Album Review - Magnum - Wings of Heaven Live

A little Magnum history for you... They are a UK band that has been around since the 1970s, with a bit of a breakup during the 90s. Starting out as hard rock/progressive, as years marched on their music softened up until the British chartburner, the lofty "Wings of Heaven" was released. This album spawned quite a few hitmakers for the band, putting them firmly on the map (atleast in Europe), and popular opinion still claims "Wings" to be their finest hour. A small group still battles it out as "Storyteller Night" being the fan favorite and it is a difficult task to pick which of the two as the definitive representative of the band. 2008 is the twentieth (20th) anniversary of this album and to commemorate it's longevity and celebrate it's placement in English hard (melodic) rock history, Magnum has chosen to release it as a live album.

Recorded over their past tour, "Wings of Heaven Live" represents Magnum on stage, in the raw and sounding quite glorious. The band is as tight as a drum, in a lineup that may be their best ever. The two landmarks of the outfit, Tony Clarkin and Bob Catley are both in fine form. Veterans of the hard rock scene, they know how to work a crowd and how to spin their songs to best suit the audience. Disc One is a sort of "Best of" pick of the litter mix that heavily leans on their latest studio disc, "Princess Alice and the Broken Arrow". These songs transfer superbly to the live setting, especially "Dragons Are Real" which is heavy hitting and given a slight nod at shrouded mystery and a glimpse of that line between fantasy and reality. Other favorites include "Kingdom of Madness" and "How Far Jerusalem", staples of their live set for decades now.

Disc Two is what you bought the set for, the incredible live performance of "Wings of Heaven". This performance strips away some of the over produced layers that made this melodic masterpiece so cleverly slick. However, the songs themselves are brilliant enough to stand alone and scatter one after the other like a line of precious gems held together by a golden band. Bob Catley was in terrific form this night, and this more hard rock take of the album comes burning across the airwaves, Clarkin's solos just fanning the flames.

"Days of No Trust" is a stormer, obsessively melodic, it swoops down like a bird of prey, talons extended, intent on the kill. The predatory lyrics go for the jugular by being critical of the me-decade (while that decade was still unfolding, no less). followed by the progressive keyboard swirler, "Wild Swan". "Start Talking Love" and "It Must Have Been Love" are both power ballads that sound like raw, fresh bled emotion in this live setting. "Different Worlds" is the sister song to "Just Like An Arrow" (from "Storyteller") and resonates with the same kind of easy-sing-song quality. "Pray For the Day" has always been a popular live song for the band and hearing it in context with the rest of the album "in concert", it's easy to see why. The song is a natural transfer over to this setting, with its sizzling guitar riffs and gripping chorus.

Sparkling brightest is the epic "Don't Wake the Lion", a fantastic song that moves through the motions as something of a progressive/melodic epic, haughty and pompous and trembling with emotions. They break the dams and let the atmosphere just drown the stage. The results are mesmerizing and no matter how many times you have heard the recorded "on record" version, this live piece has enough heart to reel you in time and again. The finale is "Sacred Hour", a lovely track from "Chase the Dragon" and a nice way to bring the concert to its conclusion.

So if you missed the band on tour, or cannot make it to a concert, or for any reason, did not see this band live, then this is a great snapshot of what they sound like. Not just an outfit that is chained to tricks in the studio, their songs take new life on stage and come across with a melodic warmth thanks to the lifting vocals of Bob Catley and Clarkin's sweet guitar riffs and energetic solos. The sound is not quite as crisp and deep as one would hope, and personally the tracklist for the first Disc could have used less "Princess Alice" and more "Storyteller's Night", but these are small nitpicks. Overall, Magnum's "Live" effort is worth checking out, and it's always great to hear and see more publicity for "Wings of Heaven".

Written by Alanna
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
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Ratings

Alanna: 8/10

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