THE WINDOW OF LIFE

I loved their previous studio album (The World). Pendragon very quickly rose to the position of one of my all time favourite bands because of the quality of their later releases and because of the melody - this stuff is musical melody heaven.

"The Walls of Babylon" - Starts off very similarly to Pink Floyd's "Shine on you Crazy Diamond" but changes pace just before the halfway mark when the vocals come in where I'm taken into Fish era Marillion sound. This is nice indeed. The mournful lead guitar is the stand-out on this track as are the vocal melodies.

"Ghosts" - Gentle piano driven to begin. Still very much in Fish era Marillion turf however that for me is not a bad thing at all. The melody sparkles.

"Breaking the Spell" - Very nice keyboard intro from Nolan. The lyrics and vocals are emotionally dramatic. Nick Barrett is a lead guitar magician - not for technicality but for feeling and touch. Fudge Smith on drums shines throughout.

"The Last Man on Earth" - A giant of a track. Pendragon's "Supper's Ready" or "Grendel". Very melancholy in places. At the halfway mark the music livens up nicely taking the mood away from the sad, retrospective place that it was in. Harmonica and Banjo sound is brilliant and compliments the music wonderfully. To my mind Hogarth era Marillion should have paid attention to this band and what they were doing at the time.

"Nostradamus (Stargazing)" - Mournful lead guitar to start accompanied by Nolan's keyboard wash. I have found that where at first I battled to listen to Nick Barrett I have grown to very much enjoy his voice. The music segues into an upbeat almost joyous direction.

"Am I really losing You?" - Shortest track on the album but it is emotionally powerful.

Another very good release from the band. If you love melody and emotion in music this is for you. If you love Fish era Marillion this is for you. If you're into clashy, discordant, eclectic or heavy sound then this isn't for you. An emotional roller-coaster packed with neo prog musical goodness. For me another 5 star release for this band - easily.