Saga - Worlds Apart Revisited
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Saga - Worlds Apart Revisited
Performance
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The year was 1981, and Canadian, progressive-rockers Saga had just issued their first major-label release, Worlds Apart. The album was their first big commercial breakthrough, propelled by the two hit songs "On The Loose" and "Wind Him Up", which dominated the mainstream rock radio charts in my area for the next few years. The follow-on music videos for these songs would also enjoy significant airplay on the then brand new MTV - when it actually used to show music videos...other than rap. I immediately picked up the Worlds Apart album (vinyl that is) and dubbed those two songs to cassette tape, and they saw continuous playback in my car stereo on the way to and from school, work, and play. "On The Loose" is such an intense and energetic rocker that it always provided a healthy dose of adrenalin whenever I needed a good legal rush to start my day. The band's next studio album, 1983's Heads or Tales, was almost as good as Worlds Apart overall, but it lacked any songs as powerful as either "On The Loose" or "Wind Him Up". "The Flyer" did enjoy some radio success, but things pretty much dried up after that. I have not really kept up with Saga much since then, until their Worlds Apart Revisited DVD recently caught my eye. There was just no way I could pass on that one. Saga has been touring and putting out new albums quite steadily over the last three decades, and all of the key players have mostly remained in tact during this time. In 1986, drummer Steve Negus and keyboardist Jim Gilmour left the band over management issues, but they eventually returned in 1993. In January of 2007, front man Michael Sadler announced his retirement from Saga, after leading the band for nearly 30 years, but in January of 2011 he rejoined the band. I guess the whole "needed to spend more time with my family" thing gets a little boring after a while when you've been fronting a rock band your whole life. This DVD captures a special Saga show that was recorded in December 2005, in Pratteln, Switzerland, where the band performed their popular Worlds Apart album in its entirety, along with several other songs that spanned their career. In an unusual fashion for this type of thing, they inserted the Worlds Apart performance right in the middle of the set, instead of just leading off or closing the show with it. It worked out rather well that way though. The pre-Worlds Apart portion of the show was superb, leading off with the Heads or Tales track, "The Pitchman", which is one of my favorites off that album. Their 1978 self-titled debut album was heavily favored this night with four songs, with the excellent "Ice Nice" taking you up to the main event. Seven songs into the set, Sadler announced that they would be playing the Worlds Apart album in its entirety, and then kicked things off with the album's opening track, "On The Loose". I'll tell you, I had chills up my spine throughout the entire song. I probably hadn't heard the song in at least 15 years or more, and this incredible performance reminded my why I used to play it so much as a kid. It has never sounded better than it does on this DVD. "Wind Him Up" was even more impressive, especially Sadler's vocals. His voice was still as powerful as ever, and the passion in his performance was amazing. The thing that makes Saga unique from all of the other semi-progressive rock bands out there is that they are fronted by a singer who seems like he would be equally at home singing show tunes on a Broadway stage as he is in front of thousands of screaming Saga fans at your local hockey arena. As one Amazon.com reviewer so eloquently put it, Sadler is "the Canadian Freddie Mercury." For some strange reason I also kept thinking how much Sadler sounded like Clay Aiken, or visa-versa, since they both share similar dramatic vocal styles. Imagine if Aiken had been able to sing "On The Loose" for one of his American Idol performances? Now that I would have tuned in for. After wrapping up the Worlds Apart set, they go on to sample a few more different albums including their most recent album at the time, Network, with the song "Keep It Reel." The finish up the set with a couple of crowd pleasers from their debut album, "Humble Stance" and "How Long," before closing the show with "Careful Where You Step," from 1980's Silent Knight. Saga certainly picked the right venue to film this DVD because the appreciative Swiss crowd was enthusiastic and energized throughout the whole show, which probably inspired the band to stay in high gear all night. The DVD production quality was impressive, featuring a couple
of superb sounding Dolby 5.1 Surround and 2.0 Stereo audio mixes, and a sharp and vibrant
picture. My only complain is that the picture was not presented in widescreen
format. The camera angles looked excellent, but the director was a little quick
on the changes for my taste. What else is new huh? A second disk was also
included that contained the following featurettes: After putting out one album, 2009's The Human Condition, with new singer Rob Moratti, after Michael Sadler's departure, it will be interesting to see where Saga goes from here and how long things last now that Sadler is back in the fold. As long as they keep putting out excellent concert DVDs like Worlds Apart Revisited, I'll certainly be around to find out. Reviewed by Paul M. Roy - March 2011 |
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Running Time: 116 Minutes |
DVD Release Date - June 2007 |