IMAGES AT TWILIGHT

"Images at Twilight" is the second full-length studio album by Canadian progressive rock act Saga. The album was released through Polydor Records in May 1979. It´s the successor to the eponymouslty titled debut album from April 1978. There has been one lineup change since the debut album as keyboardist Peter Rochon has left and has been replaced by Gregg Chadd.

Stylistically the material on "Images at Twilight" is pretty much a continuation of the synth heavy and epic progressive rock style of the debut album. It´s only even more vers/chorus oriented and AOR/New Wave influenced, although it still features some pretty intriguing progressive rock ideas and playing. To my ears Saga master their craft even better here than they did on the already strong debut album, and the tracks are generally more memorable. The introduction of the vocoder is a nice touch and provides the music with an almost futuristic touch. Lead vocalist/keyboardist Michael Sadler is still one of the main attractions of Saga´s music. He has a strong voice and a personal delivery, although his trained vocal style can at times be a bit too dramatic.

Upon conclusion "Images at Twilight" is a good quality sophomore studio album from Saga. It features a professional and powerful sounding production, high level musical performances, and melodic, memorable, and occasionally intriguing songwriting, when the band venture outside the vers/chorus formula. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.