From Amazon.co.uk
Breath Of Life opens so weakly you immediately wonder what prompted Magnum to re-enter the studio after an eight-year silence. After a predictably portentous intro, "Cry" transforms into a minimal
Billy-Squier-style stomp, then mellows into a big ballad, then it's a Prog workout--it's as if the band have been away so long they're throwing everything at the wall, hoping that something will stick. Thankfully, some self-discipline is swiftly introduced. Second track, "This Heart", with its celebratory keyboards, is grand pop-rock of the type that gave Magnum a Top Five album and three Top 30 singles in the late 1980s. Songwriter and guitarist Tony Clarkin was always at his best when penning stirring rock epics tinged with melancholy folk (like a heavy metal
Strawbs) and that tradition continues here. Everyday has that sense of drama and high romance, as does "Just Like". Best of all are the power ballad "Dream About You" (a track demanding a
David Coverdale cover) and the surprising "That Holy Touch", which starts as a hip-swinging rocker then bursts into a classic Magnum chorus, singer Bob Catley delivering a powerful, sweet and heavily overlaid "I'm just a speck on this broken-down highway".
Breath Of Life will win few new converts, but will absolutely delight any long-standing admirers.
--Dominic Wills
Album Details
Standard version of their 2002 album on Steamhammer. Deep Purple-ish, with progressive tendencies.
