PENDRAGON — The World (review)

Album · 1991 · Non-Metal

4/5 · 2019-10-23
siLLy puPPy

After the train wreck that resulted from the ill fated commercial nonsense attempted on “Kowtow,” PENDRAGON learned the lessons of straying too far from its neo-prog aspirations and bounced back pretending as if the previous album was nothing more than a very bad dream. While the usual neo-prog cheese is displayed in full progressive pop splendor, the band was looking more towards “Wind & Wuthering” era Genesis and 80s Marillion for their return to the progressive rock universe and in the process launched themselves into the spotlight as one of the best neo-prog bands to sail through the 90s and into the 21st century.

PENDRAGON’s third album THE WORLD redefined the quartet of Nick Barrett (guitars, vocals), Clive Nolan (keyboards), Peter Gee (bass) and Fudge Smith (drums) de-cheesifying from what many consider the awful 80s (in terms of progressive rock) and allowed them to join the new renaissance of prog with the band’s first 90s offering. Before the world of neo-prog adopted a more hardened exterior by adopting metal guitar riffs and a more bombastic approach, the style went through its fluffy bunny and unicorn stage as evidenced on THE WORLD’s fantastical album cover art. With a penchant for the late 70s symphonic prog sound, the style was evolving slowly into its own and PENDRAGON was along for the ride.

“Back In The Spotlight” exudes a rather 80s feel with U2 styled jangled guitar riffs as made famous by The Edge and a Peter Gabriel type of melodic drive similar to early tracks like “Salisbury Hill” but subtly recycled throughout his career. The keyboards generate an atmospheric resonance that extend into the entire near hour playing time and the vocals of Nick Barrett propelled PENDRAGON into the forefront of the neo-prog scene which would continue with a series of strong albums. “The Voyager” is the epic track of the album and dips past the 12 minute mark. It’s here where PENDRAGON really blooms into a veritable neo-prog band. The composition takes on meany meandering fantasy fueled themes with Steve Hackett inspired soaring guitar work, emotional tugs in the form of nebulous visions of ocean dreamers and playing dolphins and a strong sense of compositional fortitude that builds up the intensity.

“Shane” delivers a more space rock vibe from the Pink Floyd playbook whereas “Prayer” is a piano driven tune that brings classic 70s Supertramp to mind complete with military drum marches and a folky flavor. “Queen of Hearts” while technically three tracks is basically a three part suite and the result of various song ideas being stitched together into a more cohesive whole and perhaps the most 80s Marillion sounding track of the album although Marillion were clearly one of the major influences as was most neo-prog of this era. The rest of the album follows suit with similar tracks taking the usual neo-prog twists and turns however different guitar riffs and the mixing it up of Floydian space rock with Mariliion and Genesis inspired symphonic elements keeps it from becoming monotonous.

While i wouldn’t call THE WORLD the defining moment of PENDRAGON it’s certainly no slouch. That is if you can stomach the somewhat cheesified hangover from the 80s only crafted into a more palatable 90s approach. Neo-prog by definition exudes a strong connection to pop music and in that regard THE WORLD succeeds in crafting instantly cute and cuddly melodies that grab you by the hand and take you to that world where nothing bad is lurking in the shadows. While i find the albums that follow to be of better quality, THE WORLD dishes out an album’s worth of strong tunes that while not revolutionary in any particular way sure don’t disappoint in the presentation of the classic neo-prog sound. As with any examples of this style of prog, if the vocalist doesn’t cut the mustard then the experience will fail miserable but Barrett does an excellent job at crafting the nice vocal subtleties that make this album work for me.