Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Magnum
Label: Music For Nations
Release: 1992
Rating: 4/5
“Sleepwalking” marks a fairly successful return to the roots for Magnum, while also uncovering some new, more refined sonic directions that hadn’t usually been this prominent in their sound before. This turn toward greater refinement and subtlety was simply unavoidable after the cold shower that followed the release of its US-market-tailored predecessor “Goodnight L.A.” (1990), on which they experimented, unsuccessfully, with hair metal. After the sudden collapse of their commercial success, the stardom high inside the band slowly wore off, and Magnum started drifting back to their signature sound, which was usually easiest to pin down as melodic hard rock built on a mix of art rock, hard rock and AOR flavors.
The key move that gets the band that unmistakable mystical, often melancholic Celtic-British charm back on “Sleepwalking” was Tony Clarkin, guitarist and the main creator of their music and lyrics, taking things completely into his own hands and producing the album all by himself. So “Sleepwalking” once again has that trademark romantic-ethereal Magnum sound, and the fantasy and socially critical lyrics are back too, dominating the album for the first time in ages. Another big part of Magnum being their “old” selves again is the return of longtime illustrator Rodney Matthews, who designed a rather untypical cover for them. It’s put together like a sort of mystical collage, built from bits and pieces of past album covers and a few symbolic objects tied to individual band members.
Throughout the album you can feel a greater polish and hard-won maturity compared to the earlier records. The dominant Stainway synthesizers have helped a great deal here, pouring a more than welcome romantic melancholy into the individual songs. Compared to the guitar, the keyboards are pushed way up front in the production, which gives the album a much more sophisticated and melancholic sound than you’d usually get from them. The keyboards hadn’t enjoyed this much attention since the album “Vigilante” (1986). Those who have always seen Magnum as a slightly special hard rock band and who liked the punchier stretches driven by Clarkin’s guitar riffs best will be a bit less thrilled with “Sleepwalking”, since overall it’s one of their slower and more laid-back efforts. Besides, the consistently very solid “Sleepwalking” can’t be compared to their best work. Anyone who was expecting another “On A Storyteller’s Night” (1985) could kiss that idea goodbye. The band’s golden era was long gone by then.
On “Sleepwalking”, Magnum allowed themselves plenty of subtle, mellow sections, where the excellent vocals of their charismatic singer Bob “The Cat” Catley can once again take center stage when it comes to stressing those higher emotions. The opening “Stormy Weather”, extremely subtle and melancholic-romantic, confirms it right away: instead of the assault you’d usually expect, it offers gorgeous symphonic arrangements over mighty layers of synthesizers. Clarkin, meanwhile, shines with a bag of slide guitar passages that’s unusually subtle for him, while Catley’s performance reaches into every corner of your heart. Next up is the more direct, hard rock-oriented “Too Much To Ask”, which has an almost rock’n’roll riff. With its chorus, too, it’s a return to the more traditional waters of their early albums.
Art rock and hard rock connoisseurs get their fill, and AOR fans will surely be unable to resist the charms of “You Are The One”. It boasts an anthemic, highly melodic chorus and seductive vocal harmonies threaded through the main riff and simple but hypnotic keyboard textures. You could even draw some parallels here with their cousins Uriah Heep and their first two records with Bernie Shaw. “The Flood (Red Cloud’s War)”, meanwhile, is the real return to their old form, a superb piece that could easily have landed on masterpieces of the past like “On A Storyteller’s Night”, “Vigilante” or “Wings Of Heaven” (1987). Its central magic lies in the interplay of exquisitely refined synthesizer layers and guitar riffs, Catley’s excellent, slightly raspy vocal performance, and brilliant, unexpected rhythmic shifts. On the romantic ballad “Broken Wheel”, the band, riding on the wings of Catley’s superb vocals, proves it hasn’t lost its feel for writing quality, unsugary ballads.
“Just One More Heartbreak” is an interesting experiment too, with Clarkin’s witty wah-wah guitar passages and atmospheric multi-part vocals in the chorus. Proof that the occasional art rock whimsy hasn’t become foreign to them comes with “Every Woman, Every Man”, featuring guest jazzy saxophone passages. The openly sarcastic mini hit “Only In America” could even have been an international hit in the 80s (with slightly different lyrics, of course). Here they let off some honest steam in the lyrics about the disillusionment that followed the stardom they lived through during their brief stay in Los Angeles (see the “Goodnight L.A.” review). One of the album’s highlights is undoubtedly “Sleepwalking” itself, continuing their tradition of great title tracks. Alongside the obligatory seductive, anthemic chorus, it has a mystical lyric, Latin-flavored acoustic guitar passages in between, and space rock waves on the synthesizers. For a short while, their art rock roots come back to life. The untypical “Prayer For A Stranger” leans quite a bit toward some Toto classics, which is by no means a bad thing. The romantic “Long Ride”, where the saxophones reign again, is a brilliant closer to the album.
“Sleepwalking” is the album Magnum desperately needed if they wanted to keep their credibility as champions of British melodic hard rock among longtime fans, and to open a new chapter that finally left behind their golden, irreplaceable days with the increasingly exploitative label Polydor, which only wanted hits and more hits. You can feel the whole way through “Sleepwalking” that the band breathed deep and enjoyed making it. The result is one of their most balanced records, where the roots and the sonic elements stemming from the days of past glory are mixed with some spices they hadn’t tried until then. “Sleepwalking” was admittedly neither the first nor the last time Magnum tried to revitalize their sound and open a new chapter in their career, but it was undoubtedly the most successful of those attempts, and with it they boldly stepped into the unpredictable 90s.
Lineup
Bob Catley – vocals
Tony Clarkin – guitar
Wally Lowe – bass
Mark Stanway – keyboards
Mickey Barker – drums
GUEST MUSICIANS:
York Gibson – keyboard programming
Wesley Magoogan — saxophone on “Every Woman, Every Man” and “The Long Ride”
Pritam Singh — Indian drum on “Prayer For A Stranger”
Gary Sanders — harmonica on “The Long Ride”
Production
Tony Clarkin
Tracklist
1. Stormy Weather (4:43)
2. Too Much To Ask (5:00)
3. You’re The One (3:46)
4. The Flood (6:04)
5. Broken Wheel (4:01)
6. Just One More Heartbreak (4:14)
7. Every Woman, Every Man (4:07)
8. Only In America (4:01)
9. Sleepwalking (5:41)
10. Prayer For A Stranger (4:23)
11. The Long Ride (6:54)
Album length: 52:56
