Best of Now and Then: the Collection

Best of Now and Then: The Collection is the ninth "best-of" anthology from Canadian prog-rockers Saga. A comprehensive two-disc affair, it contains songs from each of the band's 21 studio albums, beginning with their 1978 self-titled debut through 2014's Sagacity. Since their inception in 1977, the band has centered around the songwriting duo of frontman Michael Sadler and multi-instrumentalist Jim Crichton (bass, synths, guitar) with Jim's brother Ian Crichton on guitar. While other founding members have come and gone, this lineup has more or less been present on each of their recordings with the exception of 2009's The Human Condition, which featured replacement vocalist Rob Moratti. Throughout their career, Saga have been in and out of the limelight in North America, yet found fairly consistent success in Europe (particularly in Germany) and Puerto Rico with songs like "On the Loose," "Wind Him Up," and "The Flyer" among their best-known. Ambitiously subtitled 1978-Infinity, Saga deliver this collection while keeping their sights set on the future. ~ Timothy Monger