Saga
20/20

Once upon a time when I was growing up there was one musical album in the vinyl collection that was very interesting and inspiring to me not only because of the impressive music but also thanks to the very fascinating album cover which may as well have been what inspired my interest in sci-fi. That album was the 1979-release called Images at Twilight and ever since I discovered that album I have been very much a fan of Saga and their sagas. In the early days they were telling a story over several album revealed in a few chapters per album, that is now a finished chapter and they only have songs on this album which is their twentieth. It is called 20/20 as much because it is their twentieth studio album as it is as a good luck thing for Jim Gilmour who had to have eye surgery or something like that. One sad thing is that the cover art has no science fiction feel or insect as I think a Saga album should have.

If you know Saga from earlier you will recognise the Style, Michael Sadler is back on the vocals after leaving over Rob Moratti for the 2009 effort The Human Condition so the classic sound is back. The characteristic vocals of Sadler, the characteristic keyboard lines and guitar lines, the melodic interplay between those elements are also there. It is a very dynamic sound they employ these Canadians and it sounds like a combination of what Saga has done recently and what they did in the early years, it is sort of a 20/20 vision of the music of Saga. Ten songs of classical Saga which offers you 48 minutes that are both well produced and varied within the Saga style.

It is a difficult album to review as it is on one hand is a great one with clever songs and excellent musicianship, at the same time it is really nothing new and everyone who has listened to Saga will either recognise it or feel as he/she has heard it before. I am impressed with how good they are but at the same time this album feels a bit like what I already have in my collection and no matter how good it is, I do not like repeats or bands doing the same over and over. Saga usually doesn’t so I’ll cut them some slack with it but at the same time I see no point in playing this over House of Cards, or Silent Knight, or Worlds Apart, or Marathon, or Network, or my old favourite Images at Twilight. It is in the same style but I think those are better albums and those offered something new to the Saga sound and this album does not. However, in a way it is a good way of describing the Saga sound in one record so I think that if you are a fan or collector you will probably really enjoy this album.

So, no good then? Well, it all depends on how you look at it, it sounds very much typical Saga and that to me is a good thing as Saga is one of the best bands in the world. But as a critic I must also acknowledge the fact that this album offers nothing that we haven’t already heard from Saga which makes it a bit of a pointless album for anyone who doesn’t collect Saga music or isn’t a huge fan of the band. So a very good album but not as good as I have heard from this band and nothing that breaks any new ground for Saga.