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Over the last 25 years Bob Catley has established a reputation as
one of Britain’s top vocalists with his work in Magnum Hard Rain and
more recently as a solo artist. Initially, Bob teamed up with Ten
front man, and longstanding Magnum fan, Gary Hughes who wrote all
the songs on three albums, “The Tower”, “Legends” and “Middle
Earth”. It was decided that long time keyboard player, Paul Hodson,
would write the fourth solo album. Another change this time around
is the inclusion of Bob’s live backing band as the performers on the
album.
The album starts with a real overture, a symphonic opener, which is
very promising and lets us assume that we are about to hear the most
progressive, symphonic album of the year. But what we really get is
a very melodic, heavy, epic, AOR, classic rock album of a very high
quality.
“Children Of The Circle” is a good starter with strong vocals, a
rocking guitar and a subtle piano on the end. It’s the most pompous
song of the CD, and not really my favourite.
That must be “The Prophecy” which is the most progressive track of
the CD, with some excellent keyboards and guitars, and some
interesting changes through the whole track.
Some other highlights:
“Every Beat Of My Heart”, “Meaning Of Love” and “When The Earth Lies
Still” are three beautiful ballads that show the emotion and skill
of Bob’s voice, for all those that still had some doubts.
“This Is The Day” and “Someday Utopia”, two heavier rock tracks that
contain some catchy choruses and make it hard to sit still while
listening to them. These tracks are also the proof that we can’t
neglect the contributions of the drums and guitars on this CD.
“My America”, a real masterpiece, with a Celtic sound, a ballad, an
anthem for the classic rock era, a real “Mull Of Kintyre”.
Although it’s not a concept album, it sounds very homogenous.
The big change and certainly a positive touch to this CD is Paul
Hodson, who plays the keyboards, did the production and wrote the
songs. Also the use of his live band to record this album has helped
to give it a real band feeling. It certainly is one of the best
performances I ever heard of Bob Catley. (I almost dare include his
Magnum years)
He even has a Dio sound in his voice. This album is less pompous,
more AOR and heavier than his previous works but the tracks are all
very melodic and catchy. If you like a CD that doesn’t need long to
get into, then this should be yours. You can find samples of every
track on the
Official Bob Catley Website. |
