Magic Hour (Cast album)

Magic Hour is the third album by the English band Cast, released in 1999. "Beat Mama" and the title track were both released as singles, and reached number nine and number 28 on the UK Singles Chart respectively.

Critical reception
Mike DeGagne of AllMusic gave praise to Power's songwriting being "way above 1997's Mother Nature Calls" and his musicianship being "extremely sharp" throughout the track listing, while also highlighting Peter Wilkinson's performance as "more professional and [more] focused" than with his other bands, concluding that: "Even though none of the songs can match the strength of "Guiding Star" […] Magic Hour still stands up as the group's second best recording."

In a retrospective review, Jamie Atkins of Record Collector said the album and its successor Beetroot showcase a band attempting to "break new ground [...] It all just lacks wit, imagination and conviction".

Track listing

 * Note
 * "Hideaway" ends at 6:40. After 13 minutes of silence (6:40–19:40), the hidden song "Solo Strings" begins, which is an instrumental version of "Alien" conducted by David Arnold.

Personnel

 * Cast
 * John Power – vocals, guitar
 * Peter Wilkinson – backing vocals, bass
 * Liam "Skin" Tyson – guitar
 * Keith O'Neill – drums


 * Production
 * Gil Norton – producer, mixing
 * Danton Supple – engineer, mixing
 * David Arnold – string arrangements
 * Nicholas Dodd – conductor
 * Bob Ludwig – mastering