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Magenta

Neo-Prog


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Magenta Home album cover
3.49 | 140 ratings | 12 reviews | 17% 5 stars

Good, but non-essential

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Studio Album, released in 2005

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. This Life (2:30)
2. Hurt (5:35)
3. Moving On (6:02)
4. My Home Town (Far Away) (3:56)
5. Brave New Land (1:02)
6. The Journey (6:21)
7. Towers of Hope (2:10)
8. Demons (5:16)
9. Morning Sunlight (2:43)
10. Joe (11:14)
11. A Dream (1:11)
12. The Visionary (6:00)
13. Journey's End (7:41)
14. The Travellers Lament (1:15)
15. Home (4:13)

Total time 67:09

Bonus track on 2019 Limited Edition album:
16. Towers Of Hope (2019) (2:46)

Line-up / Musicians

- Christina (Murphy) Booth / lead vocals
- Rob Reed / acoustic & electric guitars, mandolin, keyboards, piano, bass, recorder, tambourine, backing vocals, engineer, mixer & producer
- Chris Fry / lead guitar
- Martin Rosser / lead guitar
- Daniel Fry / bass
- Allan Mason-Jones / drums

With:
- Martin Shellard / guitar
- Hywel Maggs / guitar
- Christian Philips / guitar, backing vocals
- Lee Goodall / tenor saxophone
- Troy Donockley / Uilleann pipes, whistles
- Tim Robinson / drums
- Mal Pope / backing vocals
- Lorrain King / backing vocals

- Pete Jones / sax on "Moving On" (on 2019 version only)

Releases information

Artwork: Adam J. Hodgson with Chris Walkden (photo)

CD F2 Music Ltd. ‎200606A (2006, UK)

Digital album (July 1, 2019, entitled "Home 2019 Limited Edition", remixed and reworked, with 1 additional track, "Towers Of Hope (2019)", different cover art,
https://magenta.bandcamp.com/album/home-2019-limited-edition)

Thanks to ProgLucky for the addition
and to Quinino for the last updates
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Buy MAGENTA Home Music



MAGENTA Home ratings distribution


3.49
(140 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(17%)
17%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(40%)
40%
Good, but non-essential (37%)
37%
Collectors/fans only (6%)
6%
Poor. Only for completionists (0%)
0%

MAGENTA Home reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by tszirmay
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
4 stars This merry troupe keeps delivering the goods, a predisposition to make 2cd albums (get the special edition with the New York suite) a la Flower Kings WITHOUT overdoing it , honing their craft with purpose. At first, I also felt that it was not as yummy as previous albums (gone are the overt "Yes-isms") but with repeated listens , I think this may be their most mature yet relaxed release yet. Magenta now has the presence and the recipe to claim its rightful place among prog's elite, mainly in view of Christina Booth constantly improving delivery (besides being a damn attractive young lady!!!) as witnessed on "Home" , "The Journey" , "Journey's End", "Moving On" and "Towers" . Annie Haslam, your future is here and now!!!. She is truly mesmerizing. Rob Reed has a knack for simple yet effective symphonics , supplying lovely melodies on synths and piano. The lead guitars are less derivative than in earlier efforts, with Fry and Rosser getting more cohesive , keeping things expressive and dramatic, with occasional bluesy hints that are most welcome. Throw in some Uillean Pipes and a little hint of Celtic colloratura, some fine bottom end contributions from the rythm section and you wind up with an opus that GROWS on you . The New York Suite on the second CD is perhaps more exploratory and is a wonderful companion to the Home CD, showing fans that , along with their sparkling Live album and their DVD, this band can do it all , in front of a public or in studio. We had Crimson, now we have Magenta, seems like a progression, no? I have now no doubts that the next one will be following tradition. 4 abodes
Review by Tarcisio Moura
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars Quite a disappointment, really. Coming at the heels of the magnificent Seven, I was eager to hear it as soon as it came out. Well, when I heard it... it was hard to point what was wrong. The musicians are as sharp as ever, with great keyboards and guitar parts, Christina is singing better than ever, so where's the problem? After repeated listenings, i found it in the songwriting. While quite symphonic in their first two CDs Magenta always had some pop tendencies that were released via EPs. Home, unfortunately, seems to change this tendency. The songs here are often too popish, too modern and, dare I say it, too american for my taste. It sounds like the ultimate Sarah McLaghlan album. Make no mistake, this is not a let down, I like Sarah Mclaghlan. But she and Magenta are, or were, very different. Seven is a strong and definitely progressive Symphonic album. So was Revolutions. Both are great prog statements and a joy to hear over and over again (specially Seven). Home is not in the same league and although quite pleasant, it gets boring after some time and it really does not make me want to listen to it over again when it finishes.

A good album anyway, thanks mostly for the band's skilful and talented members, some fine instrumental parts and Christina's brilliant singing. But a pale effort when compared to a masterpiece that was Seven and even the very good debut Revolutions. I wish they go back to symphonic prog again.

Review by ZowieZiggy
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars "Magenta" is a band playing nice music. But other band's one.

While listening to "Hurt", one can be charmed with the wonderful voice of Christina Murphy but this combination between "Yes" and "Floyd" is a bit too much. I am not an utmost purist who can't tolerate some "borrowing" but "Magenta" is always going into the same direction. I prefer very much a song like "Moving On". A nice and powerful prog-folk piece of music. Of course, some will say (rightly) that it sounds a bit like a "Mostly Autumn" song. The case seems hopeless but this song is rather different when compared to most of their repertoire.

We'll revert into more familiar territory with "The Journey". Some "Genesis" synthesizers and female "Anderson-esque" type of vocals. The whole being seriously "Yes" oriented. Vocal harmonies found undoubtfully their origins in there but the mix with such Banks oriented notes is truely amazing. Surprinsingly enough, I like this song for these pastiche sounds. You have to dare to produce such things. Every ten or fifteen seconds, we are bounced back between those two fantastic bands. But it doesn't make this song fantastic. Just an incredible mix. I have never heard such a thing so far. And I know those two bands since 1973...

"Demons" is no mix. Pure Floydian. Great guitar break and bombastic keyboards. I can't say that I don't like this song. It is very well crafted, melodic, very professionally performed but it sounds too much as Floyd. Period. I found Hughes's reaction a bit exaggerated while he stopped his review of their debut album because they borrowed some notes to "Entangled". But maybe that he wasn't wrong. He would have choked with anger by now, should he have pursued with the review of their following albums.

To me, it is great fun to identify which songs (or bands) they are borrowing from. And believe me, there is plenty of work since there are lots of songs within a song (do you follow me?). I guess that since this "Magenta" album received very little reviews, most of the reviewers must have come to the conclusion that this band has gone too far in their "imitation" style. And I cannot blame them.

Even a song like "Joe" which sounds more personal, will fall into the "Yes" repertoire again ("Roundabout" of some sort at mid- time). Another nice tribute. My favourite song of this album is "Journey's End". A very good symphonic song during which Christina's work is phenomenal. the most related with "Renaissance".

Oh yes, I almost forgot to tell you that if you were expecting the same great vocals a la Annie Haslam ("Renaissance"), you won't be disappointed. You get them all here as well.

I might seem harsh in this review but don't get me wrong. The band is delivering good music, wonderful vocal harmonies but is just lacking in playing their own music IMO. It is still an enjoyable album and as such I rate it with three stars. Nothing to write "home" about but if you like the four bands I have mentioned you might give a try to this album.

Review by Gatot
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
3 stars For those of you who love beautiful melody which by first spin engages your mind, this is definitely an album for you because almost all tracks are accessible to many ears. Neo prog lovers would definitely love this album as well because the music resembles the old days of neo prog with sometimes mellow music, slow to medium tempo, nice and stunning guitar work and touchy piano work. It's basically a composition that flows smoothly and naturally (most of the time you can predict how the chords and notes are about to move from one segment to another) with mellow or slow to medium tempo and relatively simple arrangement. A good example of this characteristic is shown completely and perfectly at track 3 "Moving On" .

Good music, accessible, memorable melodies, good harmony - and then what? That's a challenging question I have for the band. Why? Comparing to their other studio albums like "Revolutions" and "Seven" this album is musically much more original. As you might check with my review on "Revolutions", I truly adore this album even though I know that the music is not really original - many influences from Genesis and Marillion - I like the melody and composition. The next album "Seven" gave the band a much maturity in delivering their music even tough there are segments that resemble the music of Yes. For this aspect, I do not see any similarity of any segment in the whole CD that resembles to other older bands. I salute the band on embarking their music into a much original composition.

The music flows naturally from one track to another, with good melody and nice vocal of Christina. The problem I have with listening to this album in its entirety is the similarity of nuance from one track to another - it seems flat to me and it does not lift my emotion in any segment of the music through out one entire disc. Yes there are memorable segments but there are little variations in terms of compositions that finally make me getting bored with the music. Oh yes, there are great sounds of organ that remind me to Procol Harum but with modern sound and also stunning guitar work, but then what? I still get bored. It's probably there is nothing energetic in the music.

Overall, this is a good album with excellent sonic production. The compositions are also good but when the CD is listened to in its entirety, I get bored because little variations from one track to another. The CD package is lousy in its artwork. The band must learn from The Flower Kings, The Tangent, Pain of Salvation etc. on how to create excellent artwork. Look at the front cover artwork - you might associate this with first Peter Gabriel's first album. Peter's one is better than this one. And I think, artwork and CD package in prog music is a crucial element. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

Review by Mellotron Storm
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars I'm a big fan of MAGENTA's "Seven" album and their "Broken" EP so I had high hopes for this one. This is a concept album about a woman who leaves England for America, falls in with the wrong people before getting her life straightened out and going back home. As with most concept albums the focus is on the story more than the actual music, so for someone like myself who isn't that much into lyrics or the story I found this too samey. In fact the majority of the songs start off with piano and reserved vocals which I found not only tiresome but of course too predictable after a while. Now when it comes to Christina's vocals i'm a fan, but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing I guess.

My favourite track by far is the one where Troy Donockley (IONA) plays his Uillean Pipes.That would be the short track called "The Traveller's Lament". The atmosphere and pipes bring IONA to mind and leaves me whispering to myself "My Lord and my God".

A pretty good album but for me a low 3 stars.

Review by SouthSideoftheSky
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Symphonic Team
4 stars Magenta finally finding their home

I can easily understand how someone could listen to the present album and not immediately notice its considerable beauty as it is admittedly a more toned down affair compared to the previous Revolutions and Seven albums. The extravagances of those works have been largely stripped away here. For me, however, Home is a more mature and overall more rewarding effort. Magenta no longer wear their influences on their sleeves here. The Yes influence is still here, but overall the influences are much more evenly distributed among several of the biggest names in progressive Rock, this time including Pink Floyd and, dare I say, The Beatles! We get lots of emotional lead guitar, often reminiscent of David Gilmour and other greats. I'm not implying that Home is a highly original and novel work - it isn't really - but it is certainly less derivative and more of Magenta's own. Home is thus a more honest effort.

The first thing to notice is that Home is a much more sentimental and melancholic affair compared to earlier Magenta releases. The tone is darker and the focus is more on the emotional lyrical content than on instrumental chops and vocal acrobatics. This is not to say that there is a lack in the latter department, just that the considerable instrumental and vocal talents embellish the lyrics rather than the other way around. I think it is fair to say that the music on Home is less pompous and bombastic compared to what was found on the band's earlier albums and it was partly some of that pompousness that made it hard for me to fully appreciate those other albums.

Another thing to notice is that, while the two previous albums were also both conceptual in the sense that there was an overarching theme, Home is the first Magenta album to feature a storyline. The story is about a woman who leaves home and goes searching for a new life. The theme reminds of Camel's Dust And Dreams and Harbour Of Tears albums, both also about searching for a new life. Also Marillion's Brave comes to mind - also an emotional tale of a fragile woman.

I also think that Christina Booth's vocals are stronger here than ever before. She seems more interested in conveying the emotional message than vocal acrobatics and out-doing Annie Haslam. There is also no attempt to do a hit song here, everything is about the story.

Yet another appealing aspect of the present work is the greater instrumental diversity. Harpsichord, mandolin and Uilleann pipes and whistles (the latter played by Troy Donockley) give slight folky overtones that I personally appreciate very much. There is also a nice little saxophone solo in one song! Overall, Home is a more acoustic work compared to other Magenta albums, but Rob Reed still hands in some tasteful synthesiser lines.

Admittedly, it took many listens before this album settled in, but it is an album that should be given more chances. Don't give up if you're not impressed after only one or two listens. Home grew on me with every listen. Here I can finally give the rating I wish I could give to Revolutions - four stars it is! In my opinion, this is Magenta's best studio album.

Review by Warthur
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars Magenta's Home started life as a double concept album, but hoping to reach a broader audience the murky prog morass of the midsection (the New York Suite) was trimmed from the running order and released as a separate EP; later, a special edition would include it as a second CD, and most recently the album has been rereleased with the New York Suite tracks restored to their original intended position in the running order.

Sadly, none of the configurations of Home - with or without the New York Suite in place (I have both so I've been able to experiment) manage to meet the expectations established by the magnificent Seven. Without the New York Suite, the balance of the album is a bit skewed towards contemplated piano-plus-vocals pieces which become samey and tiresome over the course of the album; with the Suite in place, the album feels bloated and fails to sustain my interest.

In short, I think trimming back the material was the right idea, but the band went the wrong way about it - rather than selecting the proggiest part of the piece and excising it, they should have trimmed back the filler over the course of the entire album and produced a single-album concept with each of the different sections (pre-New York, New York itself, and post-New York) condensed down to a point where it's all killer and no filler. That would require substantially more work than just removing some songs - actual existing songs would need to be modified - but I think the results would have been much more satisfying than either the castrated short version or the overstuffed "director's cut" of the album are.

Review by apps79
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
3 stars After ''Seven'' Magenta had become one of the hottest names of the modern Prog scene.The first live album of the band becomes reality at the fall of 2004 under the title ''Another time... another place'' and the marketing around them becomes even stronger in 2005, when the first DVD of Magenta ''The gathering'' sees the light.Meanwhile the band was in a creative orgasm, not only playing numerous live shows but having already started composing material for a third album.Dan Fry joins the band on bass and drummer Allan Mason-Jones becomes the sixth official member of Magenta.Recorded in three different studios on English ground, the new album ''Home'', released during the summer of 2006 on F2 Music, is another concept work, refering to a girl abandoning its homeland in Liverpool to sail in New York city for a better luck and life.

The sensitive story the album deals with required lots of lyrical moments, as a result ''Home'' is an emotional, poetic work, fronted by Christina Booth's clean voice, unfolding the story in her own unique way.Musically there is a certain turn towards more melodic soundscapes and even some poppy elements appear in this effort, clearly in a more traditional Neo Prog approach, with less symphonic orchestrations and even lesser complex, instrumental workouts.No surprise though, Rob Reed and his Magenta did it very well in this style as well, performing a sensational Progressive Rock with excellent solos, smooth piano lines and quirky synthesizers providing a sufficient enough background for Prog fans.Fans of more Classic Prog stylings will not be dissapointed either.While the more demanding instrumentals have been mostly left out of line, there are still obvious GENESIS and RENAISSANCE shadows almost in every piece, not to mention the longer tracks feature plenty vintage references with STEVE HACKETT-like guitar trembling, soft organ touches and orchestral moods, some of which sound very pompous and delightful.The concept as a whole flows with an extreme comfort and the mass of vocals will not bother the listener.The musical background is strong enough to satisfy any MAGENTA fan and the arrangements, even if they sound less bombastic and adventurous, are extremely well-crafted and require some careful listenings along the way.

Another solid album by a band that slowly develops into a legend of the modern British Prog scene.Melodic, lyrical and still retro-flavored Neo Prog with a sensitive aura and story behind the curtains.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.

Latest members reviews

4 stars This is second album which I've heard from Magenta, so I will using positive senteces as much as possible (like in my review on Seven). 'This Life' makes no sense ... I would expect another begun, but this catch me. Slow and silent piano, good voice, two minutes is enough for this heart (ear) ... (read more)

Report this review (#251181) | Posted by Colourful | Tuesday, November 17, 2009 | Review Permanlink

4 stars Finally!!! I get some time to listen this one and I must admit it was a pleasant surprise! Album start with some pretty off prog contents, but after comes much better, all things are in the place and you find yours self just floating in wonderful Cristina's voice. Songs Joe and The Visionary ... (read more)

Report this review (#117109) | Posted by Komodo dragon | Monday, April 2, 2007 | Review Permanlink

3 stars 3.5 stars to the new cd from Magenta.It's not that I dont like it but I'm a bit disappointed because to my taste SEVEN was much better.First of all buy the special edition because you have 2 cd's (Home & New York suite) and I dont like the art cover who is depressing. Sure the music is still g ... (read more)

Report this review (#85576) | Posted by pots | Thursday, August 3, 2006 | Review Permanlink

4 stars it feels like HOME !!!!!!!! **** STARS (because has no weak points) Well only 2 years passsed since SEVEN realese.This England Neo-prog female fronted band returned with a similar album called HOME...and it feels good being back at home...Well this is not a MASTERPIECE ... (read more)

Report this review (#84950) | Posted by rafabal | Thursday, July 27, 2006 | Review Permanlink

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