I saw
Magnum play the Garage in Glasgow maybe six years back. I remember thinking "These guys have still got it". Tony Clarkin smiled to himself a few times during the gig, so he must have been thinking the same thing.
'The Visitation' confirms 6 years later, they have it still.
It is the sound of a band - whose ambitions once included world wide fame and fortune - who have not just accepted their fate, but have got beyond it.
It takes a huge amount of self belief and indeed humility to treat those twin imposters just the same.
No desperate stretching now for something always out of reach.
This is a bunch of consummate musicians with respect for their past, who take real pride in the creation of some truly outstanding music.
Each and every song is a flawless example of the songwriter's craft. Hail Clarkin.
The darkly hued
'Black Skies' and the evocative
'Doorway To Nowhere', two tracks in the band's typically epic, majestic melodic rock style launch the album.
The unassuming but highly infectious
'Wild Angels' and the elegantly crafted
'Spin Like A Wheel' see the band coming back down to earth after the high drama of the opening duo. Running now on solid ground, Catley emotes effortlessly, squeezing maximum meaning and impact from every line, every phrase. His delivery is much more nuanced than it once was.
'The Last Frontier' might just be the best song Clarkin has ever written, beautifully realised by the band and a sympathetic arrangement. Catley seems to live every word. A faultless evocation of an England past. A country that once had a clear identity and a strong sense of purpose. It's a smartly apposite upgrade to "Storyteller's Night" type songs. Pithy vignettes set within an historical context, filled with humanity, illustrated by vivid lyrical imagery.
There are no mis-steps, no faux pas, just track after track of high calibre pomp rock/AOR.
'Freedom Day' and '
Mother Nature's Final Dance' are probably the standouts on the album's second half. Modern morality tales. Grandiose pomprock as it was in its heyday. Never OTT, but with the substance and grandeur to thrill and entertain.
It's absolutely pointless doing what many critics do. ie succumb to the comparison game. "It's not as good as, but better than etc etc".
It's 2011. This is what
Magnum are doing now. And it probably can't get much better, and that's a compliment, not an insult.
Written by
Brian Tuesday, February 22, 2011
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