HOUSE OF CARDS

It is hard to believe that it is more than a year since I saw Saga at the LA2 promoting their last album 'Full Circle' yet here they are back again with a new album which is out in the UK on February 5th. Saga are one of the few prog/AOR bands around that have an instantly identifiable sound, with the distinctive vocals of Michael Sadler mixing and melding with the keyboard-driven rock. On songs like "The Runaway" I can close my eyes and picture myself back in my bedroom as a teenager listening to their second album 'Images At Twilight', the music doesn't seem to have changed much at all. Yes, they bring in new influences, so that they do not sound as if they are trying all of the time to play the same song all of the time, but this is Saga, and they don't follow the fickles of fashion but go their own way. They use acoustic guitars at times, and not all of the songs are upbeat rockers but it is on these that Saga excels. A worthy follow-up to their last album.

Originally appeared in Feedback #61, Feb 01