SAGA

I bought this in cassette form around 1981. On that same day, I dropped about $600 on a humongous ghetto blaster (I've never been accused of being smart with the finances). When I got home, I dropped the tape in. 'Climbing the Ladder' was the first track (on cassette version) to play, and the first 15 seconds of hearing that song on my new purchase, after all these years, remains as the most musically magic moment I've ever had. This whole album just drips with huge symphonic sound (the helicopters in "Will It Be You?" invoke a powerful, charging dread that never grows old). The syncopated guitar/synth lead in "Humble Stance" showcases the tightness and virtuosity of the members. And how could one not appreciate a song with characters named Ellery Sneed and Billingsford Bluffer (The Perfectionist)? Another benefit from this era of Saga is the heavily operatic,classically-trained power of Michael Sadler's voice, something he eventually toned down around the "Worlds Apart" era and beyond.The only track that seems limp to me is "Give 'Em The Money". It sounds like 70's-era Gino Vanelli to me (I'm not sure why, it just does....). All in all, anyone with a soft spot for neo-progressive prog will almost assuredly find this to be a solid, rewarding effort.