THE PROG INTERVIEWPG
Saga’s singer and keyboard player Michael Sadler reflects on a career that looked like it might have been over for him and the Canadian prog rockers had his wife not ordered him back to work!
“Gentle Giant and early Genesis, early Yes and Tull were our influences. As a fan of Led Zeppelin, Ian [Crichton] brought in rockier elements, while Steve [Negus] had a thing for R&B.”
Every month, we get inside the mind of one of the biggest names in music. This issue it’s Saga’s Michael Sadler. The Welsh-born singer and songwriter has played a key role in the Canadian band since their formation in 1977 and he’s appeared on all their studio albums bar one. Although the band were due to retire after their 40th anniversary in 2017, they recently released a new acoustic album, Symmetry – their first studio recording in seven years. Here the vocalist looks back over the years and tells Prog why he’s not ready to hang up his microphone yet.
“Saga’s biggest problem is that we occupy a grey area,” admits Michael Sadler. “We’re not quite prog enough for the purists, and not heavy enough for the hard rock crowd. We’re too tough to pigeonhole.” Although his observation holds water, it didn’t prevent Saga from becoming cult heroes and selling millions of records around the world.
First known as Pockets, Saga were formed in Oakville, Ontario, by vocalist/keyboardist Sadler along with the Crichton brothers Ian (guitar) and Jim (bass, keyboards), keyboardist Peter Rochon (later replaced by multiinstrumentalist
NEW ALBUM, SYMMETRY. Jim Gilmour) and drummer Steve Negus.
Readers may well be thinking: “That’s a lot of keyboardists”, and they’d be right. The band’s hook-friendly sound was literally
drenched in keys, carefully balanced by the stuttering, staccato yet deeply melodic soloing of Ian Crichton. With certain songs written in the form of chapters, though not revealed chronologically, Saga’s command of words was complemented by a fondness of obtuse arrangements. Advanced levels of musicianship allowed them to swap instruments onstage. “The lights would dim and when they came back up again everyone was playing something different,” Jim Crichton joked to
Prog several years ago. “It was the most amazing yet inexpensive special effect.”
Saga forged a strong identity with their first six albums, two of which were made with Rush producer Rupert Hine, before the late-80s departures of Jim Gilmour and Steve Negus caused their own …And Then There Were Three…-style crisis as the two of them formed GNP (the GilmourNegus Project).
With same pair back onboard in the 90s, the music gradually regained its progressive edge. Citing family reasons, in 2007 Sadler quit Saga for what turned out to be four years, with Canadian Rob Moratti taking his place for The Human Condition in 2009. Three years after Sagacity, the band’s 21st studio set, it was announced that Saga would retire following a 40th anniversary tour dubbed The Final Chapter, although they have since backtracked to continue with live performances.
Prog talks to Michael Sadler about the saga of Saga and its latest chapter: Symmetry, an unplugged set.
What goals did Saga have when getting together 44 years ago?
We wanted to create something that was cool and original, and to keep doing that for as long as possible. But realistically it was to get paid for our efforts [chuckles]. World domination was right at the back of our minds.
How much progressive rock had gone into the melting pot?
Jim [Crichton] and I had the biggest backgrounds in prog. Gentle Giant and early Genesis, early Yes and Tull were our influences. As a fan of Led Zeppelin, Ian [Crichton] brought in rockier elements, while Steve [Negus] had a thing for R&B. Steve and I wrote syncopated things together, which added the funk that confused the