Saga
"Full Circle"
© 1999 Steamhammer, SPV

It's amazing how one little song can turn someone into a lifelong fan of a particular band. Much as I hate to admit it, nearly 20 years have passed since I heard Saga's first and only U.S. single, "On The Loose," from their "Worlds Apart" album. After picking it up, I was hooked after one listen and grabbed up the other three albums available at the time. And although their mainstream popularity in the States was, unfortunately, very brief, Saga has always had a large following in both Europe and their native Canada.

One of the things that always appealed to me about this band was the consistency of both the music and the line-up. With the exception of two albums in the late 1980s (one of them being the exceptional "Beginners Guide To Throwing Shapes") and the 1997 release "Pleasure & The Pain" (the only one that I quite honestly try to forget about), the line-up of vocalist Michael Sadler, guitarist Ian Crichton, bassist Jim Crichton, keyboardist Jim Gilmour, and drummer Steve Negus have been giving prog-rock fans music to sink their teeth into for over 20 years now. Most recently, following the success of the "Detours - Live" 2-CD set in 1998, the band headed back into the studio and began work on what would become a sort of return to their earlier sound.

Although "Full Circle" does have a sound and feel reminiscent of Saga's earlier works (1977-1985), it's by no means a trip down memory lane. More to the point, you could consider it a modern interpretation of the old style. Most of the tracks feature multi-layered keyboard textures blended with a steady rhythm section, with both Michael Sadler's vocals and Ian Crichton's guitar playing taking turns sharing the spotlight. This formula has always worked well for Saga, but they're careful enough to make each track somewhat different from all the others. After all, if you have a winning formula, it's very easy to repeat oneself. I'm happy to report that's not the case here, and in fact, they've even included a few things you'd never expect to hear on an album of this nature: most notable, a children's chorus on "Follow Me."

Other tracks such as "Uncle Albert's Eyes," "Remember When," and the inspirational "Home" are prime examples of how well each member of the band has learned to work with the others over the years.

For those of you who have been around since the beginning, you'll be pleased to know that three more installments in the "Chapter" series have been included on "Full Circle": Chapters 9,10, and 13. If you aren't aware, Saga's first four studio albums contained a series of interrelated songs (eight of them all told) that appeared in non-sequential order. Kind of a neat idea actually, and I'm glad to see they're doing it again.

Saga fans have no doubt already added this album to their collection, and fans of keyboard oriented progressive-rock should certainly take a cue and do the same. It's actually a very good jumping-on point for those unfamiliar with the band's body of work. After a few listens, you'll no doubt be searching out more, and with good reason.

-- by Chris Lawless, Senior staff writer

http://www.openupandsay.com/reviews/chrislawless/saga1.cfm