‘Back
In
Your
Arms
Again’
is
a
huge
slice
of
heartfelt
romanticism
–
ignite
the
lighters
and
get
your
hankies
out
folks
because
this
is
a
beautiful
love
song
delivered
with
real
affection
by
Pete
Hicks
.
You
have
to
think
a
bit
Beatles
,
a
bit
Hollies
and
maybe
even
some
Hackett
at
times,
as
Magnus
’
sweet
rolling
piano
melody,
haunting
synth
siren
and
ethereal
choir
sounds
light
up
the
sky
with
a
magical
instrumental
backdrop
for
one
of
the
sweetest,
most
anthemic
songs
on the album – I love it, but then I’ve always was an old romantic at heart!
‘Chance
Encounter’
takes
us
on
the
“up”
again
with
another
Hicks/Magnus
composition
that
again
it
sounds
a
bit
like
a
modern
Genesis
/
Mike
and
the
Mechanics
style
song
and
is
-
like
many
of
the
tracks
on
‘Flat
Pack’
–
“a
real
grower” as they say. The keyboard work is exemplary and
Hicks
again sails through the vocal with absolute ease.
‘New
York
City
Winter
’
is
a
real
American
singer/songwriter
style
track
that
tells
its
own
little
story
(thinking
Christopher Cross
/
Harry Chapin
/
Dan Fogelberg
and that sort of thing) and it has a really nice laid-back feel.
‘Jack-Knife’
opens
with
a
great
riff
that’s
a
bit
Genesis
‘
Turn
It
On
Again’
and
breaks
into
another
rock
song
with
a
strong
lead
vocal
and
chorus.
The
Magnus
music
machine
goes
into
overdrive
to
provide
a
tightly
arranged
dynamic
backing for the song, with a fine guitar solo coming in the middle.
‘Run
That
By
Me
One
More
Time’
has
an
air
of
50’s/60's
style
nostalgia
–
a
catchy,
jazzy
song
that
is
smooth,
slinky
and
quite
intoxicating.
It
has
a
fine
central
melody
line
and
in
general
provides
the
album
with
a
light
and
slightly
different
atmosphere
from
the
other
tracks
on
the
album,
and
might
even
make
a
few
of
you
think
of
Steve
Hackett
’s
‘Sentimental Institution’
from
‘Spectral Mornings’
.
Saving the best for last,
‘Absent Friends’
is arguably the strongest song on the album!
It’s
a
sentimental
ballad
that
starts
out
with
strummed
acoustic
12-string
guitars
and
a
tender
Hicks
vocal
arrangement,
then
Magnus
’
keyboard
strings
start
to
flow
in
like
a
gentle,
slowly
incoming
tide,
and
again,
the
track
starts
to
take
me
back
to
something
that
I’ve
loved
in
my
musical
past,
but
can’t
quite
bring
into
focus
-
I
just
know
I’m
going
to
drive
myself
insane
if
the
penny
doesn’t
drop
soon
-
Moody
Blues
(no
it’s
not
them!!),
especially
Justin
Hayward
fans,
will
love
this
–
it’s
a
kind
of
new
millennium
/
sixties
hybrid
love
song
that
is
both
tender
and
infectious,
with
an
emotional
edge
that
grabs
you
and
doesn’t
let
go.
The
Magnus
orchestra
gradually
swells
and
fills
the
background
quite
beautifully,
with
some
perfectly placed harmony backing vocals coming in here and there. The song moves seamlessly into the beautiful:
‘First
Light’
,
the
album’s
one
and
only
instrumental
track,
and
it’s
a
stunning
arrangement
of
synth
strings
and
choral
voices
that
builds
to
a
heavenly
climax
(much
in
the
same
way
as
Genesis
’
‘Afterglow’
does),
and
then
leaves
just
reflective
strings,
bass,
percussion
and
massed
choirs
to
sail
off
into
the
distance
to
disappear
over
a
beautiful
symphonic
horizon - Pure
Magnus
magic!
In bringing this review to a close, I have to ask – where has
Pete Hicks
been for the past thirty years?
Like
other
well-known
vocalists
mentioned
throughout
this
review
he
has
the
kind
of
voice
that
really
adds
meaning
to
a
song,
balancing
soul
and
sentiment
perfectly
for
the
ballads,
whilst
delivering
just
the
right
amount
of
energy
for
the
rockier
tracks as well. Now he’s back, hopefully we will hear more from his voice in the future.
I
also
have
to
say
a
few
words
about
the
stunning
production
and
recording
techniques
used
on
this
album,
because,
apart
from
Pete
Hicks
’
guitars,
plus
the
bass
(
Dik
Cadbury
)
and
drums
(
David
Storey
)
on
the
track:
‘Just
Remember
Where
You heard It First’
, all the instrumentation on this album comes courtesy of
Nick Magnus
!
The
keyboards
are,
as
always,
awesome,
but
the
brass
arrangements
and
the
rhythm
section
work,
again
Nick
Magnus
,
are
just
pure
genius!
Not
only
is
this
man
a
fantastic
keyboards
player,
he
produces
and
engineers
to
extremely
high
standards, but then I do know he is a perfectionist in every sense of the word!
So,
as
I
said
at
the
beginning
of
this
write-up,
this
is
an
album
all
about
songs,
and
the
quality
of
the
said
songs
are
obvious
for
all
to
hear.
There
are
no
“fillers”
–
every
one
is
a
grower,
and
all
take
pride
of
place
is
a
well-balanced
finished
production.
Any
well
manufactured,
quality
“Flat-Pack”
piece
of
furniture
is
only
ever
as
good
as
the
person
that
assembles
it
-
These
guys
have
carefully
crafted
all
the
component
parts
of
this
‘Flat
Pack’
,
put
them
though
quality
control
and
assembled
it
for
you
as
well,
and
all
for
just
over
a
tenner.
Now
all
you
need
to
do
is
admire
the
classy
finished
product
–
You’ll
never
get
service like this from IKEA
Using the words from the 4
th
track on the album –
“Just Remember Where You Heard It First”
.