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Rating: With their fourth album, Saga gives a strong jolt to their career, helped by their record label that sends them to record in England, putting them in the hands of an up-and-coming producer full of ideas: Rupert Hine. He, a musician even before being a sound engineer, identifies the weak points of the Canadian quintet’s charming musical proposal, first and foremost the singing of Michael Sadler, rudely invited by the producer to "grow a pair" and to "stop singing like a backup singer," while arrangements are made to relieve him of as many keyboard duties as possible... "you are not an instrumentalist who also sings, you are the frontman!" Sadler will forever treasure Hine’s urging.
The producer gives the band more freedom than ever to indulge in those remarkable interplays between guitar and keyboards, constituting both the basic riffs and the acrobatic instrumental breaks of the pieces, recognizing them as a distinctive element and an absolute strength of their offer. However, he almost vetoes synthesizer solos, so markedly progressive, so segregating towards a noble but niche musical taste.
The highly talented guitar player Ian Chricton is advised to permanently set aside the warm, woody, and muffled sounds of the Gibson Les Paul, of absolute historical pedigree, but not very suitable for the fiery and intricate style of the musician, to turn instead to the more metallic, defined, and analytical sounds of six strings like the Fender Stratocaster. Chricton reveals superior adaptability on these, furthermore, the fretboard allows more ease toward favored high notes while the vibrato arm, a missing accessory on the Les Paul, proves to be an indispensable expressive enrichment, true enhancement to the unpredictability and showmanship so instinctively under the little musician’s fingers.
Bass and synthetic drums finally (the infamous Simmons, a true must of those eighties) accompany the traditional instruments, inevitably adding a breath and pop accessibility to the ensemble. From all this emerges the same old Saga, but more sparkling, more powerful, more gritty, more alluring. The songwriting and instrumental ideas were already remarkable from the start, but now they manage to find an optimal, incisive, well-produced form. The result is that for a good portion of Saga fans, we are in the presence of a masterpiece in their career, unsurpassed and unsurpassable in nearly thirty record releases.
It opens with an awesome track, "On the Loose": the usual fast arpeggio of keyboardist Jim Gilmour, serving as a sequence under the verses, is broader and more rhythmic and brilliant than ever. Jim Chricton's bass (Ian's brother) powerfully travels inside Steve Negus's drum, and finally, the rhythmic drive is optimal: Saga had never lacked melody, but now there’s also a “punch.” The good Sadler starts singing with an attitude never heard before, especially concerning a new, unprecedented irony and joy, where past relaxed and contemplative tones make way for emphasis, adrenaline, in a word, rock'n'roll. The instrumental break is also exhilarating, with that cat Ian Chricton managing to compete in agility with his keyboardist as they weave heart-stopping thirty-second notes, wrapping around each other’s unison plays and high school harmonizations before giving free rein to the singing again, towards the final fading.
But the most successful track at the time, once released as a single, is the third "Wind Him Up". It has a structure quite similar to "On The Loose", but the thuds of the Simmons, preferred on this occasion over traditional drums, give it a more pop and "modern" aura (especially for the times), capable of attracting a certain share of (also) club-going fringes. Sadler shines, attacking the song with all the passion he’s capable of: chronicles recount that he was even sent by the producer to sing on the roof of the country cottage hosting the recording studio to... draw joy, enthusiasm, and energy from the scenery and fresh air of the place, thus removing any remains of timidity from his performance.
The two episodes described above are interspersed in the lineup by a high-class ballad, titled "Time’s Up", featuring the synthetic strokes of the Simmons and the subdued keyboard layers opposed to the earthy showmanship of the lead guitar and the ironic, playful interpretation of the frontman: a little gem.
The other slower-tempo track instead draws on the more progressive and "European" side of the group’s inspiration, "No Regrets" can be considered therefore less commercial and more niche... but it's wonderful! Gilmour debuts on vocals and his youthful voice, bordering on naïve, heartfelt and fresh though technically not strong, is perfect for establishing a gentle and dreamy aura, like a medieval fairy tale. Furthermore, the long final coda of the piece is stunning, with the young keyboardist taking up the clarinet, one of the protagonists along with the piano of his childhood formative studies. The fairy-tale reed vibrations, subjected to a cathedral of reverbs, surrounded by the piano chimes and gradually immersed in an ocean of keyboards, are pure bliss for those who possess the enzyme of romance and melancholy: in short, sweet and classy progressive 100%, inlaid in an album that tries to detach from it as much as possible, but cannot episodically not follow such happy inspiration to the end.
The rest of the album offers effective moments (except for the instrumental "Conversations", which is truly a filler) even if not so thrilling. Special mention for "Framed", which starts without infamy or praise by Saga standards, but shifts to the next level as a long, superb, engaging guitar solo imposes itself, becoming ever more sinuous and dramatic and making one wish it would never end.
"Worlds Apart" brings Saga out of the corner and positions them as a great international promise in the rock field, as they are the creators of a peculiar style that keeps a foot in several doors and can thus be approached by listeners with very different tastes: one can come to them loving progressive, or pop, or instrumental virtuosity, or rather tough yet melodic rock... They will indeed manage to do (in my opinion) even better than this handful of songs, but unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately for us?) they will never break on a large scale: indeed, this album remains the most well-known and sold in their noble catalog.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 On the Loose (04:17)
One day you feel quite stable
The next you're comin' off the wall
But I think that you should warn me
If you start heading for a fall
I see the problem start
I watch the tension grow
I see you keeping it to yourself
And then instead of reaching conclusions
I see you reaching for something else
No one can stop you now
Tonight you're on the loose
No one to tell you how
Tonight you're on the loose
I see no harm or danger in escaping
If the method suits the style
We put the mind on idle
And let the others take it for awhile
When the pace is too fast
And I think I won't last
You know where I'll be found
I'll be standing here beside myself
Getting ready for the final round
No one can stop me now
Tonight I'm on the loose
No one to tell me how
Tonight I'm on the loose
The time we feel most stable
Is the time we're comin' off the wall
And there's every indication
We may be heading for a fall
So let the problems start
And let the tension grow
We'll be keeping it to ourselves
And while they're busy reaching their conclusions
We'll be reaching for something else
No one can stop us now
Tonight we're on the loose
No one to tell us how
Tonight we're on the loose
02 Time's Up (04:08)
I spend half of each day just eyeing the clock
And dream of all the things I'd like to do
'n nothing ever changes from day to day
I've just been guarding this desk for you
It's a mayday, it's a mayday,
There must be something else I could do
It's a mayday, it's a mayday,
Instead of guarding this desk for you
Chorus
Time's up !
You've been wishing your life away
Time's up !
You've been wishing your life away
I'm getting very tired of waiting for the weekend
Then there's nothing when it comes around
I need a little more excitement, give me some adventure
I don't know how you've held me this long
It's a mayday, it's a mayday,
Time just marches on
It's a mayday, it's a mayday,
I don't know how you've held me this long
Chorus
Chances are chances and I know I've had a few
But at the time it just seemed wrong
Now I'm sitting here wondering, waiting
Watching out his window
And I'm sure my day will come
It's a mayday, it's a mayday,
Time just marches on
It's a mayday, it's a mayday,
And I know my day will come
03 Wind Him Up (05:54)
Aldo's standing at his table
And he's wondering if he's able
To pick the number right this time
He watches as the wheel stops spinning
Sees the number that is winning
As he reaches for his glass of wine
Once he starts it's hard to stop
He's keepin'up a pace like a tight wound clock
Be sure you don't step in his way
He'll keep those numbers rolling
This may be his last day.
As all the bets are taken
Aldo lights a smoke, he's shakin'
From carnation right to the ground
He knows tonight holds one last chance
'n gives the wheel a final glance
Slippery fingers drop the money down
Once he starts it's hard to stop
He's keepin'up a pace like a tight wound clock
And as he leaves the table, [ No luck today ]
You can rest assured
He's comin' back to try again
Wind him up, he can't stop
He's wound up tight just like the clock
That's winding its second hand down
Wind him up, he can't stop
He keeps on going 'round the clock
He's winding his second hand down
Wind him up, he won't stop
He's wound up tight just like the clock
That's winding its second hand down
Wind him up, he won't stop
He keeps on going 'round the clock
He's winding his second hand down
Wind him up, he can't stop
He's wound up tight just like the clock
That's winding its second hand down
Wind him up, he can't stop
He keeps on going 'round the clock
He's winding his second hand.
04 Amnesia (03:15)
(lyrics by Michael Sadler)
A certain time, a certain face
In a very unfamiliar place
Was it really that long ago?
I don't think so!
Oh no! Oh no!
There's only total strangers everywhere I go
I'm so confused, I think I'm losing it ...
I live with amnesia
I live with amnesia
I live with amnesia
Dancing with the shadows of my memory
I live with amnesia
Dancing with the shadows of my memory
The future was looking bright
But now everything's black and white
Is it true, that I didn't have far to go?
I don't think so!
Oh no! Oh no!
There's so much information that I know I know ...
I'm so confused, I think I'm losing it
05 Framed (05:44)
(lyrics by Michael Sadler)
Early morning instrusion
The accusations spelt conclusions
I'd been under suspicion
Now my fate was their decision
That's why they took me away
Midnight courtroom confusion
The sentence of guaranteed seclusion
(no more Ernie Bilko)
Next day found me in isolation
Working on my rehabilitation
I've been framed
Have you no shame?
Yes, but I've been framed ... again!
I've been framed
No, you're to blame
No! I've been framed .. again!
I've been framed
You're taking the blame
Yes, but I've been framed ... again!
I've been framed
No, you're to blame
No! I've been framed ... again!
Two weeks later I saw the daylight
No way of knowing who to credit
(for the education)
Confused and anxious, I started walking
Next time I'll watch just who I'm talking to
I'd been framed
Had you no shame?
Yes, but I'd been framed ... again!
I'd been framed
No, you're to blame
No! I'd been framed .. again!
I'd been framed
You took the blame
Yes, but I'd been framed ... again!
I'd been framed
No, you're to blame
No! I'd been framed ... again!
I'd been framed
I'd been framed, again!
I'd been framed
I'd been framed, again!
06 The Interview (03:48)
(lyrics by Michael Sadler)
Good afternoon! May I introduce myself?
With a story to be told you may need help
I know you were a headline for some time
But now you're part of a motionless mime
Lights have dimmed and times have changed
And the world is watching a different stage
Don't you think it's time we had a younger face?
You can slip away with no disgrace
So tell me ...
How long should we wait around
Don't you understand, when you're down we're down?
The memory of a lasting fame
Is better fed on reruns, no shame
So tell me ...
There's one thing I must know
Tell me why you can't let go
There's one thing we must know
Tell me, why won't you let go?
How long do you think you'll last
Living with a continuous past
As you stare at us we say,
"You're looking less like me each day!"
And there's one thing I must know
Tell me why you can't let go
There's one thing we must know
Tell me, why won't you let go?
Tell me
Why can't you let go?
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