Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. In The Beginning
2. Baby Rock Me
3. Universe
4. Kingdom Of Madness
5. All That Is Real
6. Bringer
7. Invasion
8. Lords Of Chaos
9. All Come Together

Disc 2:

1. Sweets For My Sweet
2. Movin' On
3. Sea Bird
4. Stormbringer
5. Slipping Away
6. Captain America
7. Master Of Disguise
8. Without Your Love
9. Find The Time
10. Everybody Needs
11. Kingdom Of Madness

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7616 in Music
• Released on: 2008-02-26
• Number of discs: 2
• Format: Box set

Customer Reviews

Great Early Work
THis is a great album from Magnum this being there first,you can here on the songs on disc one the start of the super sound that people will come to know Magnum for.Must admit I picked up a bit of Queen as well as the other reviewer stated but I say so what Queen were a great band and maybe there distingtive sound rubbed off in a lot of bands in the 70s.
Disc one is excellent and a album in its own right while disc two is made up of real early outtakes and afraid to say nothing spectacular to grab you, but at the outmost treat yourself for Kingdom Of Madness on disc one,well worth the investement.A great cd for my Magnum collection.

5 stars for an inspirational album
Forget what the previous writer has written! This album is where it all began.
Buy a copy, put it in your player, turn the lights off and let the "Madness" grab you. If you like Magnum you must have this album.
I am not going to dispute the previous claim I will let the music speak for itself.

Invasion!!!
Magnum actually formed in the early seventies and 'Kingdom Of Madness' should have been released around 1976, which would have been an ideal time for this kind of music to have been released.
The influences on this record to me are clearly Yes, Styx and Queen, so it's a mystery as to why the album was eventually released in 1978, slap bang in the middle of the punk explosion. Having said that, it actually did ok, making the top 60.
'Kingdom Of Madness' actually sounds very dated now, and the production, despite a new shiny remaster, is still pretty duff. However, the songs are still great and the level of musicianship on offer here, considering it's a debut album, is quite outstanding.
Opening track, the aptly titled 'In The Beginning' is a real humdinging epic to get the ball rolling, with lots of time changes and a keyboard part highly reminiscent of Marillion's 'Market Square Heroes'.
'Baby Rock Me', is basically Queen overload. Singer, Bob Catley couldn't sound more like Freddie Mercury if he tried. The lyrics aren't the best either, but it's still quite an entertaining track.
'The Universe' is a nice, mellow number, which despite being a decent song, again suffers from some crap lyrics at times.
The title track comes next, and is still a top, top song which blends folk with heavy metal, and throws in some fantasy lyrics for good measure. Nice.
'All That Is Real' is up next, and is a gorgeous ballad with a good rocky middle section. Very reminiscent of Styx in places, with good individual performances throughout.
'The Bringer' follows, and is a good rocky workout with some great guitar from Tony Clarkin.
'Invasion' is my personal favourite track on this record, with a great guitar riff that calls Iron Maiden to mind, and a lyric which tells the story of invading aliens. A real swashbuckler.
'Lods Of Chaos' for some reason has a seventies funk feel to it. The live version on 1980's 'Marauder' is the hardest, heaviest track on there, so why it sounds the way it does on 'Kingdom Of Madness' is a mystery.
Closing track, 'All Come Together' is a perfect finale that reminds me of Yes and rattles along at a fair old pace. Great stuff.
The second disc on this release is a collection of very early material from before the album was released. There are one or two gems on it, with 'Sea Bird' in particular, a standout track. Other than that, it's pretty forgettable fare.
As I've said before, 'Kingdom Of Madness' is musically and technically, very proficient for a first album, and not even a crap production can suppress what is fundamentally, great music, with some top shelf performances from Bob Catley on vocals, and guitarist/songwriter, Tony Clarkin in particular.
Magnum would eventually come into their own and develop their own sound, with great results and considerable success, but this is a very good start.