Venue: Newport TJ's, London                        Date: 2nd March 2002

Set list: Introduction, Vigilante, Wild Swan, Everyday, Backstreet Kid, Les Morts Dansant, Cry, How Far Jerusalem - Clarkin Solo, Just Like January, The Spirit, Days Of No Trust, Rockin' Chair, Kingdom Of Madness. Encore: Sacred Hour

Magnum have been away for around seven years and the intervening projects Mr Clarkin and Mr Catley have been involved in, while interesting, have lacked the magic that Magnum commanded so well.  This show was the first in those seven years and in support of their new album, 'Breath of Life'.  I have yet to hear the album (it wasn't on sale at the gig) but I can give you a rundown of the show...

The band has changed since the last tour and while stalwarts Bob Catley, Tony Clarkin and Mark Stanway remain, the rhythm section has been replaced by Al Barrow (bass) from the Hard Rain project and Harry James, better known as the drummer with Thunder.

I had no idea what to expect from the show, I remembered many enjoyable performances between late 1985 and early 1994 - but with so much material and a new album to push, guessing a setlist would be impossible. It was therefore a pleasant surprise to have Mark Stanway play the introduction to 'Vigilante' as the opening number. What a way to start the gig. Stepping forward a couple of years Tony Clarkin swept directly into 'Wild Swan', beginning slow but building into a much faster song.

On to the first of three from the new album 'Breath of Life' next, with what seemed initially to be a marginally Celtic tinged tune that soon blossomed into more of a rocker.  On first listen it is hard to judge the new songs but this may have been the best of the three. Another unexpected oldie followed in the form of the punchy rocker, 'Backstreet Kid'. It seems like ages since they last played the tune and I for one enjoyed the energy of the piece.  Less energetic but no less classic was 'Les Morts Dansent', a much more laid back track that seems to be a perennial in the Magnum set and that is no bad thing - it certainly held the attention of the audience last night.

A keyboard introduction led into 'Cry' which is the first track of the new album. I have read a few reviews of the album and this track seems to be one of the least well received tracks, which makes it a strange choice for the live set.  With the sound mix making the vocals hard to hear I can't really judge on one listen, but it didn't seem to be a classic, and I guess may be dropped in favour of another from the album.

Back to the old favourites with 'How Far Jeruselem'. The middle section of this provides a solo spot for Tony and his guitar before returning for the final verse or two.  Up to this point Bob had been fairly short on between track comments but now he spoke about meeting people before the show before adding a plug for the latest CD before introducing the third one from it, 'Just Like January'. It featured a harder riff than 'Cry' and was probably the shortest of the three and possibly benefited from that.

From there on in it was back to the past with another crowd favourite 'The Spirit'. The quiet first section was spoilt by a group of chatting women just behind me, but thankfully they were drowned out when the rest of the band joined Bob and Tony for the conclusion of the song.  Quite why those women pushed near the front just to have a chat I don't know but they either moved or shut up before the double volley of rocking classics in the form of 'Days Of No Trust' and 'Rockin' Chair' that had the front section of the crowd singing along happily. Further back, the crowd were flagging a little but the driving introductory riff of set closer 'Kingdom Of Madness' soon revived the sweltering audience.

Surprisingly the crowd didn't try too hard for an encore, but the band did return for one final track, another old favourite, 'Sacred Hour'.  With a bow and a few goodbyes the band left the stage after just 80 minutes which, for a band with so many classic tunes, seemed rather short.  Other than that and the less than riveting 'Cry' the show was a great return for the band in a pretty much sold out venue. Catch them over the next couple of weeks if you can and judge for yourselves...

Doug Anderson
A fuller review with plenty of pictures from the show can be found at www.users.waitrose.com/~douganderson/