TRUST

"Trust" would be Saga's 17 studio album and was released in 2006. This was during a time when Saga's albums were kind of hit and miss with some of them being really good and others seeming to lack something. This might make them sound like they are inconsistent, but they really aren't at this point. Sure they had their classic albums of the 70's that almost everyone loves, then they had the mediocre and not so great albums of the 80's where they tried hard to fit in to the popular sound, but could never really break into the super-stardom they were searching for. Then they released their masterpiece in 1995, "Generation 13" and ever since then, they have had their ups and downs as far as the quality of the music on their albums. "Trust" is one of those that sits in the really great album category, but not a masterpiece of prog. However, it is one that should be considered one of their best.

Michael Sadler is one of those sometimes over-the-top pomp singers and has the voice for it. The problem is, the band's style doesn't fit well with mainstream radio pop. They are much too talented for that. On the other hand, with Sadler's voice being unique and with Ian Crichton and Jim Gilmore having their own unique styles, the large quantity of songs and albums can start to get a little blurry and unfortunately don't have a lot of emotional variance, which has always been the band's biggest problem. But if you can get past that, the music is quite stellar on this album with only a few mediocre tracks, but with some really well-written songs that this time around end up moving the prog needle to the positive side of the spectrum several times. All of the musicians, including Sadler, give their share of memorable performances. The other thing that sets this album apart is the fact that it is the first album to feature new drummer Brian Doerner, formerly from the metal band "Helix", and this does bring a new level of excitement to the overall sound. He would end up staying with the band until 2012.

So, the band's spirit on this album seems to be much higher and it is apparent on most of the tracks like "Back in the Shadows", "Trust", "You Were Right" and "On the Other Side", among several others. The instrumental sections don't sound so worn out this time around, but it seems like the old spirit and enthusiasm is back. Sadler also tries some new effects with his vocals along with harmonics and that also helps set this apart. There is even a great ballad that stands out here called "My Friend". But there are a few weaker tracks that seem more like the more recent albums were the band (especially Sadler) seems bored like on "I'm Okay", "It's Your Life" and "Ice in the Rain". I think the problem on those tracks is the lack of melodic hooks in the vocal melody more than anything, and the band has suffered with that throughout their history. Luckily, these aren't terrible here on this album and are more of the exception than the rule for this record.

Overall, this is one of the lesser known Saga albums that shouldn't be passed up as readily as some of their others. It is an enjoyable record and the old spirit seems to be back more often on this record than on some of the others. I would rate it up there with one of their best, and as such, it gets a 4 star rating. It rises above the norm for the band more times than it doesn't.