Wilson Saga On Track

1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-78952-574-8
Verlag: Sonicbond Publishing
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, 160 Seiten

It all began in 1977, when Jim Crichton and Michael Sadler, both with UK heritage, joined forces in their hometown of Oakville, Ontario, to write a few songs. What transpired was an impressive output of recorded material and the emergence of one of Canada's most influential bands, selling millions of records worldwide. Initially influenced by Gentle Giant and King Crimson, they developed synth-driven, complex prog rock arrangements and melodic hooks that were tricky to categorise, but that didn't halt their growing popularity across Europe (mainly Germany), North America and Puerto Rico. Fans admired their technical prowess, intelligent storytelling, and innovative approach to songwriting. They were also clever, daring, and experimental, creating an inspired decades-spanning Chapters puzzle, a 25-track concept album, an ill-fated TV soundtrack attempt, and a 'hits' acoustic reworking. Saga didn't achieve mainstream recognition, but is appreciated for its incredible musicianship, thought-provoking anthemic music, and exceptional live performances.
This book explores every track from Saga's 23 studio albums and chronicles the band's other releases, highlighting the key factors related to each. It includes the thoughts of the band and the music press, as well as exclusive interviews with two of Saga's founders. It's a homage and an essential guide to an exceptional band.

Mike Wilson has done most things in the music industry: songwriter, drummer, adviser, mentor, radio presenter, manager and producer. Mike formed the new wave of British heavy metal band Oxym in 1977, releasing the single 'Music Power' in 1980, and the album Passing Through Gateways 36 years later. Mike also wrote and performed on Chayan's 'Forgotten Dreams of an Unbeliever' in 2019 and 'Climbing a Cloud', a tribute to Max Webster by The Universal Juveniles UK in 2016 . Mike is a Business Consultant and Lectures at York St John University, England. He is also a qualified cricket umpire. He lives in Lancashire, UK.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Wilson, Mike

Leseproben

Introduction

It’s Time

As I write, Saga have just completed their It Never Ends tour, playing 40 dates from 3 February 2024 to 7 December 2024, which is remarkable for a band in their 47th year. From the ‘classic’ lineup, Steve Negus (drums) left Saga in 2003 to pursue his own musical endeavours, Jim Crichton (bass) retired from touring in 2018 and Ian Crichton (guitar) took time off due to a broken leg.

Jim Gilmour (keyboards) was still going strong and as enthusiastically as ever and there is nothing but respect to Michael Sadler (vocals) for his bravery, dedication and sheer willingness not to let down his fans. Sadler was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and had an operation mid-tour. Only two shows were cancelled. The man is amazing.

As detailed in Edwin Ammerlaan’s incredible Saga The Biography, in their first 30 years, Saga sold over eight million albums, were the first rock band to release a fully digital live CD, were the first Canadian act to perform behind the Iron Curtain and played in more than 20 countries to over 15 million people. The next 18 years were more challenging, but they continued to sell out venues in Germany and Europe, even though the albums gradually dried up. Their significant back catalogue could, it would seem, sustain them forever in these territories.

So, who are Saga? Lorriane Le Page from the St Catherine’s Standard, writing on 28 October 1981, summed them up beautifully:

Saga’s music is undeniably rooted in rock with a mixture of blues and funk injected into their rhythmic veins. A good use of keyboards provides a majestic sound that has both bite and clarity. The overall sound is lush, yet hard and intense; it assaults, while at the same time woos the ear as well as the soul.

Michael Sadler spoke to Alex Varty of Vancouver Free Press in 1980:

We will take very melodic passages, which, if they were played in a light way, could be considered very classical or ethereal and put interesting rhythms and bottom ends underneath them. That’s really the sum total of what our music is about, combining the important ‘body music’ element with tasteful full chordal passages. And then we’ll add lots of hot guitar lines on top.

Laura Canyon said this to Kerrang! on 10 February 1983:

They’ve got class, not to mention melody, grandness, pomp, texture, sophistication, skill, versatility, baroque and enough keyboards and synthesisers to open up a shop and still have enough to start a futurist band. Stick Rush, Pink Floyd and Phil Spector in a recording studio, don’t let them take too many drugs and it will come out sounding like Saga.

Saga’s first lineup formed in 1977 and consisted of bass player Jim Crichton, his brother Ian on guitar, vocalist Michael Sadler, drummer Steve Negus and keyboard player Peter Rochon. The Crichtons, originally from Scotland, moved to Oakville, Ontario. Michael Sadler moved to Canada from Wales when he was three years old. Steve Negus is from Hamilton, less than 20 miles away from Oakville and Peter Rochon is from the same area.

Sadler, who had sung in a choir in his younger days, left school at 16 and joined a blues band, Talas (originally Terraplane), becoming their vocalist and bass player. The band’s drummer had a copy of Three Friends by Gentle Giant, which made a massive impression on Sadler and he vowed to ‘make music like that’.

Jim Crichton listened to classical music but also to prog bands such as Genesis and decided to learn the guitar. He bought his first one at the age of 13 and eventually joined a band that already had a guitarist. Their teenage manager threatened that if he didn’t play bass, he’d be fired. So he did.

Ian Crichton was drawn to music through his older brother and at the age of 12 would borrow his bass guitar. Jim persuaded him to buy a cheap guitar so that he could have his bass back. Ian did and began to listen to Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix, learning their techniques. He saved up to buy a white Fender Stratocaster, the instrument he used on the first three Saga albums. After playing the Toronto circuit with random gigs and in supportive roles, he joined his first band, Kickback, whose set included Led Zeppelin and Trapeze covers.

Jim answered an advert he saw in a local newspaper for the band Truck, formerly Heat Exchange, who had recorded an album that wasn’t released; they were thought to be too progressive. They reformed as Truck, having been renamed by Peter Francey, the manager of a previous version of Truck, who had the rights to the name and their equipment and a bus. Truck played progressive rock, a mix of originals and covers, including King Crimson and Gentle Giant. Truck was the first band that Jim Crichton started to make a living with.

Whilst preparing for a gig in Hamilton in 1971, Sadler’s Talas borrowed a Mellotron from Truck as theirs had broken down, an arrangement that instigated Sadler and Crichton’s first meeting. Sadler became Truck’s singer when the original vocalist left. Truck concentrated on live performances, therefore no vinyl releases and they split up due to financial difficulties. A disillusioned Sadler got out of the music business for the next 18 months.

Meanwhile, Jim got a call from another band, Fludd, who offered him more opportunities and money. In that band were Steve Negus and Peter Rochon. The band had previously made five albums and 14 singles. Jim is on some of the singles, but joined just after they’d made their last album. The band’s roots went back to the mid-1960s.

Steve Negus was ten years old when he wanted to play drums and got his first kit at 12. Six years later, he joined rock ‘n’ roll band Bananas before forming his own band, Shelter and then joining Fullerton Dam, who were signed to Condor Records and had released one album, Breaks, in 1976. Fludd, who were after a drummer, went to see Fullerton Dam in concert, seeking out Negus and he accepted the offer to join them.

Jim Crichton ended his journey touring with Fludd and began experimenting with some new songs using a Mini-Moog as one of the main instruments. At the time, there were no polyphonic synthesisers available, so he had to play each note one at a time to create the musical parts. After completing a number of rough arrangements, he called Sadler and convinced him to come over to sing on a few of the songs. Sadler came to Crichton’s home and never left. They continued to write together, creating the ingredients that would form Saga’s first album.

They wrote 20 songs together on a four-track recorder and used cardboard boxes for drums and were soon ready to form a band, so they called upon Negus, Rochon and Ian Crichton, who left Kickback to join them. Originally called Pockets, the quintet amassed 23 songs in six months and performed their first gig, a set of original songs, on 13 June 1977 at the Tudor Tavern, Cambridge, Ontario, to about 40 people. They continued to play more gigs on the Toronto club circuit and were ready to record their first album. Through Peter Rochon, they were introduced to Phase One producer Paul Gross. Gross and Rochon had been in a band called Wishbone. Fludd had also used Phase One Studio in Scarborough, Ontario. Gross helped to finance the first album and produced the band’s first three releases.

With the debut album in the making, they became aware of an American band also called Pockets. Jim Crichton was working on the Chapters concept, a song-based story/puzzle, so with this in mind, they renamed themselves Saga.

Big In Germany

Saga have fans all over the world, but were particularly popular in Puerto Rico and Europe. Their spiritual home, however, is Germany, where the vast majority of their live releases were recorded. Jim Crichton told Howard Johnson of Kerrang! in October 1983:

It all started when a chain of record stores in Canada exported 50 copies of our first album to Germany. They sold immediately, so more went out. We shifted 10,000 copies without a label deal, which was amazing. The response was so strong that a chain of stores in Germany had their own posters printed, which led to our deal with Deutsche Grammophon. In our first year, we had success in Canada, Germany and Puerto Rico, but we couldn’t figure out why.

Chapters

Sixteen of Saga’s songs have been designated ‘Chapters’, a puzzle devised by Jim Crichton. Eight are spread across the first four albums and the other eight appear again from 1999. Crichton explains:

This has become an important thread across the Saga albums and continues to intrigue fans across the world, who are still trying to figure it out. No other band had done anything like this. The ‘Chapters’ contain many lyrical secrets, the aim being that they could be deciphered as a complete story.

The band were keen to emphasise that this was not a gimmick. It’s a very clever and forward-thinking concept, which I suspect kept fans engaged and intrigued right up until the final one, ‘Worlds Apart (Chapter 16)’, on Marathon.

In 1981, Crichton explained to Max Blake of UK Trax that the concept is set in a futuristic time. Earth is undergoing destruction and is rescued from total collapse by an alien race,...