Magnum just never quite caught that star factor. They’re decent musicians, their vocalist has a lovely, distinctive voice, and their songwriter pens some of the best lyrics in the industry, especially their earlier works (the ones I’m most familiar with). Unfortunately they never quite got commercial success and most people have probably never heard of them. The only reason I heard of them is they opened for Judas Priest once and then Blue Oyster Cult, two bands I was (and still am) a big fan of.

I stumbled over their song The Spirit at just about the time in life I most needed to hear its lyrics.

Other great songs from that era include The Teacher, Soldier of the Line, Sacred Hour, but The Spirit is the one that resonated with me over decades.