Released by: Frontiers Records
Release Date: Out Now!!!
Genre: AOR
Links: http://cliftonmagness.com/
Line Up:
Clif Magness vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, Programming
Robin Beck Duet 5, Vocals
Evan Magness Guitar
Tommy Denander Guitar
Josh Freese Drums
Preston Foster Uilleann Pipe
Tracklist:
Ain’t No Way
Don’t Look Now
Unbroken
Like You
Love Needs a Heart
Nobody But You
Maybe
Shout
Rain
All Over My Mind
My Heart
Clif Magness is a name mostly known for his behind-the-scenes work- writing, producing, and collaborating with artists such as Avril Lavigne, Kelly Clarkson, and Celine Dion (just to name a few.) He seems to have a gift of creating catchy pop songs that help propel others into the spotlight. He’s won Grammy’s for songs he has written for others to perform as well as for doing background vocals. After 24 years since his first solo outing (entitled Solo) in 1994, Magness has decided to step out once again and show what he’s capable of as an artist himself, and I must say, his new album Lucky Dog soars miles above his first album, which was a powerhouse AOR release.
Lucky Dog is a brilliant AOR masterpiece. Stepping away from the Adult Contemporary world, he adds a bit more edge to his sound than was shown on Solo, as well as his work with others. He handles most of the instrumentation, from guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, and of course vocals. He gets assistance with some guitar from the great Tommy Denander as well Evan Magness. The Queen of AOR, Robin Beck, joins him for a fantastic duet on “Love Needs A Heart,” which along with tracks like “Unbroken,” “Shout,” “Don’t Look Now,” and “All Over My Mind” show that Clif is as adept at creating music for himself as he is for others. If I’m being frank, I much prefer his two solo albums to anything else he’s worked on, but especially with Lucky Dog, he shows that he is a force to be reckoned with.
As a huge fan of AOR, I’ve enjoyed Clif Magness’ music for a very long time. Seeming to be that Solo was going to be a one and done affair, I was super stoked when I saw he was finally following it up. As with any artist, they want to step up their game significantly on any sophomore release, especially up against one as strong as his first, but Lucky Dog proves Clif Magness is a tremendous talent and has released the best album he’s done in his entire career. Hopefully, the world will take notice and show some love for his own work as much as they have for his background work with the stars. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait another two-plus decade for more new music from this giant.
Written by: Chris Martin
Rating: 9/10
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