Album Review

Saga is the first studio album by the Canadian progressive rock band Saga and was originally released 8th April 1978.

True to the album's legendary status among the fans, there are no Saga concerts without material from the debut. ''Humble Stance'' is very high on the fan favourites' list and therefore a mainstay of the setlists. The song features on all the band's regular live releases. ''How Long'', ''Tired World (Chapter Six)'', ''Perfectionist'' and ''Ice Nice'' are also often played live. ''How Long'' appears on ''In Transit'', ''Detours'' and ''Worlds Apart Revisited''. ''Will It Be You? (Chapter Four)'' is featured on ''The Chapters Live''. ''Perfectionist'' can be found on ''Detours'', ''Contact: Live in Munich'' and ''Spin it Again! Live in Munich''. ''Give 'em the Money'' appears on ''Worlds Apart Revisited''. ''Ice Nice'' is on ''Detours'', ''Worlds Apart Revisited'' and ''Live in Hamburg''. ''Tired World (Chapter Six)'' is featured on ''The Chapters Live'' and ''Spin it Again! Live in Munich''. In other words, all the songs except ''Climbing the Ladder'' (which was never played live) are available in live versions.

''Humble Stance'' is one of only few songs on which Michael Sadler plays bass guitar, while Jim Crichton plays keyboard chords. As it is a regular part of the live setlis - unlike ''It's Time'' or ''No Stranger'', which also feature the same constellation - fans usually know that Saga are going to start playing ''Humble Stance'' as soon as Sadler takes over Jim's bass guitar.

The album cover introduced a trademark - the alien insect that plays a prominent role in the ''Chapters'' *saga*, sometimes called ''Golden Warrior'', ''GoldenBoy'' or ''Harold, the Locust'' (!). While only the first three albums featured this creature, it was later revived for ''Full Circle'', an album that also revived the ''Chapters'', and subsequently became Saga's mascot and has since appeared on numerous releases. It can also be seen as a stage backdrop, e.g. on the current DVD ''Spin It Again! Live in Munich''. What's notable beside the very striking image of the insect is that it has changed a lot over the years. The locusts on the cover of ''Images at Twilight'' and ''Silent Knight'' look quite different from the one featured on the debut. Then again, on ''Full Circle'' you can see the next step of the metamorphosis - the locust sheds its old skin and it is this image that features on most following Saga releases.

Two of the songs, ''Will It Be You? (Chapter Four),'' and ''Tired World (Chapter Six),'' were part of a series of eight (but later sixteen) songs that Saga included within their first four albums called ''The Chapters'', which told the story of a young Albert Einstein. These songs were later included on The Chapters LIVE, an album that the band recorded in 2005. To date, there's been no official compilation of the chapters in their studio incarnation. [wikipedia.org]