Track Listing

1. Cry
2. This Heart
3. Everday
4. Still
5. Dream About You
6. Breath Of Life
7. After The Rain
8. That Holy Touch
9. Let Somebody In
10. The Face Of An Enemy
11. Just Like January
12. Night After Night

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #33139 in Music
• Released on: 2002-02-25
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Breath Of Life opens so weakly you immediately wonder what prompted Magnum to re-enter the studio after an eight-year silence. After a predictably portentous intro, "Cry" transforms into a minimal Billy-Squier-style stomp, then mellows into a big ballad, then it's a Prog workout--it's as if the band have been away so long they're throwing everything at the wall, hoping that something will stick. Thankfully, some self-discipline is swiftly introduced. Second track, "This Heart", with its celebratory keyboards, is grand pop-rock of the type that gave Magnum a Top Five album and three Top 30 singles in the late 1980s. Songwriter and guitarist Tony Clarkin was always at his best when penning stirring rock epics tinged with melancholy folk (like a heavy metal Strawbs) and that tradition continues here. Everyday has that sense of drama and high romance, as does "Just Like". Best of all are the power ballad "Dream About You" (a track demanding a David Coverdale cover) and the surprising "That Holy Touch", which starts as a hip-swinging rocker then bursts into a classic Magnum chorus, singer Bob Catley delivering a powerful, sweet and heavily overlaid "I'm just a speck on this broken-down highway". Breath Of Life will win few new converts, but will absolutely delight any long-standing admirers. --Dominic Wills

Customer Reviews

A real grower
For the first few plays this did very little for me but then the melodies started to ingrain themselves and I am now appreciating this album more each time I play it. There are some very strong songs here, initially let down by the album's production but they do get through to you! Rock Art, the album before this, was very good but Sleepwalking - the out of print album before that - was awful in my opinion. Breath Of Life is way better than Sleepwalking but the production isn't as good. So, is this a return to form? Yes and no. Many fans rate Sleepwalking as a high point so, as this to my mind slays it, then yes - a return to form! Any half-decent Magnum album is very welcome in this barren musical age we now find ourselves in. OK it's not their best but it's good enough, go buy it.

LIFELESS!!!
Breath Of Life isn't about the music. It's about the return of one of the U.K.'s best loved melodic rock outfits. Ok, it's not the classic lineup. Drummer Mickey Barker was settled in his new band The Bushbury's and bassist Wally Lowe was busy opening a mountain biker's hotel abroad somewhere. The main thing though, was that the real nucleus of Bob Catley, Tony Clarkin and Mark Stanway was together again. All are on good form throughout. This lineup would be supplemented with Hard Rain bassist Al Barrow and a dodgy sounding, computer generated drum kit in the studio (Thunder drummer Harry James would join them on tour, with great results).
The songs themselves are very hit and miss. I think opener, the much maligned Cry is a decent rocking track to get things motoring. However, I would say that only 50% of the twelve tracks on Breath Of Life really hit the mark. Everyday is a good emotional rock track that wouldn't sound out of place on Goodnight L.A., and Still is a classic Magnum pop effort a la Midnight from Vigilante. Just Like January and the title track are vintage numbers, reminiscent of Magnum's finest moments from the eighties, and Let Somebody In is a good singalonga power ballad.
It's just a shame that the remaining tracks are a bit duff and the dodgy drum sound threatens to ruin everything. Could they not have dragged original drummer Kex Gorin back for auld langs ayne?
The cover artwork is excellent and resurrects the logo from Wings Of Heaven, just to give it that extra comeback feel. The pictures/artwork inside the CD booklet are first class as well, making Breath Of Life a slick, stylish looking package.
On the whole though, Breath Of Life is more a Magnumesque Hard Rain album than anything but you have to put that to one side. It was a time for Magnumaniacs to rejoice and the real 'Breath Of Life' was in the live arena, where Magnum rolled back the years with some truly out of this world performances. The new tracks came into their own as well through the live shows, especially with a proper drummer in situ.
In short then, Breath Of Life is worth buying if you're a Magnum fan, but it's unlikely to win over any new admirers.

A welcome return
I have been waiting for a new Magnum album for 10 years and waiting to see them live for 20, so it was a real pleasure to be able to fulfil both ambitions within 24 hours. I saw the band at the University of East Anglia in Norwich on December 9 and they lived up to my expectations completely. The next night I flew back to Abu Dhabi and, having been kept waiting in line for an hour, just had time to race for the gate. On the way, I saw a CD shop, dashed in - and lo and behold there was the new album in a slipcase with three extra live tracks. I played it as soon as I got home. On first listening I was a little disappointed, but it has grown on me. I think some of the heavier tracks are forgettable, but the powerful ballads and outbreaks of pomp glory are all there. "Still" is my favourite track.
So, thanks to the band for a great concert and a great new album.