| Magentalane | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 7, 1981 [1] | |||
| Recorded | March – July 1981 | |||
| Studio | ESP Studios, Buttonville, Canada | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 34:11 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Producer | Klaatu | |||
| Klaatu chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Magentalane | ||||
| ||||
Magentalane was the fifth and final album of new material by the Canadian rock group Klaatu.
For their final album, Klaatu regained complete artistic control over the music, marking a return to their familiar psychedelic pop sound, [4] after their previous album Endangered Species was essentially a product of Capitol Records’ attempt to commercialise the band, and therefore featured outside musicians playing most of the instruments heard on the record.[ citation needed ]
The advance budget for Magentalane helped make ESP Studios of Buttonville, Ontario, a professional studio in 1980. ESP was owned by Klaatu member Dee Long and partner John Jones, who both went on to George Martin's AIR Studios in London in 1985.[ citation needed ]
Since Capitol Records had terminated Klaatu, following the commercial failure of their previous album, Endangered Species , Magentalane was only released in Canada and Mexico, although it was reissued worldwide in 1995 on Compact Disc by Permanent Press Records.[ citation needed ]
The sound of a springing mousetrap is present on the album, followed by the sound of a mouse running away. According to John Woloschuk, this was intended to allow Klaatu's fanbase to know that Magentalane was likely to be Klaatu's last studio album.[ citation needed ]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [5] |
In a positive review, PopMatters called the album “a retrospective on the past 20 years of psychedelic pop”. [4]
AllMusic's Jason Ankeny, while giving the album only a lukewarm rating, praised the album for its songwriting, which it described as “vintage McCartney”. [5] AllMusic's Dave Sleger dismissed Magentalane and the two previous Klaatu albums as "downright ghastly pop-rock affairs that lacked originality". [6]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Million Miles Away" | John Woloschuk | 3:39 |
| 2. | "The Love of a Woman" | Woloschuk | 3:23 |
| 3. | "Blue Smoke" | Woloschuk, Dino Tome | 4:41 |
| 4. | "I Don't Wanna Go Home" | Woloschuk | 2:51 |
| 5. | "December Dream" | Woloschuk, Terry Draper | 4:20 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Magentalane" | Woloschuk, Tome | 2:35 |
| 2. | "At the End of the Rainbow" | Dee Long | 3:30 |
| 3. | "Mrs. Toad's Cookies" | Woloschuk, Tome | 3:06 |
| 4. | "Maybe I'll Move to Mars" | Long | 5:15 |
| 5. | "Magentalane (...it feels so good)" | Woloschuk, Tome | 0:56 |
Notes
| Chart (1981) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [9] | 26 |
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