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Saga - Generation 13 CD (album) cover

GENERATION 13

Saga

 

Crossover Prog

3.95 | 192 ratings

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Tarcisio Moura
Prog Reviewer
3 stars One of the hardest ever albums to rate, I must say before I start this review. Iīm a big fan of Saga and I always knew they had the capacity of producing a pure progressive work any time. In fact, they had a lot of progressive stuff in just about every one of their long discographt. So I was quite eager to hear this concept CD, specially after my good friend Progrules raved about it. However, he too adviced me that this was not a record that everyone liked. It was for special tastes. And I found out he was right.

My main grip with this album is the lack something Sagaīs CDs always had plenty of: good melodies and strong hooks. it seems that Michael Sadler & co took themselves way too seriously this time: the concept is dark and pessimist. And the music is so tightly attached to the lyrics it serves as a merely background to the words most of the time. itīs alright, if you like the plot and youīre reading the story. But none of the tracks has a life on its own when you listen to the album for the music alone. None stands out. And thatīs the big flaw on Generation 13. Some bands managed to deliver a dark and gloomy story and still write great tunes (think of Pink Floydīs The Wall for example. You can easily enjoy several tracks on it without knowing whatīs all about).

While I canīt say the music here is bad, this is nowhere near what those guys are capable of when they are inspired. Also I found the main characterīs processed voice too cartoonish for my taste. it really didnīt work within the concept. Still, some of the instrumental parts are good. And the story is well developed.

For such īsongī oriented band, Generation 13 is a bit too rough. Not a good starting point for a newbie, thatīs for sure. Ok, they proved they can be totally progressive when they wanted to. Not that the word progressive means it is excellent automatically. Thatīs why Iīm giving it 3 stars: good, but not essential in any way.

Tarcisio Moura | 3/5 |

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