''Chase the Dragon'' is the third studio album by English rock band Magnum. It was released in 1982 on

Jet Records Jet Records was a British record label started by Don Arden in 1974, featuring musicians such as Lynsey de Paul, Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), Roy Wood, Gary Moore, Ozzy Osbourne, Alan Price, Adrian Gurvitz, Riot and Magnum. History Th ...

. Overseen by the

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

producer

Jeff Glixman Jeff Glixman is an American record producer. He has produced, mixed or remastered artists such as Kansas, Magnum, Gary Moore, Yngwie Malmsteen, The Georgia Satellites and Black Sabbath. Combined sales of his projects exceed 30 million units. Ca ...

, ''Chase the Dragon'' was the first recorded appearance by the new keyboard player

Mark Stanway Mark Stanway (born 27 July 1954) is an English musician. He was the keyboard player for the prog rock band Magnum from 1980 until the end of 2016. Career Stanway first appeared with Magnum on the 1980 recording of ''Chase the Dragon'' (rel ...

, although he had made his live debut at Magnum's appearance at the

Reading Festival The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...

in 1980. The album was recorded over 13 days at Town House Studios in London, and the following year Tony Clarkin flew to Axis Studios in Atlanta to mix it. However, there was a two-year delay before the album's release in 1982. Many of the tracks have remained in Magnum's live set for many years, including "Soldier of the Line", "The Spirit" and "Sacred Hour". ''Chase the Dragon'' was eventually released in March 1982, two years after the recording sessions, reaching the Top 20 in the UK charts, peaking at #17. "The Lights Burned Out" was released as a single in February 1982, followed by an EP in September 1982 with two new studio songs "Back to Earth" and "Hold Back Your Love" with two live tracks recorded in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1982, whilst supporting

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

(later released on ''

Invasion Live ''Invasion Live'' is a live album by the English rock band Magnum. It was released in 1989 by Receiver Records. All tracks were recorded at the Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, on 29 April 1982, whilst supporting Ozzy Osbourne. Mos ...

''). It is also noted as the first Magnum album with

Rodney Matthews Rodney Matthews (born 6 July 1945) is a British illustrator and conceptual designer of fantasy and science-fiction. Career Trained at the West of England College of Art, Matthews worked in advertising for Plastic Dog Graphics before turning ...

' artwork. The 2005 expanded version of the album was reissued on 22 September 2006 in Japan with mini LP/paper sleeve packaging through Arcangelo. The album was also included in a limited edition Japanese box set, consisting of all six of Sanctuary Records expanded and remastered releases with mini LP/paper sleeve packaging. The set included an outer box showing Magnum's ''Chase the Dragon'' artwork.

Track listing

Cover sleeve

The cover art was designed by

. "My original brief for Magnum's 'Chase the Dragon' album cover was given by Tony Clarkin, founder member of the band, who writes all the music and lyrics. In the first instance the record was to have been called 'The Spirit' and my rough visuals were prepared with that title in mind. The album, which was intended to be a gatefold sleeve, ended up in a standard container because the record company could not justify the extra expense. "This was a pity I felt, because I had designed two images to relate to each other and read from front to inside spread. The first being the work 'Chase the Dragon' and the second, 'Sanctuary'. The city depicted in each was appropriated to the title 'The Spirit', but I find it difficult to equate it with the replacement title 'Chase the Dragon' which is a slang term for an oriental practice in drug abuse." —

Reissues

Bonus tracks

Sanctuary Records released a 2005 remastered and expanded edition with bonus tracks. "Back to Earth", "Hold Back Your Love", "Soldier of the Line" and "Sacred Hour" (disc 1, 9 – 12)
Were released and an EP called "Live in America", with two live tracks recorded in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1982, while supporting Ozzy Osbourne (originally released on ''

'') and two new studio tracks recorded during the ''Chase the Dragon'' sessions. "Long Days Black Nights" (disc 1, 13)
Was the B-Side to the single "The Light Burned Out". "Lights Burned Out" (Disc 1, 14)
This was recorded at Zella Studios in Birmingham in late 1979 and is the original version before a chorus was written. This was intended for the album ''Chase the Dragon''.Clarkin, Tony (1993). "Sleeve Notes" in ''Archive'' (pp. 3) D liner notes London: Jet Records. — Tony Clarkin Originally released in Jet Records' 1993 compilation ''

Archive An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...

''. "The Spirit" (disc 1, 15)
Recorded in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1982, while supporting Ozzy Osbourne, (originally released on ''

''). "Soldier of the Line" (disc 1, 16)
Released in 1993 on Magnum's acoustic album, ''

Keeping The Nite Light Burning The following is the discography of the hard rock band Magnum, which is headed by vocalist Bob Catley and guitarist/songwriter Tony Clarkin. Originally formed around 1972 they released their first single in 1975 (a cover of ''Sweets for My Sweet ...

''.

Singles

The Lights Burned Out 7" (February 1982) # "The Lights Burned Out"

P version P, or p, is the sixteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''pee'' (pronounced ), plural ''pees''. History The ...

– 4:32 # "Long Days Black Nights" -side– 3:11 Live in America 7" (September 1982) # "Back to Earth" -side– 3:39 # "Hold Back Your Love" -side– 3:22 ''Live in America'' EP (September 1982) # "Back to Earth" -side– 3:39 # "Hold Back Your Love" -side– 3:22 # "Soldier of the Line" ive– 3:51 # "Sacred Hour" ive– 5:45

Personnel

Bob Catley Robert Adrian Catley is an English singer and musician, best known by his stage name as Bob Catley. He is the lead singer of the British rock band Magnum. He is also a solo artist. Biography Early years (1947–1972) Born in Aldershot on ...

— vocals *

Tony Clarkin Tony Clarkin (born Anthony Michael Clarkin, 24 November 1946) is an English musician and record producer, best known as the guitarist of the rock band Magnum. He has been the sole songwriter throughout Magnum's history, writing all of the ma ...

— guitar *

Wally Lowe Wally may refer to: Music * Wally (band), British prog rock band ** ''Wally'' (album), a 1974 album by Wally * '' La Wally'', an opera by Alfredo Catalani Other uses *Wally (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *WALLY, a propos ...

— bass guitar *

— keyboards * Kex Gorin — drums

Production

* Recorded at the Town House Studios, London, England * Produced and engineered by Jeff Glixman * Assistant engineer – Steve Prestage * Mixed at Axis Sound Studios, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Related information

The song "The Spirit" was covered by the German power metal band

Edguy Edguy is a heavy metal band formed in Fulda, Germany in 1992. History Demos, AFM years (1992–2003) Edguy was founded in 1992 by 14-year-old students Tobias Sammet, Jens Ludwig, Dominik Storch and Dirk Sauer. The name "Edguy" was an affecti ...

on their 2005 EP "

Superheroes A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

". Stian Aarstad, the former pianist of the

symphonic black metal Symphonic black metal is a subgenre of black metal that emerged in the 1990s and incorporates symphonic and orchestral elements. Notable symphonic black metal bands include Cradle Of Filth, Dimmu Borgir, Emperor, and Carach Angren. History ...

band

Dimmu Borgir Dimmu Borgir () is a Norwegian symphonic black metal band from Jessheim, formed in 1993. The name is derived from Dimmuborgir, a volcanic formation in Iceland, the name of which means "dark cities" or "dark castles/fortresses" in Icelandic, ...

, used the intro to "Sacred Hour" as the intro to the song "Alt Lys er Svunnet Hen" on their album ''

Stormblåst ''Stormblåst'' (English: ''Stormblown'') is the second studio album by Norwegian black metal band Dimmu Borgir. It was released on 25 January 1996 through Cacophonous Records, re-released in 2001 by Century Media, and completely re-recorded in 20 ...

''. Aarstad neglected to tell them this. The intro to the song was left out in the re-recording of the album in 2005.

References

External links

www.magnumonline.co.uk
— Official Magnum site
Chase The Dragon: Expanded Edition
– Sanctuary Records' mini site

— at rodneymatthews.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Chase The Dragon Magnum (band) albums 1982 albums Jet Records albums Albums with cover art by Rodney Matthews Albums produced by Jeff Glixman