It's been 14 years since Trans-Siberian Orchestra debuted with the single "Christmas Eve (Sarajevo/1224)," inspiring generations of fans to rediscover the multi-dimensional art form of the rock opera.
TSO has sold more than seven million copies of its first four rock operas -- 1996's CHRISTMAS EVE & OTHER STORIES, 1998's THE CHRISTMAS ATTIC, BEETHOVEN'S LAST NIGHT in 2000 and 2004's THE LOST CHRISTMAS EVE. On the road, meanwhile, they have become one of the world's top touring acts, with a $20 million-plus production that by 2008 played to over 5 million people in 80+ cities, selling more than $230 million worth of tickets. And, oh yeah, there was that crazy beer ad with the insanely decorated Christmas house whose lights were synced to TSO's "Wizards in Winter."
Now TSO is taking us to a bold and exciting new place -- NIGHT CASTLE.
"Our fans have been unbelievably patient," TSO founder, producer and writer Paul O'Neill says -- and that's an understatement. O'Neill and company began working on NIGHT CASTLE in 2005, after all, and every year since he's found himself answering questions about when it would be finished. "It definitely got out of control," O'Neill says with a laugh. TSO even released the NIGHT CASTLE track "Night Enchanted" via Amazon.com in 2008 just to show fans that new music really was being created.
But the wait was worth it.
A sweeping two-disc set whose 26 songs embrace hard rock theatrics, classical majesty, operatic beauty and chorale richness, NIGHT CASTLE is TSO's ultimate creative statement, a transcendent and enveloping experience built upon a gripping story with a resonant and timely message. As with its predecessors, the characters and narrative are sharply drawn and woven into the genre-splicing soundscape, conveying a wide gamut of emotions right up until the final twist at the tale's end.
"I've always believed that music has the power to transport," O'Neill explains. "The original concept of Trans-Siberian Orchestra was how to make music have the most emotional impact. We always try to write melodies so they're so infectious they don't need lyrics and lyrics so poetic and cutting they'll stand up in poetry books, but when you hear the two together you create an alloy where the sum of the parts is greater than the whole and you cannot imagine them apart."
"I just always want to find a way to make the music more engaging and have a deeper emotional impact."
NIGHT CASTLE also merges O'Neill's high-minded musical ambitions with his keen interest in history, a tale that begins with a chance encounter between a seven-year-old girl and a mysterious stranger from New York City on a beach in California. It's a tale that weaves together light and dark, virtue and fear...and whose details are best revealed by listening to the album itself.
"It's all about redemption and how even good people can make mistakes in life, and it's never too late to change them," O'Neill explains. "It's an album about good and evil and the opportunities you have in life to choose between them. When I was a kid, I used to believe everyone was basically good and, given the opportunity, we basically do the right thing. Then you get a little older and you're like, 'Wow, there are some people doing some really bad things out there.' But there's still a belief that in the end, good always wins, that your life's path is not pre-destined, you can always choose. And that gives us hope."
There was plenty of help in the laboratory, of course. On NIGHT CASTLE, O'Neill gathered his core alchemists -- Jon Oliva, Bob Kinkel, Al Pitrelli and engineering wiz Dave Wittman -- along with other TSO stalwarts such as: guitarists Chris Caffery, Alex Skolnick, Angus Clark and bassist Johnny Lee Middleton; keyboardists Jane Mangini and Derek Wieland; drummers Jeff Plate and John O. Reilly; and a vocal armada including solos by Rob Evan, Jay Pierce, Tim Hockenberry, Jennifer Cella, Alexa Goddard, Valentina Porter and Jeff Scott Soto (of Journey and Yngwie Malmsteen fame).
NIGHT CASTLE'S 68-page booklet, meanwhile, features the artwork of Greg Hildebrandt, who O'Neill notes has "become as much a member of Trans-Siberian Orchestra as any of the musicians."
NIGHT CASTLE also goes beyond the opera to bring fans a set of five "bonus tracks" that "pay tribute to things that have influenced us," according to O'Neill. That includes a rendition of Emerson, Lake & Palmer's "Nutrocker" with Greg Lake guesting on bass, a treatment of Carl Orff's 1930s composition "Carmina Burana" and "Child of the Night," which features Goddard -- who O'Neill notes selflessly volunteered to share vocals on "Night Enchanted" with Valentina Porter simply because the combination of their voices was stronger together than either one was alone.
"That was so much in the spirit of Trans-Siberian Orchestra," O'Neill explains. "This is a group -- a large group -- of very creative and talented people who want to make the best work. With that the possibilities are endless."
When Paul O'Neill first conceived Trans-Siberian Orchestra, his goal was as straightforward as it was ambitious. "The whole idea," he explains, "was to do a progressive rock band that would push the boundaries further than any band before, following in the footsteps of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Pink Floyd, the Who...but take it way, way further."
After a lifetime steeped in Arena Rock, O'Neill was just the man to do it.
The New York native grew up "with a wide-ranging world of musical influences around me," particularly the previously mentioned rock 'n' roll titans. But O'Neill also soaked up sources such as Broadway musicals, Motown and singer-songwriters such as Jim Croce and Harry Chapin, while authors such as Oscar Wilde and Robert Graves fueled his literary tastes. He began his career playing guitar for touring productions of Jesus Christ Superstar and Hair, then went to work in the late 70’s for Leber-Krebs Inc., the Manhattan management company whose clients included Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, AC/DC, Def Leppard, the Scorpions, the New York Dolls and scores of others. In the 80’s, O'Neill became a major promoter in Japan as well, but returned to the States to start writing and producing full-time.
O'Neill helmed Aerosmith's CLASSICS LIVE I and CLASSICS LIVE II albums before beginning a fortuitous relationship with the band Savatage that led to conceptual pieces such as HALL OF THE MOUNTAIN KING, GUTTER BALLET, STREETS: A ROCK OPERA and DEAD WINTER DEAD. It also introduced him to Jon Oliva, Bob Kinkel and Al Pitrelli, who became key original collaborators in O'Neill's grand vision – Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
"I wanted to take the very best of all the forms of music I grew up on and merge them into a new style," O'Neill says. "Basically I was stealing from everybody I worshipped: the rock opera parts from bands like the Who; the marriage of classical and rock from bands like Emerson, Lake & Palmer; the over-the-top light show from bands like Pink Floyd...I always wanted to do a full rock opera with a full progressive band and at least 18 lead singers."
O'Neill took the idea to Lava/Atlantic Records which, to his surprise, went for it. "We were very fortunate," he says. "It was one of the only labels left that still did an old school kind of artist development." He had his own development plans as well; "I decided that we were going to do six rock operas, a trilogy about Christmas and maybe one or two regular albums."
Christmas came first and hit pay dirt. CHRISTMAS EVE AND OTHER STORIES rolled out in 1996 and, fueled by the socially conscious single "Christmas Eve in Sarajevo 12/24," went double platinum, followed by THE CHRISTMAS ATTIC, 1998's platinum entry, and the popular TV special and home video THE LOST CHRISTMAS EVE in 2001. BEETHOVEN'S LAST NIGHT was the first TSO non-holiday project, going gold in 2000, and THE LOST CHRISTMAS EVE in 2004 not only went platinum but scored TSO's highest-ever chart position at No. 26 on the Billboard 200.
But TSO really cemented its following in concert. The group hit the road in 1999, beginning an annual November-December extravaganza that O'Neill takes pride in being "as over the top as we can make it." "We have, two stages -- with pyro, light and lasers -- on both sides of the arena, as well as in the crowd and the best sound we can find...There's no second-class seats at a Trans-Siberian Orchestra show. I want people to walk out of our shows speechless and...still not believing what they have seen was possible."
O'Neill plans to dazzle TSO's fans even more in the future. The new NIGHT CASTLE brings TSO back into the non-holiday world with a sweeping two-discs of genre-blending epics and an affecting story that stretches from the Pacific shore to points beyond. O'Neill and company will give NIGHT CASTLE its due in a live setting -- and that's just one of many multi-media avenues TSO will be exploring in the near future. The details are forming right now; suffice to say that TSO's foreseeable future is a busy one.
"We spend a lot of time planning," O'Neil confesses with a laugh, "and people are always telling me, 'Paul, stop writing and start recording!' It's working out great, though. I feel lucky that it's gone this long and that we get to do what we love for a living. The arts have incredible power, and with that comes incredible responsibility. Someone once said that if you want to change the world, don't become a politician -- write a book, write a great song. I believe in that, and that's what Trans-Siberian Orchestra is about."