Saga

[zeprogmeister]

They never broke up.

Sure they did. Or "retired"

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/saga-to-break-up/

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Girls and Boys," it began. "This year marks 4 decades of writing, recording and touring as a band. However, after much deliberation and discussion, my brothers and I have regretfully decided that after 40 incredible years together, 2017 will be Saga's 'Final Chapter.' With the exception of a very special one-off performance on the 2018 Cruise to the Edge, I'm afraid this is it, folks!"

[moecurlythanu]

"Hell Freezes Over Tour just announced!

No one notices."

[progmatist]

New??? Wow! I think World's Apart was Saga at their peak, hitting on all cylinders musically, lyrically and vocally. So many great songs on it.
Of course I love all their albums from the beginning to present.

If you ever get a chance to pick up Generation 13 I'd say go for it. Saga's conceptual double album based on a book and they stray a bit from the traditional Saga sound in my opinion, but it sounds great!!

Not "new," but the disc is in near new condition. The cover on the other hand has the typical ring wear, and a crease in the upper left corner, from where the corner was bent right were the disc ends. Quite a steal for $1 I'd say.

[Top Cat]

Not "new," but the disc is in near new condition. The cover on the other hand has the typical ring wear, and a crease in the upper left corner, from where the corner was bent right were the disc ends. Quite a steal for $1 I'd say.

Yes, that is quite a deal and when it comes to vinyl, the condition of it is way important to me than the cover condition unless it reeks of mold, then the cover is outta here.
When I started my journey re-building a vinyl condition from 2(PFM The World and Photos survived the great flood), I found a guy on ebay who had a large vinyl collection of Saga which I jumped on and they are in excellent condition, and I found on Amazon of all places a brand spanking new vinyl copy of House of Cards.
I love those kind of finds, reminds me of back in the day when I'd spend hours looking through all the records at the local music shop.

[dropforge]

I guess I missed this announcement. Is this a one-off or have they officially re-formed?

"The money's too good!"

[Steve983]

I used to have a couple of Saga albums and saw them live at Hammersmith in 1983, they were great. I've not kept up with them though and thought that Ian Crichton had passed away, glad I was wrong about that.

[saucyjackstl]

Their 90s/2000s stuff is very different and way better than their 80s material. Network, House of Cards, Trust are albums you should reacquaint yourself with.

[yamishogun]

Their 90s/2000s stuff is very different and way better than their 80s material. Network, House of Cards, Trust are albums you should reacquaint yourself with.

For me, its the 2000s albums. Separate Worlds is great but can't get into later albums until House of Cards in 2001 and like everything that decade including quite a bit of The Human Condition (2009)

I still have to check out the mid 90s Generation 13.

[dropforge]

Their 90s/2000s stuff is very different and way better than their 80s material. Network, House of Cards, Trust are albums you should reacquaint yourself with.

None are better than Silent Knight (1980). They never topped that one. I prefer 1999's Full Circle to those that follow, with Trust, 10,000 Days and Sagacity being fine Sagaworks.

[BravadoNJ]

'Generation 13' for you progsters....

2001's 'House Of Cards' is my favorite.

[jlneudorf]

One of the most consistent Canadian bands. Their body of work speaks for itself. In a word, excellent.

Jon

[yamishogun]

One of the most consistent Canadian bands.

The most consistent out of two?

[dropforge]

Don't hate on Nickelback.

[jlneudorf]

Lol

[aith01]

Don't hate on Nickelback.

[3RDegree_Robert]

wow! thanks to this thread being refreshed I have discovered that :


And now, it has been officially announced that Saga will join ProgStock 2019 as our Sunday night headliner on Sunday, October 13, 2019!

Band Lineup
Michael Sadler – vocals
Ian Crichton – lead guitar
James Gilmour – keyboards, clarinet, vocals
Michael Thorne – drums, vocals
Dusty Chesterfield – bass, keyboards

http://www.progstock.com/2019/artist.../2019-artists/

Oops. Can't believe I didn't jump back into this thread to mentions this!

As for the "Breakup", it got a little testy on their Facebook page. Basically, they've retired from "long tours". They are probably going to the King's X method where they play 2-3 shows over a weekend from time to time although the German dates they just announced looks a bit more ambitious than that.

But...I kind of "get it" albeit on a much smaller scale. I think 3RDegree might be going the way of semi-retirement but for "special" i.e. "well attended" shows i.e. "festivals".

[yamishogun]

although the German dates they just announced looks a bit more ambitious than that.

I knew Saga is popular in Germany but didn't realize until now that Germany is the only country where all of their albums from Worlds Apart have charted except for The Beginner's Guide to Throwing Shapes.

[Kanukisbrave]

Dusty Chesterfield – bass, keyboards ??? Is this a strange alias for Jim Crichton?

[Top Cat]

Dusty Chesterfield – bass, keyboards ??? Is this a strange alias for Jim Crichton?

Jim has taken a sabbatical from the band, whether temporary or permanent is unknown.

[yamishogun]

Jim has taken a sabbatical from the band, whether temporary or permanent is unknown.

He has taken a sabbatical from a band that quit last year?

[Top Cat]

He has taken a sabbatical from a band that quit last year?

He remains on sabbatical while Saga has decided to continue performing live shows on a much smaller schedule.
To me, all this talk about their decision to make the last tour the Final Chapter and deciding to perform again, means very little.
As a long time Saga fan, it makes me happy.
A lot of things happened to Saga, and I think Jim C, one of the founding members decided he'd had enough and to me it sounds like he was totally burned out.
The band has been touring endlessly every year and with Jim's announcement, they probably felt it was best to throw the towel in.
Time passed and without the pressure of HAVING to do a tour probably allowed them the freedom to continue on but at a much slower pace, and on their own terms as to when and where.

I got your joke btw, and I think it's pretty good.
Btw folks, Saga isn't the first band to do this..here's a few more:
https://ultimateclassicrock.com/fare...eunited-bands/

[zeprogmeister]

Whatever they want to do is cool. Sounds like Jim was ready to pack it in but the other guys are happy to keep going, on a smaller scale.

[3RDegree_Robert]

Jim's son passed away suddenly somewhat recently I believe as well which is of course something that can easily make a member of the band take off especially when the band's schedule is much lighter.

[BravadoNJ]

Saga has put out some great albums and get very little attention here in the west.
if it weren't for the support in central Europe and Scandinavia they wouldn't have last this long.
good to see them squeezing it out a bit longer.

[r2daft2]

And on....
Saga has been announced for the next CTTE in March 2020.
I suppose that's quite a way off to confirm what the line-up will be for that event.