CD/DVD Review: Saga - Spin It Again! – Live in Munich

CD/DVD Review: Saga - Spin It Again! – Live in Munich

earMUSIC/Eagle Rock Entertainment

All Access Rating: A-

Saga - Spin It Again Live!

Germany's love for Saga still runs as deep as it ever has. Glorious in design and execution, 2012's 20/20, the most recent album from the Canadian prog-rock puzzle makers, somehow managed to claw its way into the top 10 in a country that snatched up tens of thousands of copies of Saga's debut LP when hardly anybody outside of Canada knew who they were.

Charting that high, no matter where, is no mean feat these days for a group like Saga, who experienced its greatest success in the late 1970s and early '80s, but Germany has always respected and admired Saga's sonic artistry.

It should come as no surprise then that on the final night of their 2013 sold out European tour in support of 20/20 Saga would end up in Munich, treating an adoring crowd to a thrilling two hours of old favorites and strong newer material. Out on Blu-ray or as a two-CD release, Spin It Again! – Live in Munich documents, in vivid and immersive audio and video, a night of passion that reunited Saga with its most ardent paramour, as the band whirls through its back catalog with a rush of adrenaline.

Munich welcomed back the classic Saga lineup with open arms, taking great delight in lead vocalist Michael Sadler, having reunited with Saga for 20/20 after a five-year hiatus, delivering good-humored stage banter in both English and fluent German. In full throat, the audience sang the chorus to the soaring Saga classic "Wind Him Up" word for word, as Sadler took a break to soak up what was surely a transcendent moment for him and the band.

The time Sadler spent apart from Saga did him and the band some good. 20/20 was an inspiring piece of musical engineering, still as melodic and as daring as ever, but also darker and heavier in spots than past Saga efforts with some of Ian Crichton's cycling through some of his angriest and most compelling guitar riffage. In some ways, it was a throwback to years past, when Saga's resounding guitars and epic synthesizers crashed up against arty, literate storytelling full of the kind of terrific tension, unusual drama and skewed insight into the human condition found in Rod Serling stories.

Drinking in Saga's euphoric, carnivalesque performance, Munich seemed to take as much interest in newer pieces as it did in Saga's past, the audience and performer connecting intimately and with unabashed joy. "Six Feet Under" and "Spin It Again" are especially captivating, swept away on surging melodic flourishes and veering off down magical little detours that seem like doorways to places of mystery and strange beauty. There is cleverly disguised menace in the smiling countenance of "The Perfectionist," a stylish song about the murderous Ellery Snead, and the tantalizing "Anywhere You Want to Go" and "Mouse in a Maze" are powerfully addictive, while "The Flyer" is presented as a breathtaking trapeze act.

As vibrant and intoxicating as the first disc in the CD set is, the second one is more diverse, with the affecting piano exercises "Time's Up" and "Scratching the Surface" sounding naked and alone, but also thoughtful and warmly nostalgic. And then there's the buoyant "Humble Stance," which almost sounds like a bounding beer hall polka all gussied up with Saga's chrome-plated progressive bombast, and a storming version of "On the Loose" that tingles with excitement.

Long ago, Saga discovered the missing link between the crunching hard rock and progressive tendencies of countrymen Rush and the altered consciousness and shape-shifting, classically influenced arrangements of Yes. Given all that, it follows that Saga's musicianship should be incredibly entertaining to behold in concert, and it is, as Germany well knows.

Germans get that the dynamic interplay of guitarist Ian Crichton's flights of fancy – his complex riffs, mushrooming plumes and those searing, exacting and yet unpredictable leads of his that go only where he knows the way – with the spiraling of Jim Gilmour and Jim Crichton is not only absolutely dazzling, but also has a synergy that, to borrow a phrase from Rush, crackles with life. Germans get that Sadler's wonderfully expressive and strong, cloudless vocals make him one of the most underrated singers on the planet. And maybe the people of Munich, in particular, get Saga in a way others don't. Should the rest of the world gives Spin It Again! - Live in Munich, the perfect companion piece to 20/20, a chance, they'll get it, too. http://www.ear-music.net/en/news/ and http://www.eagle-rock.com/

- Peter Lindblad

CD Review: Saga - 20/20

CD Review: Saga – 20/20

Eagle Rock Entertainment/earMusic (edel)

All Access Review: A-

Saga - 20/20 2012

A signifier of perfect eyesight, the designation “20/20” holds special meaning for the long-running Canadian progressive-rock institution Saga. For one thing, 20/20 just happens to be their 20^th album, and for another, it also refers to the eye operation keyboardist/vocalist Jim Gilmour had that has restored his vision to – you guessed it – 20/20.

More than that, however, the title is emblematic of Saga’s ability to visualize so clearly and with such detailed definition what it is they want to accomplish every time they step foot in a studio. Nothing, it seems, is ever left to chance for a group that has always been meticulous about sound clarity, even as they designed some of the most grandiose sonic architecture in the realm of prog-rock with Worlds Apart and other marvels. Cleanliness is next to godliness for Saga, and with the successful Lasik surgery conducted on 20/20, due to be released by Eagle Rock Entertainment, it appears there is nothing clouding their focus.

With Michael Sadler, one of the most distinctive and crystalline vocalists in all of prog, back in the fold, Saga seems re-energized on the futuristic 20/20, even if the music was almost entirely finished before his return. Between the breathless urgency and racing pulse of 20/20’s opener “Six Feet Under,” the wah-wah radiation burns of “Anywhere You Wanna Go” and the crunching, switchback guitar grooves of a particularly metallic “Spin It Again,” so reminiscent of early King’s X, 20/20 finds Saga adding some edginess and heft to what are often airy melodic passages – the likes of which are found in the breezy mix of light acoustic guitar strum and gently ruffling synthesizers that is “Ellery,” which checks in on the psychopathic main character of fan favorite “The Perfectionist.”

A defiant optimism pervades 20/20, as the pain and frustration of a life of unrealized potential vented in the chorus of sharp vocals and angry riffs in “One of These Days” give way to dizzying whirls of synthesizer and inspiring lyrical self-affirmations. Fighting against the erosion of imagination, “Till the Well Runs Dry” – featuring a deceivingly simple, but wonderfully executed Ian Crichton guitar solo and touches of jazz fusion – is swept up in a gushing geyser of a chorus of soaring, faith-healing keyboard swells and arpeggios and Sadler’s almost evangelical fervor for the subject matter. Tested again in the gorgeous ballad “Lost for Words,” Sadler’s expansive range and rare gift for expertly navigating melodies swim through an ocean of lovely piano figures, crystals of synth and acoustic guitar gold, before the surging electric rock – blanketed in dreamy vocals and pinwheel keyboards – of “Show and Tell” crash the reverie.

One of the most emotionally powerful and heartfelt records of the band’s history, 20/20 is, nevertheless, pretty typical of Saga – the easy marriage of synthesizers and keyboards with diverse guitar forays allowing each entity enough room to make their mark.Though more muscular than past efforts, the utterly transcendent 20/20 is full of altered moods, dynamic shifts in tempos and guided tours of epic, byzantine instrumental citadels. In much the same way that countrymen Rush combine their adventurous inclinations with a grounding in solid rock riffing, Saga forges strong song structures and flowing, shapely melodies that can withstand experimentation and the occasional odd time signature. There is nothing wrong with Saga’s vision, even after all these years.

-            Peter Lindblad