Magnum - Kingdom Of Madness (1978)

Hailing from my hometown of Birmingham, prog-AOR rockers Magnum have had a long and somewhat chequered history which is beyond the scope of this review of their debut album Kingdom of Madness other than to say they started out, as here, as a 70s semi-prog rock band (a tick) and then got caught up in the 80s commercial rock boom (a big red cross) and unfortunately their popularity favoured the latter approach! But back to the album in hand, their 1978 release features a set of strong tracks, many of which had been developed on the live circuit for a number of years prior to securing a record deal, and trod a delicate path – immediately post-punk – between prog rock and blues rock with a hint of commerciality akin to the more Uriah Heep end of the rock spectrum at that time.

In the Beginning, aptly enough, is the opening track on the album and opens with quite a dramatic chord sequence which then dissipates into a strummed acoustic guitar overliad with a synth and a stabbing bass and drum pattern. Then we’re off with an upbeat triplet beat and some seriously 70’s synth work leading into the verse – interspersed with more synth! Not that there’s a chorus as such but the mid-section between verses is of a heavier style with a really strong vocal melody from Bob Catley – always a strong point for Magnum – and the track really rocks along nicely and features a double-tracked harmony guitar break from Tony Clarkin. Mid-way through the seven and a half minute opus the theme changes and tempo drops – with more synth – to a more acoustic ballad feel then, all of a sudden, a return to the opening phrases with some vigour reappears over which Clarkin solos. As a track this has it all – strong vocals, several interesting segments, strong musicianship and works extremely well.

Next-up is Baby Rock Me (not the most inspiring of titles) and is verging on the Kiss side of run of the mill rock fair – although Richard Bailey does his best to interject a bit of prog-style synth work into what would otherwise be a filler rock track. Once again, however, mid-way through the track provides an interesting instrumental segment with some good interplay between Clarkin and Bailey before returning to the chorus until close.

Universe fades in as Baby Rock Me fades out and opens with a phased keyboard and piano to a very mellow, slow-paced track that – a few years before – I get the distinct impression a Mellotron would have been utilised as opposed to the synth that heavily dominates the backing track and would have given a more interesting feel to the number which flirts with Moody Blues musical territory.

The title track is up next and is a classic piece of prog/hard rock – very much a product of its time but it still stands-up very well. Opening with Clarkin on acoustic and some flute a la Jethro Tull before Clarkin cranks up the guitar for a dampened, strummed riff with the band providing stabs over which Catley sings the opening verse . . . there’s even Hammond organ here for added power! The chorus, however, drops to quite a mellow segment before the track really fires-up for the next verse – interestingly, if you ever hear the live version of this track the chorus is played more in-keeping with the verses and is overall a much heavier proposition. There are, once more, multiple segments to Kingdom of Madness which all fit perfectly and keep it interesting throughout . . . there’s even a Queen-style high harmony on the later chorus for good measure!

All That Is Real is mellow piece around a simple keyboard melody with some cleverly worked multi-tracking of the vocals for the verses and an AOR-leaning chorus before leading-off into an instrumental passage with the overall feel being one of Yes combined with ELO: an interesting proposition.

The Bringer again follows a more AOR vain and is more than a match for Styx and the other largely US-based AOR bands of the era whose success vastly outstripped that enjoyed by Magnum.

Invasion, which was a single from the album, opens with a brief return to the Kingdom of Madness chorus before thundering away with an up-tempo shuffle overlaid by a Clarkin guitar melody. This is one of the heavier tracks on the album with a relenting pace but again Bob Catley preserving the melodic dominance with the vocal line and Clarkin’s extremely melodic guitar work . . . not a shred in sight (or sound for that matter).

Lords of Chaos opens with a very doom-laden keyboard intro with Kex Gorin playing around the kit before settling into a rather funky mid-tempo track with Clarkin skanking away on a clean guitar and is one of the few largely one-dimensional tracks on the album, albeit a pleasant one.

The album close with the tender piano and vocal intro to All Come Together which gradually builds with the rest of the band coming-in to take the track up-tempo and featuring a strong riff between guitar and piano in sections and some good flourishes from Clarkin and Richard Bailey along with some strong vocal harmonies to add drama.

Kingdom of Madness is a great debut from Magnum but . . . yes, there usually is a ‘but’ . . . much to the detriment of the band achieving the recognition they undoubtedly deserved, everything felt a little directionless. Unfortunately for the band, much of the work was done for the album in 1976 when prog was king but by the time it was finished punk had been (and largely gone) and prog was no more and thus the prog leanings of a number of the tracks was somewhat of a hindrance to mass appeal so you can’t help feeling the band had had the rug pulled from under their feet somewhat. Secondly, the album is a conjoining of the aforementioned prog with a US-influence of Kansas, Styx, Boston etc – a conjoining that leads to the album being neither one style nor the other which again I feel hindered Magnum in finding their audience with the album which is a pity. I really like Kingdom of Madness and think Magnum were a heavily underrated band of strong songwriters and performers but they never quite found their niche until a brief flirtation with success with a concentration on the AOR/commercial rock side later in their career. However, if you’re a fan of mid-70s rock – with the odd prog flourishes and Korg/Moog twiddles here and there – along with very strong vocals and melody, Kingdom of Madness is definitely worth checking out.

• Bob Catley – Vocals
• Tony Clarkin – Guitar
• Wally Lowe – Bass
• Richard Bailey — Keyboards
• Kex Gorin – Drums

Vixen - Vixen (1988)

Originally from Minnesota, it was a move to LA during the mid-1980s, along with a shuffling of line-up, that gave all-girl band Vixen the impetus required to gain a recording contract with EMI and to jump on the ‘hair metal’ bandwagon spewing forth from the city that was, for a short while at least, conquering a huge mainstream audience. For this album, their debut, EMI brought in the song writing talents of soft rock mullet-meister Richard Marx who set about, along with input from the band, creating a commercial melodic, but hard-edged, sound that fitted into the zeitgeist of the time. The album was reasonably successful on both sides of the Atlantic and spawned three singles that achieved considerable airplay with the, shall we say, photogenic nature of the group ensuring much airtime on the embryonic MTV.

One of the biggest hits, Edge of a Broken Heart opens the album and was penned by Marx and ex-Tubes front man Fee Waybill and just about encapsulates all the elements that made Vixen a strong act, and the whole scene of mass appeal, in one number: excellent production, driving riff and very strong vocals and chorus hook. Although the keyboards now sound a bit dated, the band are on really good form and Edge of a Broken Heart is a really strong opener for the album.

I Want You to Rock Me is up next and is a cross between John Parr’s St Elmo’s Fire and Queen’s We Will Rock You with a very heavily 80’s sounding gated reverb on Roxy Petrucci’s kit which isn’t great. It is at this point that you start to wonder if your initial enthusiasm was misplaced, but fortunately Cryin’ is up next which was a single from the album and, whilst following a rather formulaic power ballad format, is a very fine example and was the first single I’d heard from the band and was suitably impressed enough to buy it at the time which for someone to whom the whole ‘hair metal’ scene was their Nemesis, isn’t a bad recommendation!

American Dreams opens with Petrucci and Pedersen laying down a medium tempo rhythm to which Kuehnemund adds a riff then overlays a good bluesy solo. This is a very strong track that ticks over nicely and was written by US singer-songwriter John Butcher and is a little less ‘of the genre’ than some of the other tracks on the album. And whilst on the subject of ‘genre’, Desperate falls perfectly into the compulsory acoustic ballad territory so well plundered by US rock acts during the late-80s. However, the chorus picks things up and Kuehnemund – whose perception that the band wanted to oust her from her guitarist role largely led to the demise of the band following their follow-up release – puts in a good solo along with some fretless bass from Share Pedersen.

One Night Alone is catchy if unremarkable radio-friendly rock track which is followed by Kuehnemund back in the driving seat for the hard rocker Hell Raisers which, when you consider it was co-written by Nuclear Assault’s Scott Metaxas, was always going to be a heavy track! The follow-up single to Cryin’ is up next with Love Made Me and moves the album back to a more commercial footing with a mellow verse leading into a catchy chorus with full harmony vocals and wailing guitar outbursts from Kuehnemund and is one of the standout tracks on the album: the mid-8 lead-up to the guitar solo is a particularly well-crafted piece.

Waiting, written by Jan Kuehnemund and Janet Gardner, is a good plodding hard rock track with understated vocals on the verse that soar and soar leading up the chorus and, as an example of the band’s song writing, shows a slightly less formulaic and more heavy edge. Kuehnemund’s riff is good, and not merely working around a keyboard sequence as largely is the case elsewhere, and the guitar work throughout strong. Cruisin’ is also a Kuehnemund/Gardner track and once more is a powerful hard rock number, this time up-tempo, and motors along nicely with a less polished vocally-harmonised chorus than their ‘hits’ again indicating the band’s heavier leanings: this is more akin to a combination of Vixen and The Runaways . . . if you can imagine such a thing! Kuehnemund also gets the opportunity to let rip with a more lengthy, less chart-friendly, guitar solo which, being a fan of the odd shred, is only a bonus.

The album closes with Charmed Life, written by Gregg Tripp and Jeff Paris, and is back on a more AOR footing.

I love this album for what it is, a collection of very strong commercial rock tracks performed excellently by a talented group and, having worked on a tour with them in the UK, they reproduced their sound perfectly live . . . and I’ve still got a soft spot for Share Pedersen if I’m to be honest. However, not letting the Pedersen issue cloud my judgement, this is a great album of its genre and it’s a pity Vixen let internal squabbles halt the progress of this line-up after only two albums!

• Janet Gardner- Vocals
• Jan Kuehnemund- Guitar
• Share Pedersen- Bass
• Roxy Petrucci- Drums

FM - Indiscreet (1986)

With a sound lighter than a helium-filled feather, British AOR band FM broke onto the scene with Indiscreet, their debut album, in 1986 which showcased their ability to pen a fine melodic tune with a rock guitar undercurrent: think Isolation-era Toto and you won’t be far from the sound conjured-up by FM.

The album opens with one of their more well-known tracks, albeit through Iron Maiden covering the tune as the B-side to their Stranger in a Strange Land single, That Girl which is a driving melodic number with a good hook and some nice guitar touches from Chris Overland. The splendidly-named Didge Digital (Phil Manchester) also adds some nice keyboard flourishes to the track.

Other Side of Midnight is up next which has a thumping anthemic start and then drifts into the verse with crisp chugging guitar and the great vocal range of Steve Overland put to good use. The chorus is catchy and features harmony vocals and a keyboard melody overlaid on the guitar chords – a pleasant if formulaic commercial rock number.

Love Lies Dying is, as the title would lend you to believe, a ballad – not in the cheesy Winger, Mr Big kind of way though – more akin to Journey’s lighter more ‘heart felt’ moments opening with keyboard and electronic percussion which gradually builds into a medium tempo tale of emotional turmoil! I Belong To The Night lifts the mood with a stabbing keyboard riff akin to Bon Jovi’s Runaway (who I seem to recall had FM as their support act back in the day) and is a pleasant if unremarkable piece of radio-friendly rock fodder.

American Girls has a harmony twin-guitar lick intro which is unfortunately then subsumed by a rather cheesy keyboard riff and things are just on the right side of the ‘acceptable rock’ line although the lyrics in particular are very poor. The keyboard intro to Hot Wired leads the listener to, well, more of the same – pleasant vocal melodies and guitars with stacks of chorus and delay creating a clean, crisp sound that I tend to wish had a bit more bite!

For me personally, by the time the album gets to Face to Face it’s getting a bit one-dimensional – that’s not an out and out criticism as FM do what they do really well – as it’s pleasant but lacking a bit of standout dynamism. Frozen Heart up next was a minor chart-troubler as a single and is pleasant ballad territory. Heart Of The Matter and Love Lasts Forever then close the album in much the same style as the rest of the songs here: well-crafted and written.

In summary, and to qualify my above comments, this is a good album – a really good album of its genre – and quite why FM missed-out on the Toto/Journey/Styx AOR big-time is a moot point: however, I would suggest that where the other bands mentioned triumphed is that they had a little more dynamism and diversity than FM in my opinion. I remember seeing them a couple of times live in the mid-1980s and their live show, despite being impeccably performed, had the same effect on me as this album – it only holds the interest for the first few tracks as one polished smooth track runs into another.

• Steve Overland – Vocals/Guitar
• Merv Goldsworthy – Bass
• Pete Jupp – Drums
• Chris Overland – Guitar
• Didge Digital – Keyboards

Journey - Escape (1981)

Middle of the Road, AOR, Radio Rock . . . whatever you want to call it, Journey’s 1981 album Escape was about as big and as accomplished it got! With the inclusion of Jonathan Cain to the band as keyboardist and co-writer, Journey were set to write and record their 7th and biggest album which went multi-platinum in their native USA, spawned a clutch of hit singles and shot the band to global super-stardom status.

All the ingredients of a great melodic power-rock album exist within this record: good hooks, strong riffs, melodic soloing, soaring vocals and harmonies, high musicianship, emotional lyrics, musical variety from rock riffing to piano ballad and polished production from Mike Stone and Kevin Elson.

Rock compilation favourite Don’t Stop Believin’ opens the album and was a top 10 hit in the USA and really lays down the pattern for the rest of the album with a great use of keyboard melody coupled with Schon’s guitar playing, neither particularly dominating nor cancelling-out each other as was was often the case with bands of this genre. Strong vocal melody and a ‘catchy’ chorus – and a trademark Schon solo (never one for aimless shredding) – really make the track an outstanding opener and statement of intent.

Stone In Love is one of the many standout tracks on the album. Opening with a Schon riff it is one of the heavier on Escape albeit reigned-in by Steve Perry’s melodic harmonies – interspersed with some great guitar breaks and a pounding drum track from Steve ‘Machine Gun’ Smith. The track ends with Cain providing a real Jounreyesque keyboard build into which the band come and Schon works a really squealing guitar melody and solo: a very good track indeed!

Next-up is a tugger at the heart strings: Who’s Crying Now. A melancholy piano chord structure with Perry laying down some equally sombre, but ultimately hopeful, lyrics provides for a very strong track. Not one for eulogising about lyrical/emotional content of a track – always a bit more inclined towards the instrumentation – I have to confess that lyrically this is very strong and Perry wrings-out the full emotion of the piece, ably accompanied from a subtle backing from the rest of the group and a suitably in-keeping, and excellent, solo from Shon. I recall having just broken up with ‘the love of my life’ when I first heard this and spent many an angst-ridden teenage evening listening to this track and just being blown away! Schon is one of the most emotionally-fuelled melodic guitarists around and always went for substance over speed and nowhere is this more evident than on Who’s Crying Now.

Just as you are reaching for the tissue to blot a teary eye, the uptempo riff of Keep On Runnin’ kicks-in an you’re off on a powerful track with, as ever, a strong hook and impossibly high, soaring vocals from Perry. This is followed by the very mellow Still They Ride which, whilst not a weak track, compared with the quality throughout the rest of the album, is a little bland for my tastes.

Then just as you fear things may be taking a downturn – flipping the old vinyl to side 2 – the outstanding title track opens with a nice chugging Schon riff for an uptempo workout and one of the ‘heaviest’ tracks on the album. The taught and ascending bridge from Cain and Schon is a real highlight too leading into a strong riff featuring harmonics and altogether provides for a really uplifting track.

Lay It Down is a more mainstream American Rock track based around Schon followed by the really uptempo, almost rock and roll-feel, of Dead Or Alive.

Then the mood drops with the dramatic Mother Father – another emotional ballad which, whilst not having quite the heart-string twanging intensity of Who’s Crying Now – is a powerful track with Perry in particular on outstanding form both lyrically and vocally. This intensity is then maintained for the closing track Open Arms, another classic slice of Journey at their peak of their powers – I seem to recall this song being sung at a karaoke in Dynasty at some point! That apart, it’s a powerful closer to the album and was another chart hit for the band.

I don’t really have much else to say about this album other than get it at once: an absolute classic!

• Steve Perry – Vocals
• Neil Schon – Guitar
• Steve Smith – Drums
• Jonathan Cain – Keyboards
• Ross Valory – Bass

Toto - Isolation (1984)

Following the mega-success of the album Toto IV, containing the worldwide hits Rosanna and Africa, the band parted company with long-standing vocalist Bobby Kimball and in came Fergie Frederiksen for this, the band’s fifth studio album. The album, whilst achieving Gold status in Toto’s native US, is something of a forgotten record with it’s songs rarely featuring in the band’s live set following the Isolation tour and with Frederiksen departing, at the insistence of the band, before their next studio release Fahrenheit.

The album marks a zenith in the pursuit of radio-friendly AOR for the band which is evidenced by the opening track Carmen (and possibly why the album itself is not widely regarded by Toto and their fans) which isn’t a bad track and features some high range vocals from Frederiksen, a rapid pace and some nice guitar flourishes by Steve Lukather but the void left by Kimball’s departure is evidenced with Frederiksen offering a more poppy, lightweight approach . . . and the band apparently being led by it!

Lion is rather a poor track and Ferguson’s vocals are so squeaky and high-pitched that they almost take-on a comical nature – think Pinky and Perky – accompanied by cheesy lyrics and appalling 80’s Yamaha DX7-ish keyboards with Lukather, usually good for bit of bite, relegated very much to the background. Even Jeff Porcaro – a quality groove drummer if ever there was one – sounds totally uninspired here.

Stranger In Town continues in a same theme and then Angel Don’t Cry kicks-in, and at least is guitar-driven, but is really a formulaic US-radio rock number with the band seemingly going through the motions whilst Frederiksen warbles a load of ‘love rock anthem’ cliches. How Does It Feel is poor ballad fayre and was made for the ’skip’ button on CD players veering dangerously between Mr Mister and Boyzone . . . yes, it is that bad! Even a Lukather solo can’t save matters here.

Endless just about sums up the sentiments for the listener and opens with a keyboard intro and again slipping into gross non-entity territory with Frederiksen’s vocals once more reaching brothers’ Gibb proportions.

Then, out of nowhere, comes the title track which is literally ‘music to the ears’, and presumably a hangover from an earlier writing session as it really doesn’t sit well on this album with the band more back to what they do best. There are good guitar moments and Jeff Porcaro seems to have also woken up – even Frederiksen sounds reasonable here and the hook is good and relatively powerful. Watch the clip below with Kimball on vocals, and Simon Phillips on drums, to hear it with a bit more gusto.

Unfortunately, one track does not an album make and things are soon drifting again with Mr Friendly which is a rockier number but Frederiksen’s vocals really grate on the ears. I would posit that if it were sung by Bobby Kimball with a little more emphasis on the guitar it would not be too much of a poor track.

What’s this: a guitar riff? Change Of Heart’s early promise unfortunately flatters to deceive as the rest of the track is more ‘going through the motions’ fodder as is the closing track Holyanna.

Whilst this is a poor album for a myriad of reasons – bad song writing, poor choice of vocalist, disinterested playing etc – it also suffers from production short-comings. Whilst crystal clear, the production relegates the usually high calibre playing of Steve Lukather very much to the background, lifts a range of terribly dated 80s keyboard sounds and sequencing to the fore and gives Jeff Porcaro a relatively bad lightweight drum machine sound to his kit.

As a caveat to the above, I have to point out that Fergie Frederiksen isn’t a ‘bad’ vocalist per se, he just wasn’t right for Toto – a fact not lost on the band – and contributed to the unfortunate downward spiral of the bland leading the bland on Isolation.

If you like American power-AOR then Toto are definitely a band that should register on your radar but just don’t dive-in with this album – bar the title track – but instead seek out their 1978 debut album ‘Toto’ to hear them to greatest effect.

• Fergie Frederiksen – Vocals
• Steve Lukather – Guitar
• David Paich – Keyboards
• Steve Porcaro – Keyboards
• Mike Porcaro – Bass
• Jeff Porcaro – Drums

Styx - Paradise Theater (1981)

After reviewing Emerson, Lake & Powell immediately prior to writing this review I have to confess that almost any album would be a welcome relief however, American AOR/melodic rock masters Styx’s 1981 Paradise Theater is something of a gem in its own right. A concept album chronicling the rise and fall of a theatre – albeit allegedly a metaphor for wider US society – is not the most immediately inspiring of notions but Styx undertake the task with great aplomb.

The songwriting is very strong with guitarist James Young and the compositional and vocal abilities of Dennis de Young and Tommy Shaw really firing on all cylinders providing a melodic rock album with a commercial tinge and no filler: this is one of those rare albums of the genre that really demands to be listened to in its entirety. Whilst the album went triple-platinum in the US it also spawned several hit singles and was the band’s commercial highpoint.

AD 1928 opens the album, and the theater, with a great hook and tight vocal harmonies followed by Too Much Time On My Hands which is an archetype late-70s/early-80s AOR track with catchy hook and some nice soloing from JY. Nothing Ever Goes As Planned continues the theme in an Eagles meets Supertramp style and even throws-in a skanking riff for good measure and a great hook.

One of the real standout tracks, and also a single release, is The Best Of Times which opens with a melancholic vocal/piano segment leading into a rather upbeat main section: the vocals are a real standout here. Lonely People follows which is more of a straightforward rocker and then She Cares provides possibly the low point of the album . . . although it’s far from a bad track.

Next-up is THE track of the album, Snowblind. An eerie vocal intro leads into a solid rock number eschewing the detrimental nature of cocaine addiction: “you Devil in white, you stole my will without a fight, you filled me with confidence . . . “. A great attacking guitar break from James Young is also a highlight.

We are then taken into Half-Penny, Two-Penny which is a little too close to The Eagle’s Life In The Fast Lane for comfort but with a typically-Styx bridge. Then its AD 1958 – a mellow instrumental featuring sax which returns us to the opening melody of AD 1928 and signalling the closure of Paradise Theater. The final track of the album, State Street Sadie, is a 30 second fade-out of a honky tonk piano piece.

Possibly outside of the US, Styx never achieved the popularity and recognition of other bands in their genre such as Journey, Toto or Boston, for example, but that doesn’t diminish their abilities and undoubted qualities that are on display throughout Paradise Theater. If you like your rock melodic, this is a must-have album.

• Dennis DeYoung – Keyboards/Vocals
• Chuck Panozzo – Bass
• John Panozzo – Drums
• Tommy Shaw – Guitar/Vocals
• James Young – Guitars/Vocals