"On the Loose" by Saga

      Hello friends, I'm glad you tuned in tonight, as the big 'ole, bad 'ole Radio Dial brings you another classic forgotten hit! This one is a true fist pumper, a perfect selection to blast with your windows rolled down on a long nighttime drive! It's time to rock out with 1981's “On the Loose”, by Saga!

“One day you feel quite stable, the next you're comin' off the wall... But I think you should warn me, if you start heading for a fall...”

Reaching #26 on the pop singles chart, and mainstream rock #3, “On the Loose” was pulled from Saga's Worlds Apart LP. The track would turn out to be Saga's only US top 40 hit, though two other singles by the Canadian rockers charted on the Hot 100. “Wind Him Up” reached US #64 (and was the first single from Worlds Apart - “On the Loose” was the second), and '83’s US #79 charter “The Flyer” from the Heads or Tails LP.

Featuring lead guitarist Ian Crichton, his elder brother Jim on bass, expert drummer Steve Negus, awesome synthesizer work courtesy of Jim Gilmour, and Michael Sadler on lead vocals, (who was purportedly recording the vocal track while standing atop a barn to get the proper level of passion from his voice), “On the Loose” is a power pop masterpiece with clear inspiration from prog and hard rock, which can draw easy comparisons to the music of fellow Canadian rockers Loverboy.

A commentary on the often explosive release of the stresses of day to day to life, Sadler sings that “instead of reaching conclusions, I see you reaching for something else.”

I take this to mean that when the source of the stress cannot be changed or eliminated, finding something that reduces the stress is often the only obvious solution. This could be as wide ranging as redirecting the stress in a constructive way, such as with sports, or creative pursuits (like singing atop a barn, for example), numbing the stress (as with drug or alcohol use – not the best option), or, (and I don't recommend this...) exploding into destructive behavior (which brings on its own set of issues, but anyway...) Once all the pent up tension and frustration pours out, one truly feels ON THE LOOSE.

“I see no harm or danger in escaping... if the method suits the style. We put the mind on idle, and let the others take it for awhile.”

On a personal note, “On the Loose” is one of the many songs I now classify as a “Freecade track”. My great friend and fellow ‘80s historian and musicologist Greg Free had a killer arcade set up in his Ohio basement several years ago, which far surpassed many actual arcades from back in the day. (He still has a killer arcade, he’s just since moved out of the Buckeye State.)

Incorporating his last name into the name of the arcade itself, the Freecade featured recessed black lighting, cork flooring, a pool table, a fully stocked bar, and pretty much every classic 80s arcade game you would ever want to play. Galaga? Check. Pac-Man? Yes, indeed! Dragon’s Lair? Absolutely! Tron, Q*Bert, Defender, Centipede, Tempest, Track & Field, Donkey Kong… it was an amazing sight to behold. His game room even offered up obscurities like Pooyan, Omega Race, and Chicken Shift!

As would fit the locale, Greg always had a steady stream of quality eighties music playing in the Freecade, and one of the many songs that I grew quite fond of from hearing it on my visits there was Saga’s lone top 40 hit, a song I barely remembered from it's 1981 chart run.

In fact, in March of this year, I was enjoying a repeat of Casey Kasem’s American Top 40 radio show, and when Saga’s hit started to play on the countdown, I was mentally transported back to the Freecade, valiantly trying to top my high score on Gorf, with a Bellhaven Scottish Ale in hand. Good times, good times. (Although you could argue that listening to Saga while playing a classic arcade game truly is a 1981 memory, even if the actual event took place in 2007!)

“When the pace is too fast, and I think I won't last, you know where I'll be found...
I'll be standing here beside myself, getting ready for the final round.”

So click the video below and check out Saga's hit, and let me know if any fond memories come flooding back to you! It would also be an excellent choice to play to get yourself motivated for a new adventure or chapter in your life. Fist pumping! Tonight you're ON THE LOOSE!

“No one can stop you now, tonight you're on the loose. No one to tell you how, tonight you're on the loose.”