MARAUDER

I was amazed when I discovered this gem remained un-rated. This is a real must have album for any lover of '70's prog/hard rock. Throughout this album are moments of prog majesty - from the soaring Mellotron of Richard Bailey, to the Rush-esque/Blackmore tinged guitar of Tony Clarkin. Sadly, due to a lack of record co. support, Magnum ended up going down the "hair metal" path in the '80's, but, Marauder showcases a tremendous band in full cry. For everyone that remembers Magnum as the perrennial support band of the late '70's - early '80's, this is an essential document of an excellent band, who never realised their potential.

In the beginning

With only two studio albums under their belts, Magnum released this live album in 1980. As such it was somewhat premature, especially as they did not yet have the several classic songs that would appear on their next studio album, Chase The Dragon. Further, it was perhaps unfortunate in another respect as well, the bulk of the tracks were taken from the weak Magnum II, easily the least good album of the band's early days. Still, I would say that this live album is actually better than the Magnum II studio album. Indeed, if you get Marauder you don't really need Magnum II.

The early Magnum will be of special interest to Prog fans and together with the studio debut Kingdom Of Madness, the present disc is probably the most progressive Magnum disc there is. This does not mean the best though, but interesting it is, especially from the perspective of knowing what they later became. The tracks from Kingdom Of Madness performed here (In The Beginning and Lords Of Chaos) are two of the best, but ironically the title track is not featured (but it is included among the bonus tracks on the re-released version). This, that they chose not to include Kingdom Of Madness, is somewhat weird as that is the only really old song that the band still performs live today and it is featured on countless live albums of much more recent vintage.

Musically, what you get here will not shock anyone who has heard the band's first couple of albums, but if all you know from Magnum is On A Storyteller's Night and subsequent albums, Marauder might surprise you. But if you are looking for a career-spanning live album, you obviously should not go for this one.