Questions for regular Al Barrow:

What are the guys/your thoughts on the new album - compared to the other recent outputs?

It sure sounds like a step more towards classic Magnum and a little more melodic/commercial sounding, which many of us have felt Tony's avoided on purpose lately. So, my question is, is it deliberate to please fans or is it something the band really wanted and just a question of getting it right this time?

I hear differences in terms of production between tracks . . . am I totally off here or are they recorded differently/on different occasions?

My own thoughts:

I sat down this evening in front of my home stereo with a glass of Caol Ila (for the interested, it's scotch I won in a golf tournament and I'm really struggling with it) and had a serious listening session. Played the whole album from start to finish.

I can safely say that it's the best Magnum album since at least Wings Of Heaven, in my humble opinion. It's got everything and I love all songs included, which is a really rare thing for me.

As stated both here on the board and in Andrew's review, there a hints of all classic Magnum eras/albums and all ingredients are there.

The songs seem more worked and thought out this time around and there a subtle differences that highlights parts of the songs that I've missed on the other reunion albums. Like the doubled vocals (harmonizer) on Bob's voice in "Putting Things In Place" and like the choir in "From Within", the space between the instuments and how the songs breathe (perfectly explained by other posters in recent thread), the rhythmic fills by Tony on some songs not just basic riffs (reminds me of Storyteller's Night) etc. etc.

By far the most varied album in terms of both tempo and style of the reunion albums.

There's also a more chiseled out and distinct bass and bottom end on the disc than before. Sounds fantastic (great job Al)!

The choruses are better and standout more . . . but they could've been even bigger with more added background vocals/harmonies on some occasions.

The ballad is the best they've done in years and I can hear Vigilante all over it and some of the songs are more commercial sounding and melodic than we've heard Magnum in many, many years.

With some slight changes in production, I would've given it 100% but it's not perfect so I agree with Andrew's score on this one. :-)

The main beef I have is the drums. The snare and hi-hat is too crashy/splashy for my taste and too prominent in some songs. Works better in some but overall it annoys me a little. It reminds me of how the drums sound on a badly ripped 128 kbps MP3 file (exaggerating on purpose just to explain). Don't know if Harry is to blame here, though he is a very stiff drummer in my opinion, bacause it's more a sound thing for me than the style of the drummer. The sound however makes me very aware of the quite boring beats.

Overall, a fantastic album and really looking forward to more music from this marvelous band and I love the fact that it's kept to 11 great tracks instead of filling it out with less excellent songs. I have no huge problem with the track running order either to be honest, which have been discussed here.

Favourite songs on the disc at the moment, in order:

See How They Fall
From Within
On The 13th Day
Shadow Town
Didn't Like You Anyway
Blood Red Laughter
Putting Things In Place
So Let It Rain
Dance Of The Black Tattoo
All The Dreamers
Broken Promises


// Figge



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/30/2012 05:09PM by Figge.