Saga

Used to own Saga's first 4 albums on crappy vinyl and sold them off for cash a long time ago; then found a near-complete CD collection used, but didn't buy them for GOD ONLY KNOWS what reason. Finally bit the bullet and ordered them all from CDNow. Usually when this happens, I find stacks of them in the used CD bins the next day, but in this case I've been lucky...haven't seen a one. (In fact, except for Worlds Apart, they've all gone out of print by now.)

I really like the "Chapter" songs they sprinkle through their early albums, even if they are out of order...when you put them all together it makes a pretty good tape! A "Saga of Saga", if you like...

"Saga"

  1. "How Long" (3:58)
  2. "Humble Stance" (5:54)
  3. "Climbing the Ladder" (4:42)
  4. "Will it be You? (Chapter Four)" (7:10)
  5. "Perfectionist" (5:41)
  6. "Give 'em the Money" (4:22)
  7. "Ice Nice" (6:47)
  8. "Tired World (Chapter Six)" (7:08)

A solid debut album, one of my favorites. The choice song here has got to be "The Perfectionist", a cautionary tale about an obsessive-compulsive guy who's so worried about dying without all his affairs in order, he invites all his friends to dinner and poisons them!

"Images at Twilight"

  1. "It's Time (Chapter Three)" (4:01)
  2. "See Them Smile" (3:25)
  3. "Slow Motion" (3:25)
  4. "You're Not Alone" (5:22)
  5. "Take It or Leave It" (3:58)
  6. "Images (Chapter One)" (6:31)
  7. "Hot to Cold" (5:02)
  8. "Mouse in a Maze" (5:41)

COOL album cover, even though the CD kinda ruins the detail. This was the first early Saga album I bought, and I found the music equally as impressive as the artwork -- keyboard-based progressive rock, with "chirpy" guitars and superbly written lyrics. One of the standout tracks, "Mouse in a Maze", contains lyrics so evocative that I swear they explain exactly why my life is so fucked up (and, by extension, how God and the Powers That Be take unholy delight in observing our pathetic failures):

He's a Mouse in a Maze with its so many ways
but there's only one way to get out
He's a Mouse in a Maze and there's so many ways
but there's only one way to get out

Ever-nearing eyes, watching as he tries
To correct that one same mistake
It shouldn't take long, oh where did he go wrong
He's tried so hard it must be his fate
For everybody else is quick, they need no help
Why must it take him so long?
He's been this way before, stares at the final door
The one he's missed each time he's been around

With plenty of advice from all the other mice
Sets up and hopes he's got it straight
His audience will grow, as long as he is slow
They love to watch another man's mistakes!
As more of them arrive, his pattern's more disguised
Confusion seems to cloud his every thought
But he's been this way before, stares at the final door
The one he's missed each time he's been around

He's a Mouse in a Maze with its so many ways
but there's only one way to get out
He's a Mouse in a Maze and there's so many ways
but there's only one way to get out
[Music/lyrics written by J. Chrichton/S. Negus/P. Rochon, copyright Pocket Music. Reprinted without permission.]

(Of course, when I told my high school friend this, he laughed and said I was being silly...hmm, I'll just write that down in my conspiracy notebook...)

"Silent Knight"

  1. "Don't Be Late (Chapter Two)" (6:02)
  2. "What's it Gonna Be?" (4:27)
  3. "Time to Go" (4:20)
  4. "Compromise" (3:20)
  5. "Too Much to Lose (Chapter Seven)" (4:38)
  6. "Help Me Out" (5:50)
  7. "Someone Should" (4:06)
  8. "Careful Where You Step" (4:18)

Another cool album cover, but the music isn't up to par with the rest of their work. "Careful Where You Step" and "Don't Be Late" are excellent songs, but the rest is pretty much forgettable...

"Worlds Apart"

  1. "On the Loose" (4:10)
  2. "Wind Him Up" (5:45)
  3. "Amnesia" (3:10)
  4. "Framed" (5:40)
  5. "Time's Up" (4:15)
  6. "The Interview" (3:50)
  7. "No Regrets (Chapter V)" (4:41)
  8. "Conversations" (4:44)
  9. "No Stranger (Chapter VIII)" (7:04)

The hard-driving "On the Loose" drove the band into the Top 40--in fact, the first place I heard it was on Casey Kasem's Top 40 Countdown, which I used to listen to religiously. The video even got heavy rotation on MTv (this was in 1983 or so, when MTv actually played GOOD music.) "Wind Him Up" was the clincher, though...fantastic song, that one! "Amnesia" is kind of a novelty song, but the heavy, pounding beat makes it work; "Framed", the B-side of "Wind Him Up", is an excellent pseudo-espionage tale...need I say more? This is easily their best album, not a weak song in the bunch. (Well, the mostly instrumental "Conversations" gets a tad boring in parts.) The final track "winds up" (heh) the "Saga of Saga", with a spacey introduction that includes bits and pieces of the first seven "Chapters".

"In Transit" (live album)

  1. "Careful Where You Step" (4:32)
  2. "Don't Be Late" (6:20)
  3. "Humble Stance" (6:06)
  4. "Wind Him Up" (5:48)
  5. "How Long" (3:47)
  6. "No Regrets" (4:21)
  7. "A Brief Case"--instrumental (2:13)
  8. "You're Not Alone" (5:48)
  9. "On the Loose" (5:16)

This album was actually my introduction to early Saga, having taped it off the radio after "On the Loose" became a hit. The song selection is quite a good one, and I followed it (more or less) when filling up the b-side of that cassette I used to record all the "Chapter" songs in order. :) Somehow, though, I forgot about it when upgrading all my records to CDs, until I found this used copy for a mere $2.99.

"Heads or Tales"

  1. "The Flyer" (3:42)
  2. "Cat Walk" (4:24)
  3. "The Sound of Strangers" (4:07)
  4. "The Writing" (4:12)
  5. "Intermission" (5:27)
  6. "Social Orphan" (3:23)
  7. "The Vendetta (Still Helpless)" (3:43)
  8. "Scratching the Surface" (5:15)
  9. "The Pitchman" (5:37)
  10. "Cat Walk"--unabridged (7:44)

No more "Chapter" songs, which may be the reason their sound turned to shit so quickly... This album's actually pretty good, a little more mainstream but still sounding progressive on some tracks. The copy I got (a dirt-cheap Canadian import) has the UNABRIDGED version of "Cat Walk" -- yippee!!

Afterwards, however, they put out a couple albums of SHAMELESS POP MUSIC, "Behaviour" and "Wildest Dreams" -- I bought those CDs a long time ago and just about gagged!! As it turned out, though, both of those were sort of anomalous....

"The Security of Illusion" (CDR + bonus "various" cdr)

    disc one: "Security of Illusions"
  1. "Entracte"--instrumental (1:00)
  2. "Mind Over Matter" (4:40)
  3. "Once is Never Enough" (5:27)
  4. "Alone Again Tonight" (4:16)
  5. "I'll Leave it in Your Hands" (4:41)
  6. "The Security of Illusion" (5:46)
  7. "Stand Up" (4:22)
  8. "Days Like These" (4:48)
  9. "Voila!"--instrumental (1:42)
  10. "No Man's Land" (5:20)
  11. "Without You" (6:26)
    disc two: "Saga: Various"
  1. "Gotta Love It" (4:40)
  2. "As I Am" (5:15)
  3. "Solsbury Hill" (4:38)
  4. "Giant" (7:16)
  5. "Perfect Strangers" (4:25)
  6. "Do It"--instrumental (4:30)
  7. "How Do I Look" (4:34)
  8. "Listen to Your Heart" (3:50)
  9. "Here I Am" (3:34)
  10. "Never Alone" (4:27)
  11. "Shake That Tree" (4:17)
  12. "Walk with You" (4:02)
  13. "Feed the Fire" (4:09)
  14. "Heaven Can Wait" (6:15)
  15. "Welcome to the Zoo" (4:29)

Saga goes power metal?!? What a change! Heavy yet melodic, quite a pleasant surprise. The slower songs are a bit boring, but on the whole, I like this one!

The "Saga: Various" CDR was originally listed as a separate item, but got conflated into one double case to save wall space. This compilation, featuring various stuff recorded between "Heads or Tales" and "Generation 13", is the perfect type of comp, as it's a comprehensive overview of their music, without being so incredible that it forces me to find the original CDs...in any case, "Solsbury Hill", a cover of the Peter Gabriel song, is the most desirable track (it's only available on their Works box set.) "Perfect Strangers", however, is NOT the Deep Purple song!!

"Generation 13"

  1. "Chances Are #1" (1:40)
  2. "Generation 13 (Theme #1)"--instrumental (2:44)
  3. "All Will Change" (1:57)
  4. "The Cross (Home #3)" (4:09)
  5. "Danger Whistle" (0:42)
  6. "Leave Her Alone" (4:34)
  7. "I'll Never Be Like You #1" (0:43)
  8. "My Name is Sam (Finding a Friend)" (0:36)
  9. "The 13th Generation" (4:27)
  10. "The Cross" (2:03)
  11. "The Learning Tree" (4:58)
  12. "I'll Never Be Like You #2" (3:59)
  13. "Snake Oil"--instrumental (1:07)
  14. "We Hope You're Feeling Better (The Test)" (5:02)
  15. "My Name is Sam (Your Time is Up)" (2:31)
  16. "Generation 13 (Theme #2)"--instrumental (2:39)
  17. "Where Are You Now?" (1:20)
  18. "Screw Em" (4:14)
  19. "No Strings Attached" (5:20)
  20. "All Will Change (It's Happening to Me)" (2:00)
  21. "The Victim" (3:06)
  22. "One Small Step" (3:18)
  23. "Sam's New Friend" (2:30)
  24. "We Hope You're Feeling Better" (1:21)
  25. "Chances Are #2" (1:38)

I got interested in this one after hearing a sound clip from "The Cross", which sounded promising...still, it was over 2 years before I finally picked up a used copy. Back to the progressive basics for these guys, with a full concept album about some kid who creates an imaginary friend called "Sam", or something along those lines. Very impressive! Lots of orchestration, ambient & acoustic bits, the whole works. One of the best CDs they've done in a LONG time.

Previous Band Back to Index Next Band