Saga

Saga – 10,000 Days (2007/2024)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 50:58 minutes | 658 MB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © earMUSIC

10,000 Days is the eighteenth studio album by Canadian band Saga. It was recorded after Michael Sadler had explained that he would leave the band for family reasons. The title therefore alludes to the thirty years Sadler had been part of Saga (which equates roughly 10,000 days). Sadler left after the tour but would return to the fold four years later.

“Corkentellis” is the first full-band instrumental Saga ever recorded (“Conversations” had some lines sung through a vocoder, whereas “Voila!” and “Watching the Clock” were solo piano interludes by Jim Gilmour). The track’s unusual title is an amalgam of the names of three former Saga managers – Clive Corcoran, Geoff Kent and Michael Ellis. Along with “Book of Lies”, it has become a live favourite.

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Saga – Worlds Apart (Remastered 2021) (1981/2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 43:26 minutes | 539 MB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © earMUSIC

“Worlds Apart” is the fourth studio album by the Canadian neo progressive rock band Saga and was originally released in 1981. The album was produced by Rupert Hine, and has been released with several different covers. Frontman Michael Sadler stated in the band’s video DVD Silhouette (2002) that Hine told him to stop “singing like a choir boy”. Sadler’s vocal style was noticeably different on Worlds Apart than on the first three Saga albums; he kept that style in successive performances with the band. Hine reportedly had Sadler climb to the roof of the English barn where the band was recording in order to get the proper emotion from Sadler for “On the Loose”.

Over 40 years have passed since the Canadian prog rock band SAGA released their self-titled debut album in 1978. Since then, they have been an exceptional musical phenomenon and toured the globe various times while selling over 8 million albums worldwide. Their typical trademarks – synthesizer harmonies, breathtaking guitar riffs, complex keyboard arrangements and the charismatic vocals of frontman Michael Sadler – have made Saga one of the most influential acts in the history of rock music.

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Saga – Silent Knight (Remastered) (1980/2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 37:37 minutes | 489 MB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © earMUSIC

Silent Knight is the third studio album by the Canadian progressive rock band Saga and was originally released in August 1980. Silent Knight is certified Gold in Canada (50 000), having reached #42 in the charts. The Einstein Tower in Potsdam, Germany was used as a template for the album cover.

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Saga – Saga (Remastered 2021) (1978/2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 45:48 minutes | 504 MB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © earMUSIC

A superb debut album from Saga; Prog-rockers with a melodic vein of songwriting already fully formed, and a vocalist possessing a velvety yet urgent and powerful voice.

The album begins with two fantastic songs, and then the next two makes you wonder if the beginning was only a fluke… but it picks up again, and the rest of the album is excellent. – Kim Alsos

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Saga – Network (Remastered 2021) (2004/2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 49:48 minutes | 647 MB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © earMUSIC

Nearly three decades after they started, Saga have derived very little from their main mission of being one of Canada’s eminent prog rock bands. Unfortunately, while their sound and quality of production have changed and evolved with technology, their songwriting style and dynamics really haven’t. That’s not to say Network isn’t a strong effort; on the contrary, it’s their most focused and polished work in years. However, as is the case with many of their recent releases, this won’t necessarily win over any new fans, and is likely to appease only their already loyal fan base. – Rob Theakston

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Saga – Marathon (Remastered 2021) (2003/2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 51:24 minutes | 657 MB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © earMUSIC

Like 1999’s Full Circle, Marathon offers little more than recycled rock clichés and unfulfilling musical hooks. While 25 years into their existence Saga still had a following, they had become an obvious caricature of themselves — an unintended Spinal Tap. But unlike on Full Circle, there appears to be a discernible degree of intensity and passion in these songs. Amid the predictable sounds and techniques utilized here, one song, “You Know I Know (Chapter 12),” incorporates a clever instrumental passage, although it’s not nearly enough to elevate this album from its overriding murk and mire. – Dave Sleger

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Saga – In Transit – Live (Remastered 2021) (1982/2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 44:16 minutes | 558 MB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © earMUSIC

“In Transit” is a live album by Canadian progressive rock band Saga. The album was recorded at the Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle, Munich on February 5, 1982 and at the Tivoli Theatre, Copenhagen on February 22, 23 & 24, 1982.

Over 40 years have passed since Canadian prog-rockers Saga released their breakout self-titled debut album in 1978. Their typical trademarks – synthesizer harmonies, breathtaking guitar riffs, complex keyboard arrangements and the charismatic vocals of frontman Michael Sadler – have helped Saga move over eight million records worldwide and remain an influential prog-rock institution. In 2021, earMUSIC pays tribute to Saga’s legacy with a series of remastered reissues of some off the group’s essential material released from 1978 to 2007.

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Saga – Images at Twilight (Remastered) (1979/2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 38:18 minutes | 473 MB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © earMUSIC

Images at Twilight is the second studio album by the Canadian progressive rock band Saga and was originally released in May 1979.

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Saga – House of Cards (Remastered 2021) (2001/2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 49:54 minutes | 667 MB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © earMUSIC

Over 40 years have passed since the Canadian prog-rock band SAGA released their self-titled debut album in 1978. Since then, they have been an exceptional musical phenomenon and toured the globe various times while selling over 10 million albums worldwide.

In 2021, earMUSIC will tribute SAGA’s legacy with an excellent reissue series, including their essential material from 1987 to 2007. Released as high-quality CD Digipak Edition as well as Gatefold Edition on 180g Virgin Vinyl, these beautifully recreated and enhanced SAGA reissues are must-haves in any fan’s SAGA collection.

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Saga – Heads or Tales (Remastered 2021) (1983/2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 47:37 minutes | 617 MB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © earMUSIC

“Heads or Tales” is the fifth studio album by the Canadian progressive rock band Saga and was originally released in 1983. The album was the second of the band’s to be produced by Rupert Hine. Although it did not receive the commercial success of the previous collaboration between the band and Hine, both “The Flyer” and “Cat Walk” became respectable radio hits for the band with the album eventually securing gold status in Canada (50,000) and Germany (250,000). A third single from the album, “Scratching the Surface”, making a regular appearance in the band’s concert line-up during the late-1990s and 2000s as a piano solo played by singer Jim Gilmour during a break by the other band members. The song reached #45 in the Canadian Singles charts, April 1984.

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Saga – Full Circle (Remastered 2021) (1999/2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 49:41 minutes | 628 MB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © earMUSIC

If nothing else Saga deserve kudos for sticking to their guns. Neither punk nor new wave nor grunge nor any of the other subgenres that have influenced popular music since Saga’s inception (1977) have infiltrated this band’s formula. Their brand of keyboard and guitar-heavy album and arena rock has experienced a dwindling audience in North America, but Saga still thrived in Europe, specifically Germany. Full Circle is quite generic, offering very little originality. It sounds frightfully similar to the throngs of progressive bands of the late ’70s who didn’t know how to adjust to the changing musical landscape and either adopted awkward, uncharacteristic traits, leading to a swift demise, or forged ahead unchanging and unceremoniously, resulting in a slow and painful death. For longtime fans of Saga Full Circle is likely a welcome addition to their discography, but to those who expect prog rock to progress, the album offers little of redeeming value.

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Saga – Detours (Live) [Remastered 2021] (1998)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 01:53:20 minutes | 1,44 GB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © earMUSIC

In addition to their unforgettable hit singles, it was especially the breathtaking concerts that helped SAGA to worldwide fame. As an ambitious live album, “Detours (Live)” developed into an absolute fan favorite shortly after its first release in 1999.

Recorded during concerts in Germany, Austria and France, “Detours (Live)” effortlessly captures the unique atmosphere of a SAGA concert.

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Saga – Behaviour (Remastered 2021) (1985/2021)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 45:18 minutes | 554 MB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © earMUSIC

When Saga started out in the late ’70s, their culmination of keyboards and guitar presented them with a sound that was nothing short of progressive. As the ’80s approached, they began to slim down their long instrumental rock suites and play shorter songs with more lyrics, eventually taking on a sound that veered more toward a commercial feel. Behaviour represents a little of both, with some of the tracks gleaming with radio savvy while a few still involve the band’s unmistakable progressive flair but to a lesser extent. “Take a Chance” rides on it’s clickety-clack rhythm and subdued but expressive vocal surge, while the lonely, midnight appeal of “What Do I Know” became one of their most frequented radio singles. Although Saga gained most of their recognition in Canada and Europe (particularly Germany), Behaviour’s all-around Rush-like appeal helped to widen the spotlight a little. “Misbehaviour” and “Nine Lives of Miss Midi” both contain elements of progressive rock in their instrumental overtones and in their lyrics, but the drift toward mainstream arises here as well with the vocals sounding friendlier and the keyboard excursions kept to a minimum without overcompensating. With the band producing most of the album themselves, Behaviour begins to reveal sharper songwriting and finessed musicianship that gave way to an almost wholesale change in their style, but later albums would prove that their progressive tendencies were far from abandoned. – Mike DeGagne

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