| | Saga Human Condition CD Saga Discography of CDs
 (3 Customer Reviews)
When a long-running band loses its original singer of 30 years, it's something big. The Human Condition is Saga's first album without Michael Sadler in the front seat, so its release was met with anticipation. Fans should fear not: new singer Rob Moratti, drafted from the Toronto group Final Frontier, does a more than competent job, although liking or disliking him will depend on your attachment to Sadler and your willingness to accept change. Does he fit Saga's sound? Definitely. Is he a good singer? No doubt. Is he Sadler? No. Moratti has a medium-high hard rock voice (where Sadler's range was medium-low), and he likes to push it. The band has reacted to this new range and youthful energy with a harder-edged sound that pushes the guitars up front, and a newfound level of complexity in the songwriting, something that archs almost back to Generation 13. Fans will detect the subtler artistic changes, while more casual listeners will simply feel that Saga is rocking out more. Otherwise, The Human Condition is a typical Saga album, with a loose and self-explanatory unifying theme (speaking of "concept album" would be pushing it), some pretty strong and uplifting tracks, a couple of dreadful ones, the rest falling in between. The opening seven-minute title track is as close to epic prog rock as Saga ever got. It has powerful riffs, a good melody, and inventive arrangements, all tied down by the square-as-ever rhythm section, the one element that keeps reminding you that Saga is an arena rock band, not a prog rock one. "A Number with a Name" and "Crown of Thorns" are other highlights, two tracks with better, sharper writing than anything found on Trust or Network. Sadly, these strong moments are counterbalanced by clunkers like "Now Is Now" and the closing "You Look Good to Me," terribly insignificant. Overall though, The Human Condition displays a band in sound shape, a band reacting healthily to what constitutes a major change. ~ François Couture Saga Human Condition Songs | 1. | Human Condition, The |
| 2. | Step Inside |
| 3. | Hands of Time |
| 4. | Avalon |
| 5. | Number With a Name, A |
| 6. | Now is Now |
| 7. | Let It Go |
| 8. | Crown of Thorns |
| 9. | You Look Good To Me |
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Human Condition Music Review Average Rating: (3.3 out of 5 stars)   Actually very creative and refreshing for Saga
Some good energy from several songs. Avalon is very easy on the ears as are nearly all the songs. I actually like the new vocalist better than Sadler. Some will resist the new sounds, but I have found this much better than anything by them in years. Even their best stuff had some weaker fillers, and this one has a surprise or two when you think it is going blah. Blah it is not! Good musicians, good new vocalist, and an impressive lineup of songs. 7 of the 9 songs are worth playing multiple times.
Submitted by Jay (Columbus, OH, USA)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No
 Just NOT the same...
We all miss Michael--and I must say, Rob is a capable vocalist, but his singing lacks any passion or emotion.
There are a few interesting sounds musically, but they're never fully explored or realized--and really, for the most part, it's just the same old intros & hooks we've heard before.
Guys, you know I love ya--but really, don't you think you just mailed this one in?
I know you can do better.
Submitted by AMRspeedracer (Los Angeles, CA)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No
 saga where are you?
Michael Sadler has the most unique voice in any genre. I listened to this with open ears. Rob has a great voice, but it just isn't Saga. The music doesn't sound the same. There was always an undeniable passion and charisma. I've listened several times, and not one song stays with me. I'll keep trying.
Submitted by rockinrosz (bucyrus, ohio) 
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No 0 of 1 found this helpful.
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Purchase Human Condition CD To buy, Click on price to add to cart | Saga Steel Umbrellas CD (1994)
Human Condition
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| | Saga Chapters Live CDs (2005)
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The Chapters Live was 28 years in the making. Flash back to 1978: a young Canadian band releases its debut LP, an attempt at bridging the gap between progressive rock and FM radio. Two tracks, "Will It Be You?" and "Tired World," are subtitled Chapters 4 and 6 for no apparent reason. Over the next three LPs, Saga will release a total of eight "chapters," seemingly at random, then drop the project, originally sketched for 16 pieces. In the early 2000s, as the group is getting back on track (literally and figuratively), eight new chapters pop up, spread across three albums. On the Marathon tour in 2003, the group performed the complete "Chapters" sequence, in its right order, a moment fans of Saga had been awaiting for a long time. The sci-fi story revolves around Albert Einstein, revived by aliens so that he can help them save humanity from self-destruction. Some of its constituents are well-known ("No Regrets," "Don't Be Late"); others are more obscure. The surprise factor in The Chapters Live is the actual continuity from beginning to end. This truly sounds like a single album written in a short amount of time -- surely not in 28 years, with dozens of studio albums laid down in the process. ...
| | Saga Trust CD (2006) With DVD; Special Edition
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With a career spanning 30 years, Saga remain something of a torchbearer for the old-school progressive rock scene, a scene that they left at least partially behind for a while but rejoined with renewed vigor and with some tricks learned in the melodic rock trenches. They're not going to win any new converts with Trust; those who shy away from Michael Sadler's bombastic vibrato will still do so when he launches into "That's as Far as I'll Go," and those who find the band's more extravagant flights of musical fancy overly precious won't be won over by "Back to the Shadows" (with its synthesized horn fanfares) or the somewhat overly earnest "My Friend," either. And no one should ...
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| | Saga 10,000 Days CD (2007)
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Although they'll forever be best known Stateside for one of the most action-packed videos to ever grace the MTV airwaves -- the jailbreak-themed "On the Loose" -- Canada's prog-popsters Saga have carved a pretty comfortable niche for themselves in other parts of the world, where their albums continued to sell steadily over the years. And their last album to feature longtime singer, Michael Sadler, 2007's 10,000 Days (not to be confused with the Tool album of the same time), shows that the group was still able to offer albums on par with their best work right up until the end. While it features a more modern production, the songwriting and much of the instrumentation is straight out of 1982 (in ...
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When Bob Hate disappeared in 1999, all he left us were the songs that would become the 2003 greatest hits collection, "Like a King."So it was stunning when he reappeared in Nashville in the summer of 2008 doing a timid and tiny reunion with one of his Dallas-era bands. "I just called Chet and the other fellas, and suddenly we were in a studio again. It was sort of odd."But after that reunion had fallen through, Bob retreated again, this time to his Albuquerque compound, a sprawling home in the desert where he'd been holed up for a couple of years.On my first visit there, we talked in the back yard about the ill-fated attempt at bringing his old band back together. “I ...
| | Wonder Stuff Eight Legged Groove Machine CD (2009) (Import) Import
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| | For Glory and Empire Illusions CD (2009)
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