HEADS OR TALES

Saga's fifth studio album, Heads or Tales, can be compared to it's sleeve. They tamed the beast and managed to still give a good show. Previous studio effort Worlds Apart earned the band worldly recognition, and with that kind of recognition came pressure. The pressure to release a good follow up, and one that would not be Worlds Apart part II. Well, mission accomplished. Gone are most of the progressive elements, though the musicianship still shines brightly. Most of the songs are more radio friendly, and hits like 'The Flyer' and 'Scratching the Surface' are good examples of quality pop prog for the airwaves. 'Cat Walk' has a solid groove and a catchy main riff. 'The Sound of Strangers' features an excellent keyboard-guitar interplay, 'Social Orphan' is a good rocking number. 'The Vendetta (Still Helpless)' takes us back to the Saga of early days, reminiscent of tracks like 'Help Me Out'. All in all I think all tracks are good on Heads or Tales, some just a bit less good than others but still good (Intermission, The Writing). The production was great for it's time. Saga managed to take a radio friendly turn with this album and remained original and interesting to listen to, even for prog aficionados. Alas, they would go on a downward slope for some time after this one.

Four solid stars.