Magic (CD - 1998)

Personnel: David Paton (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass guitar); Stuart Tosh (drums, percussion).

With its swirling keyboards and falsetto vocals, "Magic" became one of the great one-shots of the '70s, and it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone familiar with one-hit wonders that Pilot's accompanying full-length isn't as good. Despite the lack of strong material, the album is hardly without merit. Pilot, along with producer Alan Parsons, crafted an album of light prog-rock and melodic soft pop-rock. All of the album sounds terrific, and there are some catchy melodies, but there aren't many great songs, just a lot of adequate ones. As a result, it's simply an artifact of its era, but it's an enjoyable one at that. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Collectables' Magic is a retitled reissued of Pilot's eponymous debut album, boasting five bonus tracks: "Just Let Me Be," "January," "Do Me Good," "The Mover" and "Canada." With its swirling keyboards and falsetto vocals, "Magic" became one of the great one-shots of the '70s, and it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone familiar with one-hit wonders that Pilot's accompanying full-length isn't as good. Despite the lack of strong material, the album is hardly without merit. Pilot, along with producer Alan Parsons, crafted an album of light prog-rock and melodic soft pop-rock. All of the album sounds terrific, and there are some catchy melodies, but there aren't many great songs, just a lot of adequate ones. As a result, it's simply an artifact of its era, but it's an enjoyable one at that. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine minimize