Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Saga
Label: SPV Records
Released: 2004
Rating: 4.5/5
In the middle of summer 2002, Saga filmed their only European show of the tour celebrating their 25th anniversary. The venue chosen for this big occasion was Bonn, capital of the former West Germany. Picking that spot for the tour’s one and only European date made a kind of logical sense, and it turned out to be a great call for shooting this DVD too, since Saga have always been at their most popular outside Canada in Germany. And that matters a lot when you’re trying to conjure up a killer live atmosphere.
It was a close call, though: the show nearly got cancelled thanks to the organizers’ bungling. Only the skill of the band’s crew made it possible for this one-of-a-kind event to happen at all. An open-air stage of decent size was picked in a hurry, though not exactly ideal for a band of their caliber, who had played far bigger venues. The date also clashed with Germany’s matches at the football World Cup, but the turnout was good anyway. A healthy crowd of Saga fans of all ages gathered in front of the stage, and judging by the variety of shirts and souvenirs with the band’s logo, they didn’t hold back on spending their money.
The quality of the footage is enviable throughout. The camera crew proved they know their trade, with the cameras following each musician’s moves nicely and catching every worthwhile gesture. The production is very good too, although keyboardist Jim Gilmour’s backing vocals could have been a touch louder in places. The only slightly annoying thing is that a few seconds of black almost always follow between songs, but that doesn’t come close to ruining the fantastic atmosphere.
The performance itself is, as usual with Saga, phenomenal. Anyone who has never been to one of their shows can see for themselves on this recording what one of the best live acts in progressive rock is capable of. The band are incredibly tight with each other the whole way through, and there’s no shortage of bursts of big stage energy either. Overseeing it all is the charismatic presence of singer Michael Sadler, who isn’t just an outstanding vocalist and the focal point on stage, but has also long been a seasoned multi-instrumentalist, regularly heading over to the synthesizer and every now and then to bass guitar or percussion.
The setlist is almost a dream for any Saga fan. Since the show took place after the release of the excellent album “House Of Cards” (2001), the emphasis is on material from that record, with brilliant renditions of songs like “The Runaway” and “We’ll Meet Again”. From the “newer” stuff they also included the punchy “The One”, the nostalgic “Remember When” and the epic, bombastic “Time Bomb” (all from the album “Full Circle”, 1999), which prove once again that they can hold their own against the older material.
Their classics from the late 70s and early 80s are still the ones that thrill the legions of fans the most. Worth singling out among them are “Careful Where You Step”, which has over the years become almost the standard opener of their shows, the big hit “Wind Him Up” and of course “Don’t Be Late”, without which no Saga show is imaginable. The dynamic between the instrumentalists on stage is outstanding throughout. They also show off more than once their distinctive, unique approach of using three keyboards at once, with Gilmour, Sadler and bassist Jim Crichton all behind keys at the same time. At one point even drummer Steve Negus joins them, wearing a “janitor” cap in the Canadian national colors for the show.
Sadler, as always, nudges the crowd into singing along, though they hardly need any extra encouragement, since they belt out everything loudly and without a hitch whenever he gives them the chance to sing a chorus, or even a whole verse, in his place. Meanwhile, the superb guitarist Ian Crichton, who looks like a dead ringer for a young Milan Kučan (Slovenia’s first president), keeps demonstrating his reputation as one of those overlooked guitar virtuosos still waiting for proper recognition from the classic rock media. Saga may not be the most visually exciting band around, since apart from rich lighting effects they don’t offer anything dramatically eye-catching in their shows (which is often just another way of saying cheap and kitschy), and they’re hardly pretty boys either, but they make up for all of it with outstanding stage cohesion and total devotion to their music.
The bigger surprises are the wonderful renditions of a few forgotten classics. Among them is definitely the nostalgic ballad “No Regrets”, with keyboardist Jim Gilmour in the spotlight, showing off not only his unique singing but also his oboe playing, and the humorous “See Them Smile”, where Gilmour’s backing vocals in the chorus could have been a touch louder. The very good takes on “Compromise” and “Take It Or Leave It” could also count as surprises, and they’ll put a smile on the face of plenty of old-school fans.
“A Brief Case” is here too, Negus’s traditional drum solo spot, where Sadler joins him as an extra percussionist on his “briefcase”. On “Time’s Up” we get to admire their versatility again, with Gilmour picking up the accordion and Ian Crichton the mandolin while on the superb performance of the classic “Humble Stance”, Sadler, as tradition dictates, hangs a bass guitar around his neck. The rousing “You’re Not Alone”, where the crowd can once again stand in for Sadler on the chorus, proves an excellent choice to close the show, which is inevitably followed by thunderous applause and calls to come back on stage.
The DVD also comes with a few extra goodies, such as a documentary about the making of the show, an overview of their discography up to that point, a photo gallery, details on their live gear and the option to listen to individual songs in 5.1 audio. The limited edition of this DVD also included a bonus DVD, “Marathon World Tour 2003 – The Official Bootleg”, a concert recording from the tour supporting the album “Marathon” (2003).
“All Areas” is a superb live recording that manages to capture and showcase everything that makes this legendary Canadian band great on stage. Their fans, who would of course much rather see them live, surely have it in their collection already, while the less devoted can use it to marvel at one of the best live bands of our time and see why it’s worth catching one of their shows. The band played their only European date of this tour with incredible passion, rewarding all their loyal German fans in the process. The only shame is that the recording didn’t also come out on CD, since plenty of their fans (the older ones especially) still haven’t fully accepted DVD as today’s dominant format for live recordings.
Lineup
Michael Sadler – vocals, synthesizer, bass guitar, percussion
Ian Crichton – guitar
Jim Crichton – bass guitar, synthesizer, backing vocals
Jim Gilmour – keyboards, backing vocals, oboe, accordion
Steve Negus – drums
Production
Jim Crichton
Track list
1. Careful Where You Step
2. Compromise
3. The One
4. Wind Him Up
5. Remember When
6. No Regrets
7. The Runaway
8. Time Bomb
9. We’ll Meet Again
10. A Breif Case
11. Don’t Be Late
12. Time’s Up
13. See Them Smile
14. Take It Or Leave It
15. Humble Stance
16. You’re Not Alone
