Heads or Tales
Heads or Tales is the fifth studio album by the Canadian progressive rock band Saga and was originally released in 1983. The album was the second of the band's to be produced by Rupert Hine. Although it did not receive the commercial success of the previous collaboration between the band and Hine, both "The Flyer" and "Cat Walk" became respectable radio hits for the band with the album eventually securing gold status in Canada (50,000) and Germany (250,000). A third single from the album, "Scratching the Surface", making a regular appearance in the band's concert line-up during the late-1990s and 2000s as a piano solo played by singer Jim Gilmour during a break by the other band members. The song reached #45 in the Canadian Singles charts, April 1984.
| Heads or Tales | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 1983 | |||
| Recorded | The Farmyard, Little Chalfont, Buckinghamshire, England | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock, new wave | |||
| Length | 40:23 (vinyl) / 47:47 (CD) | |||
| Label | Portrait, Maze | |||
| Producer | Rupert Hine | |||
| Saga chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
Track listing
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Flyer" | Jim Crichton, Michael Sadler | 3:47 |
| 2. | "Cat Walk" | J. Crichton, Jim Gilmour, Ian Crichton | 4:24 |
| 3. | "The Sound of Strangers" | Sadler, J. Crichton, Gilmour, I. Crichton, Steve Negus | 4:09 |
| 4. | "The Writing" | J. Crichton, Sadler | 4:14 |
| 5. | "Intermission" | Sadler, J. Crichton, I. Crichton | 5:28 |
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Social Orphan" | Sadler, J. Crichton | 3:24 |
| 7. | "The Vendetta (Still Helpless)" | Sadler, J. Crichton, Gilmour, I. Crichton | 3:55 |
| 8. | "Scratching the Surface" | Gilmour, J. Crichton | 5:26 |
| 9. | "The Pitchman" | J. Crichton, Sadler, I. Crichton, Gilmour, Negus | 5:46 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Cat Walk" (Unabridged) | 7:44 |
Personnel
Saga:[2]
- Michael Sadler – lead vocals (all but 8), keyboards
- Ian Crichton – guitar
- Jim Gilmour – lead keyboards, backing and lead (8) vocals, sax
- Jim Crichton – bass guitar, keyboards
- Steve Negus – drums, percussion, electronic percussion
Production:[2]
- Judith Salavetz, Spencer Drate – art direction, design
- Stephen Durke – front and back illustrations artwork
- Andrew Scarth – assistant engineer
- Stephen W Tayler – recording and mixing engineer
- Larry Williams – inner sleeve photography
- Producer – Rupert Hine
References
- "allmusic ((( Heads or Tales > Overview )))". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
- "Saga (3) – Heads Or Tales (Vinyl, LP, Album) at Discogs". www.discogs.com. Retrieved 2010-08-21.
External Links
- Heads or Tales at Discogs (list of releases)