NETWORK

Saga shifted gears on this album and dumped the famous Chapters and bug cover plus made another change; one that I am not all that fond of and thankfully only lasted one album. Steve Negus, their original drummer is no longer part of the band. His drumming was unique and fit the music wonderfully. I saw a review on another Saga album where the reviewer thought he was not a good drummer and I have no idea how he could think that. Just listen to "Generation 13" and "The Security Of Illusion" as 2 examples.

Christian Simpson is the new guy and only lasted one album. One of the best tracks on the album is "Don't Look Now" and the sound of the drums is not what it normally is. During the middle section where Ian is jamming that consistent riff and the drums kick back in you can actually hear that the best is off a little. Saga is a band with serious professional musicians and this drummer sounds like they got a rookie off the street. This impacts teh overall album for me.

In all, the album is okay but I didn't find anything earth shattering about it. Most all of the albums after "House Of Cards" I find to have a few songs on each that I like and the rest I am okay with but there really isn't anything that sticks out for me. It is a decent entry but if you are a first timers with the band, I would try a few of the ones I mentioned and their First Foundational Four.