Magnum -- sometimes something blows you away

C

Cheiron

Member
Jan 11, 2006
5,640
1
38
Checked out this band Magnum today. Incredible. Its like a heavier version of Queen, with some Jethro Tull, Genesis, and a number of melodic rock and progressive bands. Roger Taylor produced one of their albums. I highly recommend the album Magnum II. Wow. This band is definitely kicking my ass. Awesome song writing.

For more info: Magnum (band - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
 
The only Magnum I have is Chase the Dragon..bought it a few years ago and it was tough to find. Excellent album, and a very accessible 70's style progressive band. Still to this day the best song on the album to me is Solider of the Line. Was the first song I ever heard from 'em, and the one that made me want to find the album. I nearly went into a frenzy when they played Solider during the between set music at PNC when I saw Priest on the Retribution tour. Definitely looking forward to buying more albums from them and hearing what else these guys can do.
 
Magnum! One of my favorite bands. I just love Bob Catley's voice.
It's like where a song doesn't even have to be all that good for me to want to listen to it over and over again.
I pretty much like all the different types of albums they've put out. I'm not exactly thrilled with 'Breath of Life' or 'Brand New Morning' but I still bought 'em. magnum II, oh, yes, some of my top three from there would be, lets see... The battle, If I could Live Forever and All of My life.
My first encounter with Magnum was about a year and a half after the release of 'On a Storyteller's Night' I was at the local record store and I caught sight of the album cover... bought it unheard, (silly I know but I figured I could take a chance and I've done that again where Rodney Matthews art was on the cover), brought it back home listened to the first half of the album and put it away thinking, "euuuuh, this is pop." :) About two weeks later I had this song going in my head and I couldn't figure out what it was... turned out to be 'How far Jerusalem'. That made me give that album a second chance... or so... I think from there on I played it at least once a day and it was normally spinning as I went to bed. I love that album to death... Then as I usually do I dug into their back catalogue, bought every release I could get my hands on. I remember embracing pretty much everything. Today I think it's safe to say my favorite Magnum albums are 'On a Storyteller's Night', 'Vigilante', 'Magnum II' and 'Wings of Heaven'. But I've plenty of love for 'Chase the Dragon', 'Sleepwalking' and 'Kingdom of Madness' too.
Then there's Bob Catley's solo albums. I like them enough. I just think it's a shame the orchestration isn't more tasteful. A little restraint wouldn't have hurt. That said I find them quite enjoyable.
I will probably buy and listen whatever Bob puts out. :)
 
Well, Urban beat me to it, but I was also going to suggest checking out Catley's solo albums. Middle Earth is excellent, and When Empires Burn is almost as good. Magnum is always a fun listen for me...they know how to write really good songs ("pop" as some might be :D).
 
I prefer Bob Catleys solo stuff. The song "Children Of The Circle" off the "When Empires Burn" CD absolutely kicks my ass!
 
DrumRman said:
I prefer Bob Catleys solo stuff.
Click to expand...
You do? Including the first three?

DrumRman said:
The song "Children Of The Circle" off the "When Empires Burn" CD absolutely kicks my ass!
Click to expand...
I agree, it is a really good song but as far as the album as a whole goes I think he should've done two albums instead or just kept it all metal. For some reason that's the side to this album I like the most and it's not really what I'm looking for when it comes to Magnum and Bob Catley.
Whenever I play this album I skip every other song and they're the ones that sound the most like they were written for Magnum. This means I end up playing 'Children of the Night', skip 'Gonna Live Forever',
play 'The Prophecy', skip 'I'll be Your Fool' and 'Every Beat of My Heart',
play 'When Empires Burn', skip 'Meaning of Life',
play 'This is the Day' and 'Some Day Utopia', (I just wish they'd left out the "bridge" completely),
then sometimes I play, and sometimes I don't, 'My America' (with the silly pronounciation just to make it rhyme),
in general I play 'Heaven Can Wait' and then maybe 'When the Earth Lies Still' I think 'When the Earth Lies Still' would've been awesome with Magnum back in '86 or so... Imagine Mark Steinway on those keyboards. Oh, and I normally skip the lenghty intro called 'The Torment'. :)

Overall when it comes to Bob's solo albums I have a problem with the keyboards. Just listen to 'The Pain' from 'Legends' and tell me it's not a terrible sounding keyboard opening? And in general I think losing the keyboards here and there would've lent the songs a bit more of an "open" sound that would make a world of a difference. Would've taken it to a whole other level if you ask me. Luckily for Bob, most people don't. :)
 
My top 3 albums of 1985:

1. Marillion- Misplaced Childhood
2. Kate Bush- Hounds Of Love
3. Magnum- On A Storyteller's Night.

It was my favorite year for music.
 
Urban breed said:
You do? Including the first three?


I agree, it is a really good song but as far as the album as a whole goes I think he should've done two albums instead or just kept it all metal. For some reason that's the side to this album I like the most and it's not really what I'm looking for when it comes to Magnum and Bob Catley.
Whenever I play this album I skip every other song and they're the ones that sound the most like they were written for Magnum. This means I end up playing 'Children of the Night', skip 'Gonna Live Forever',
play 'The Prophecy', skip 'I'll be Your Fool' and 'Every Beat of My Heart',
play 'When Empires Burn', skip 'Meaning of Life',
play 'This is the Day' and 'Some Day Utopia', (I just wish they'd left out the "bridge" completely),
then sometimes I play, and sometimes I don't, 'My America' (with the silly pronounciation just to make it rhyme),
in general I play 'Heaven Can Wait' and then maybe 'When the Earth Lies Still' I think 'When the Earth Lies Still' would've been awesome with Magnum back in '86 or so... Imagine Mark Steinway on those keyboards. Oh, and I normally skip the lenghty intro called 'The Torment'. :)

Overall when it comes to Bob's solo albums I have a problem with the keyboards. Just listen to 'The Pain' from 'Legends' and tell me it's not a terrible sounding keyboard opening? And in general I think losing the keyboards here and there would've lent the songs a bit more of an "open" sound that would make a world of a difference. Would've taken it to a whole other level if you ask me. Luckily for Bob, most people don't. :)
Click to expand...

Hey Urban

What do you think of Bob Catley's last solo album, Spirit Of Man? I really liked that album a lot.
 
Found it interesting to read from Jorn today that Bob Catley might have been on the Battle album, if not for the Magnum reunion.
 
from www.melodicrock.com :
"MAGNUM PROMISE STRONG PRODUCTION ON NEW OPUS:
Ok, here's the press release that I hadn't yet received from SPV in relation to yesterday's Magnum update.
"Their thirteenth studio album, Princess Alice And The Broken Arrow, sees British rock legends, Magnum, release their long-awaited latest offering, which also happens to be one of the strongest productions in their career to date. "We worked over a year on these songs, but the effort was definitely worthwhile," comments vocalist Bob Catley. "This is undeniably the most complete and rounded album we've ever written. As far as I'm concerned, it's on a par with On A Storyteller's Night." Parallels with the classic are also reflected in the awesome cover artwork by fantasy artist Rodney Matthews. Matthews designed an impressive sleeve for On A Storyteller's Night in 1985, applying similarly perfect brush strokes to Princess Alice And The Broken Arrow.
The eleven new songs on the album were written by guitarist Tony Clarkin, whose wealth of inspiration and compositional talent has been responsible for many a masterpiece in the history of Magnum. Clarkin and his well-rehearsed group, featuring Bob Catley, keyboard player Mark Stanway and bassist Al Barrow, as well as new addition Jimmy Copley (drums), make Princess Alice And The Broken Arrow a luxurious sonic experience that invites its listeners to dream away to, enjoying the music with all their senses. The first edition of the album will include a bonus DVD featuring making-of footage of the production, interviews with all band members, a studio video of the new Magnum track, Dragons Are Real, and a slide show with exclusive pictures.
Magnum will be back live in Germany, Switzerland and UK in May, presenting, alongside their greatest hits, a number of tracks from their new album. "Although it has not been decided yet how many current numbers we will play on our tour, I know that tracks such as When We Were Younger, Eyes Wide Open, Out Of The Shadows and Thank You For The Day will blend in seamlessly with our classics," promises Catley, well aware that this statement is a seal of approval for those songs."
Magnum live 2007:
04.05. D-Osnabrück - Lagerhalle
05.05. D-Berlin - Columbia Club
07.05. D-Augsburg - Spectrum
08.05. CH-Pratteln - Z7
10.05. D-Aschaffenburg - Colossaal
11.05. D-Hannover - Capitol
12.05. D-Bochum - Zeche
13.05. D-Cologne - Kantine
17.05. GB-Glasgow - The Garage
18.05. GB-Newcastle - The Academy
19.05. GB-Nottingham - Rock City
20.05. GB-Bristol - The Academy
23.05. GB-Manchester - The Academy 2
24.05. GB-Wolverhampton - Wulfrun Hall
25.05. GB-Bradford - Rio`s
26.05. GB-London - Astoria
28.07. D-Seebronn - Rock Of Ages Festival
WebLinks: www.magnumonline.co.uk, www.spv.de, www.spvusa.com.

SPV / Steamhammer have announced all release dates for the new Magnum album Princess Alice And The Broken Arrow. The date are: Germany March 23rd 2007, Europe March 26th 2007, USA April 3rd 2007.
The Limited First edition will include bonus DVD (details to follow).
And your very first chance to hear a sample of the new album is now online at with a 2 minute sample of Dragons Are Real available at: www.hard-rain.demon.co.uk/media/Dragons.mov (Quicktime Audio)."
 
Andy Laudano said:
Hey Urban

What do you think of Bob Catley's last solo album, Spirit Of Man? I really liked that album a lot.
Click to expand...
I haven't listened to it enough to let you know what I really think of it.
I like the opening track. A lot. But seriously, what's up with the production? Who pushed the fader to the reverb returns up to the max? Annoying. I just love it when you apply a lot of Delay and a dose of reverb to Bob's voice but don't do any of that to the rest... please... :) There are quite a few songs here that I suspect will grow on me with a few more spins. (Should come as no surprise since most music does that.) In general I think this sounds like a mix of the first three and the metal tracks of "When Empires burn". Not a bad direction. Hey, Andy, next time we meet I'll have a more detailed review for you, ok? :) Or I might remember to post one here... who knows... :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

MetalAges
Listen To New MAGNUM Song 'Where Are You Eden?'
Replies
0
Views
91
Metal News 2
MetalAges
MetalAges
M
Black Symphony
Replies
4
Views
328
ProgPower USA
The_Q
T
KingsGene
STARCASTLE re-issues
Replies
17
Views
1K
ProgPower USA
J-Man
J
god_king
Why we need them brummie metal gods at bloodstock '04. This will explain...
Replies
15
Views
426
Bloodstock UK
god_king
G
Michael TEOF
Some Reviews of bands playing at Prog Power 3.0....
Replies
4
Views
672
ProgPower USA
Michael TEOF
M
Top Bottom
Back