Progressive Rock Reviews

The Masquerade Overture
PENDRAGON




Pendragon are :
Nick Barrett on Guitars and Vocals
Clive Nolan on Keyboards
Fudge Smith on drums
Peter Gee on Bass

There are backing vocals from Tracy Hitchings, Nick Barrett, Tina Riley, Anthony Plowman, Gwen Ross and Simon Clew.

The Masquerade Overture was recorded at Halfway Houses. Cookham and was produced by Karl Groom and Nick Barrett and Engineered and Mixed by Karl Groom.

The CD comes with a 12 page booklet with some illustrations by Simon Williams and a photo of each member of the band by Martin Beckett.

The tracks are : 1. The Masquerade Overture 2. As Good As Gold 3. Paintbox 4. The Pursuit Of Excellence 5. Guardian Of My Soul 6. The Shadow 7.Masters Of Illusion

The Masquerade Overture is Pendragon's tenth release and I feel that Pendragon just get better and better.The album opens with a short operatic overture, somehow not what you expect , but it does come over well.

Then we have the splendid 'As Good As Gold' with Clive's dominant keyboards and Nick's stunning guitar.

Track 3 is 'Paintbox' a love song with some great lyrics.

Painting pictures of a thousand paths

We sketch an outline of a love that hopes to last

Casting a wand over imaginery hopes

And close our eyes so we don't feel the ebb and flow

Next is 'The Pursuit Of Excellence' which sounds close to Traditional Irish Folk Music with Clive's keyboards giving the sounds of violins and pipes and Nick's vocals giving an Irish mood.

'Guardian Of my Soul' is a 12 minute epic with a great variety of mood swings throughout with some great keyboards and guitar.

Next is 'The Shadow' a nice track with a dreamy feel to it, with a stunning guitar solo towards the end.

And finally another epic 'Masters Of Illusion ' opening with a sound reminding me of early Marillion. But another great track from Pendragon with variety of mood and a guitar solo towards the end sounding very much like Dave Gilmour (Pink Floyd).

Overall I think this is an outstanding CD and one that every Progrock fan should have in their collection.

This CD is released on Pendragon Toff Records, 11 Halfway Houses, Maidenhead Road, Cookham, Berks. SL6 6PP. England.
TEL : 01628 788773.     FAX : 01628 777388

EMAIL : toff@pndragon.demon.co.uk
WEBSITE : http://www.toffrecords.com/

 

As Good As Gold
PENDRAGON





The tracks are :
1. As Good As Gold (3'27)
2. Bird Of Paradise (6'52)
3. Midnight Running (7'43)
4. A Million Miles Away (3'17)
Toatl running time : 21:28 minutes

Pendragon was on the roads in November and December 1996 to present his "Masquerade Tour" in all Europe, when they released this CD-single. Besides "As Good As Gold" there are also 3 extra new tracks. This CD-single continuing the high standard of their previous album "The Masquerade Overture".

Every track on this CD-single makes the single worth buying. Especially the tracks "As Good As Gold" and "Midnight Running" (a very groovy song). As I have said before, Pendragon just keeps getting better and better. This CD-single is As Good As Gold.

Released on pendragon Toff Records (MOB 4 CD) Review by Greger R nnqvist-

 

Fallen Dreams and Angels
PENDRAGON





The tracks are :
1. The Third World In The U.K. (7'16)
2. Dune (4'40)
3. Sister Bluebird (7'47)
4. Fallen Dreams And Angels (5'23)
Total running time : 25:13 minutes

"Fallen Dreams and Angels" was released in March 1994 and was followed by the longest tour the band has ever done to date, with 30 concerts. They did for example visit Poland for the first time and the fans there went totally nuts for the band.

This release contains only 4 songs, but in return this is 4 of the best songs Pendragon has ever produced, especially the song "The Third World in the U.K.", but all the tracks are first class. By the end of the year, in December, they also got their well deserved recognition when they was granted three Awards from the "Classic Rock Society" in England.

Released on Pendragon Toff Records (MOB 2 CD)
Review by Greger R nnqvist-

 

The Window of Life
PENDRAGON





The tracks are :
1. The Walls Of Babylon (10'44)
2. Ghosts (7'58)
3. Breaking The Spell (9'12)
4. The Last Man On Earth (14'40) [1- Skylight / 2- Paradise Road]
5. Nostradamus (Stargazing) (6'19)
6. Am I Really Losing You? (4'47)
54:09 minutes

In 1993 Pendragon performs back in France and for the first time in Portugal (Lisboa), and in November they released "The Window Of Life". The second album from what I calls the "new" Pendragon. I think that Pendragon took a big step forward with their previous album "The World". The music changed to the better just like their artwork, and their albums became a perfect unit.

I have to admit that initially I wasn't a big Pendragon fan, but I listened a lot to them and I found that they became better and better between every listening. Now I'm a big "fan" and I can listen to their entire back catalogue and enjoy them, although I think that they became really interesting with "The World" in 1991.

This album is not as good as "The World" but almost, as "The World" had slightly better songs. Here they're continuing on their high quality neo-prog in the same vein as Marillion, Genesis and Pink Floyd with nice keyboards and guitar.

The best tracks are "The Walls of Babylon", "The Last Man on Earth" and "Am I Really Losing You". This is not their best album, but a must have for every Pendragon fan.

Released on Pendragon Toff Records (PEND 6 CD)
Review by Greger R nnqvist- Subscribe to Prog-Reviews

 

Utrecht-The Final Frontier
PENDRAGON





The Tracks are :
1. Kowtow (10'02)
2. Breaking the Spell (8'36)
3. The Mask (3'42)
4. The Last Man on Earth (15'06)
5. Am I Really Losing You? (5'04)
6. The Voyager (12'10)
7. Nostradamus (3'40)

Pendragon are one of the better-known neo-progressive bands from UK. They have a big and impressive back catalogue, and this is their third and probably best live album.

Pendragon have often been compared to Marillion, and I think it's the best description of Pendragon's music. It's a combination between Genesis, Marillion and Rush. Many of the tracks on the albums are over ten minutes long.

This live album were recorded on their "The Widow Of Life Tour" during April and May 1994, and was released in March 1995. The gig you can hear on this CD took place at the Vredenburg Muziekcentrum in Utrecht Holland. Tracks from "The Window of Life" together with "older" classics such as one of my favourite Pendragon tracks "The Voyager".

The recording quality is very good and has improved since "The very very bootleg - Live in Lille". For every Pendragon fan or member to "The Mob", this is a really great moment and a good landmark in Pendragon's live history.

In November 1995 after this release, Pendragon were playing for the first time in the United States. They were playing as head of the bill of the Progfest in Los Angeles.

Released on Pendragon Toff Records (MOB 3 CD)
Review by Greger R nnqvist-

Discography:

The Jewel (1985)
9:15 (1986)
Kowtow (1988)
The R(B)est of Pendragon (1991)
The World (1991)
The Very Very Bootleg (1993)
The Window of Life (1993)
Fallen Dreams and Angels (1994)
Utrecht..... The Final Frontier (1995)
The Masquerade Overture (1996)
CD-single As Good As Gold (1996)
Live In Krakow 1996 (1997)

 

Once Upon A Time In England Volume 1 & 2
PENDRAGON



Pendragon......love or hate them?

I have rather a soft spot for Pendragon as I first saw them supporting Marillion at the Marquee way back on the 25/09/82. According to the sleeve notes this was their first gig outside Gloucestershire, & thanks to Marillion, I managed to get the telephone number of Greg Lines who sent me their demos. My friends & I used to follow the band around & between 1982 & 1986, we saw the band 54 times!

I was hoping that these collection of rarities were the two cassettes that were originally released for the fan club in 1988/89, as I had missed out on the originals. Never mind, there's only a few differences & here we have 29 tracks dating right back from 1978.

Volume one:

The Pleasure of Hope - recorded for the BBC in 1983
Insomnia - From the original demo & a live fave of mine from 1982
Armageddon - nostalgia continues with another live favourite, again dating back to 1982 & from the demo

To me the classic line up of Pendragon included Nigel Harris & John Barnfield, and many fine tunes came from this line up as the first three tracks demonstrate.

Dawn in Vienna - a gentle piece recorded by Nick in 1987, as the notes say "simple enough to never sound too dated"

The Pleasure of Hope - this time a piano/vocal version from 1987, with the mighty Clive Nolan now part of the band

Catch Me If You Can - dating from 1981 & reminding me how Camel played a huge part in their early sound. This is one of my favourite songs & I just love the keyboard sound that John Barnfield gets

Melody - another Camel sounding song dating back to 1978. If I had a band we would have this sound!

Dead Stop & Deja Vue - both from 1980 & according to the sleeve notes the former influenced by new wave & the latter by pop??!! Both very catchy songs but not hits

Dream Of Tomorrow - 1978 & full of that lovely moog sound from that era

Stan & Ollie - permanent encore in the early 80's, this is live from 1983

Loving the Stranger & Eye For An Eye - both 1988. All instruments by Nick & typical of their material from the late 80's which was quite commercial but guaranteed not to get anywhere!

Is This the Life - dating from 1980 & an early attempt at attracting the record companies with this poppy reggae number....thankfully it didn't attract them!

So this is Volume One & it's great to hear many of these songs again. This collection is a great insight into the band & it's interesting to see how they have developed since 1978. My favourites from this disc are tracks 6, 7 & 10...interestingly enough, ones that Nick isn't on lead vocals. I would love to know why the drummer Nigel Harris wasn't the lead vocalist permanently?

& so to Volume Two:

Time for a Change, The Mask & I Walk The Rope - 1986 & recorded when the band was just Nick & Peter

Last Bus Back, Whalespeak & Holiday '89 - 1988, solo pieces by Nick

No More Tricks - 1982 track which eventually became Higher Circles

Victims of Life & The Black Knight - classic Pendragon tracks from the BBC session

More Than Just Freedom - 1978 & "this is a nasty twee number, one of the first things I ever wrote... & I don't really know why I bothered!"

Whispered Word - recorded entirely by Nick in 1979, this sounds much like his later solo pieces & nothing like the band compositions of that era

Sleep & Valleys - 1980...same as above

Oriental Man - 1979 solo piece by Nick, attempting to jump on the New Romantic bandwagon!

Son of Sun - 1979 solo piece but parts surfaced later as Dune & Sister Bluebird

I guess that these are both for the collectors only & with a total of 29 tracks, they certainly complete the collection. I would love to see similar collections for Pallas & Twelfth Night, & it's a real shame that Marillion didn't delve further back into the archives with their re-releases.

Review by Mike Eldon