Symmetry (Saga album)

Symmetry
Studio album by
Saga
Released12 March 2021
StudioGoodnight Nashville, Stan Portley's Cliffhanger Studio, Symphony Court Studios, Desolation Studios (Toronto), Dangling Carot Studio (Ontario), Sekret Studios (Missouri)[1]
GenreProgressive rock
LabelearMUSIC
ProducerJim Crichton[nb 1]
Saga chronology
Sagacity
(2014) 		Symmetry
(2021)

Symmetry is the twenty-second studio album by Canadian rock band Saga.[2][3] It was released on March 12, 2021.[4] It contains acoustic versions of previously released songs, some in the form of medleys or augmented with new interludes. The idea originated on the 40th anniversary tour in 2017, where the band would perform acoustically as their own support band "Pockets".

Initially, the band considered releasing a live album from this tour, but decided against it and settled for new studio recordings instead. The individual parts were recorded remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, the arrangements were mostly worked out by Jim Crichton, who had retired from live performances in 2017. Several songs had already been played in similar versions on the aforementioned tour ("Time to Go", "The Perfectionist", "Images", "No Regrets" and the medley of songs from Trust). It was also on this tour when drummer Mike Thorne first used kitchen utensils for percussion sounds in the acoustic set. The piano interlude "La foret harmonieuse" includes a few lines from the song "Book of Lies".

The artwork has its roots in the 2017 tour, too, where a similar image (featuring a tree in the middle of a library, overlooked by the band's insect mascot) was used as a large backdrop for the acoustic section of the shows.[5] According to Michael Sadler, the tree symbolizes the organic element of the album.[6]

"Tired World" was released on streaming platforms on 4 December 2020, accompanied by an animated video clip.[7] This was followed by "Wind Him Up" (again with an animated video) and "Always There". For the latter, the fans were asked to send in video material, which was then assembled into a video clip.[8][9]

  1. ^ CD liner notes
  2. ^ "SAGA releases New Album Symmetry". sagagen.com.
  3. ^ "Canadian Progresive Rockers SAGA To Release New Album, 'Symmetry', In March". Blabbermouth.net. 2020-11-25. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  4. ^ Erwing, Jerry (25 November 2020). "Saga announce new acoustic album". Louder Sound. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  5. ^ "Saga - live in Köln, November 2017 • metal.de". metal.de. Retrieved 2021-05-24.
  6. ^ Sehrer, Walter (March 2021). "Warmes Holz statt kalter Oszillatoren". Eclipsed Rock-Magazin. 228: 48–49.
  7. ^ "SAGA Releases 'Tired World' Single From 'Symmetry' Album". Blabbermouth.net. December 4, 2020. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  8. ^ Vigezzi, Author: Jacopo (2021-02-21). "[News] Saga publish the official fan video "Always There" from new upcoming album". Progressive Rock Journal. Retrieved 2021-03-28. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  9. ^ February 2021, Jerry Ewing20 (20 February 2021). "Saga enlist fans for emotional video for new single Always There". Prog Magazine. Retrieved 2021-03-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)


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