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Thread: SAGA – the end

  1. #1
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    SAGA – the end

    this seems to have gone under the radar here – at least i cannot recall reading anything yet – but SAGA are to split up at the end of this year after their 40th anniversary dates in europe and a final appearance on CttE2018.

    being a genX continental european this band, which has often been bandied about as staunch “also rans”, represents nothing less than my gateway act into all things prog. within this rather isolated cohort i suspect to be in good company. although i had moved on fiercely in musical terms over the years i had never lost sight of them and occasionally returning to see them live – the prevailing emphasis on nostalgia for an increasingly conservative fan base here – was always endearing.

    class act. always nothing less and nothing more than themselves all the way. i salute them.

  2. #2
    Member thedunno's Avatar
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    I was not always a fan of what they did but:
    - They had their own sound
    - They were excellent musicians
    - They played live a lot

    I caught them live a couple of times and enjoyed that. One of my favourite albums of theirs is the overlooked 'The beginners guide to throwing shapes'. Overall a good band.

  3. #3
    Love Saga. Sorry to hear they are permanently splitting but I suppose after 40 years its probably time. In my opinion, they are the only good thing to arise from MTV. I discovered them in 1982 because MTV, having very few videos, had several of theirs in heavy rotation: On the Loose, Wind Him Up, Careful Where You Step and Don't Be Late. I couldn't figure out if they were a prog band, a pop band, or some combination. I guess I still don't know! But I love most of their catalog. Only got to see them once (1985 or 1986). After that tour, they seemed to stop playing in the US entirely. I thought for sure one of the US prog festivals would have had them perform but that never happened.

  4. #4
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    The only time I saw them was on CTTE 2015. A great, uncrowned show on deck. Sadler is a really nice guy. Whenever one of those heinous attacks happen around the world, he's the first to post his concern and support (and information like emergency phone numbers) on Facebook.

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    Sorry to see Saga go. I hope their bank accounts are full enough that they can retire comfortably!

    I loved "On the Loose" as a teen. I never viewed it as prog but I thought it was one of the best AOR singles of the early 80s. Forgot about them for 25 years or so...

    Then, thanks to PE I discovered that they were still alive and kicking. I bought a couple of their DVDs and love those. The guys can really play! Just sad I never got to see them live.

  6. #6
    Member Paulrus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by thedunno View Post
    - They played live a lot
    Back in 1982 I became a big Saga fan after Worlds Apart was released and I was really looking forward to seeing them live. I was living in Orange County at the time and kept checking the entertainment calendar but no such luck. Their breakthrough album with major MTV support and no concerts in SoCal? WTF?

    This was of course pre-Internet and it's possible that they passed through the area and I didn't notice, but the point is they were not very well supported or promoted. At least in the LA market region, which to me was just one of the criminal acts of managerial negligence they suffered from.
    I'm holding out for the Wilson-mixed 5.1 super-duper walletbuster special anniversary extra adjectives edition.

  7. #7
    Seeing Saga play in Vermont and having a long talk with Michael Sadler at a bar after the show was a life changing experience for me. His words of encouragement helped the young me through a very dark time. I think he even bought me a beer ;-)
    I dedicated one of my albums to him (The Winter Tree, "Earth Below")

    Side 2 of Worlds Apart remains one of my all time favorite sides of vinyl.

  8. #8
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Paulrus View Post
    Back in 1982 I became a big Saga fan after Worlds Apart was released and I was really looking forward to seeing them live. I was living in Orange County at the time and kept checking the entertainment calendar but no such luck. Their breakthrough album with major MTV support and no concerts in SoCal? WTF?

    This was of course pre-Internet and it's possible that they passed through the area and I didn't notice, but the point is they were not very well supported or promoted. At least in the LA market region, which to me was just one of the criminal acts of managerial negligence they suffered from.
    I think it's that they were so big in Europe that they've always focused on Europe.

  9. #9
    End of an era for me. Saga is what brought me to this type of forum many, many years ago. Met some great personalities on the Saga forum,
    including Dropforge, a regular here. I would say Saga would be my favorite band since I discovered Worlds Apart. It was the first time I heard
    a band and bought everything I could they had recorded. I had the opportunity to go to Van Nuys during the "Network" recording sessions, meet the group, and to listen
    to what they had recorded up to that point. Michael Sadler is probably the nicest guy I ever met. I remember the first thing I said to him when I
    met him at Sound Image studios was "Thanks for the great music" He immediately shot back, "No, thank you for listening"
    Unfortunately, I was never able to see them in concert. Saw Michael at CalProg a few years later and said "Remember me?" He said of course I remember
    you Joe" I"ll say it one more time. Thanks for the great music Saga.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by JKL2000 View Post
    I think it's that they were so big in Europe that they've always focused on Europe.
    I was surprised to see that from 1990, their albums always charted in Germany and at times in neighboring Switzerland and also in Sweden.

  11. #11
    Member eporter66's Avatar
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    I was a fan, followed them into the 90's, but never got to see them live. Kudos to 40 years, a great run

  12. #12
    Ya know what, to this day, the only things I have by them is World Apart (which I pulled out of a bin at a library sale for a buck) and a career retrospective DVD that has all their videos (well, except Wide Him Up, which is represented by a live version with some bits from the original video inserted), some live footage, a band documentary, etc. They were always a band I wanted to investigate more, but never got around to it. Then the label that had reissued all their old albums went belly up, so it became difficult to find anything at a decent price.

    But I always thought On The Loose, Amnesia (did MTV ever play that one?), Wind Him Up, and Don't Be Late, I've always thought were great songs. There was another song on the DVD, a later sort of poppier one that I liked, I forget the title, but I think part of the refrain is "It's all part of the game".

    And I always liked the story about how when they recorded the middle bit of Wind Him Up, where Sadler is sort of whispering the lyrics, he said the producer had literally just woken him up that morning, threw the cans on Michael's head, and made him do the take before he done anything else. So if it sounds like he might be not quite awake there, well, that very well might be the case.

  13. #13
    Member dropforge's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by the illusionist View Post
    End of an era for me. Saga is what brought me to this type of forum many, many years ago. Met some great personalities on the Saga forum,
    including Dropforge, a regular here. I would say Saga would be my favorite band since I discovered Worlds Apart. It was the first time I heard
    a band and bought everything I could they had recorded. I had the opportunity to go to Van Nuys during the "Network" recording sessions, meet the group, and to listen
    to what they had recorded up to that point. Michael Sadler is probably the nicest guy I ever met. I remember the first thing I said to him when I
    met him at Sound Image studios was "Thanks for the great music" He immediately shot back, "No, thank you for listening"
    Unfortunately, I was never able to see them in concert. Saw Michael at CalProg a few years later and said "Remember me?" He said of course I remember
    you Joe" I"ll say it one more time. Thanks for the great music Saga.
    Likewise, Joe-migo! It was a great run. And they kept recording new music! (Didn't MS let you rub his head?!)

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by GuitarGeek View Post
    They were always a band I wanted to investigate more, but never got around to it. Then the label that had reissued all their old albums went belly up, so it became difficult to find anything at a decent price.
    They are not expensive used, though. I didn't get into Saga until I finally bought Worlds Apart in 2003 then visited a friend who I didn't realize was a big Saga fan and gave me his copy of House of Cards (2001). I liked a few songs but thought Trust (2006) was much better and made me a fan beyond thinking Worlds Apart was brilliant.

    I then got Network (2004) that I originally passed over because of a couple of negative reviews. I didn't give that much of a chance but thought the title track was great. A year or two later, I started to like more and more and eventually all of it. I don't normally shelve albums that quickly but with Saga, I'd find the songs I really liked, record those, and ignore the rest. Big mistake. I did the same thing with Marathon (2003) that I got next, which also took years before I went beyond the three top songs that first grabbed me.

    I liked most of 10,000 Days (2007) and with Human Condition (2009), I again copied my favorite three songs and didn't realize until a couple of years ago how strong most of that album is and prefer it to 10,000 Days.

    I haven't listened to the latest, Sagacity (2014), apart from a couple off of youtube and thought 20/20(2012) wasn't nearly as good as the 2001 to 2009 albums.

    Also, I haven't listened to any albums from 1987 to 1999 - yet, but have liked a few songs. So I need to check that period out even though supposedly not their best work.

    I'm really glad my friend got me into them in 2003, though. There are of course the three albums from 1978 to 1980 that I'm mixed about.

  15. #15
    Member Hour Candle's Avatar
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    Though it saddens me alot to think that this great band is over..however, knowing this band, I think we have a few things to look forward to.. Perhaps a farewell studio album and of course..the farewell live album. I will miss them alot!

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by yamishogun View Post
    They are not expensive used, though.
    They certainly were when I went Looked for them on Amazon and E-bay, but that was a few years ago. Maybe it's different now.

  17. #17
    I thought 10000 Days was a particularly strong album, one of their best latter day efforts. Human Condition on the other hand was too much like Pleasure and Pain - more metal and for less melodic.

    If you aren't that familiar with Saga, check out Humble Stance on their first album and probably every live album they've done. The instrumental section is pretty brilliant.

  18. #18
    The one and only time I saw them was at The Ritz in NYC (the original location, not Studio 54) and they slowly but surely turned a lukewarm crowd into raving fanatics. They did 4 or 5 encores (going off each time, each time the audience clapping, shouting and stomping longer and louder) and their final song was "How Long" . And Steve Negus just blew us away with his omnipotent riding hand on the hihat 16th notes. What an incredible concert!

  19. #19
    Highly Evolved Orangutan JKL2000's Avatar
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    Tomorrow at noon is the last Saga show. Sniff...

  20. #20
    Gonna miss these guys. I've gotten a lot of enjoyment out of their music over the years.


    Quote Originally Posted by JKL2000 View Post
    Tomorrow at noon is the last Saga show. Sniff...
    Are you going to see them?

  21. #21
    One band I never got to see live and I guess never will. They've had a good long career though.

  22. #22
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    Big fan here. First got into Saga in the mid/late 80s on a school trip to Germany, and have tried to keep up with them ever since. I've always loved Sadler's very distinctive voice, and Ian Crichton to me remains an ever-underappreciated guitar genius, and a huge influence on my own playing. He's always had a great tone, too, and his dual guitar/keys lead work with Jim Gilmour is as good as anybody out there, and better than most. Sad to hear that it's the end of the road, but I guess 40 years is a pretty good run. Incidentally, one of my favourite Saga albums is actually The Beginner's Guide to Throwing Shapes, one from the supposed 'dark times' of the late 80s, when the band were down to a trio + session musicians. Some killer tracks on there, and it's a shame they don't seem to play any of that stuff live.

  23. #23
    Seen them once live in Utrecht and after the concert I spend some time in their dressing room. I should do an interview, but that didn't happen.

    But to bad they trow the towel. Though several bands did this lately.

  24. #24
    Quote Originally Posted by JKL2000 View Post
    Tomorrow at noon is the last Saga show. Sniff...
    Was hoping to see them again at some point (saw them circa 1985 or 86) but they haven't toured the US since. I always hoped one of the prog fests would bring them for a show but that never happened. Great band, tremendous catalog of work. Sad to see them go but at least they went out on their terms.

  25. #25
    Too bad they didn’t have a proper US farewell, never had the chance to see them. Great band indeed.

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