Saga - All The Best 1978-1993

Like fellow Torontoans Rush, Canadian progressive rock band Saga has had an amazingly long and prolific career that peaked commercially in the 1980's; but unlike Geddy, Neil, and Alex, Saga achieved far greater reknown across Europe than they they ever did in North America.

Nonetheless, Saga has toured and regularly put out over two dozen full-length albums over the past three decades, and in 2006, Saga released their latest, Trust on the Inside/Out label. Their expansive hard rock style fronted by singer Michael Sadler's powerful tenor bring to mind bands like Styx, Queen, Triumph, Marillion, and Asia, with a distinctive Canadian-European accent (Sadler is a native of Wales). This out-of-print 1993 collection is only one of several Saga "best-of's," but it brings together fifteen of the group's best known tracks, including several that are missing from currently available discs. I think it's an exceptional introduction to their "heyday" catalogue, with tracks like "Scratching the Surface," "On The Loose," "Wind Him Up," "What Do I Know," and "The Flyer."

"Casual recognition in their own country but superstar status in Europe is the story of Saga. Formed from the core of Fludd, bassist Jim Chricton, Peter Rachon on keyboards and drummer Steve Negus recruited Chricton's younger brother Ian on guitars. Pockets was born.

The group toured the local Toronto area doing bars for a few months until singer Michael Sadler left a local group called Truck to become their frontman. His vocal stylings blended with their progressive yet eclectic sound. It wasn't long before the group was noticed by Maze Records and signed to a deal shortly thereafter. Recorded by Paul Gross at Toronto's Phase One Studios, their self-titled debut was released in '78 and was instantly met with rave reviews for their tight, sophisticated approach." -- Canadian Bands.com

Track Listing:

1. On The Loose (4:12)
2. Wind Him Up (5:47)
3. How Long (3:59)
4. What Do I Know (3:39)
5. Only Time Will Tell (4:22)
6. Humble Stance (5:49)
7. Amnesia (3:22)
8. Scratching The Surface (5:15)
9. The Flyer (3:43)
10. Cat Walk (4:21)
11. Help Me Out (5:52)
12. Mind Over Matter (4:43)
13. Times Up (4:02)
14. Don't Be Late (6:00)
15. Without You (6:46)

Label: Quality
Release Year: 1993 (Out of Print)
Genre: Progressive/Canadian/Hard Rock
File Info: (CD rip) mp3, 192-256kb/s VBR; front and back cover included.

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