THE HISTORY 1984-2000

My first Pendragon Album - I think this is an excellent compilation album for those who are new to the music. (even though it was supposedly made for Polish tastes!) I thought "Semismart" wrote an excellent review, but was a bit harsh to give it only 3 stars. I found the vocals not exactly to my liking on the first listen, but it has kind of grown on me the second & third time around. I don't usually rate compilation albums on MY personal taste, but on whether it is a good representation of the band's music for a new listener. The "1984-1996 Overture" seems like a good compilation, but the earlier 1991 album "Best of Pendragon" was made before 2 of their best albums "Masquerade Overture" & "Window of Life". The packaging of the album is first class, (typical of this band apparently) with great cover art, and a booklet included with band notes, albums, history etc.

I won't go into detail on all of the songs, as they have been well described by the previous reviewer, (and in each of the studio album reviews) The tracks are from "The Jewel" : The Black Knight "Kowtow" :Total Recall "The World" :The Voyager :And we'll go Hunting Deer "Window of Life" :The Walls of Babylon : Am I really losing You "Masquerade Overture :The Shadow :King of the Castle :Paintbox The King of the Castle & The Paintbox are acoustic versions of the ones found on the albums. The final track #10 is a video of "The last waltz" from "The World" album. I think "The Walls of Babylon", "The Voyager" & "The Shadow" are the best tracks from their respective albums, and these thre + "the Black Knight" are my favorites on this CD. (some would have preferred "Alaska" from "The Jewel" album, but I didn't like the lyrics on Alaska that much. Overall a very good sample of Pendragon's songs.