With 'Streets' 'Savatage' reached the pinnacle of their careers. Based on a musical written by 'Paul O'Neil', the 'Oliva' brothers along with the former, concoct a dramatic concept album based on the story of a drug dealer come rock star's rise to spiritual salvation. The song writing is nothing short of spectacular and the music along with the production is top notch. So why isn't this the best Metal concept album to be released, well it depends on who you ask, as you will find many mixed reviews for 'Streets'. The reason being, if you expect thumping 'Power Metal' like 'The Dungeons are Calling' or 'Hall of the Mountain King' you will be in for a surprised as this release has a very heavy progressive theatrical / Operatic feel. This alienated some of their old school following and although there's plenty of crunch and the usual powerful vocals, this is quite different to their early material.

The title track opens this comprehensive undertaking in a slightly different manner to the rest of the album and harks back to their earlier more uncompromising style. A children's choir hauntingly opens, which in turn gives way to 'Jon Oliva's' crunching vocals, this is braced by menacing rhythm work and some glorious guitar licks by the late 'Criss Oliva' and not forgetting, shrewd keyboard work which adds to the atmosphere. Continuing after a short narrative is one of the albums best tracks the pulsating 'Jesus Saves', a riff driven gem, fuelled by tasty guitar solos and 'Jon Oliva' demolishing the powerful lyrics. The mood changes with the sorrowful 'Tonight he Grins Again', a sad tale with a theatrical feel, vocally 'Jon Oliva' puts plenty of emotion behind the lyrics and is well supported, this opposes the second half of the track 'Strange Reality' which is faster, more uplifting and holds a fine grooving riff throughout- checkout the sweet instrumental break, unusual but exquisite. Very contrasting is 'A Little to Far' an operatic sounding piano and vocal number, which although displays some great work by 'Jon Oliva', is a pretty subtle piece and in no way resembles Metal. Following on is the short lightweight rocker 'You're Alive', a fairly tame offering, which succeeds in continuing the albums concept. This is countered by the aggressive thrasher 'Sammy and Tex' a cracking fast pace belter, full of glorious fret work as 'Criss Oliva' displays the sort of guitaring he was never credited for, the vocals as with all the tracks is potent yet melodic. The tempo drops considerable for the first half of the ballad 'St. Patrick's', eventually the pace is lifted but this overall is a bit light, despite the fine mid track pick-up. A tad more crunch is felt on the darker sounding 'Can you Hear me Now', an undercurrent of menace is concocted by superb heavy drum and bass work courtesy of 'Steve Wacholz' and 'Johnny Lee Middleton', this combines with beautiful free flowing guitars for another highlight. 'New York City don't mean Nothing' is all about contrast, it kicks off as an acoustic ballad but rapidly picks up into a powerful plodder, 'Jon Oliva' delivers the excellent lyrics with his usual gravel and is well supported by the rhythm section, his brother delivers some of his best soloing. It's on the next track that he really shines though, 'Ghost in the Ruins' is all 'Criss Oliva', he delivers a stellar performance with delicate licks as well as delightful solos, this track has 'Tage'' written all over it and is just one of many highlights. 'If I go Away' is a superbly penned number that is performed with such emotion it's very moving, the vocals combine with the melodious backdrop for a cracking power ballad. Next up is the chugging gem 'Agony and Ecstasy', while it's not one of the best penned tracks it's back to old school 'Savatage' so it's always going to get my vote, the soaring guitars and vocal are a real treat. Less energetic is 'Heal my Soul' a piece heavily based on a traditional Welsh song, gently executed but a tad depressing and listless for my liking. The penultimate track 'Somewhere In Time' (nothing to do with 'Maiden') is another track that is excellent composed, very theatrical in nature and works as a nice lead to the brilliant 'Believe'. This closing track just oozes so much emotion it's very hard to ignore, 'Jon Oliva' puts on the performance of a life time and sings with such passion it's a pleasure to hear, his brother 'Criss' complements him perfectly with subtle yet splendid guitaring, for a great album closer.

Is 'Streets' their best release? Well I'll leave that for you to decide, personally I put it equal with their last two cracking albums 'Hall of the Mountain King' and 'Gutter Ballet', on one side of the coin there's not as many blazer as with those albums, but 'Streets' has superb slower tracks and magnificent song writing. I don't feel all the songs come off as intended, but the majority do and this goes down as one of the finest Metal concept albums. The re-release version of 'Streets' comes with two bonus live tracks 'Ghost in the Ruins' and 'Jesus Saves' both sound very similar to their studio counterparts and therefore are excellent versions.