Prodigious Neo-Prog Rock
Mr D. | Cave Creek, Az United States | 06/14/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"In the beginning there was Genesis! Then along came the wonderful Marillion. They were followed by the inscrutable Pendragon! British Neo-Progressive Rock band Pendragon formed in London in the summer of 1986. Band members were songwriter Nick Barrett (vocals, guitar), Peter Gee (Bass), Fudge Smith (drummer) and Clive Nolan (Keyboards). All members except the latter have pretty much worked within the confines of Pendragon while Clive Nolan has been all over the place, forming another very good Neo-Prog band, Arena, guesting on three Ayreon projects, Performing in yet another Neo-Prog band, Shadowland, and guesting on at least another half dozen albums. Additionally he has produced a few albums and was the engineer on a few. History is, obvious from the title, a best of album, sorta. While there is definitely some good stuff on here, I do not consider the music within this compendium to be representative of their best but then again, I'm not being fair since Pendragon is a band in ascent. Their star has yet to hit their apex and some of their best music was released subsequent to this compilation."Walls of Babylon" Man, they start off with a simply fabulous tune. "Wish You Were Here" anyone? The four minute extraordinary guitar and organ intro is pure Pink Floyd whereupon the organ takes over and Pendragon smoothly and effortlessly eases into the sound of Genesis. Strangely enough singer/guitarist Nick Barrett manages to sound like a combination of Genesis's Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins and even Marillion's Fish. This ten plus minute gem is indeed worthy of a best of compilation. After "Walls of Babylon" the songs all become very melodious and mellow and yes, unfortunately boring. Individually they are very good but as a whole and being seventy minutes long, as a unit they become boring. The most interesting of the remaining songs is "The Shadow" which starts out slow but gradually builds up both speed and intensity to absorb my interest. I should mention that all these songs seem to have an ethereal quality and a mildly psychedelic undercurrent with Clive Nolan's fabulous organ/synth work. Another strength of their music is the always pleasant melodies. Three other very good and similar songs are "And We'll Go Hunting Deer", "Am I Really Losing You?" and "The King of the Castle". They are all blessed with intriguing melodies delivered in a slow to slow medium pace with Barrett's very pleasant and emotional vocals ably assisted by acoustic or electric guitar, organ or synth and the equally able rhythm section. In Hunting Deer, a contributing hook is a placid wood flute and a choir beginning, in Losing You it's a remarkable ending whining guitar solo and on King of the Castle we have Barrett vocally mimicking an instrument at the end. Conclusion To be fair, this album is probably a tad too mellow for my taste but it is very good and I would tend to play it as DO NOT DISTURB background music while I'm doing something immensely important, like writing Amazon reviews or playing chess with Boris Spasky or hosting one of my many Championship Bridge tournaments, plus it's definitely more impressive for my mother in law than say, Megadeth or Cradle of Filth. I guess I can think of all kinds of places where this heavenly non invasive music can be used."
A great introduction to a GREAT band!
Jeffery K. Matheus | Indianapolis, IN United States | 08/21/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This newly released Pendragon comlilation album from Poland is the best compilation of this bands fine music that you are likely to find! The C.D. includes extensive liner notes, including a brief history of the band. The packinging is top-notch (much better than Pangea Music's earlier Pendragon compilation for the US market), and the song selection here is quite nice! For those that have never heard this excellent band, this disc will make a fine introduction (although I still recommend the albums "The Masqurade Overture" and "The Window of Life" as the best way to really learn what this band is really all about musically!). For those who are already die-hard fans, the band have included some newly re-recorded acoustic versions of "Paintbox" and "The King of the Castle". A video clip of the song "The Last Waltz", from a 1996 show in Krakow Poland, is also included for PC users. All in all, if you are a fan of progressive rock, DON'T miss this excellent, creative band!"
This great band is new for me!
Jose Ramon Hernandez | Mexico | 02/26/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I am a Fish's era Marillion big fan, really i have not know another band with the same style. A friend recomended to me this CD and i bought it. I was very surprised after listen to that guys, that's great progressive rock, very fine music.This CD is excelent, this polish edition consists in a digipack that includes 2 acoustic versions and a video for PC as bonus tracks.The seven more tracks are great, good instrument work from the four members and a total harmony between them.The first track begins similar to "Shine on you crazy diamond" and after like "Watcher of the skies", the rest is in the Marillion style, but i think that Pendragon isn't a copy of that groups, is a good mixture.This CD is a jewell in my collection."
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1