HEADS OR TALES

In 1983 my brother taped a concert of a highly regarded Canadian prog rock band from a Dutch radio broadcast. I was sold on the spot. No wonder. The set list contained 4 tracks from this fine album and a wide selection of all their best songs from 1978 to 1982. I thought I had found me a new favorite band.

Big was my disappointment when I went back through their discography and concluded that they had played about every good track they ever made. Apparently, I completely agreed with Saga on only one point: which were their good songs and which were not.

However, the 1983 studio album wasn't a disappointment. Despite its overproduced sound, this one finally has 9 equally consistent songs. It has plenty of variation, the playing is tight and the vocals are intense. Unfortunately that was it for Saga. I haven't heard one single good song from them ever since. 3.5 stars.