Savatage is capable of. The album isn't perfect. Songs like She's In Love and Mentally Yours are not of the same quality as the rest, but overall Gutter Ballet is truly exceptional, and is rightly viewed as a classic metal album.

The best part is that as good as Gutter Ballet is, the band's next album is even better. So is the one after that. And the one after that. They just keep getting better.

Gutter Ballet has not been remastered, but the 2002 SPV reissue does have a few extras that might make you consider replacing your older version. It features 2 additional tracks - live versions of Hounds and When the Crowds Are Gone, but the real bonus is that the liner notes have been expanded to include several pages of very detailed information about the band during this particular stage of their career. When added to the chapters from the other SPV Savatage reissues, you'll get the real story behind one of the best (and most underrated) metal bands of all time.