Magnum
On A Storytellers Night

If I say Magnum and ask you to associate an image with the name, chances are that you spontaneously add the letters P.I. and the image of Tom Selleck's mustache and his Ferrari pops into your mind. Perhaps the silhouette of a gun or the quintessential high-calorie packaged ice cream might flash in your head; however, it's unlikely that you would associate the name with Bob Catley and his band dedicated to rock for nearly 30 years: if you're curious, come with me...
Being the first to talk about Magnum on this site allows me the luxury of choosing the CD to describe without the fear of encountering an annoying duplication. Let's take a step back in time to 1985 to discuss what I consider their best work. There are three products in their long discography that, in my opinion, stand out tremendously: "Vigilante," "Wings Of Heaven," and...

..."On A Storytellers Night."

The AOR or Adult/(Album) Oriented Rock is now overused. It is a genre that sits in a border area and boasts influences from hard/pomp rock, classic metal, symphonic and progressive, with glam, baroque accents, etc. Of course, there can be many nuances, and being able to encompass a branch of music so varied is a practically impossible task in which I don't even want to try to engage. What I want to emphasize is that AOR, of a certain level, tends to give great attention to the melodic level, is characterized by the class and care of the arrangements and in the instrumental phases, without exceeding in virtuosities. Electric guitars coexist with keyboards without rushing each other at full speed; the tempos are mostly moderate, alternated with winning breaks and superb interpretations by talented vocalists.

Many CDs pass through my player. There are periods when I fall in love with conviction, but it's almost always a temporary "crush" that only partially quenches my thirst. "On A Storytellers Night," on the other hand, has remained for over a decade, nailed, and every time it produces the same dizzying and invaluable effect. It might be Bob Catley's trembling, passionate, and warm voice, Clarkin's changeable guitar, or the inspired songwriting, but if this album were a woman, I'd be ready to shout: "yes, I do!!!".

A long intro, almost ominous with distant singing, dissolves with the first sharp guitar chord. It's a crescendo that moves unhurriedly towards the chorus and loses itself in a sinuous break, among synths and arpeggios. The circle closes with epic keyboards to powerfully resume the chorus. "How Far Jerusalem" is its name.
A particularly successful song can happen to anyone, but rarely does one give birth to a varied CD with several hits that do not adhere to the same pattern.
We explore different shores in the pop and catchy "Just Like An Arrow" letting ourselves go to a lively tempo, a vocal performance exuding carefreeness and rising in intensity with the guitar infusion.
A mystical intro instead accompanies the "title track": elegant and majestic. The verses are so sad and heartbreaking, while in dichotomous contrast a pompous chorus emerges that one wishes would never end.
And so this album flows: with 10 pearls each different from one another and perfectly recognizable. A meticulous track by track would be a premeditated murder in full rule, but let me fleetingly invite you to be wrapped in a warm blanket like Bob Catley's voice in "Les Morts Dansant" or in the bleak "The Last Dance". I'm not ashamed to say that the latter track sometimes makes me cry. And what can I say about the very light "Two Hearts" with a hypnotic riffing in the foreground?... Enough!!! It's with extreme difficulty that I stop there and close this description of each track, realizing I can't do justice to the absolute beauty of the songs.

It's when listening to albums like "On A Storytellers Night" that an amateur reviewer like me understands the true value of the stars that so many, too many, times have been awarded lightly. What are the five stars you see up there now? No, they don't merely signify that this CD consists of excellent songs, produced, interpreted, and played professionally. No! That rating should represent my shoulders that for 10 years have been tightened, causing a long and intense shiver to run down the spine and physically make me understand that this is not just a passing crush, but true musical love: pure. If you are a lover of melodic rock, buy it. A CD that leaves a mark. Strictly indelible.