Topic: Riff-In-A-Jiff
Formed in Oakville, Ontario in the mid-1970's, Saga was built around the core of the final line-up of the band Fludd. Throughout much of the band's long career, they've enjoyed greater success in Europe than they have in North America. This was true right from their early years; their synth/guitar/electric drums-driven progressive rock style was embraced overseas, while going largely unnoticed in the US. They enjoyed modest success at home in Canada with the singles "It's Time", "See Them Smile", and "Don't Be Late".Things changed in 1981 when Saga's fourth album Worlds Apart (pictured) resulted in breakthrough success in North America. Ironically, this success came from their first album recorded outside of North America; the sessions took place in England, with producer Rupert Hine. The first single, "Wind Him Up", took Saga into the Top 40 in Canada for the first time, reaching #22. "On the Loose", the follow-up single, was also well-received. In the US, the two singles were released in reverse order, with "Wind Him Up" climbing to #64 on the Billboard chart (and "On the Loose" reaching greater heights).
While this was the band's most commercial album to that point, it was largely driven by the same elements as their first three equally superb albums, that being Michael Sadler's acrobatic vocals, and the harmonizing and duelling trade-off lines of Ian Crichton's guitar and Jim Gilmour's keyboards.
Worlds Apart achieved Gold status in the US, and the success of the album in Canada won Saga the 1982 Juno Award for Most Promising Group. The promise was realized as Saga has gone on to be one of Canada's best and longest-lasting musical acts.
SAGA - "Wind Him Up" (J.Crichton/M.Sadler/I.Crichton/J.Gilmour/S.Negus)
https://www.angelfire.com/planet/zerofret/annesblog/canriffs.txt
Audio:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7J0QdXBY0wo
For Canadian site visitors, hope you all have a great Victoria Day holiday weekend! Have fun!
Posted by planet/zerofret
at 12:01 AM EDT
Updated: Saturday, May 16, 2009 1:02 AM EDT
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Updated: Saturday, May 16, 2009 1:02 AM EDT
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