Hard Rain - Hard Rain
Tracks:
Rage On
Shame For The Bad Boy
You'd Start A Fight
Stop Me From Lovin' You
Looking For A Way
Cry Cry Cry
I Must Have Been Blind
Perpetual Commotion
Different Kind Of Love
Another Fine Mess
That Ain't Love
Label: Semaphore
Producer: Tony Clarkin
Year: 1997
Total playing time: 55:13 m:s
In last month's editorial, I was yapping on about how much I was enjoying listening to this album without having to review it. Well, this month, review material has been a bit thin on the ground and I've had to put this under the microscope.
Hard Rain features Bob Catley and Tony Clarkin who will be familiar as the main men in Magnum. I always had a lot of respect for Magnum and I was sad to see them call it a day. I remember quite a few of the reviews of this being a bit hostile when it was first released. Some people questioned the motives behind dissolving Magnum and then proceeding to create another 'Magnum' album. I've read interviews where Bob and Tony said that some of the initial ideas for Hard Rain were vastly different to Magnum. It seems that as the writing and recording progressed, they simply returned to what they were familiar and comfortable with. Some of the experimentation remains and my overall description of the album is 'Magnum with a few twists'.
Rage On kicks of the album in rockin' mode and it will sound very familiar to Magnum fans. It also features the major twist on the Magnum sound - the use of female backing vocals (referred to as FBV in the remainder of the review). Shame For The Bad Boy is a great uptempo keyboard driven AOR tune. You'd Start A Fight is more rocking a la Magnum.
Stop Me From Lovin' You is a bluesy soulful ballad that features those FBV again. Looking For A Way is more successful, with the gospel style FBV working a treat.
A nice drum pattern introduces the uptempo Cry Cry Cry which is again lifted above average by the FBV. It is a similar story with the I Must Have Been Blind ballad. On Perpetual Commotion the FBV screaming "Yeah Yeah" actually works - go figure.
Different Kind Of Love has a modern drum/bass pattern that might be more at home somewhere like a Janet Jackson song. I guess it shows that there was some experimentation going on. Another Fine Mess is one of the best songs on the album. It is just so darned catchy. If Magnum had created something this earlier in their career, it could have been their biggest hit single. Another sign of the experimentation shows up on That Ain't Love. A rhythm section that has almost got a dance track vibe and those FBV working overtime. A Magnum song you could dance to. Whoa! Enough to blow your mind. The album definitely finishes on a high.
I'm not familiar with the last few Magnum albums, but I suspect much of this isn't a million miles away. I can certainly detect all the Magnum trademarks. The major difference is the FBV and they work well in my opinion. Whatever the politics of the situation, forming Hard Rain has obviously injected some enthusiasm into Bob and Tony, which is reflected in the music. I'd never have predicted this, but Bob and Tony have created, dare I say it, a modern sounding rock album. One of my favourite albums from 1997.
Rating: 8/9
