Despite their extensive back catalogue it can be argued that, until now, Magnum have never released a truly definitive live album. With only the first two albums to draw from Marauder (1980) showed the band still in its infancy and not yet having refined their sound. The Spirit (1991) proved a worthy document of the arena years but lacked any real cutting edge, whilst the raw sounding Stronghold / The Last Dance (1996) from the ‘farewell’ tour came across as being hurriedly thrown together.

Recorded at the handful of UK shows at the end of last year, Wings of Heaven Live finally provides Magnum fans with an excellent live package that spans the years from Kingdom of Madness to Princess Alice and The Broken Arrow with the second disc offering a complete run through of the Wings of Heaven album, which is now some twenty years old. Magnum are, justifiably, very proud of last years Princess Alice and four songs are included here; the majestic ‘Dragons Are Real’ and the anthemic ‘When We Were Younger’ more than capable of holding their own against the back catalogue. No Magnum show is truly complete without ‘How Far Jerusalem’ or ‘Vigilante’, the opening riff providing one of those truly magical spine-tingling moments before the song really cuts loose. The first disc closes with ‘Kingdom of Madness’ and even though Clarkin and Catley have been performing this song since the mid-70’s they still sound like they mean it.

Wings of Heaven provided Magnum with their commercial peak and its not hard to hear why. ‘Days of No Trust’ and ‘Start Talking Love’ were tailor made for the pop-rock market that dominated the mid 80’s, whilst ‘It Must Have Been Love’ is a power ballad par excellence that really was the one that got away for Magnum. Given the right promotion it could surely have provided them with a huge hit. Somewhat lightweight on record, the bouncing melody of ‘Different Worlds’ works much better on stage and provides an upbeat moment before the stirring ‘Pray for the Day’. But the real highlight of Wings was always the eleven minute ‘Don’t Wake The Lion’, a song that was long overdue a return to live action. Magnum take their time to build the mood here before the hypnotic intro gives way to the epic chorus and suitably overblown finale. The encore of ‘Sacred Hour’ is always welcome although this time even this timeless classic is somewhat overshadowed by what has gone before. It has been a long time coming but Magnum have at last released a stunning live album that fully recaptures the on stage experience and will have you longing for the next batch of dates.

Wings of Heaven Live is released through SPV on February 25 across Europe with a US release to follow in April.