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Trollheart · 07-02-2011, 03:17 PM

Believe --- Pendragon --- 2005 (Toff)

I had always heard of Pendragon, of course --- you can't be into prog rock and not know of them --- but I hadn't really any idea what their music was like until I spun this album. Just because a band is prog doesn't necessarily mean I'm going to enjoy them: I'm still trying to get into IQ and have given up largely on Spock's Beard. But from the very beginning Pendragon hit all the right spots, and after this album it was not long before I delved further into their catalogue.

I'm reliably informed that “Believe” marked something of a shift away from their root sound, possibly in the same way “Season's end” became a turning point for Marillion after the departure of Fish, and listening to their back catalogue I can see the differences, but the fundamental similarities remain: good songs, excellent musicianship, interesting themes. I guess you'd say this is Pendragon for the 21st century.

It all starts off very proggy, with swirling keyboards and flutes behind a female voice singing some sort of chant, possibly in German, with vocoders and other doo-dads going in the background, then a voice (which definitely sounds German!) says “And now, everybody to the dance floor!” And that's the first track, and the title track; I guess you could say the intro. It's followed by “No place for the innocent”, which gets a nice groove going from the beginning, guitar-led and with some very political lyrics: ”Do you believe in the president/ The bible, the Constitution?/ Do you believe in innocence/ Do you believe in throught control?/ Do you believe in Wonderland?/ Or there might just be no Al Qaeda at all!” Things keep up nicely with “The wisdom of Solomon”, with something of a reprise of the chant from the opening track, and again the guitars of singer and frontman Nick Barrett taking centre stage. There's a beautiful little solo to open the song before it gets going, truly magical.

It is, however, the epic “The Wishing Well” that forms the centrepiece of the album. Split into four parts, it totals just over 21 minutes, in true prog style, starting off with “For your journey”, a keyboard-driven prayer for the survival of humanity as we take our first steps out into the stars, leaving our planet behind. It's an extremely well-constructed piece, containing mostly a spoken vocal, with choral backing; almost lyrical poetry, very moving, very dramatic. ”Never let those eyes twinkle out. /Just always walk in the light./ Carry the crazy, the wild, the exciteable, the child./ And when you fall to your knees, and your eyes are full of tears. /It's time to make things new. / Listen to your heart, I beg you, please.”

The second part is called “Sou' by sou'west”, and is much more guitar led, faster in an almost waltzy way. Some nice acoustic guitar in here, too. The speed increases then for part 3, “We talked”, its melody sort of linking back to “The wisdom of Solomon” from earlier, with drummer Fudge Smith (yeah, that's his name: Fudge. Don't ask me.) really getting into it and carrying the beat as the song gets boppier and more frenetic, till it crashes to a halt and the final part, “Two roads” ends the composition rather powerfully, with references to Robert Frost's famous quote “Two roads..., and I took the one less travelled”.

I'll admit it: I have no idea what the song is about. I get the first part, but how it links with the others I really don't know, but then I don't think it's always necessary to know what a song is about to enjoy it. There does seem to be a central theme, spoken of in “We talked”, which is question everything, believe nothing. Sounds like a strapline for the X-Files... There's no denying though the power of this music, and even if its meaning is beyond me, I still love it. The differences, the changes, the lyrics, all just excellent.

“Learning curve” has a sort of Pink Floyd vibe to it, sort of mid-paced. I guess Nick is talking about life when he says this, but in some ways perhaps he's saying this about the album: ”It's about faith./It's about time and space./ It's about everything in your life you must face./ It's about life. It's about love./ It's about death. It's about all you can feel,/ And all that's unseen.” Great guitar solo at the end. The album closes on a perfect little ballad, the power and emotion in “The edge of the world” always moves me to tears, I'm not ashamed to say. Listen to the guitar outro (as such) and tell me it doesn't have an effect on you! It's the end of the journey, full circle as Nick sings ”As I stand on the edge of the world/ I look into your eyes/ And I realise/ That this was never meant to end/ And I can now call you my friend.”

The basic theme of the album seems to be one of a journey: a journey through space, through time, through faith and belief, and ultimately through love and back to where you started from. It's one hell of a journey Pendragon take us on with this album, and I'm pretty sure that if you're not already a fan of theirs, one listen to this album and you, too, will believe.

TRACKLISTING

1. Believe
2. No place for the innocent
3. The wisdom of Solomon
4. The Wishing Well
I) For your journey
ii) Sou' by sou'west
iii) We talked
iv) Two roads
5. Learning curve
6. The edge of the world

Suggested further listening: “Kowtow”, “Not of this world”, “The round table”, “Pure”, “The Masquerade overture”. “The jewel” and “The window of life”

07-02-2011, 03:17 PM	#57 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,970	Believe --- Pendragon --- 2005 (Toff) I had always heard of Pendragon, of course --- you can't be into prog rock and not know of them --- but I hadn't really any idea what their music was like until I spun this album. Just because a band is prog doesn't necessarily mean I'm going to enjoy them: I'm still trying to get into IQ and have given up largely on Spock's Beard. But from the very beginning Pendragon hit all the right spots, and after this album it was not long before I delved further into their catalogue. I'm reliably informed that “Believe” marked something of a shift away from their root sound, possibly in the same way “Season's end” became a turning point for Marillion after the departure of Fish, and listening to their back catalogue I can see the differences, but the fundamental similarities remain: good songs, excellent musicianship, interesting themes. I guess you'd say this is Pendragon for the 21st century. It all starts off very proggy, with swirling keyboards and flutes behind a female voice singing some sort of chant, possibly in German, with vocoders and other doo-dads going in the background, then a voice (which definitely sounds German!) says “And now, everybody to the dance floor!” And that's the first track, and the title track; I guess you could say the intro. It's followed by “No place for the innocent”, which gets a nice groove going from the beginning, guitar-led and with some very political lyrics: ”Do you believe in the president/ The bible, the Constitution?/ Do you believe in innocence/ Do you believe in throught control?/ Do you believe in Wonderland?/ Or there might just be no Al Qaeda at all!” Things keep up nicely with “The wisdom of Solomon”, with something of a reprise of the chant from the opening track, and again the guitars of singer and frontman Nick Barrett taking centre stage. There's a beautiful little solo to open the song before it gets going, truly magical. It is, however, the epic “The Wishing Well” that forms the centrepiece of the album. Split into four parts, it totals just over 21 minutes, in true prog style, starting off with “For your journey”, a keyboard-driven prayer for the survival of humanity as we take our first steps out into the stars, leaving our planet behind. It's an extremely well-constructed piece, containing mostly a spoken vocal, with choral backing; almost lyrical poetry, very moving, very dramatic. ”Never let those eyes twinkle out. /Just always walk in the light./ Carry the crazy, the wild, the exciteable, the child./ And when you fall to your knees, and your eyes are full of tears. /It's time to make things new. / Listen to your heart, I beg you, please.” The second part is called “Sou' by sou'west”, and is much more guitar led, faster in an almost waltzy way. Some nice acoustic guitar in here, too. The speed increases then for part 3, “We talked”, its melody sort of linking back to “The wisdom of Solomon” from earlier, with drummer Fudge Smith (yeah, that's his name: Fudge. Don't ask me.) really getting into it and carrying the beat as the song gets boppier and more frenetic, till it crashes to a halt and the final part, “Two roads” ends the composition rather powerfully, with references to Robert Frost's famous quote “Two roads..., and I took the one less travelled”. I'll admit it: I have no idea what the song is about. I get the first part, but how it links with the others I really don't know, but then I don't think it's always necessary to know what a song is about to enjoy it. There does seem to be a central theme, spoken of in “We talked”, which is question everything, believe nothing. Sounds like a strapline for the X-Files... There's no denying though the power of this music, and even if its meaning is beyond me, I still love it. The differences, the changes, the lyrics, all just excellent. “Learning curve” has a sort of Pink Floyd vibe to it, sort of mid-paced. I guess Nick is talking about life when he says this, but in some ways perhaps he's saying this about the album: ”It's about faith./It's about time and space./ It's about everything in your life you must face./ It's about life. It's about love./ It's about death. It's about all you can feel,/ And all that's unseen.” Great guitar solo at the end. The album closes on a perfect little ballad, the power and emotion in “The edge of the world” always moves me to tears, I'm not ashamed to say. Listen to the guitar outro (as such) and tell me it doesn't have an effect on you! It's the end of the journey, full circle as Nick sings ”As I stand on the edge of the world/ I look into your eyes/ And I realise/ That this was never meant to end/ And I can now call you my friend.” The basic theme of the album seems to be one of a journey: a journey through space, through time, through faith and belief, and ultimately through love and back to where you started from. It's one hell of a journey Pendragon take us on with this album, and I'm pretty sure that if you're not already a fan of theirs, one listen to this album and you, too, will believe. TRACKLISTING 1. Believe 2. No place for the innocent 3. The wisdom of Solomon 4. The Wishing Well I) For your journey ii) Sou' by sou'west iii) We talked iv) Two roads 5. Learning curve 6. The edge of the world Suggested further listening: “Kowtow”, “Not of this world”, “The round table”, “Pure”, “The Masquerade overture”. “The jewel” and “The window of life” __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018 Last edited by Trollheart; 05-02-2013 at 01:39 PM.