Poets and Madmen

Infobox Album
Name = Poets and Madmen
Type = Album
Artist = Savatage


Released = April 3, 2001
Recorded = 2000 - 2001
Genre = Heavy metal
Length = 62:36
Label = Nuclear Blast Records SPV/Steamhammer Records
Producer = Paul O'Neill Jon Oliva
Reviews = * Allmusic Rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:j4rn281i058a~T00 link]
Last album = "Believe" (1998)
This album = "Poets and Madmen" (2001)
Next album =
Misc = singles
Name = Poets and Madmen
Type = studio
single 1 = Commissar
single 1 date = 2001-02-05

"Poets and Madmen" is a heavy metal album released in 2001 by the band Savatage, the band's eleventh full-length release overall. The album has a loose concept based around real life journalist Kevin Carter, but has much less narrative in the lyrics than the previous two rock operas ("Dead Winter Dead" and "The Wake of Magellan") Savatage recorded. Everything said in the album is fiction, except with regards to what is sung about Carter . The album is also noted as it is the only Savatage album to not feature a title song from the album, although the lyric "Poets and Madmen" is featured on the track "Symmetry" from the band's 1994 album, "Handful of Rain".

The album was the first since "" in 1991 to feature the band's original vocalist Jon Oliva on lead vocals for all songs after the amicable departure of Zak Stevens. It is also the first Savatage album to have long time rhythm guitarist Chris Caffery playing the majority of the guitar solos. This is partly due to the departure of Al Pitrelli, who left to join Megadeth prior to the album's release. However, Pitrelli was credited with the outro of "Stay With Me A While", the main solo of "Morphine Child", the main solo of "The Rumor" and the first part of the main solo and the outro of "Commissar"cite web
url = http://www.savatage.com/bandinfo/faq3.html
title = Savatage FAQ, part 2
publisher = Savatage.com
accessdate = 2007-02-08] . US Bonus Track "Shotgun Innocence" was originally a bonus track on the Japanese release of "Edge of Thorns" in 1993 and features Zachary Stevens on lead vocals, and the late Criss Oliva on guitar.

The album cover was drawn by Edgar Jerins, who was responsible for the covers of "Dead Winter Dead", "The Wake of Magellan" and all of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra albums released to date.

Track listing

#"Stay With Me Awhile" (Oliva/O'Neill/Caffery) – 5:06
#"There in the Silence" (Oliva/O'Neill/Caffery) – 4:57
#"Commissar" (Oliva/O'Neill/Caffery) – 5:36
#"I Seek Power" (Oliva/O'Neill/Caffery) – 6:03
#"Drive" (Oliva/O'Neill/Caffery) – 3:16
#"Morphine Child" (Oliva/O'Neill/Caffery) – 10:12
#"The Rumor" (Oliva/O'Neill/Caffery) – 5:16
#"Man in the Mirror" (Oliva/O'Neill/Caffery) – 5:55
#"Surrender" (Oliva/O'Neill) – 6:40
#"Awaken" (Oliva/O'Neill/Caffery) – 3:23
#"Back to a Reason" (Oliva/O'Neill) – 6:10
#"Shotgun Innocence" (Oliva/Oliva/O'Neill) - 3:31 "(US Bonus Track)"

Limited Edition Tracks

*"Jesus Saves" (Live)
*Enhanced CD video of "Handful of Rain"

Personnel

*Jon Oliva – lead vocals & keyboards
*Chris Caffery - lead & rhythm guitars
*Johnny Lee Middleton – bass guitar
*Jeff Plate – drums

Additional musicians

*Zachary Stevens - lead vocals "(Track 12 on US Bonus Edition only)"
*Criss Oliva - guitars "(Track 12 on US Bonus Edition only)"
*Bob Kinkel - additional keyboards & backing vocals
*Al Pitrelli - additional lead guitars "(featured on tracks "Stay With Me Awhile", "Commissar", "Morphine Child" & "The Rumor")"
*John West - backing vocalist

References

External links

* [http://www.savatage.com/bandinfo/albums/poetsandmadmen/pandmstory.html The Story of Poets and Madmen]