Anyone know who Saga is?
 

I really liked this band even though people didn't like them that much. I think they have a great guitar player and a pretty good singer and well they are a pretty good band for what they were.

Yeah, I remember Saga from the early 80's. That in my mind was a good era for metal, before hair metal was big & some great power-ballads came out then. Another little known favorite from then was the band Zebra.

I'm bumping this because it's a pretty small thread and this post would probably reflect an OP anyway.

I just picked up their debut today at the record store, and it's one of the coolest albums i've acquired in the past couple weeks. I'd never heard of them prior, but I really like the name and the album cover, so I picked it up.

This song is so far my favorite off the album:

Aren't those guys the people you normally find on those infomertials where you can buy Time Life CD's for only a certain amount of money each month... xD

I just burned all of their albums on to cd, they are up there on the list with Yes in my book.

I can't say I agree or disagree mostly because i've only heard one album by them, and have listened to it once so far, but I will say that they are pretty damn good. Especially for a band who somehow tends to keep it sort of secret that they exist. Either that, or I just wasn't aware they existed. Probably more the second one than the first one.

Last listened to Saga about 10 years ago!!! This thread has got me intrigued to listen to some of their discography again.

I suggest listening to their self titled, coming from someone who had never heard of them, it's a really really good album to go back to/start with.

:thumb: Epicly cheesy! Love it.

I'm actually listening to their debut, I knew the opening track already and never really cared for the song as to be honest I'm not much of a fan of the vocalist's voice. The rest of the album is an interesting rather than a good listen and it sits itself awkwardly between a prog and pomp rock album with the band not really sure whether they want to do long epics or shortened down versions of epics. The band's debut must have been a rarity given that prog in 1978 was so uncool. The band basically sound like Styx circa mid to late 1970s. Based on this album, Styx is the master and Saga very much the pupil.

I picked up Silent Knight today. I may sound crazy, but doesn't the singer sound like Russell Mael on most of the songs? I feel like they have the same style.

I thought their second album Images and Twilight was a terrible album but Silent Knight is really good, this is the first album that they have fully incorporated all their prog influences and actually sound cohesive and their singer actually sounded pretty good and some fantastic instrumentals. They seemed to have abandoned this sound by their fourth album though and used Rush producer Robert Hine that gave them a more pop rock sound in a desire to be more commercial.

Saga must be one of the campest and gayest rock bands ever. That moustache and those leathers tha lead singer is wearing!!!

Saga - DON'T BE LATE - YouTube

Silent Knight is good, I agree. Amazing keyboards in the title track.

I'll keep that in mind about Images and Twilight. Haven't picked it up yet, but I don't think I will, maybe i'll listen to it on Youtube. That's unfortunate that they got rid of the sound. Silent Knight is my favorite that i've heard from them, so far.

Silent Knight is a really good album, I've listened to it a couple of times now and have put it down on my buying list as I liked it that much.

Besides Saga, Canadian bands of that era recorded some really great stuff. stuff like Triumph Allied Forces, April Wine Nature of the Beast and to a lesser extent Loverboy's Get Lucky and Keep it Up.

My dad showed me Triumph a year or two ago, and since then i've unfortunately only gotten two or three albums on Vinyl. They're definitely up there in talent, wish I could see them live.

I love Saga and taped their performance from Reading Festival in 1981, when it was broadcast on Tommy Vance's Friday Rock Show on BBC Radio 1 (along with Billy Squier). It was great and deserved/deserves an official release. If it exists as a boot, I haven't managed to track it down. At the time, they were unusual and did not sound like any other progressive rock band, but these days are incorrectly dismissed as neo. I also liked the Rob Moratti version of the band and his solo album is worth listening to, if you are a fan.

Another original and quality rock band from Canada is Max Webster, particularly on the album, A Million Vacations (1979), which does not have one weak track. Kim Mitchell's solo albums are pretty good too.

Billy Squier now that's a real name from the past, I was never much of a fan but his second album Don't Say No is a very good album. He kind of forged a hard rock sound that fell somewhere in-between AOR and Kiss style metal. The Kiss influence is no surprise as his previous band were heavily Kiss influenced anyway.