FIRST-CLASS SOUNDS

Big apologies all round if you’ve already run extensive articles on two of my lifetime fave bands, Supertramp and Saga. However, if not, why not? Being a relative newbie to Prog (around 18 months) I could well have missed out on historic articles, however please indulge me for a minute or two and let’s assume these are gaps that need plugging.

One can assume from the letters page title that there is at least one Supertramp fan among your editorial ranks? My formative listening years were dominated by Crime Of The Century and Crisis What Crisis? (along with Born To Run, but that’s an awkward bedfellow for this mag). To these ears those albums have stood the test of time well and would still feature high in my lifetime top 50. They left us an impressive canon of work before the well-documented split between Rick Davies and Roger Hodgson. What’s the chances of an extensive reappraisal of their time with us, maybe even with interviews with original bandmembers?

While Supertramp bit the dust many a year ago, Saga are still treading the boards 45 years after their debut album totally blew me away. Despite touring the UK supporting Rush then trying again in their own right soon after –

I saw them in Bournemouth along with about 25 others when their electronic backdrop kept misbehaving – they have never really broken the market on these shores in the same way they conquered Germany. Always my second favourite Canadian band after the aforementioned in this paragraph and to this fan absolutely deserving of an extensive review of their decades of firstclass music. Craig Williams, via email

Thanks for getting in touch, Craig. We have indeed run articles on both Supertramp and Saga in previous issues of the mag – most recently Saga’s Michael Sadler was the subject of our Prog Interview in 118 and in Prog 111 we revisited our feature on Supertramp’s Breakfast In America. We’re certain to feature both bands again in future issues of the mag so keep your eyes peeled! We’re so glad you’re enjoying Prog. Why not have a look at some of the other issues you’ve missed? www.bit.ly/buyprogmag– Dep. Ed.