Seven

'Soft' prog this may be but the songs are beautifully constructed and allow Christina to use her voice to best effect. In my opinion this is Magenta's best album. Who cares if they are strongly influenced by Yes, Genesis or God knows who else.......just listen to the music, which i think is magnificent.

Although based on the seven deadly sins, some of these songs do not give up their secrets easily and you need to listen to the words carefully to get their full meaning.The singing is beautiful, the arrangements are long and lush, and the playing is masterful. The album is prog rock at its best.This band deserves wider recognition.

I've enjoyed my first foray into the music of Magenta immensely and will definitely be back for more. Some fin songwriting and excellent performances. Dropped one star because of the DVD which has some fine moments but overall didn't add as much tot the proceedings as I was hoping. Anyone who likes Karnataka, Panic Room, Yes, Genesis and Renaissance should find plenty to like here.

a really good album

having been a fan of the genre of the so-called "prog rock", for want of a better term,since 1974 i am always on the look out for any new band or artist that seeks to rejuvenate or merely resurrect the genre.with this in mind i bought this album on the original label F2 when it first came out.i am ashamed to admit that it has then slipped into my cd collection without me ever playing it- i,m sure we,ve all got these cds that you buy and somthing else comes long and you totally forget about it - in my case i also bought deadwing by PT and then bought all their back catalogue or as much as i could afford !however i placed this album, their second after the double Revolutions also on F2, on my ipod today.my god what have i been missing.this is superb.the vocals are truly outstanding,christina booth is one of those wonderful british singers with a pure voice,like annie haslam,sandy denny,kate rusby etc etc,very nice to hear in these days of fake ,computerised vocals from the likes of the X factor brigade.unlike one of the chaps above me who says there one or two nods to the past i have to disagree, there are massive debts to the past.namely,the influence of both Yes and Genesis,in terms of the keybord sounds- you get the mellotron and the moog,both staples of Wakeman and in the 2nd song the guitarist does a passable attempt at Steve Howes sound on Gates of Delerium from Relayer- you know the stabbing telecaster on a tight reverb sound he loves.what the hell i,d rather hear weeks of this type of music rather than the limp and sterile sound of most of todays so called rock crowd- the Killers anyone- what a load of hype.there is nothing of any progression here hence my concern about this type of music being called "progressive rock music"- lets get this right - in its day in 1971-74, it was truly progressive,this is NOT. it is a very good pastiche of all the elements that made up the music we all love so much.it is really retro rock - to coin a phrase.for some the epitome of pure evil i,m sure ( if you got into the year zero stuff you,ll know what i mean )but for those of us that didn,t really believe parsons and burchill this is like going back in time.Magenta are one of the better retro bands i can think of - along with Morse era- Spocks Beard, Glass Hammer and Flowerkings.so pretty good company i think.overall ,of its kind,one of the most accomplished albums for some time.i must now go and buy the newer albums and complete my collection.overall,pleasantly suprised.yoursrichard m-p

Anyone who has seen the band live knows just how accomplished and talented they are. This album garnered well-earnt reviews from all corners of the prog-world and even the wider music press. The songs here are polished allowing time for musical themes to develop whilst not losing sight of the quality of Tina Booth's vocal. The band deserve so much more - look at whats happened with Mostly Autumn for instance, who in my opinion dont have half the talent. If Magenta survive the rigours of today's rock scene, they will be a force to be reckoned with. Also check out Home, the band's stunning follow-up to Seven

A singer with stunning looks and a stunning voice, backed by superb instrumentation, in particular keys man Rob Reed and Glen Fry on guitar. Some vauge nods to the the old masters, but this is mostly good modern song-oriented prog that has cross-over potential, even though only 1 track is of radio length. Highly recommended.

The second album from welsh band, Magenta, this is a far more cohesive album than "Revolutions", the first album(which was more a solo project by keyboardist, Rob Read). If you enjoy 1970's music from the like of Genesis and Yes, then this album is an absolute must for you. It is staggering in the sonic palettes it offers. Beautiful vocal from Christina Booth with excellent guitar and keyboards, this is a real return to the music of the early 70s when there were no pigeon holes just "rock" music that encompassed Led Zeppelin to ELP. For me the best album of the millenium so far.Enjoy!!!