ALBUM REVIEW: Magnum - Live at KK's Steel Mill

Magnum - Live at KK's Steel Mill

It’s become something of a tradition in recent years for January to feature a new album by Magnum. Their last four studio albums have all arrived in the first month of the year. This one, like 2024’s Here Comes the Rain, is tinged with sadness. Of course, we all know that five days before that album arrived, the band’s founding member, sole composer and songwriter Tony Clarkin passed away.

Magnum

Live at KK’s Steel Mill sees the band in imperious form. Recorded on 10th December 2022 at the end of their European tour promoting The Monster Roars, it’s an album that is in many ways a fitting tribute to a man who was the life and soul of the band. 

A solid performance highlighting because, even in their twilight years, Clarkin and co-founder Bob Catley, along with drummer Lee Morris, keyboard player Rick Benton and bassist Dennis Ward, were so well regarded. In fact, as a band, Magnum were filling bigger venues than they had for decades at the time of Clarkin’s death. Whether that is in part due to the waves of nostalgia that appear to be sweeping much of the classic rock world, or the fact that Magnum’s last few albums had been better than nearly anything they had released for many years, who knows. 

Magnum

What is evident in Live at KK’s Steel Mill is that the band were in no way ready to call it a day, although Clarkin’s health was beginning to throw up some challenges. 16 songs drawn from 22 albums across a career spanning five decades. It’s almost impossible to pick a favourite from this set list and over 94 minutes you get the opportunity to enjoy Magnum at their most imperious. Yes, there are the songs that are essential. On A Story Teller’s Night, Les Morts Dansart, Vigilante and Wild Swan from their career peak in the 1980s, and the two unsurpassable songs of Kingdom of Madness and The Spirit, but we also get some choice cuts from later albums. The Dance of the Black Tattoo, The Monster Roars, Lost on the Road to Eternity and The Day After the Night Before all feature, and all sound bloody great.

Magnum

“It was the perfect evening,” recalls Catley. “We finished our The Monster Roars tour in Wolverhampton, KK’s Steel Mill was packed out and the promoter was a passionate Magnum fan. I couldn’t imagine a more worthy farewell to Tony than those recordings”. 

It’s something I totally endorse. I first saw Magnum way back in February 1984 on The Eleventh Hour tour. A wide-eyed 13-year-old hard rock fan, I was bewitched by the band then and they’ve remained a firm favourite ever since. I was at their Cardiff show just three days before this recording, and they were indeed on fine form. 

Magnum

I’m gutted that I cannot get to any of the tribute shows that the band will play in a few weeks’ time. But by way of consolation, Live at KK’s Steel Mill does the job very well. If you are a Magnum fan this will no doubt be on your list. If you aren’t, then this album is one that might just change your mind.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Live review: Iron Maiden, Utilita Arena, Birmingham 21st June 2025

Image
  Iron Maiden. Probably, no, definitely, the biggest heavy metal band to ever come out of the UK. Rivalled only by Metallica and AC/DC in terms of Global stature. A massive force now celebrating 50 years since their formation in London’s East End in 1975. 50 years! And such is their pulling power, that as they roll into the UK leg of their Run for your Lives tour, the streets of the UK’s second biggest city are thronged with black t-shirted clad fans of all ages, sizes, and genders. With about 95% of them already wearing the band’s t-shirts, which are stretched across the decades, that doesn’t preclude big queues of excited fans at the band’s pop-up shop (Eddie’s Dive Bar) or outside the venue itself, where the real die-hards are baking in the afternoon heat as they wait patiently for doors to open. At £45 a t-shirt, you can see why the band are masters of the merchandise. The designs are as awesome as usual, and the stores do a roaring trade. Doors are open and the crowds flood i...
Read more

Single Review: Casey Maunder - Paint

Image
Swansea rocker Casey Maunder is back with a new single, Paint.   A homage to the art of the tattoo, something that most of us literally carry on our sleeve(s), Casey and his band make a clear statement about the meaning of our ink and art. It’s a song about what makes us, what defines us, about our individuality.  It’s a catchy number, with a hook that will hang around for days. He’s good at that. His latest album Get Out and Push was rammed with cheeky earworms that lingered, and the man has found another one to get under the skin. Thankfully, the song is a cracking effort and trips along with a toe-tapping vibe.  Plenty of the Americana style that we’ve come to appreciate, with his distinctive vocals adding to the mix, Paint is a clever track that should go down well in the live environment. Whilst it’s lighter than some of his work, Paint does rock with a raucous solo that briefly rips out, adding a bit of steel to the song.  And overall, this is another stepp...
Read more

ALBUM REVIEW: Smith / Kotzen - Black Light / White Noise

Image
The ideal soundtrack as I travel across the Portuguese interior by train, the sophomore release by Adrian Smith and Richie Kotzen is a smooth as the coffee I sipped along the way.  A combination of bluesy rock swagger, the duo’s previous self-titled release is drenched with a quality that comes from decades of experience. Whilst it may not be the rapier thrusting of Iron Maiden, Smith’s style has always been more reserved, cleverer and with a distinctive style that makes his playing something special as well as instantly recognisable. Kotzen may sit slightly lower in the hall of fame, but not by much. Look up his history if you want some clarification. It’s feel-good rock music which has hooks big enough to snare an orca.  First single White Noise hangs in the memory for days, whilst the groove that underpins Black Light highlights not just the phenomenal guitar work but the vocal ability of both musicians. The crisp production allows room for the music to breath, and whils...
Read more