MAGNUM II

Magnum II is a slicker, more polished album than the band's debut but it is also a mixed bag and somewhat lacks the energy and spontaneity. Despite this, some of these songs are classics in the group's cannon; 'Great Adventure', 'So Cold the Night', and 'Firebird' reflect a Jethro Tull and Queen influence in the acoustic and electric contrasts, vocal operatics and tongue- tripping flute workouts while the intro to 'If I Could Live Forever' conjures up images of knights on a misty battlefield before the song proper gives way to a more prosaic song structure better suited to Journey, Styx or Boston.

Other songs like 'Foolish Heart' lapse into an indistinct and not overly memorable rock shuffle, the likes of which had already been well-worn by bands like Kansas. The album's closer 'All of My Life' tells a story and builds up quite a head of steam with Tony Clarkin's guitar gallops and Bob Catley's explicit Robert Plant yelps of 'push, push, puuuush!' letting prog fans off the hook.

Magnum II is essentially half Prog/half commercial fare but despite the obvious potential of the band, fans were not won over either way.

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