Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Saga
Label: Ear Music Records
Release: 2014
Running time: 51:24
Rating: 3.5/5
Saga, the Canadian masters of progressive rock, are still going full throttle after the return of original singer Michael Sadler, which gave them a fresh burst of energy and delighted countless longtime fans of this cult band with ‘a thousand’ interesting ideas. The dust had barely settled after the very strong album »20/20« (2012) when the Canadian prog-rock greats were already back with a new studio release bearing a rather unusual title: »Sagacity«. It’s a rare English word meaning sharp, intelligent perception and the ability to make good judgments. But the real kicker in the context of this album is that it’s actually a portmanteau: Saga + city = Sagacity. Logical and funny at the same time, right? Canadian humor can honestly be pretty hard to get at times, and it’s certainly not the first time Saga have picked an odd name for a record (the best example being »Heads Or Tales« from 1983).
Long before »Sagacity« came out, the cover art was hinting at a potentially ambitious musical nature for the new album, since it brought back the cybernetic grasshoppers every longtime fan knows well, which usually only showed up on Saga’s very best records. Of course, album covers can be deceiving. After hugely successful tours with the returning Sadler, expectations and appetites among Saga fans for new music were understandably huge, and plenty hoped Saga would at least match the quality of the previous album »20/20«, if not get back to the level of their early period (1978-1983) or perhaps the ‘resurrection’ period (1999-2007).
Sadly, »Sagacity«, despite being one of their punchiest efforts ever, isn’t an album that thrills as much as most people probably hoped. Even after many repeated listens, »Sagacity« just doesn’t ‘settle’ nicely into your ears the way almost all their albums from the past decade managed to, even though in terms of songwriting approach and the structure of the individual arrangements it’s a typical Saga record. The main reason the songs never quite hit their mark is the thoroughly muddy, totally atypical production, which just doesn’t suit this band. In an obvious attempt to sound as ‘modern’ and punchy as possible, the bass lines of bassist, auxiliary keyboardist and occasional producer Jim Crichton are pushed way up front this time, which is especially noticeable on the opening track »Let It Slide«. It never achieves the kind of atmospheric effect most of Saga’s past openers pulled off, while the symphonic arrangements, mostly the domain of keyboard maestro Jim Gilmour, are barely audible on most of the tracks.
The production attempt to upgrade the traditional Saga sound and make it ‘modern’ has thus come off as pretty forced and misguided. A lot of attention on the individual tracks goes to the brilliant guitarist Ian Crichton, who takes up a hefty share of space for some clever improvisations. That’s good in one way, but the production costs them their famous synth lines, which are at times almost unnoticeable this time around. As a result, there are very few songs on »Sagacity« you’d remember for long. On top of that, there’s no real cohesion or flow between them. The track »Vital Signs«, which follows the pale opener mentioned above, promises a lot with its nice chorus, tight vocal harmonies and tasteful string of guitar riffs, but it gets dragged down by the muddy production, where it’s pretty hard to tell the individual instruments apart in the mix.
The nostalgic »It Doesn’t Matter (Who You Are)« fares a bit better, with keyboardist Gilmour taking the lead vocals, something he’s been getting more of again in recent years, but even here there’s a nagging feeling that something is missing. The loud guitar and pompous bass lines are once again front and center when it comes to the sonic balance with the synths, while the rhythmically rather uncreative structure and the at best average, if not clichéd, lyrics are only pulled out of the fire by the quality vocal lines.
On »Go With The Flow«, another production miss, you can also hear some acoustic guitar, which doesn’t exactly happen often with Saga and makes for a welcome experiment in that respect. Calm and punchy sections keep alternating, while Gilmour garnishes the whole thing with mighty keyboard improvisation. As for the crunchy rhythmic nuances, though, it’s best to just forget them. New drummer Mike Thorne, who did a very good job on all the tracks, isn’t to blame that his drum fills sound completely indistinct at times.
The melancholic ballad »Press 9« is yet another unusual, symphonically leaning experiment, built on ethereal vocal lines between Sadler and Gilmour and a pastoral acoustic guitar melody. Saga wanted to offer something new here too, but the end result isn’t all that impressive, though it’s far from a bad effort. The title of the most bizarre experiment on the album, however, undoubtedly goes to »Wake Up«, which at times features electronically compressed rhythmic patterns, which really wasn’t the smartest move. Amid all this rhythmic crunchiness and electronics, Sadler’s vocals are barely distinguishable, so it’s not just the botched production that’s the problem here, but also a lack of songwriting ideas.
»Don’t Forget To Breathe« improves the impression a bit, being a much more traditional Saga track thanks to an interesting guitar riff from Ian that’s somewhat akin to the one from the classic »You’re Not Alone«. It’s also one of the few tracks on the album that won’t be forgotten at the first opportunity. »The Further You Go« has an interesting, melancholic-ethereal intro. Too bad the moving vocal harmonies (once again) fail to land because of the wrong production, while Jimbot’s passionate mini moog solo is among the few spectacular moments on »Sagacity«. »On My Way« is definitely among the album’s better moments, with a long instrumental intro of ethereal synth waves, followed by a melodic motif with dramatic vocal harmonies. Under different production circumstances this would have been another Saga treat and an instant (live) classic, but as it is, it’s just one of the better »Sagacity« compositions, all of which suffer from the wrong production approach.
»No Two Sides« also comes off well, and, mostly thanks to its central arrangement, likewise recalls some past standards. It’s one of the few moments on the album where Sadler’s distinctive vocal charisma gets to shine fully, whereas elsewhere he’s almost ‘drowned out’ by crunchy rhythmic flourishes. It somehow seems the album’s quality gradually picks up a bit toward the end. »Luck« is a punchy, ambitiously conceived creation where Sadler’s vocals shine at full steam, which also goes for Ian’s characteristic guitar phrasing. Praise is due as well for the very strong album closer »I’ll Be«, which opens with dramatic, pastoral acoustic guitar arrangements and peaks in an epic chorus where Michael’s talent for crafting hugely emotional vocal nuances comes alive in full force. Fans of guitar virtuosos will once again revel in yet another virtuoso Ian solo.
»Sagacity« is a letdown overall for anyone hoping for yet another Saga masterpiece, but it’s still an extremely solid effort for those fans who didn’t set their expectations sky-high, maybe even unrealistically so, and are happy just knowing the legendary band can still put together a quality studio album after all these decades. They’ll forgive the band a lot, such as the fact that »Sagacity« simply doesn’t match the quality of most of their studio output from the past decade, even though there’s no denying the ambition and quality of individual compositions. This time Saga wanted to experiment with a new production approach and some songwriting ideas that ultimately weren’t realized all that well, and it didn’t quite come off overall. For the next studio album, along with a much-needed change of production tactics, it would definitely be better if more than just one year goes by in between.
Lineup
Michael Sadler – vocals
Ian Crichton – guitar
Jim Crichton – bass, keyboards
Jim Gilmour – keyboards, backing vocals
Mike Thorne – drums
Production
Saga
Track List
1. Let It Slide (4:49)
2. Vital Signs (3:27)
3. It Doesn’t Matter Who You Are (3:59)
4. Go With the Flow (5:26)
5. Press 9 (3:48)
6. Wake Up (2:34)
7. Don’t Forget to Breathe (3:24)
8. The Further You Go (4:04)
9. On My Way (5:15)
10. No Two Sides (3:58)
11. Luck (3:39)
12. I’ll Be (6:21)
