Customer Reviews

Saga - Silhouette

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Although Saga has been around for 25 years, I am a brand new fan to the band and their music. The music I have heard has been extremely impressive. In fact, I was already familiar with a few of their songs without realizing it was Saga. After picking up Saga's DVD "Silhouette", I am definitely going to explore this band's music even further.
"Silhouette" is jam-packed with old music videos, vintage concert footage and in-depth interviews which chronicle the band's history. Some of the music videos are really dated (ie: early MTV) but are great to watch nonetheless. The live concert footage from the early-mid '80s is very impressive and shows the band in full swing. Singer Michael Sadler is a dynamic frontman for Saga with a stage presence that reminded me of Queen's Freddie Mercury. Guitarist Ian Crichton is one of prog-rock's best kept secrets and his brother Jim is a dynamic keyboardist and bassist. Keyboardist Jim Gilmour displays extraordinary talent with classical chops that are part Keith Emerson, part Rick Wakeman and part Geoff Downes. Drummer Steve Negus displays great virtuousity on both his regular kit and an electronic one. His playing reminded me a bit of Phil Collins, probably because Negus is a left-handed drummer who plays his kit in reverse like Collins.
The interview footage provides a complete comprehensive look at the history of Saga told from the band members themselves. Each of the five members gets equal time to share his memories about Saga's past. Also, the band discusses their musical gear and why they use what they use. Jim Crichton also discusses his impressive recording studio which is located in Van Nueys, California. It was an amazing discovery to find out that Jim is very much in demand as a producer/engineer besides being the bass player and one of the keyboardists for Saga. Very Impressive.
This DVD definitely will introduce you to a band that has been a best kept secret over the last 25 years. I have only been listening to Saga for just a few months but they are already fast becoming one of my favorite bands. The musicianship in this band is phenominal and their stage shows are outstanding. This DVD will give you everything you need if you're just beginning to discover the band - music videos, concert footage and an in-depth interview history. Check It Out. It's worth it.

Yes, Saga Fans - on this DVD you will find all of Saga's Official Videos of their successful Single Hits ...

1. Don't Be Late
2. Careful Where You Step
3. Amnesia
4. Wind Him Up
5. On The Loose
6. Catwalk
7. The Flyer
8. What Do I Know
9. Only Time Will Tell
10. Money Talks ...

PLUS ...

DVD Includes: 30 minutes of Live bootlegged film shot of Saga over the years, Mini Documentary (approx. 20 minutes) consisting of interviews shot in Los Angeles and Canada, Band Photos, and weblink.

NOTE: This DVD is coded for Region 1

For the Saga Purist ... THIS MUST BE A MUST !!
By the way, the price is great here, so ... TAKE IT ... OR LEAVE IT...

10 music videos with remastered sound:
Don't Be Late
Careful Where You Step
On the Loose
Wind Him Up (live audio, mix of live video w/ original video)
Catwalk
Flyer
What Do I Know
Always There (unreleased, created for Saga's 25th anniversary)
Money Talks

7 live songs filmed on the 'Heads or Tales' tour!
The Perfectionist
Compromise
Ice Nice
Times Up
Scratching the Surface
Don't Be Late
You're Not Alone

3 bootleg videos shot in the United Kingdom:
It's Time
Humble Stance
Intermission

Plus 2002 interviews

All bands should make a dvd like this.

Here's what you get: 10 music videos, 10 live tracks, and a documentary similar to the Behind the Music's on VH1.

As for the videos, you get the early ones (including the rare 'Careful Where You Step' off Silent Knight) and you get two newly produced videos off the House of Cards release (which was released a couple years back). Note: Some reviews on this site were premature 'Only Time Will Tell' is missing from this release instead replaced by the DVD exclusive 'Always There' from House of Cards.

The live portion of the cd features 10 tracks from the Heads or Tales Tour (1983 or 1984). I would say this was the height of Saga's popularity.

The 'Behind the Music' portion includes interviews with all five band members telling the bands story up to the House of Cards cd. Since then the band has released the cd Marathon and drummer Steve Negus has left the band.

This dvd is perfect for those wanting to know more about Saga and also great for fans since this dvd contains 'the singles', live performance and history of the band.

Superb. Saga just proves again that they know what they are doing. And you even get that famous Michael Sadler mustache. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

After what seems to have been longer than it should take to put together a DVD, I must say that, as a fan, this was worth the wait. This is not the best produced, slickest, most high-tech DVD you'll ever own, but as a fan, it's a great addition. The interviews provide an insight into the guys in the band as just that - regular guys doing what they love. No VH1 where-are-they-now innuendo, just folks telling stories about high points and not-so-high points in the journey through a career. And the collection of the music videos from over the years is nice, and rounded out by a couple "live bootleg" videos. Having seen these guys both in North America and Europe, the videos capture the live performance pretty well. Will it win at "Cannes?" No. But as a fan, it's a nice collection of artifacts.

Mark,

This disc was formally called Archives.

This is a collection of videos, 6 concert video songs and 2or3 "bootleg" concert video songs (whatever that means). Interviews with the band. I have not heard if it's in 5.1 or not.

What's suprising is that this is on sale at Amazon now. Other websites dont have this disk avail till November....

There seems to be a concert video in the works of a Bonn Germany concert on their 25th anniversary, that should be released some time in 2003

For more info check out Saga-World.com

This DVD has opened my eyes to a band that I dismissed after getting "burned-out" on hearing On the Loose countless times on MTV back in the day. Although some of the videos are dated and hard to watch, there are some real keepers. And the concert...this is the part of this DVD package that has really turned me on to going back and exploring Saga's back-catalogue...The Perfectionist, Ice Nice, Compromise, Humble Stance, You're Not Alone and of course, Don't Be Late...these are very good Prog/pop songs---I thought I had a pretty complete musical library...the old prog,the new prog...so how have I and so many others missed out on this wonderful band? I don't know, I'm just enjoying this DVD and looking forward to digging deeper into this new found treasure of sorts! So if you are like me and hesitant to fork over the money for this one...Just do It(you'll probably find yourself thrilled with it). Jeff

I've never got a chance to really see the guys play live so this DvD gave me that opportunity. Wow, I was impressed to say the least. Especially amazing are Guitarist Ian Crichton and Drummer Steve Negus. They exhibit great technique and musicality. The sound mix and video quality are exceptional.
5 stars all the way!

No fan of Saga should do without this DVD. The sound and picture quality are not the greatest but the content is awesome. The interviews are a wonderful insight into the history of the band and show how much they appreciate their fans. The production of the DVD is by no means the best, actually it is pretty poor, not a lot of glitz and "goodies" as many new DVDs have nowadays; even the copyright warning has misspelled words. I wished they would have included songs such as No Regrets, but the ones that made the cut are a good representation of the bands' repertoire. Overall, if you are a fan of Progressive Rock or just rock in general, this is a great buy. Finally, this is not a plug for Amazon.com, but I tried to find this DVD for sometime in the Atlanta area and everywhere I traveled since its release and could not find it anywhere. Ordered it from Amazon.com and received it in about 5 days. Thanks Amazon.com.

About time Saga put out a concert DVD. Since they never play in the US, it's great to see what all their fans in Europe are getting to see. Not the slickest production DVD you'll ever see, but well worth buying.