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The Chapters |
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The Chapters The concept for the Chapters was originally conceived in 1977. I read an article in a magazine describing Einstein's brain had been preserved for study and was being kept at the Smithsonian Institute. At the time I found this quite bizarre. In the late 70's the news was filled with the talk of nuclear war and we were about to ride through a decade of Star Wars movies. These were the ingredients which inspired the story. In 1977 the band was playing clubs in Canada under the name of Pockets. As we prepared to make the SAGA-Album. The decision was made to spread the story out over four albums like a puzzle. The band would jokingly say it was a great insure we would make at least four albums. After just completing the 13th studio project, I guess it worked. Also the Chapters were partially responsible for changing the name of the band SAGA. Without giving the whole story away the basic idea was that extraterrestrial life had been monitoring Earth's progress and was becoming fearful of its self destruction. So they decided they would need someone on Earth to champion the changes that would have to be made to put Earth back on a stable course. Very quickly, they realized the only person who was capable was Einstein. The plan was to give him the body which we see on the first album cover allowing him to be brought back to life so he could make changes by whatever means necessary to ensure the Earth's future. In chapter one we see Einstein as an old man on the verge of madness trying desperately to make some sense out of this life as he draws images on the sidewalk of people and events that influenced the path he chose in life. The rain washing the images away represents Einstein's death. It was fun writing a story where the main ... I hope this bit of insight will help you to piece the rest of the story together. It has been a great pleasure for the band and I over the past eighteen years hearing other peoples' interpretation of the story. Some of which have been far more involved and interesting than the original idea itself. Jim Crichton Los Angeles 1995 |
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From The Chapters Live The process of creating this album began in 1978, in Toronto, Canada. The Chapters were originally released over eight studio albums, and were purposely mixed up to create an ongoing puzzle. It is most likely the only album that ever took twenty-eight years to write and record. Two main ingredients inspired the story itself. The Cold War, and an article I read about how Albert Einstein's brain had been preserved and was now residing at the home of Thomas S. Harvey, M.D., the pathologist who performed the autopsy on Einstein in 1955. The reason that Harvey ended up with Einstein's brain was unclear, but the idea that the mind that unlocked the mystery of the atom was being kept on a shelf in someone's house was the spark that inspired the concept for the Chapters. For the past twenty-eight years Saga has enjoyed the pleasure of hearing many variations of the story from the fans, who have meticulously put the puzzle back together. Some of their concepts that I have heard are far off the mark, but incredibly powerful and imaginative story lines. They could be made into novels themselves. So, without giving away the story completely, here are some clues: As the Chapters begin, the Earth is being observed by extraterrestrials that are becoming concerned about our path toward self-destruction. They realize that they have to find someone on Earth they can communicate with to help turn the situation around. Someone very intelligent. They soon learn the person they were looking for had died ("Images" Chapter 1). They also find out that his brain had been preserved, so they decided the only way to save us from ourselves was to bring him back to life ("It's time" Chapter 3). Having done so with Einstein's help, they proceed to do everything they can to prevent us from what, in their eyes, seemed to be in the inevitable. They also created a backup plan just in case their efforts failed. ("World's apart" Chapter 16). I think that's probably enough said. I don't want to give the whole thing away because then all of your stories will stop, and for Saga, that has been a big part of the process of creating the Chapters. The band would like to thank all of you that have been involved in the Chapters over the years. KEEP THOSE STORIES COMING. P.S. The Chapters revolve around what we are doing to the planet, and ourselves, so there may be more Chapters on the way. Thanx everyone! It's been a lot fun so far... JIM CRICHTON |