Ghost in the Ruins - A Tribute to Criss Oliva

This live album in memory of Criss Oliva, who died in 1993, gathers thirteen tracks from American shows of 1987 to 1990. It came out first in Japan, on 22 November 1995, as Final Bell (Zero Corporation XRCN-1257); according to the band's old official news pages, the European release under the title Ghost in the Ruins followed in 1996 on SPV's Fresh Fruit label, and the American one on Nuclear Blast America in 2000. The players are Jon Oliva (vocals, keyboards), Criss Oliva (guitar), Chris Caffery (guitar), Johnny Lee Middleton (bass) and Steve "Doc" Wacholz (drums). Paul O'Neill produced it with Jon as co-producer. In September 1995 Jon was mixing it in New York, and the working titles were "Final Bell" and "Live Devastation", as the old site's news recorded. Each track names where it was recorded: Cleveland in 1987, Philadelphia and Long Island in 1988, and New York, Brooklyn and Los Angeles in 1990. "Criss Intro" is Criss's guitar solo, and the closing "Post Script" comes from a soundcheck at the Palace in Los Angeles. When earMUSIC issued the album on vinyl for the first time in 2023, Jon said that deep down it bothered Criss not to get the recognition he deserved, though he would shrug it off, as Blabbermouth reported. The running order here is the original's as printed.