Over 40 years have passed since Canadian melodic prog-rock band SAGA released their self-titled debut album. Since then, they have been an exceptional musical phenomenon and toured the globe various times — all the while selling over 10 million albums worldwide.
Their sonic trademarks – synthesizer harmonies, keyboard-guitar riffs, melodic arrangements, and the charismatic vocals of frontman Michael Sadler – have made Saga an influential rock act of the modern era.
In 2021, earMUSIC started the celebration the band’s four-decade legacy launching a reissue series exquisitely remastered and these “must own” releases will be welcome additions to the musical libraries of the Saga faithful.
We have been featuring in exclusive at plotn08 all Saga 2021 remasters, and now it’s time to complete the collection with another release, the excellent “Detours“.
Captured during Saga’s European Tour in 1997, “Detours” is the perfect showcase of how awesome this band is, both in musicianship and quality of recording / producing their albums. And both how Saga is able to mix rock punch and prog melodies at the same time.
“Detours” is made up of an endless string of Saga classics and a few newer songs thrown in for good measure. Every song here is performed with an energy, power and passion that far outshine the original studio recordings. Especially those from the late 70s and early 80s constitute evident improvements; there is simply more punch in these live recordings.
In typical Prog-fashion, the show is opened with a classical piece in The Hall Of The Mountain King. After this forceful neo-classical introduction, the band embarks on a tour de force of classic songs with the first seven following the intro track are taken from classic albums like 1981’s Worlds Apart, 1980’s Silent Knight and the self-titled debut from 1978.
The latter is represented with no less than four tracks in total including the progressive Ice Nice, The Perfectionist and a prolonged rendition of Humble Stance at the end of Disc II.
Btw, Humble Stance ends after 7:20, but keep listening! It’s followed by about 90 seconds of silence, and then Steve Negus’ drum solo plays as a ‘hidden track’.
Other notable moments include the unforgettable Don’t Be Late and a very pleasant, Keith Emerson-like piano solo (entitled William’s Walkabout). Less progressive, but still very good classic rocking songs include The Interview, On The Loose, The Flyer and Scratching The Surface.
Among the newer (at the time of the performance) songs, we find the very good acoustic title-track from The Security Of Illusion album, another acoustic song in I Walk With You from Steel Umbrellas, The Cross from Generation 13 and Heaven Can Wait from The Pleasure & The Pain.
These selections are among the best from their respective albums. I would very much have liked to hear more from Generation 13, but you cannot have everything can you?
This is a fantastic, all-time enjoyable live album not only plenty of Saga’s best numbers, but also in versions more ‘rockin’ than the originals. The sound quality of this remaster is impressive, so if you usually pass from live albums, you better check ”Detours [Remastered 2021]”.
”Detours” is an excellent live document and sufficient evidence in its own right that Saga was a force to be reckoned with on stage at the end of the 20th century, and still is nowadays.
Highly Recommended
Disc I
01 – In the Hall of the Mountain King William (Remastered 2021) [Live]
02 – How Long (Remastered 2021) [Live]
03 – The Perfectionist (Remastered 2021) [Live]
04 – Careful Where You Step (Remastered 2021) [Live]
05 – Ice Nice (Remastered 2021) [Live]
06 – Don’t Be Late (Remastered 2021) [Live]
07 – Interview (Remastered 2021) [Live]
08 – Wind Him Up (Remastered 2021) [Live]
09 – Welcome to the Zoo (Remastered 2021) [Live]
10 – Take a Chance (Remastered 2021) [Live]
11 – William’s Walkabout (Remastered 2021) [Live]
12 – The Cross (Remastered 2021) [Live]
Disc II
01 – Scratching the Surface (Remastered 2021) [Live]
02 – On the Loose (Remastered 2021) [Live]
03 – The Security of Illusion (Remastered 2021) [Live]
04 – I Walk with You (Remastered 2021) [Live]
05 – Time’s Up (Remastered 2021) [Live]
06 – Heaven Can Wait (Remastered 2021) [Live]
07 – The Flyer (Remastered 2021) [Live]
08 – You’re Not Alone (Remastered 2021) [Live]
09 – Framed (Remastered 2021) [Live]
10 – Humble Stance (Remastered 2021) [Live]
Michael Sadler – vocals, keyboards
Ian Crichton – guitars
Jim Crichton – bass, keyboards
Jim Gilmour – keyboards, vocals
Steve Negus – drums