Pallas Free Download

[Rael]

I figured a few people might be interested in this: An Alternative Arrive Alive at the bandcamp site: https://pallasofficial.bandcamp.com/...e-arrive-alive
In addition to their own songs, they cover "Echoes" and a couple Genesis tunes. Looks like there is two hours of free music. I've downloaded it but haven't listened to it yet so I can't comment on the quality.

[calyx]

Listening to "Echoes" now. Not terribly impressed. Seems they haven't bothered to work out (a) the actual lyrics; (b) whether some of the chords are minor or major.

[bigjohnwayne]

I was curious, thinking it was Echoes by Camel.

I forgot the Floyd song existed.

I like some of the Sentinel, despite myself. It's cool their Bandcamp has all those demos and rough mixes.

[Steve983]

Thanks! By sheer coincidence I am playing Arrive Alive right now.

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[Top Cat]

Pallas has a very special unique sound to me and I've especially enjoyed their disography with Alan Reed on vocals.
I don't think they've ever gotten back their mojo after canning Alan Reed.
I bought XXV and Live at Lorelei with Paul Mackie and they're just not the same.

Bring back Alan if he'll even think about coming back after the way he was kicked out.
Another instance where the band thought they didn't need their singer cause they needed a break...never works out.
I think Foreigner is the only band I still like after the singer was replaced. Oh, and Kansas has done pretty well without Steve, but Lou Gramm and Steve Walsh left on their own terms.

I've been following Pallas regardless and nothing appeals enough to me to pull out my credit card.

[Koreabruce]

I downloaded this. I don't think it's all that great. Playing is ok. Sound quality is so-so - sounds like it was recorded by someone in the audience.

[Halmyre]

I've still got the official cassette tape release, somewhere. Saw them at The Mayfair in Glasgow many years ago; support band was some group called Marillion; was late to the gig because I'd just been to see Judie Tzuke at the Theatre Royal. Which makes the date 2nd May 1982.

[everyday]

Saw them at the short-lived Dingwalls in Hull in '82 - The Ripper was very disturbing live. Also saw them at the LSE in London a few years later. Pallas are one of those bands (like Twelfth Night) where I went off them a bit after they changed vocalists.

[Valen]

I think you have to approach the Pallas bandcamp downloads with an expectation that they are not going to be top audio quality.

Their merch manager, Mike, has put a lot of work into cleaning up the original sources - mixing desk, audience tapes, demos - and they do sound better than the versions originally released on the Mythopoeia cd-rom. But the Pallas pages do place caveats confirming that the audio quality is challenging for some of these source tapes.

I quite enjoyed the alternative Arrive Alive from a historical point of view, having bootlegged a couple of shows myself, so I knew what to expect in terms of audio quality.

These downloads are historical curios, rather than definitive recordings, and are reasonably priced.

The exception is the new Edge Of Time ambient remix album, for which he had access to the original master tapes, so the audio quality of this new album is much better.

I'm glad the stuff is being put out legally for us to hear.

[Valen]

Pallas has a very special unique sound to me and I've especially enjoyed their disography with Alan Reed on vocals.
I don't think they've ever gotten back their mojo after canning Alan Reed.
I bought XXV and Live at Lorelei with Paul Mackie and they're just not the same.

Bring back Alan if he'll even think about coming back after the way he was kicked out.
Another instance where the band thought they didn't need their singer cause they needed a break...never works out.

I'm not sure it was entirely a case of Alan being kicked out. The band were based in the far north of Scotland, and Alan was based in London, so it was challenging for all parties to get together frequently. I gather that the band were becoming frustrated because Alan couldn't commit, and they had material ready to record and release. I'm not saying they behaved well in the way they dropped Alan, but equally they couldn't keep waiting until he was free (he has a busy job at the BBC news desk, so it was probably hard for him to plan too far ahead.) And as the studio was based in Aberdeen, it was never going to be be affordable for the other members to book another studio down south.

Like you, I'm yet to be convinced by the Mackie material - I thought XXV was ok, but not really a good enough sequel to the Sentinel - and haven't bought the last one Wearewhoweare. And I know he's taken pelters for trying to be too "rawk" on stage.

Mind you, as much as I enjoyed the last two Alan albums, he was far too low in the mix, and when I saw the material performed live, his voice wasn't much better. I've since seen him solo, and there's a fair bit of backing band vocals needed to help him out.

Pallas hit the (European) road again this year, but disappointingly it's Mackie on vocals. I think some of us had hoped the recent bandcamp reissues heralded the return of Euan and a set based around that material.

[Steve983]

I played my 1992 cd re release of The Sentinel yesterday, really enjoyed it, forgotten how good it was. I fondly remember the gigs I saw in 83/84, firstly their residency gigs at The Marquee in London that were sparsely populated at first. Euan's theatrics were excellent and Fish was often in the audience or more often propping up the bar. Then they did that headline show at Hammersmith with Twelfth Night supporting, I really was in 'seventh heaven' for that show - happy days. Sad that Euan left the band, he had so much character.

[Top Cat]

I'm not sure it was entirely a case of Alan being kicked out. The band were based in the far north of Scotland, and Alan was based in London, so it was challenging for all parties to get together frequently. I gather that the band were becoming frustrated because Alan couldn't commit, and they had material ready to record and release. I'm not saying they behaved well in the way they dropped Alan, but equally they couldn't keep waiting until he was free (he has a busy job at the BBC news desk, so it was probably hard for him to plan too far ahead.) And as the studio was based in Aberdeen, it was never going to be be affordable for the other members to book another studio down south.

Like you, I'm yet to be convinced by the Mackie material - I thought XXV was ok, but not really a good enough sequel to the Sentinel - and haven't bought the last one Wearewhoweare. And I know he's taken pelters for trying to be too "rawk" on stage.

Mind you, as much as I enjoyed the last two Alan albums, he was far too low in the mix, and when I saw the material performed live, his voice wasn't much better. I've since seen him solo, and there's a fair bit of backing band vocals needed to help him out.

Pallas hit the (European) road again this year, but disappointingly it's Mackie on vocals. I think some of us had hoped the recent bandcamp reissues heralded the return of Euan and a set based around that material.

Some great info and I appreciate your response, however a lot of how you describe the breakup reminds me of how I read the Pallas version, and later Alan describes his being given an ultimatum of doing what the band wanted and when. He was quite hurt and shocked at the way it was handled, according to his version.
And if I remember correctly there was a lot of tension in the band with Alan and in their view Alan was suffering from Lead Singer Egoitus..

For whatever reason, I don't think the band has been the same without Alan and it seems this might even be the final days of Pallas as we know it.
I enjoy the Cross and the Crucible and think it's their best work in the modern times.

I don't own but have heard cuts from Alan's solo stuff and his guest appearance on the Neo Live DVD with Clive Nolan, John Jowitt and others is quite a treat. Check it out if you don't have it.

[Don Arnold]

I second the enjoyment of Cross/Crucible, but find even greater joy with Dreams of Men. These albums are a great one-two punch.

I have XXV, but also found it did not meet expectations.

[Valen]

Some great info and I appreciate your response, however a lot of how you describe the breakup reminds me of how I read the Pallas version, and later Alan describes his being given an ultimatum of doing what the band wanted and when. He was quite hurt and shocked at the way it was handled, according to his version.
And if I remember correctly there was a lot of tension in the band with Alan and in their view Alan was suffering from Lead Singer Egoitus..

For whatever reason, I don't think the band has been the same without Alan and it seems this might even be the final days of Pallas as we know it.
I enjoy the Cross and the Crucible and think it's their best work in the modern times.

I don't own but have heard cuts from Alan's solo stuff and his guest appearance on the Neo Live DVD with Clive Nolan, John Jowitt and others is quite a treat. Check it out if you don't have it.

Sounds like there were issues on all sides. The band may also have been under pressure if their InsideOut contract was up after Dreams Of Men.

If the band did think Alan was on an ego trip, you wonder what they made of Mackie once he started fronting the band live. I never saw him, but others were very critical of his posing onstage, stripping down to his waist, and he earned the criticism "Iggy Prog".

On album I think he sounds fine, but the material just didn't seem to stick with me.

Where the band go from here is anyone's guess - other than the gigs that they're steadily announcing for this year.

[rickawakeman]

I'm enjoying this, thanks for the heads up. Fond memories of Reed walking around Zoellner with the smell of Scotch exuding from within feet of him.

[Yodelgoat]

This will be my first taste of Pallas. Is it typical of them? (obviously not the cover versions...but the sound of the band?)

[3LockBox]

This will be my first taste of Pallas. Is it typical of them? (obviously not the cover versions...but the sound of the band?)

Are you familiar with Arena? Pendragon? Galahad? Jadis?

Mix-and-Match. Ya can't tell'em apart without a program.

[Yodelgoat]

Oh I quite like Arena... OK maybe I give Pallas a try - after I hear the download.

[Top Cat]

Oh I quite like Arena... OK maybe I give Pallas a try - after I hear the download.

Pallas sounds nothing like Arena or Pendragon and Jadis. A bit of Galahad perhaps.
Of course just one person's opinion
I would suggest a sampling of The Cross & The Crucible which is a blend of the old and new Pallas sound. It was also their comeback album after a very long break.

[3LockBox]

^ hell, I'd throw John Payne era Asia in there too.

Not saying they're exact copies of each other, but they all kinda run into one another for me. Every one of them have a song or two I might find entertaining but over all I find them to be generic neo-prog.

[Top Cat]

^ hell, I'd throw John Payne era Asia in there too.

Not saying they're exact copies of each other, but they all kinda run into one another for me. Every one of them have a song or two I might find entertaining but over all I find them to be generic neo-prog.

I get ya, and I think you could put a whole era of bands into the neo prog genre that people find generic. IQ, early Marillion to name a few more. And I think it could even be said they borrowed from one another, not just their influences like Genesis.
For myself, having discovered these bands(before the internet) were always treasures, because their similarities yet differences continued to feed the flame of my progressive rock hunger.
Finding US bands like Echolyn, Illuvatar, Saga(Canadian), Magellan, etc were icing on the cake.

I understand why some people consider these bands' similarities to be generic, but I never felt that way and am still a fan of some bands like Pendragon today.
I also happen to like John Payne's era with Asia, songs like the Day Before the War are wonderful. I even have the new John Payne/Eric Norlander CD with their name as Dukes of the Orient, and find it quite enjoyable.