Artist: Magnum 
   Title: Wings Of Heaven Live
   Label: SPV Records

When it comes to all time classic Melodic Rock acts they don’t come much bigger than Birmingham’s Magnum, who have lasted the test of time more than many of the bands of their era.  This is mainly due to the song writing of Tony Clarkin and the vocals of one Bob Catley, the pair along with Mark Stanway have remained true to their roots ever since their debut release and the same formula has remained throughout the bands career.  A career now spanning some 36 years(!) and together with Al Barrow on bass and Jimmy Copley on drums, the band have put together a live album worthy of the Magnum name.

For many the bands finest hour has to have been their 1988 opus ‘Wings Of Heaven’ which boasted three top 40 singles, something of a milestone by a British Melodic Rock band and one that in today’s market place may never be repeated.

To mark this success and 20 year anniversary of the album, the band decided to record the album in its entirety in front of a live audience back in November 2007.  This double CD not only includes the entire 'Wings Of Heaven' but also many of the classic Magnum hits, together with tracks taken from their latest album ‘Alice And The Broken Arrow’, which were also recorded live.

The first of the two discs is the live recording during the band tour in November 2007 and contains such classics of ‘Back Street Kid’, ‘How Far Jerusalem’ and ‘Kingdom Of Madness’ alongside the new material like ‘Out Of The Shadows’, ‘Like Brothers We Stand’ and ‘Dragons Are Real’, all of which carry that trademark Clarkin sound that has seen the band weather the storm of disco, grunge and metal, to stand supreme as Britain’s finest Melodic Rock band.

This might seem like a huge statement but when you put on the second disc which features the entire ‘Wings Of Heaven’ album on live, you soon realise such a boast is well founded on great songs and melodies written, sung and played by a great band with the likes of ‘Days Of No Trust’, 'Start Talking Love’, ‘Wild Swan’ and ‘Pray For The Day’ still standing the test of time, like most of Clarkin’s compositions, all now a foundation of any Magnum tour with likes of the lesser know tracks like 'One Step Away’ and ‘Don’t Wake The Lion’ still sounding fresh as the day we first heard them.  Things are rounded off nicely with ‘Sacred Hour’ which is taken from their 1990 'Goodnight LA' album and goes to finish off a great slice of Melodic Rock history.

This is a must buy album for all Magnum fans as it will endure the ravages of time, unlike many of the albums out today.  This one makes you want to dust off that original vinyl copy and give it a spin one more time, scratches and all, and relive those heady days of good old fashioned rock n' roll.

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