Saga: Spin It Again - Live in Munich Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

Saga: Spin It Again - Live in Munich Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman December 12, 2013

As a professional keyboard player myself, I’m always heartened when I see a successful rock band that isn’t always trotting out its big haired lead guitarists to center stage to hog all the limelight (not that I’m bitter or anything). And so it’s great to see a band like Saga, which features not one but three keyboard players still sticking together and making music after several decades of international stardom. The band has oddly never really been a big draw here in the United States, with only a quartet of Mainstream Rock chart hits to their name, and one lonely entry in the Billboard Top 40 (“On the Loose”), but the band has an extremely devoted following, one that stayed true even after the band’s recent several year respite from working together. This November 2012 concert filmed in Munich proves the guys—even their guitarist—still have what it takes to make appealing, riff centered rock with some nice multilayered keyboard elements.

Truth be told, Saga does start out with a “guitar only” or at least a “guitar mostly” song, but soon they have the keyboards working overtime in most of the remaining tunes. Saga never quite approached the songcraft of other progressive rock outfits like Yes or ELP, but they offer a fair degree of flash in tunes like their big hit “On the Loose”, which has some great unison riffing by guitar and keys.

Saga's setlist for this concert is:

1. Anywhere You Wanna Go
2. Mouse in a Maze
3. Careful Where You Step
4. The Perfectionist
5. You’re Not Alone
6. Spin It Again
7. Corkentellis
8. The Flyer
9. Fish Beat (Drum Solo)
10. Six Feet Under
11. The Cross
12. Time’s Up
13. Scratching The Surface
14. Tired World (Chapter 6)
15. Humble Stance
16. On the Loose
17. Wind Him Up
18. Framed
19. Don’t Be Late (Chapter 8)

Saga: Spin It Again - Live in Munich Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Saga Spin It Again – Live in Munich is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Ear Music (which is distributed by Eagle Rock Entertainment in the United States) with an AVC encoded 1080i transfer 1.78:1. The video presentation here has a few problems, which readers of our regular live concert video reviews will already probably be expecting. Once again, blue lighting sucks the fine detail out of the proceedings and occasionally leads to minor posterization (see screenshot 1). Even odder, there's some very minor but still noticeable shimmer on things like Ian Crichton's pin-striped shirt. Some of the lighting effects—notably the "disco ball" which blasts little baubles of light over the players—actually resolve really well and look quite nice.

Saga: Spin It Again - Live in Munich Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is the way to go on this Blu-ray (which also includes an LPCM 2.0 as well as a standard Dolby surround track), for it appreciably amps up the low end of the band as well as better recreating the wash of some of the synth patches they regularly use. The one issue here in both of the lossless offerings is that Michael Sadler's voice is frequently buried in the mix. He actually sounds a bit "cold" in the opening tunes, but warms into his upper range as the evening progresses.

Saga: Spin It Again - Live in Munich Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Inside Saga (1080i; 20:42)

Saga: Spin It Again - Live in Munich Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Saga isn't that well known in the United States, but this concert proves they're a formidable musical presence, even if they're a bit on the repetitive side at times. The band has always had a devoted core following, including a large contingent in Germany (which is probably why this concert was filmed there), and those fans will certainly be pleased with this Blu-ray despite some iffy video issues. Recommended.