Worlds Apart (Saga album)
Worlds Apart | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 1981 | |||
Recorded | 1981 | |||
Studio | The Farmyard (Little Chalfont, Buckinghamshire, England) | |||
Genre | Progressive rock, new wave | |||
Length | 43:38 | |||
Label | Portrait / Maze Records / Polydor / CBS / Epic / CBS Discos | |||
Producer | Rupert Hine | |||
Saga chronology | ||||
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US/Alternative cover | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Worlds Apart is the fourth studio album by the Canadian neo progressive rock band Saga and was originally released in 1981. The album has been released with several different covers. The album was produced by Rupert Hine. Frontman Michael Sadler stated in the band's video DVD Silhouette (2002) that Hine told him to stop "singing like a choir boy" and actually had him climb up to the roof of a barn located on the farm in England where the recording was done in order to get the proper passion out of Sadler for the song "On the Loose". Sadler's vocal style was noticeably different on Worlds Apart than on the first three Saga albums—a style that he kept in successive performances with the band.
Success
Widely considered[citation needed] Saga's best album (and certainly their most commercially successful), the album has become the band's most recognizable work to date. The first song on the album, "On the Loose" was a single that hit No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 3 on the Top Rock Tracks chart in late 1982 and early 1983,[2] landing Saga their best chart performance. The single was helped with a music video which appeared on MTV during the station's inaugural year on the air. Videos were also made for the singles "Wind Him Up" and "Amnesia". The success of the album was also largely credited to an expanded tour roster which saw the band enter new territories and venues, particularly in the United States, to expand their musical presence. Worlds Apart has been certified Platinum in Canada (100,000) and Gold in Germany (250,000), Denmark (50,000), the United States (500,000), and Norway (15,000). The album was released on Maze Records in Canada, Portrait CBS Records in America and England, and Polydor Records for the remainder of the global market. "Wind Him Up" is another one of Saga's most popular songs, which deals with a fellow named Aldo being addicted to gambling..
The Chapters
Two of the songs, "No Regrets (Chapter V)" and "No Stranger (Chapter VIII)", were part of a series of eight (but later sixteen) songs that Saga included within their first four albums called "The Chapters", which told the story of a young Albert Einstein. The release of these two chapters completed the original set of eight. These songs were also later included on The Chapters Live (rec. 2003, rel. 2005). To date, there's been no official compilation of the chapters in their studio incarnation.
Worlds Apart Revisited
In 2007, Saga released Worlds Apart Revisited (rec. 2005), a live album in a 2-CD package that included all the songs from the original Worlds Apart album recorded as they were played in a recent concert by the band along with other popular works that the band played for fans in their set.
Track listing
All lyrics are written by Ian Crichton, Jim Crichton, Jim Gilmour, Steve Negus, and Michael Sadler, except where indicated
No. | Titel | Length |
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1. | "On the Loose" | 4:12 |
2. | "Wind Him Up" | 5:47 |
3. | "Amnesia" | 3:16 |
4. | "Framed" | 5:42 |
5. | "Time's Up" | 4:12 |
No. | Titel | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
6. | "The Interview" | J. Crichton, M. Sadler | 3:52 |
7. | "No Regrets (Chapter Five)" | J. Crichton, M. Sadler | 4:46 |
8. | "Conversations" | 4:46 | |
9. | "No Stranger (Chapter Eight)" | J. Crichton, M. Sadler | 7:05 |
Note
- The track order shown above is for the original vinyl LP release. Later CD releases and the Canadian vinyl pressing on Maze Records have "Time's Up" as track #2, followed by "Wind Him Up", "Amnesia", and "Framed" in positions #3, #4 and #5, respectively. Some CD releases listed the tracks in the original LP order, meaning tracks #2 through #5 were mislabeled.
- On the Portrait version of Worlds Apart, the spoken intro of "Amnesia" is missing. The intro is sampled from the Tom & Jerry cartoon "Nitty Witty Kitty": "It say here, a sharp blow on the head is a sure cure for amnesia, and that's what he's gonna get!"
- The album was released internationally. In some markets it was released on Polydor Records, and in South America, Mexico and other Latin American markets it was released by CBS Records, Epic Records and CBS Discos
Personnel
Saga:[3]
- Michael Sadler – lead vocals (all but 7), Moog synthesizer
- Ian Crichton – guitar
- Jim Gilmour – lead synthesizer, backing and lead (7) vocals, clarinet
- Jim Crichton – bass guitar, Yamaha electric grand piano, synthesizer
- Steve Negus – acoustic & electronic drums, percussion
Production:[3]
- Produced by Rupert Hine
- Recorded & engineered by Stephen W Tayler
- Assistant engineers: Ian Morais & David Rolfe
- Mastered by Bob Ludwig
References
- ^ "Saga - Worlds Apart (1981) album review by Andy Hinds, credits & releases". AllMusic.com. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
- ^ Billboard Hot 100 chart. www.billboard.com
- ^ a b "Saga - Worlds Apart (1981) album releases & credits". www.discogs.com. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
External links
- Saga - Worlds Apart (1981) album credits & user reviews at ProgArchives.com
- Saga - Worlds Apart (1981) album to be listened on Spotify
- Worlds Apart at Discogs (list of releases)
- Worlds Apart at Discogs (list of releases) - Worlds Apart Revisited