Thursday 5 May 2011

Pendragon pull the sword out of the stone at last

A couple of weeks ago I got the brand new Pendragon CD, "Passion", and have been listening to it a lot, as well as their earlier work for an interesting comparison. I do have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the band - I love some of their early work, despite misgivings about the lead singer/guitarist Nick Barrett's voice, and I really like their previous album, 2008's "Pure"... but in between are some not-so-good albums that in a less charitable mood I would describe as dire! Maybe they're not that bad, and I haven't actually heard them all, but for me they're a band who have only recently lived up to (and at long last actually exceeded) their early promise.

In the early 80's I was a big Marillion fan (still am, but that's another story) and as well as discovering all the 70's prog giants that had inspired them, I also searched out and listened to their contemporaries in the "prog revival" scene of the time: IQ became big favourites and vie with Marillion as my favourite active proggers; Pallas were not quite my cup of tea although I still love "Arrive Alive" from their debut album; and then there was Pendragon. My local library had a copy of their debut "The Jewel", and I must confess to having mixed feelings about what I heard - lively Marillion-ish keyboards, great guitar work.. and these odd vocals.

Sorry to harp on about it, but he has a very... distinctive voice, and not always in a good way. How to describe it? It's a little weak, thin-sounding, occasionally too forced. At it's worst you could imagine it to be the singing voice of squeaky comedian Joe Pasquale! And yet... there's something honest about it, it could easily be considered as the voice of a bedroom incarcerated teenager desperately yearning for something more, something mythical and magical. At least that's how it works on their debut, which despite my early doubts is one I return to again and again, and is certainly in my top ten favourite prog albums. It's got some odd lyrics, to be sure (about socks and kippers!) and a slightly dodgy cover that was replaced when they reissued it some years later, but there's something upbeat and hopeful about most of the songs, a sense of excitement, a sense of reaching out for something bright - in fact, the "jewel" of the title. Funnily enough their song "Chase The Jewel" wasn't actually on this album, but was on a later EP (and subsequently on the compilation "The Rest of Pendragon" which is well worth hunting out). Looking at a few other people's reviews of "The Jewel" it seems there's more than just me who feel like Mr Darcy when he first proposes to Elizabeth Bennett (in Pride & Prejudice, lit-fans), we love it against our better judgement!

In the end I liked it so much that as soon as I saw something else by them on CD (their early live CD "9:15 Live") I snapped it up despite my general aversion to live albums (there are exceptions, such as Dire Straits' "Alchemy Live", but they generally prove the rule). It wasn't bad - and it had extra tracks on that whetted my appetite for more (which turned out to also be on "The Jewel" when I finally found that on CD).

I'm more confirmed and less confused in my favourable opinion of their studio follow-up "Kowtow" which went in a completely different direction - a little more commercial, maybe, at a time when Marillion, IQ and Pallas were all doing the same thing after big label signings, and it's more Dire Straits than Genesis, but it's a good solid album. "2am", "The Haunting", "Total Recall", they're all very atmospheric, polished and classy, a nice touch of saxophone here and there, and Nick reigns in his tendency to wordiness in the lyrics. And the title track itself is superb, totally unexpected oriental sounds from such a previously old-fashioned sounding prog band. Not sure about all the poppier tracks ("Red Shoes" and "Saved By You" are a bit too bouncy!) but a good strong album.

Then, unfortunately, it all went a bit twee even for my tastes, with next album "The World" suffering from trying to squeeze too many long words into too short lines, too many po-faced sentiments and long meaningful guitar solos, and it all felt forced and, yes, twee. A few decent moments here and there but that was, at the time, where my interest in Pendragon stopped. I'd see ads for their albums every so often, always with the same sort of over-busy and over-polished covers that were just too self-consciously "proggy" , and maybe hear a track from time to time, all of which sounded like "The World", only worse.

And then... I saw the cover of "Pure" in 2008, and something told me this was different. There was energy, violence, blurred lines and shades, it was more akin to Porcupine Tree than faux-Genesis, and I wondered and hoped if the music would match. Still not willing to risk a tenner on a band who'd let me down before, I must confess to using naughty internet methods to acquire the album (I don't like doing it and have sworn never to again) and was absolutely blown away by it. And yes, I have since paid for a legitimate copy, because it was so worth the money. Suddenly Nick's voice has a darker edge to it, there's anger and passion and genuine emotion behind the songs, and superb and inventive guitar and keyboard sounds. And yes, musically it is closer to Porcupine Tree, but even if that was a cynical marketing move to try to get new listeners, it worked superbly. Opener "Indigo" is a tour-de-force, and the album that follows is stunning. "Comatose II: Space Cadet" (he really loves multi-part song suites) is one of their finest pieces, even my prog-hating wife was impressed - and I love the whispered end ("On Monday I'm taking in a gun").

So when I got my hands on a pre-ordered "Passion" recently my biggest worry was that "Pure" was a one-off, and it was all going to go horribly wrong again, but I'm glad to say it's continuing in the right direction, whilst not trying to be a slavish copy of the earlier success. The opening title track is a little bit in the old twee style for a few bars (albeit after an expectation undercutting introduction with electronic drum patterns) but this is a mischievous misleading that wrong foots the listener with some lyrics about juggling, and then the sudden deep throated roar of "I-DROP-MY-BALLS" and off we go into rockier and spikier territory.

Not all the album is as hard-edged as that, but although there is a tendency towards the potentially maudlin on "This Green and Pleasant Land" with the roll-call of his various uncles' contribution to the war effort, it's so clearly genuine emotion, with pride and disgust mixed in the lyric about the England he loves and despairs for that it works without becoming too much, and without straying too close to the bad old days. It's also got a very catchy chorus ("Take only what you need and be on your way"). I like this so much I may even buy the album before "Pure", 2005's "Believe", in the hope that actually the revival started there, as it's an album I've never heard. I'll still avoid anything they did from the 90's like the plague, though!

To hear clips from their songs, visit their official site here and you might be impressed. Or not, depending on which tracks you select!