Music Arcades: Saga: Images at Twilight

Could this record be as bad as it's cover? Yes! And the music has the same airbrushed sheen and finicky detail as the cover, too — so you could argue that the cover does its job very well. After all, I can testify that there are people who like this kind of thing.

My school friend Charles Pope recommended Saga to me. He and I shared tastes for Rush and Yes, but I drew the line at bands like Camel. I took a chance on his recommendation because this record was only £3.50, but I didn't like it in 1981, and it sounds excruciating now. How excruciating? Imagine what The Buggles might have sounded like had they not had to deal with the post-punk disciplines of the UK market in 1979, if they could have really let their hair down.

A few years ago I met Dave Hodgkinson, a lovely bloke, who at the time co-owned a business running websites for bands like Deep Purple. I think he said he was also working for Saga and had done photography for them on a recent tour. I was surprised they were still going, and said I hadn't like them much in the '80s. He defended them. I tried not to hold it against him, but the evidence, now I review it, is damning.