THE BEGINNERS GUIDE TO THROWING SHAPES

I owe this album almost two decades now and has turned in one of those forgotten discs by now. I happened to discover it in the pile and it's time for the review now. When I bought and got to know it I didn't really know what to think of it. I didn't really like it I remember but it's predecessor was the mediocre, almost poor Wildest Dreams so it couldn't get much worse and that's how I looked at it. The original and much more symphonical Saga had gone for quite some time already (1983) and made way for a much more art rock like band. With this album it was becoming very obvious. The symphonical elements there were at least slightly to be found on Behaviour (1985) had disappeared completely and I can imagine that the majority of proggers don't even consider this true prog anymore. On the other hand, if that is a fact, what is it ? Because this is no pop music either so where do they fit ? Maybe at this point they were not to pigeonhole at all. Some years later they released Security of Illusion and Generation 13 and these 2 were much more prog again so that makes Saga a drifting ustable band in the period 1985- 1995. Last 13 years they got back to the style of this album again as if this was the omen of their final destination. Not that their last 6 or 7 albums are exactly like this one but the general style is somewhat the same in my believe. Short songs with only slight progressive elements, quite accessible.

I don't really want to go in to all the different songs in this case because besides the above stated there is not much to say about them. Back then I mainly liked Odd Man Out, Scarecrow and As I am but even these didn't really impress me. Still I think this album is more enjoyable than Wildest Dreams so I will give it 3 stars in the end but it's severely rounded up (2,6). Fortunately the next few years they delivered some nice ones again (SoI and Gen 13) which made me love Saga again. But this one almost ruined it.