A little saga

So, of the neo-prog movemnet, I am probably most fascinated by Marillion and Saga, who occupy opposite ends of the genre. Marillion is a very mercurial, explorative outfit that seems to wrap together Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, the Beatles and Radiohead into a wild and clever package that continues to actually progress from release to release. Saga however, it a guily p[leasure -- a throwback to AOR/Hard Rock, with oddly just left of mainstream lyrics (not really deep, but not shallow pap, and not anywhere nearly as pretentious as say, Dream Theatre)* , and smatterings of fusion and weird new-wave noodling. I do recommend picking up either The Beginners Guide to Throwing Shapes or the more recent House of Cards. In the meantime, there is this rather quick interview with Sadler, where he comments on how a Canadian band makes its bread and butter living from audiences as far afield as Venzuela and Germany (including upstaging Elton John, which is always a worthy achievement serving the betterment of society).



* Oddly enough, I think Saga's lead singer Michael Sadler, is the one man who could turn DT into a worthwhile musical concern.