WINGS OF HEAVEN

Released in 1988 at a time when prog was languishing in the doldrums, Magnum's "Wings of heaven" was a real breath of fresh air. Yes, it leans heavily towards the hairspray heaven rock of bands such as BOSTON, STYX, JOURNEY, etc., but there are enough prog influences to make this a fine album. Its probably fair to say this is as progressive as Magnum got.

The album opens with the wonderful "Days of no trust", a belting slice of pomp rock with soaring guitars and a superb vocal performance by Bob Catley. The brief acoustic play-out leads to "Wild swan", a song in two distinct parts. The first half is a loud bluesy piece, which switches pace between verses. This segues into a much softer concluding section. Magnum are venturing into real prog territory. The song has a passing similarity with Uriah Heep's "Wake up (set your sights)".

There are a number of more prosaic Magnum songs, such as the back to back "Start talking love" and "One step away", but even these have strong melodies and benefit from highly competent performances.

The ballad "It must have been love" (no relation to other similarly named songs) may be a bit cheesy, but it is nonetheless essential. The appearance of the London Gospel Choir here, and the general feel of the track, offers comparisons with Foreigner's "I want to know what love is".

The main criticism I have with the music of Magnum is the lack of instrumental passages. There is just too much reliance placed on the admittedly great voice of Bob Catley. "Wings of heaven" is as guilty of this as any other album by the band. If for example the excellent "Wild swan" had been graced with a guitar or keyboard solo during its 6+ minutes, it could have been an epic song. Even the 10½ minute "Don't wake the lion" is over burdened with vocals. If ever a track cried out for an instrumental break, it is this one.

A fine album though, with a couple of Magnum classic.

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