I recently purchased the Madfish version and have really been enjoying it. I had the two previous versions so obviously I like the album, but I hadn't listened to it for quite some time and have been pleasantly surprised. I have always liked the band, but never considered them anywhere near top tier. I may change my mind, and no that doesn't mean I would put them in with the Big Five, but compared with a lot of other things that are out there, I think it is pretty good.
Thoughts?
Picked up "Window of Life" many moons ago, did nothing for me. Fastforward to Masquerade Overture and some other more recent equally strong releases ( Pure, Believe) and now I appreciate them. Just picked up Nolan's Alchemy and started a thread which died without comment.
“Masquerade” remains my favorite album by them with “Pure” #2.
Steve Sly
I like Passion from a couple of years ago, and Masquerade is pretty good also. However, of all the Clive Nolan bands, Arena is by far the best. I even prefer Shadowland to Pendragon.
If Pointer could play drums... :-) Barrett is the Master of melodic soloing same as Latimer and Gilmour. They been through drummer changes but with Scott H they are in top form.
The Masquerade Overture is certainly their best, IMO, with the compositions and the big standard neo-progressive sound honed pretty perfect, certainly much better than on the transitory Window of Life, which was the dead spot between this and the delightful comeback of The World. Certainly one of the best neo-progressive albums. Not of This World really just regurgitated the same sound and ideas, only with far less memorable compositions.
A change was welcome after that, but, again IMO, just replacing their chirpy neo-prog sound and “I’m just a Casanova kid throwing magic dust on the world” gleefulness with a slightly more modern guitar and loops sound and generally darker “oh how fucked is this world” air doesn’t make their later work as special or forward-looking as they claim, especially as the songs aren’t terribly memorable. Credit where credit is due for surviving this long and doing their own thing, though.
As for Nolan’s other projects, I find Shadowland the most enjoyable. They are mostly just really souped-up arena rock, unashamedly old-fashioned but catchy, affable and unassuming. I much prefer that over Arena’s rock, which often represents the opposite of those virtues.
Being witness to the rise of all the so-called neoprog-movement of the eighties (Marillion, IQ, Pallas and Twelfth Night together with Pendragon in a sort of 'popularity'-race, clearly won by Marillion at the time), I've always had the utmost respect for Nick Barrett and his band. Notwithstanding the talent of Clive Nolan, it IS in fact his band, different from IQ and Marillion whose compositions and albums were more of a group-effort.
Completetist as I am, here's my take on the studio-albums:
The Jewel - awesome debut, sound fresh, young and inspiring. Great melodies. Lots of fun. Much better production than e.g. IQ's two first albums.
Kowtow - Pendragons 80s album, not very good.
The World - awesome return to form, nothing but great tracks. The Camel-influences are noticable.
The Window Of Life - awesome album, nothing but great tracks. The Pink Floyd-influences are noticable. 'Breaking The Spell' contains one of the best solos in progrock ever.
The Masquerade Overture - awesome album, all great tracks save one (guess!). The Genesis-influence are noticable.
Not Of This World - at the time, considered an album that was more of the same, yet in hindsight it's one of his best. The divorce-influence is noticable.
Believe - slight change of style, which is in fact a wise move, but the material isn't that strong. The searching-factor is noticable.
Pure - the Pendragon-style reinvented, but if you look closely enough, not a lot has actually changed. A strong album. The Porcupine Tree-influence is noticable.
Passion - Pure Part 2, which lead me to state in a review that Barrett needs to yet again change his approach slightly. The anti-islam-influence is noticable.
A double-album next? That would be fun!
There best IMO
Yeah, I may be crazy, but "Not of this World" is my favorite, and I don't even think it's "more of the same.' Barrett never featured lush female vocals before, and his songs seemed more direct (and yet oddly more baroque) in theme. It seemed to me a lot less ponderous.
But "Masquerade" is okay too… "Paintbox" and "Excellence" are very nice songs.
"Arf." -- Frank Zappa, "Beauty Knows No Pain" (live version)
Am I correct that on the most recent edition of Masquerade Overture (the one on Madfish) they didn't include The Shadow Part 2 as one of the bonustracks? Seem to remember seeing that and thinking who decided that cause that one just needs to be there.
Paintbox is one of Pendragon's best songs with probably Peter Gee's best bassplaying. His part on that song is just so melodic I can actually hum it along with him on that track.
I have to come clean and say I couldn't make it through one full listen to either of Pendragon's last two albums. They both give me a headache. Everything previous is great though. But the whole modernizing their sound failed to my ears.
Masquerade Overture is my favourite Pendie album as well. I like them all really.
It'll be interesting to see where he goes next. The new album should be out towards the end of next year. What Nick did say was that there would be more guitar solos on the new one.
And I would not call Passion Anti-Islamic. There is one line. I would not presume to say what Nick Barrett's mean, but there does seem to me to be an underlying thread of being against political correctness.
Totally agree with both points. Masquerade is my favourite Pendragon album, and the only one I ever play anymore really. They've never come close to the giants of the genre IMO.Originally Posted by emperorken
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
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I agree with all this. Sometimes I wish Nolan's keys were given a more prominant role though!
Good album. I find Pendragon to be my prog-rock "guilty pleasure." Lots of folks hate em, probably for reasons I like them: it's familiar/derivative, it's ear candy, it's fluffy, it's accessible. I don't think there's much (if anything) these guys do that other bands didn't do better (e.g., IQ, Marillion, Camel), but this album is solid, if not terribly ground-breaking.
flute juice
Dont underestimate Window of Life. It contains two of the most inspired Barrett's numbers Breaking the Spell and Last Man on Earth. With 9min solo on Spell. Brilliant. He is doing it live ever since. In the last two albums only Freak Show is hit and miss. Everything else is truly amazing. Indigo, hiphop/rap section in Empathy... Edge of the World on Believe is da best song of all times, period. Since Besame Mucho:-)!
I've always found "Breaking the Spell" as a whole more like an inferior retread of "The Voyager" territory, as good as the solo is. I've never heard any live versions of it, though, so perhaps it gains something on the stage. To me Window never really gets going, despite occasional fine moments. The compositions and the playing have little of the bouncy sparkle of the predecessor, while Nolan's first attempts with Vintage Keys sound rather lame compared to what the band achived on the successsor.
The entire Window of Life Album is great. I love the 11-minute opener The Walls of Babylon. I love The World, but IMO Window of Life is like The World done a little bit better. Probably my favorite Pendragon album as it exemplifies the band's pure neo-prog period. Most of the pre-The World stuff is a little iffy for me, although there are some high points.
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