Poets and Madmen
Poets and Madmen is Savatage's eleventh studio album, released on 5 March 2001 through Steamhammer. It sits at the meeting point of heavy, progressive and power metal, and it was the last record the band made before a hiatus that ran from 2002 to 2014. The loose concept draws on the career and death of the journalist Kevin Carter, though the lyrics lean far less on narrative than the two Paul O'Neill rock operas before it, Dead Winter Dead and The Wake of Magellan. Edgar Jerins, who painted those earlier sleeves, drew the cover again.
The line-up shifts are what make it interesting. Jon Oliva takes lead vocals on every track, the first time since Streets: A Rock Opera in 1991, following Zachary Stevens' amicable exit. Chris Caffery plays most of the solos after Al Pitrelli left for Megadeth, though Pitrelli still features on "Morphine Child", "The Rumor" and "Commissar". "Morphine Child" is the band's longest song, at over ten minutes.
Poets and Madmen: tracklist and credits
12 tracks · 1:07:08Tracklist
- 1Stay With Me AwhileCaffery, O’Neill, Oliva5:06
- 2There in the SilenceCaffery, O’Neill, Oliva4:57
- 3CommissarCaffery, O’Neill, Oliva5:37
- 4I Seek PowerCaffery, O’Neill, Oliva6:03
- 5DriveCaffery, O’Neill, Oliva3:17
- 6Morphine ChildCaffery, O’Neill, Oliva10:13
- 7The RumorCaffery, O’Neill, Oliva5:16
- 8Man in the MirrorCaffery, O’Neill, Oliva5:57
- 9SurrenderPaul O’Neill and Jon Oliva6:40
- 10AwakenO’Neill, Caffery, Oliva3:24
- 11Back to a ReasonPaul O’Neill and Jon Oliva6:06
- 12Jesus Saves (live)O’Neill, Oliva, Oliva4:30
- Produced by
- Paul O’Neill, Jon Oliva, Jon Oliva
- Recorded at
- Soundtrack Studios, Studio 900, Soundtrack Studios and Studio 900 (overdubs), New York City
- Recorded
- 1999–2000
- Mixed by
- Dave Wittman
- Mixed at
- Soundtrack Studios
- Engineered by
- Robert Kinkel, Dave Wittman
- Labels
- Steamhammer, SPV/Steamhammer, Nuclear Blast America (US only)
- Length
- 1:07:08
Line-up
- Chris Caffery · electric guitar, background vocals
- Robert Kinkel · keyboard, background vocals
- Johnny Lee Middleton · electric bass guitar, background vocals
- Jon Oliva · keyboard, lead vocals
- Al Pitrelli · electric guitar · guest
- Jeff Plate · drums (drum set), background vocals
- John West · background vocals
Singles
- “Commissar” · 5 February 2001
From MusicBrainz and Wikipedia. Only what the sources record is shown.
Released the same week
Also released on 5 March
Every year →
More from Savatage
Full discography →
The best of 2001
All of 2001 →
More on Steamhammer
The label →
How we know the release date wikipedia 2001-03-05; musicbrainz + wikidata 2001-04-03 (29 days apart, likely another territory)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 3 April 2001 | ignored lone early release dated 2001-03-05 |
| Wikipedia infobox | 5 March 2001 | |
| Wikidata | 3 April 2001 | |
| US release | 3 April 2001 | earliest US date |
7 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | DE | Steamhammer | 4001617721506 | other |
| 2001 | BR | Laser Records | 7898181122764 | other |
| 5 March 2001 | DE | Steamhammer | 4001617721520 | original |
| 3 April 2001 | US | Nuclear Blast | 727361661823 | other |
| 5 April 2001 | JP | Steamhammer | 4988007175739 | other |
| 9 December 2011 | DE | earMUSIC | 4029759072966 | other |
| 9 December 2011 | — | earMUSIC | 4029759072966 | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 225×225 | upscaled |