England's masters of melodic progressive hard rock now find themselves on DVD with this enjoyable concert recorded at the Birmingham Town Hall right before Christmas 1992 in front of a packed house of home town fans. Featuring many of the bands classic songs, A Winter's Tale is not only a concert video, but almost like a greatest hits package, as they rip through 16 tunes plus a heartwarming version of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas."
Magnum always injected a heaping amount of pop sensibility and hooks into their brand of symphonic hard rock, evidenced on tracks such as "Vigilante", "Pray for the Day", "Days of No Trust", or "One Sacred Hour", all performed here flawlessly. Fans of the bands heavier, more progressive output, will really dig aggressive versions of "How Far Jerusalem", "Kingdom of Madness", the catchy & symphonic "On a Storyteller's Night", and the gorgeous "Les Morts Dansant." Singer Bob Catley develops a great raport with the audience, and is in fine form vocally, while guitarist Tony Clarkin lays down riff after riff and shows what a tasty yet understated style he has. The right amount of symphonics and progressive flourishes are added courtesy of nimble keyboardist Mark Stanway, while the rhythm section of bassist Wally Lowe and drummer Mickey Barker hold things down nicely.
My one complaint here is that the band is saturated in white and yellow lights through much of the first half of this set, which results in a very grainy picture at times, which can be quite annoying to watch, but thankfully this settles down and the picture quality is quite good for the second half. The digital surround sound is very nice, and you can hear all the musicians quite clearly. A recommended DVD from a classy band.
Set List
All England's Eyes
Vigilante
Remember
Les Morts Dansant
You're The One
On A Story Teller's Night
Tall Ships
How Far Jerusalem
Only In America
Days Of No Trust
Kingdom Of Madness
Midnight
On Christmas Day
The Last Dance
One Sacred Hour
When The World Comes Down
We Wish You A Merry Christmas
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