MAGNUM II

This was the first Magnum album I ever bought,I found it in the bargain bin at Woolworths and having read good things about the band decided to rescue it from its inauspicious hidey-hole.

There is something about Bob Catley's vocals that can induce extremes of rapture or nausea and on this album,sadly,it's mostly nausea.His vocals are so twee belying the pompous themes and prog-lite pretentions of Great Adventure,Firebird and If I Could Live Forever. There is definitely a Styx influence lurking amongst these tunes and I would say that this album might appeal to fans of the early period of the band.

There are some nice vocal performances-All Of My Life is fine,if sadly the anthemic feel is a tad overdone and So Cold The Night works quite well too.Changes was a favourite at the time and there is definitely real talent lurking in the bombastic guitar licks of Tony Clarkin. The keyboard contribution of Richard Bailey lacks finesse and he was soon replaced by the more adept Mark Stanway for the next album.

Time has not been kind to this collection of pomp rock ephemera and whilst it shows promise it only hints at the more mature and accomplished albums that would illuminate the 80's.I couldnt really recommend it to anybody other than fans of the band and pomp rock diehards.

Share this MAGNUM review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to Tony R
• Report this review (#75532)
• Buy MAGNUM music online with PA partners
• Show all MAGNUM MP3/Stream
• Go to MAGNUM page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Magnum II page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for MAGNUM related discussions