Legends in the second solo album from long time Magnum vocalist and general national treasure Bob Catley.
Originally issued in 1999 it’s had a spruce-up and reissued by Escape Music here in January 2025 along with new artwork by Rodney Matthews and three bonus tracks from Bob’s set at The Gods in 1999.
This reissue comes just a few months after Escape gave the same treatment to Bob’s debut solo album – The Tower.
Like The Tower, Legends was written by Ten frontman Gary Hughes and may be thought of perhaps as a Ten album with Bob singing instead of Gary as, again like The Tower, we have the always excellent Vinny Burns riffing and shredding away and Steve McKenna on bass.
Each of the ten songs on Legends is based on a character either real, from historical literature or mythology. For example Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, Dracula, Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey and Wuthering Heights to name a few.
Musically, arguably not surprising given some of the subject matter, Legends is darker and heavier than The Tower with some gothic and symphonic and progressive themes throughout.
Yet in typical Gary Hughes style he does bring in here and there the emotional piano based ballad elements such as during Where the Heart Is.
The Pain starts the album off in good style. A fast attention-grabbing five minutes of heavy yet melodic rock with Burns trademarks all over it and a most fine solo.
Shelter From the Night is the first hint of the darker, gothic feel with it being based on Dracula with more blazing guitar from Burns.
Carpe Diem has an atmospheric feel to it then the Marilyn Monroe tribute of Tender is the Night is handled nicely ballad style.
The very strong duo of Medusa and Hydra go full on hard, heavy, dark and symphonic and Bob’s having a fine time with the vocals. The two songs compliment each other very well too.
Here’s Hydra:
A Beautiful Night for Love is one of those Hughes ballads – which fits the theme with is being around Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. Next up is Too Late – a rocked up ballad based on Phantom of the Opera.
Then we have the full on all out lush, driving, progressive symphonics of The Light. Bob’s vocal and Burns’ guitars everywhere throughout the eleven minutes which pass in a flash – it’s such a fine song in composition, arrangement and performance.
Where the Heart Is comes next as a gentle ballad – then the three bonus tracks of Bob belting out three songs from The Tower taken from his set at The Gods back in 1999.
After a slow start, Legends has grown on me significantly as I’ve got in to it. The generally heavier, darker style has bite to it reflects the themes of the songs making it all having a cohesive feel.
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