{"id":47138,"date":"2014-11-25T21:45:00","date_gmt":"2014-11-26T02:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=47138"},"modified":"2015-01-17T09:50:26","modified_gmt":"2015-01-17T14:50:26","slug":"stever-idiot-savant-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2014\/stever-idiot-savant-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Stever | Idiot Savant<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by John Kindred<\/span>
\n– Publisher —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"KarenStever\u2019s latest studio album Idiot Savant<\/em> finally has seen the light of day. The 12-track studio album is a concept record that tells the story of 9-year-old Ian, an \u201cidiot savant,\u201d who has a special bond with animals. Set in the 1930s, a time when those with handicaps suffered because science was limited in understanding the mind. Ian\u2019s story is one of limitation in which the world sees him as an idiot and cannot see his brilliance. It parallels the trials and tribulations of many people, even in this day and age of technological advancement, yet truly understanding the complete workings of the mind continues to elude us. <\/p>\n

Stever takes aim at launching a movement to regain our passions and hopes for us to stop the suffering of our children to our hopeless lives. In her own words, Stever describes her thoughts on the subject, \u201c\u2026 it\u2019s dark, it\u2019s ugly with glimmers of hope \u2026 the message is that no child should be defeated by our system, have their dreams become their nightmare \u2026 My hope with Idiot Savant is to inspire others to THRIVE. My hope is not to have some trendy viral event, but a solid life-changing experience where we reunite with who we really are and get back to the things we are passionate about.\u201d<\/em> <\/p>\n

The entire conceptual idea came from the lyrics from the classic rock group Supertramp. Driven by Rodger Hudson\u2019s poignant lyrics, Stever draws forth the parallels of our daily lives compared to the lyrics, as we are programmed to follow society\u2019s life script of the common man:<\/p>\n

“Logical Song”
\nWhen I was young, it seemed that life was so wonderful,
\na miracle, oh it was beautiful, magical.
\nAnd all the birds in the trees, well they’d be singing so happily,
\njoyfully, playfully watching me.
\nBut then they send me away to teach me how to be sensible,
\nlogical, responsible, practical.
\nAnd they showed me a world where I could be so dependable,
\nclinical, intellectual, cynical.<\/p>\n

There are times when all the world’s asleep,
\nthe questions run too deep
\nfor such a simple man.
\nWon’t you please, please tell me what we’ve learned
\nI know it sounds absurd
\nbut please tell me who I am.<\/p>\n

Now watch what you say or they’ll be calling you a radical,
\nliberal, fanatical, criminal.
\nWon’t you sign up your name, we’d like to feel you’re
\nacceptable, respectable, presentable, a vegetable!<\/p>\n

At night, when all the world’s asleep,
\nthe questions run so deep
\nfor such a simple man.
\nWon’t you please, please tell me what we’ve learned
\nI know it sounds absurd
\nbut please tell me who I am<\/p>\n

Idiot Savant<\/em> was written and co-produced by Stever and Frank Gryner, known for his work on Rob Zombie\u2019s Sinister Urge<\/em> and Hellbilly Deluxe<\/em> studio albums. Musically, the album is a theatric opus that recalls albums like Bigelf\u2019s Cheat the Gallow<\/em>, Sixx A.M.\u2019s Heroin Diaries<\/em> or Gary Hughes\u2019 Once and Future King Part 1 and 2<\/em>. The music is bold, dramatic and provides plenty of dynamic interplay between the instruments, while telling the story through Stever\u2019s poetic prose.<\/p>\n

Stever offers listeners an emotional vocal performance. While the music is mainly Hard Rock, the influence of the \u201830s is stamped on the songs. It\u2019s also present within the vocal melodies. Stever\u2019s voice is mature, strong and commanding; it\u2019s difficult to compare her to anyone else. She shines throughout the album, but her performance on \u201cJuggernaut,\u201d \u201cGreen\u201d and the closer \u201cCrushing Copper\u201d are highlights on the CD.<\/p>\n

Sonically, Idiot Savant<\/em> offers a lavish production, complete with the standard bass, drums, guitars and layered with string arrangements and piano melodies. Stever and Gryner bring a bombastic explosion of instrumentation into the fray. Gryner\u2019s production skills are a huge asset to the overall presentation of the music, which is crisp and clear. The gang-choir layered vocals also are audible and easily discernible in the mix. The production and mix create well-balanced, room-filling sound for your listening pleasure.<\/p>\n

The concept goes beyond the musical realm, as Stever also is penning the book Idiot Savant<\/em>, which is where the album\u2019s track list follows specific moments that correlate to chapters within the pages of the novel. The videos for \u201cGreen\u201d and \u201cJuggernaut\u201d also showcase the creative endeavors of Stever and company, as the visuals are unique and stylistically reinforce the imagery for Idiot Savant<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The psycho-social movement Stever employs us all to return to with Idiot Savant<\/em> is a state of play, in the spirit of childhood innocence. She is not telling us to abandon our responsibilities, but rather recapture our passions, live in the moment and pass that tradition to our children. <\/p>\n

Genre: Orchestral, Hard Rock, Theatric Rock<\/p>\n

Band:
\nKaren Stever \u2013 vocals, string arrangement
\nFrank Gryner \u2013 guitars, bass<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1. Green
\n2. Scatterbrain
\n3. Idiot Savant
\n4. Serinetta
\n5. Juggernaut
\n6. Poking Holes
\n7. Blackguard
\n8. Jacquerie
\n9. Full Length Mirror
\n10. Wee Bonnie Parker
\n11. Virtuoso
\n12. Crushing Copper<\/p>\n

Label: Independent<\/p>\n

Website: http:\/\/www.karenstever.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 9\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by John Kindred – Publisher — Stever\u2019s latest studio album Idiot Savant finally has seen the light of day. The 12-track studio album is a concept record that tells the story of 9-year-old Ian, an […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":47140,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10848],"tags":[2317,10333,10331,10330,10334],"class_list":{"0":"post-47138","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2014","8":"tag-cd-review","9":"tag-frank-gryner","10":"tag-idiot-savant","11":"tag-karen-stever","12":"tag-stever"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47138"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47138\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}