ROCK ART

My first review so bare with me. This is a forgotten gem in the Magnum discography. Released as Magnum were more or less on their way out in the cold, it is nevertheless quite a good album. Not so much prog as it is hard rock. It holds the typical Magnum treats, hard rocking cut-throat tunes with slow ballads intertwined. Musically, this is the start of the sound that is dominating Magnum´s music today. So if you have heard "Breath of life", "Brand new morning" and the most recent album "Princess Alice and broken arrow" you will feel right at home. Let´s break the album into its songs.

1. We all need to be loved - a racy rocker in the same style as the latest Uriah Heep songs.

2. Hard hearted woman - a rather more boogie flavoured tune, sounds more like a ZZ Top song.

3. Back in your arms again - cheesy ballad which is saved to a high degree by Bob Catley´s phenomenal voice.

4. Rock heavy - good reggae tinged song but reggae isn´t Magnum´s thing.

5. The tall ships - the closest this album gets to a progressive song. Nice chorus at the end.

6. Tell tale eyes - decent rocker, not more than that.

7. Love´s a stranger - a song reminding me of Steve Winwood from his soulful 80´s. Not slow but sluggish.

8. Hush-a-bye baby - bluesy ballad making one think of smoky rooms in speakeasies. Yet the song is meant to be a lullaby.

9. Just side of heaven - the best song on the album. Tough but not hard with some pseudo prog elements.

10. I will decide myself - singalong ballad for those who like ballads.

11. On christmas day - too long!

Overall, this is an album for those who are already into Magnum. Do not get this as your first Magnum because the group takes some albums to get used to.

Is this art?

Magnum's career is an uneven one, they have made several good albums, some less good albums and some really weak ones. Rock Art is certainly not among the weaker ones, but it is also not among their best albums. One problem with Magnum was that after a string of good albums in the late 70's/early 80's the band seemed to loose track of who they wanted to be and what they wanted to sound like. 1988's Wings Of Heaven was a surprisingly solid album in an otherwise lacklustre and directionless output during the latter half of the 80's and early 90's. Albums like Vigilante and Goodnight L.A. (even though they are quite different from each other, they have that in common that they are very weak albums) left me wondering whether to give up on the band forever. The previous Sleepwalking was not an enormous improvement by any means, but at least it re-established the classic Magnum sound in some sense. Rock Art continues in this tradition of improvement and is the band's best since Wings Of Heaven.

The sound of Rock Art is heavier than previous albums and the voice of Bob Catley is as strong and distinctive as ever. The band sounds more confident here and I think that they found their own identity again. This is not necessarily the kind of music that I want to hear but it feels like this is precisely the kind music Magnum wants to make. And that is important since people do best what they want to do rather than what other people want them to do. This time there is also no problem with the production. This album has a good sound.

The lyrics are often clichéd and too direct for my tastes. The very titles of some of the songs give them away don't they? 'We All Need To be Loved', 'Back In Your Arms Again' and 'Hard Hearted Woman' are titles that are pretty standard in Rock music. The lyrics are clearly one of the worst aspects of the music of Magnum. There are no real standout tracks on this album but it is more even and also more diverse than the previous couple of albums.

The instrumental attack is wider compared to earlier albums with acoustic and steel guitars and a wider keyboard pallet. There are also some slight Blues, Jazz and even World influences in some songs making for a slightly more interesting and varied album.

Recommended for fans of this band! Newcomers to Magnum would best start with another album, though.