THE HISTORY 1984-2000

Pendragon was formed in the progressive rock revival of the 80's with other British prog bands such as Marillion, IQ, Pallas, Galahad, Twelfth Night and Solstice. All of them formed what would be called the neo-prog style. Like their peers, soon and often, they appeared as support acts of major prog bands. Pendragon released their first original work the EP "Fly High Fall Far" in 1984. In 1985 they released their debut studio album "The Jewel" and in 1987 they released their second EP "Red Shoes". The band pursued a more commercial direction and released their second studio album "Kowtow" in 1988. In 1991 Pendragon released their third studio album "The World" and the third EP "Saved By You" returning to the prog style. Next, they release three studio albums, "The Window Of Life", "The Masquerade Overture" and "Not Of This World" in 1993, 1996 and 2001, respectively, and three EP's, "Nostradamus", "Fallen Dreams And Angels" and "As Good As Gold" in 1993, 1994 and 1996, respectively too. From this point, the band has improved and despite they were a bit obscure in their home country, they had a significant following in Europe, particularly in Poland.

"The History 1984-2000" is a compilation album of Pendragon and that was released in 2000. "The History 1984- 2000" has ten tracks. The first track "The Walls Of Babylon" was originally recorded on "The Window Of Life". It starts with a very bombastic organ sound before the very typical Barrett's guitar sound. This is a great song with great chorus and a great guitar work that opens "The Window Of Life", and this compilation too, in a strong good way. The second track "The Shadow" was originally recorded on "The Masquerade Overture". It's a relaxing song, almost a ballad with nice sensitive lyrics. This is calm and beautiful, with some nice vocals and beautiful keyboard and guitar works. The third track "Total Recall" was originally recorded on "Kowtow". It's a lengthy progressive emotional track with a good guitar work and some beautiful piano work added by Clive Nolan. I like very much of this song that represents one of the best progressive moments on that album. The fourth track "The Voyager" was originally recorded on "The World". It's a kind of an epic ballad with great keyboards and beautiful acoustic guitar work that could create a harmonic and engaging colourful pallet of sounds. The fifth track "The Black Night" was originally recorded on "The Jewel". It's a lengthy track surprisingly full of musical changes all over the song. This is an excellent track that gives perfectly well the glimpses of what would be the later Pendragon's music style. The sixth track "And We'll Go Hunting Deer" was originally recorded on "The World". It's a great relaxing song, a real lovely and gentle piece that opens with a relaxing atmosphere mood with some very nice piano passages and a beautiful guitar driven solo in the end. The seventh track "Am I Really Loosing You?" was originally recorded on "The Window Of Life". This is a soft smooth ballad with a nice, emotional and repetitive guitar solo. It's emotional and poignant and where the final guitar break is extremely melodic and catchy. The eighth track "The King Of The Castle" was never originally released on any of their studio albums. However, there are two versions of the song on two studio albums from them as two bonus tracks. "The King Of The Castle (The Shadow Part 2)" appears on "The Masquerade Overture" and an acoustic version appears on "Not Of This World". It's the acoustic version that appears on this compilation album. It's a nice track and a great addition to this compilation. The ninth track "Paintbox" was originally recorded on "The Masquerade Overture". It's an excellent track with a nice musical atmosphere, great melodies and a memorable chorus. It has a good keyboard work and a superb guitar playing by Nick Barrett. This is a great symphonic track. The tenth track is very special, indeed. It corresponds to a video of "The Last Waltz" which was originally recorded on "The World". It's the third part of the piece "Queen Of Hearts". This piece is the first attempt of Pendragon to make an epic progressive track. It's a pleasure to hear this track so beautiful and great. It's a brilliant song that alternates between gentle musical passages and a very powerful guitar work. There are plenty of great melodic moments scattered throughout the entire piece and where "The Last Waltz" is only a part.

Conclusion: "The History 1984-2000" is an excellent compilation album of Pendragon and is well representative of the band, in those times, with songs from their first five studio albums. This is a lengthy compilation and the inclusion of the two acoustic tracks "The King Of The Castle" and "Paintbox", which have been recorded solely for this compilation and its video section with "The Last Waltz", make of it an even more interesting release. The avid fan might want it for these bonuses, the collector will want to add it to his collection anyway, but "The History 1984-2000" is more than this. It's a great introduction to the beginning of the career of Pendragon. Therefore, it's highly recommended for all who are yet to purchase a release by this great progressive rock band. However, if aren't already a connoisseur of the band's work, especially in this phase, my recommendation is that you get one of their studio albums in those times, instead of this compilation, preferably "The Masquerade Overture", which is, probably, their best work until the end of the 90's.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

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