BREATH OF LIFE

I do have a bit of problem with excepting this album as a prog-rock. It sometimes feel that some bands are done with prog as soon as the CD cover artwork is finished. Anyways, the overall impression is pretty good, although Magnum made same mistake as so many bands before (and after) did - putting too many songs (even worse - live bonus tracks) on an album. This way, the whole concept of an album loses its momentum. Actually, the momentum is lost much earlier, with track no.4, when album fails to keep me interested. Not that it doesn't contain any good songs anymore, but album cannot be acceptable as a whole anymore. When you start to use skip button on your remote, you know that you passed the thin line between the classic and the singles collection album. And as I mentioned earlier, things only get worse from the tenth song on. Breath of life could work excellently as a strong EP with 4 or 5 songs (first three songs plus Breath of life), but as an album, this release is average.

I recommend that you copy songs Cry, This heart, Everyday, Breath of life and possibly the remixed acoustic piece on a blank CD and enjoy Magnum's comeback EP.