2013 CD Reviews - Oliva - Raise The Curtain

When it comes time to talk about Jon Oliva, you invariably make your way through the thirty years he's been on the scene. You'll find yourself talking about Avatar (the band, not that gawd-awful movie). Metal fans with a discerning palette will champion Savatage and there are those that will challenge you with the far heavier Doctor Butcher. Some music fans will talk about Oliva's work with the creation of Trans-Siberian Orchestra. And then there is Jon Oliva's Pain.

Then, when you listen to Raise The Curtain, you will hear the influences of all those musical entities combined into a sparkling gem of a solo debut.

Using his last name as the moniker for the release of his first ever solo album, Jon Oliva manages to craft a slate of tracks that vary in style, tempo and tone. Yet they all fit together in a way that leaves the listener wanting more.

Why a solo album after all this time? As explained in the press materials, Oliva was left at a crossroads with the Jon Oliva's Pain project when his longtime guitarist and friend Matt LaPorte passed away.

Another friend of his, Dan Fasciano invited him to his home studio and the two began what turned into Raise The Curtain. In a way, the album serves as a bit of wish fulfillment for Oliva. He plays the majority of the music - including his first foray as lead guitarist - and provides the vocals. Fasciano makes appearances on piano and keyboards, in addition to co-writing 5 songs on the disc. Christopher Kinder, the JOP drummer makes an appearance while Jim Morris has some guitar parts.

The album also fulfills the vow Jon made to release every last bit of music he had written and recorded with his brother Criss. Criss Oliva died 20 years ago and was the lead guitarist for Savatage. He was a phenomenal talent, criminally overlooked during his life. His contributions include credits as a co-writer on five of this CD's tracks.

The design layout for the album booklet is fantastic. There's a brief essay from Jon Oliva as well as the song lyrics. Also notable is that the art throughout the album's packaging is outstanding.

Okay, enough with the build up, let's talk about the music!

The disc opens with the title track. It is one of two songs that wouldn't be out of place in some kind of Broadway stage show. In fact, "Raise The Curtain" serves as the overture piece of the disc. It has a more rocking vibe than most songs of the type, but the mostly instrumental piece (the song title does get repeated throughout) sets the stage for the rest of the eclectic mix of songs.

After that set up, Oliva immediately switches speeds and launches into one of three songs he wrote solo for the disc. The track is called "Soul Chaser" and it features Oliva at his raspy edged vocal best. It's a pulse pounding rocker that fires the blood of the listener both easily and continuously. This is a metal track similar to what you might hear from his Doctor Butcher CD but with more melody.

The second and final track that gives off that Broadway vibe is "Ten Years" (one of the Criss Oliva co-writes). It is also one of two songs - the other being "Armageddon" - where Savatage fans will quite clearly hear musical phrasing that harkens back to that band's music. In the song, there is a "step lively" beat and rhythm to the song, sort of a hard rock song and dance man vibe if you will.

"Father Time" stands out as more of a classic rock or progressive rock of the 1970's type song. You can check out the official lyric video for the song below. The keyboards play a heavy role in the feel of the song and more than once I actually thought this one would fit on a Deep Purple CD rather easily.

While Oliva has the perfect edge to his voice in the rocker tracks, he also demonstrates a great touch of restraint and a clear vocal sound on songs like "I Know" and "Soldier". The former is a very methodically paced song where Oliva's vocals are restrained yet retain all of his power at the same time. As for the latter, according to the liner notes, it is "dedicated to all members of the military past, present and future. Thank you for your service and extreme sacrifice".

The cynical among us might groan and assume that the song is some kind of wishy washy little ditty that makes you reach for the skip button. But you know what they say when you assume...

Instead what you get is a wonderful song that doesn't pander and is genuinely moving.

The album closer is co-written by Jon and Criss Oliva. It's a short two minute "bonus" track with Jon delivering another clean vocal performance. It accomplishes more in those two minutes than some bands could hope to craft in a 20 minute epic.

Over the years, Oliva has been quite adept at vocally portraying some particularly evil characters. He's been a disreputable arms dealer and even Satan among others. His unique vocal presence helped form those characters and make them stand out. And he does it again on Raise The Curtain with the song "Stalker". His gritty vocal sound makes the character come to life and you feel the unease you would expect if actually dealing with a stalker of your own.

Now, I've mentioned how you hear echoes of his past recordings in various songs on the disc. But what makes this album so successful is that Oliva manages to pay homage to his past without being overburdened by it. The echoes are there but they are combined into something entirely new and serve in a different way for Oliva's needs.

I've listened to Jon Oliva's work for years. I've seen him live and even met him once. And yet somehow, I never know exactly what to expect from him with each successive release.

What I got this time out was a trip the light fantastic masterpiece. Raise The Curtain raises the bar for Oliva and will leave fans both old and new gasping in appreciation for an artist that found the mark in ways likely unexpected. Whatever the goal was for Oliva, he reached it and surpassed it.

How good is Raise The Curtain? I've been listening to it for two weeks now and I've yet to come close to being tired of even a single track on the album. The album sets the benchmark for the year in rock and metal.