Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Catley, Bob
Label: Frontiers Records
Released: 2008
Rating: 4/5
After more than thirty years in music, Bob Catley surely needs no lengthy introduction. One of the best British vocalists in the history of rock, he rose to wide fame as a member of the legendary melodic rock champions Magnum. In recent years, though, he’s also been earning more and more respect as a fantastic solo artist.
What’s most fascinating about Bob’s solo catalog is that with every new album you sort of know what to expect, yet he always catches you off guard with a completely fresh approach compared to the last one. “Immortal” is no exception. While its predecessor “Spirit Of Man” (2006) drew mostly on the hard rock heritage of the 70s and, thanks to its markedly heavier, at times almost metallic approach, sat stylistically closer to the likes of Rainbow or Dio than to Magnum, this time Bob has returned, more than convincingly, to the epic roots of his first three solo albums and of his main band as well.
This time Bob has pulled off a hugely convincing blend of the epic melodic rock tradition of classic Magnum and his early solo days with the noticeably heavier sound he started pushing from “When Empires Burn” (2003) onward, and the result tops every expectation. It’s one of his strongest albums to date. What’s more, “Immortal” is a tightly wound epic adventure from start to finish, the kind that wouldn’t just make Magnum proud, but the kind of album their fans have been waiting for since the end of the 80s. Of course, this is nowhere near a new “On A Storyteller’s Night” (1985), but of everything Catley had done up to that point, it captures that mystical, epic, nostalgic spirit of Magnum’s golden era most convincingly. The instantly recognizable cover art by Magnum’s longtime illustrator Rodney Matthews surely adds to that.
For almost every solo release up to then, Bob surrounded himself with a top-notch crew of musicians who knew how to tune in to his artistic visions. The main “culprit” behind the sound of “Immortal” is Swedish guitar ace Magnus Karlsson (Starbreaker, Allen/Lande, Primal Fear), who wrote all the music for the album and passed it along via demos to the increasingly respected producer and Pink Cream 69 bassist Dennis Ward, who on top of that contributed bass and some guitar and keyboard parts to the record. Ward has long been known as a perfectionist, so it’s really no surprise that “Immortal” boasts probably the shiniest production of Catley’s solo career so far. On top of that, Karlsson played all the keyboard parts on the album, while, surprisingly, he let his guitar shine only on the excellent “End Of The World”. The lead guitar duties went to Uwe Reitenauer (Pink Cream 69, Place Vendome, Sunstorm), while Dirk Bruinenberg (Elegy) handled the drums. A line-up that no modern hard rock or melodic rock band would be ashamed of, for sure. And at the heart of the album is, as always, Catley’s wonderfully well-preserved, highly melodic voice, which seems like it’ll be a long time before the years catch up with it. His lyrical themes still dwell on the mystical, usually metaphors for more serious, socially conscious subjects, though there’s no shortage of a few love-struck confessional tracks in the minority, too.
That Bob remains an eternal dreamer and romantic is proven right from the opener “Dreamers Unite”, his epic-dramatic battle cry to everyone who’s looking for other challenges and needs in life than the daily grey fumes of our burnt-out materialistic society. A pompous orchestral intro is followed by a barrage of melodic rock goodness, with mighty three-part guitar harmonies, a tasteful bed of epic symphonic keyboard arrangements, and Catley’s excellent, fighting-fit vocal performance, which stays the main source of the mystical-dramatic atmosphere throughout the whole album. And it keeps going without a single dip in atmosphere or a misguided experiment, just good to great tracks like “We Are Immortal”, an excellent fusion of AOR and metal that after the chorus even leans a bit toward Asia from the 90s; the aforementioned “End Of The World”, where Karlsson proves he grew up listening to “On A Storyteller’s Night”, since it sounds like it came straight from there, just dressed up in a modern production shirt; and “Open Your Eyes”, which combines the best elements that wrote Magnum and Catley into the books as melodic rock heroes for all time. Karlsson’s symphonic arrangements, which usually show up in the intros and before and after the choruses of individual songs, build the atmosphere superbly and gradually, while the mostly punchy rhythm sections with growling bass lines and sharpened riffs will appeal even to those who, besides melodic rock, also have an ear for melodic metal.
“Immortal” is a lovely proof that old cats like Catley still know best how to serve up high-quality melodic rock with a modern production. Such a well-balanced record wasn’t something you’d expect even from a musician of his caliber, since the predecessor “Spirit Of Man” was by no means a slouch either. But the current instrumental crew, led by Karlsson, made sure he outdid himself yet again in his constant search for artistic perfection. So it’s not at all an exaggeration to call “Immortal” a melodic rock masterpiece and one of the best albums of 2008. It wouldn’t be the least bit surprising if, as the years go by, this album ends up being seen as his best, because there’s simply nothing to fault. In the eyes of his loyal fans, Catley has long been immortal as a member of Magnum, and this record looks set to make sure his solo path eventually earns that status too. Let’s hope he carries the incredible ambition, quality, and atmosphere that the fantastic “Immortal” boasts over to the next release from his main band, which he’s almost completely overshadowed with his latest albums, even though their recent studio efforts are far from bad.
Line-up
Bob Catley – vocals
Uwe Reitenauer – guitar
Dennis Ward – guitar, bass guitar, keyboards
Magnus Karlsson – guitar, keyboards
Dirk Bruinenberg – drums
Production
Dennis Ward
Track list
1. Dreamers Unite
2. We Are Immortal
3. End Of The World
4. Open Your Eyes
5. The Searcher
6. One More Night
7. Light Up My Way
8. You Are My Star
9. War In Heaven
10. Win The Throne
11. Haunted
12. Heat Of Passion
Running time: 61:41
