PRINCESS ALICE AND THE BROKEN ARROW

I was pleasantly surprised by this album as I haven't bought anything by Magnum for a number of years. I felt they lost their way during the late 80s and on into the 90s so they drifted off my radar.

The thing that actually got my attention concerning this release was the cover art. It is pretty cool and kind of reminds me of the fantasy art that bedecked so many prog albums in the 70s. Of course, the fact that the album was getting good reviews in various places was not to be ignored. So I decided to check it out.

Whilst there is nothing all that ground-breaking in evidence, strong riffs, delicate melodies, and killer hooks abound. The songs are all very well-crafted and produced and seem to have more of the power that I associated with Magnum. This all adds up to a pretty impressive whole and I rate the first 5 songs as five stars each. The second half of the album is not quite so strong but the tracks still weigh in around the 3.5 - 4 mark.

Overall I give the album 4 stars but I'm rating it here as 3 because as much as I like it, I can't really class it as an excellent addition to a prog music collection. Though I'm sure many progheads will enjoy this release as much as I have.