Artist: Catley, Bob
Label: Frontiers Records
Release: 2006
Rating: 3.5/5
“Spirit Of Man” is the fifth solo studio album from Magnum “frontman” Bob Catley. Another excellent record, let me get straight to the point. It’s Catley’s heaviest to date, so there’s less bombast in the production. It’s the most down-to-earth album, meaning the one with the least pomp so far. As always, good old Uncle Bob is back with us, in his trademark, instantly recognizable, top-notch vocal form.
The album explodes into a metallized, reborn frenzy with Heart Of Stone, which sounds like a head-on collision between hard rock Dio vibes and the “power metal drive” of the likes of Stratovarius, probably the heaviest thing Catley has recorded in his whole career. As far as heavier production goes, it’s joined further on, at position no. 8, by Judgement Day, with a dramatically oiled, fire-spewing guitar chorus. After Heart Of Stone the album just keeps climbing, and the next track, Moment Of Truth, keeps the mood very high. So, a high-intensity assault right from the start. A little later the album once again catapults you onto the crest of a giant wave with the title track, where goosebumps are not exactly optional. Of course, the king of melody Catley is front and center and, as always, unbeatable in his standard role. The peaks of the songs are always the expressive choruses, but of course it’s guitar riffs of the finest sort that lead us there, fitted with three-part harmonies that are often decoratively sprinkled over the riffs with filigree-precise guitar “picking”. The guitar solos are top-notch, played at full tilt and with balls! Guitarist Vince O’Regan is a true lover of classical music and likes to flirt with Malmsteen. Atmospheric keyboards hold the heavy form together, along with the indispensable “backing vocal” choirs that accompany Catley’s lead vocal. The sound is superbly filled out, with a crystal-clear production where the instruments sit in perfect balance.
Catley once again leans toward writing white AOR material, as the verses and titles of two otherwise great songs, In The Name Of The Cause and Blinded By A Lie, prove. The song Beautiful Mind keeps the connection with Catley’s first three albums, and its lines sound as if Gary Hughes had once again had a hand in the writing. Of course, the guys were thinking of Magnum fans when putting the record together, and the ballad Last Snows Of Winter draws parallels with them. How fitting! In Slovenia in 2006 we definitely won’t be forgetting the snow for a long time. Of course there are a few less striking tracks on the record, so-called “fillers”, that don’t reach the level of the songs already mentioned (Fire Within Me, Lost To The Night).
As you all know full well, Catley is merely the singer and not the writer of the material he sings. The first three albums were written for Catley by Gary Hughes (Ten). They were marked by an epic and more pompous style. Then came the fourth, “When Empires Burn” (2003), which already flirted more with “metalish” templates. Neither Paul Hodson, who wrote “When Empires Burn”, nor Kip Winger or Danny Vaughn, who initially showed great interest in writing the new album, later had the time to fulfill Bob’s wishes. So Vince O’Regan, Dave Uttley and Dave Thompson stepped in to help as writers and composers of the new album. The album is also quite a bit heavier than what Catley’s Magnum do, but the melodies are still big. “Spirit Of Man” continues the run of excellent AOR releases from early 2006, a must-have in the collection of Catley and Magnum fans, just the standard brilliant brilliance we’ve come to expect from Catley. It probably isn’t yet the peak of Bob Catley, but it carries the greatest degree of diversity and dynamics of them all so far.
Lineup
Bob Catley – vocals
Vince O’Regan – guitar
Irvin Parratt – keyboards
Al Barrow – bass guitar
Jamie Little – drums
Production
Vince O’Regan & Bob Catley
Track list
1. Heart Of Stone
2. Moment Of Truth
3. In The Name Of The Cause
4. Blinded By A Lie
5. Last Snows Of Winter
6. Spirit Of Man
7. The Fire Within Me
8. Judgment Day
9. Lost To The Night
10. Beautiful Mind
11. Walk On water
12. End Of The Story
Album length: 62:34
