THE WORLD

There's a recurring theme of travel and wanderlust in the lyrics, but for many fans The World is where Pendragon truly came home. Overcoming their muddled direction of the 1980s, The World marks the point when Pendragon stopped even imagining their melodic pop-rock number could get chart success, and more emphatically focused their sound on Nick Barrett's soulful guitar playing.

In the three years since Kowtow Pendragon had mainly focused on consolidating Toff Records, rereleasing their old albums under their new label and producing the Rest of Pendragon compilation. But they clearly weren't idling musically speaking; instead, it seems that they've gone through a period of consolidation there too, finally deciding on what direction they want to take and pursuing it with gusto.

They chose the perfect time to do it. With Marillion and IQ taking a decidedly more commercial direction, and Pallas, Twelfth Night, and Solstice all on hiatus, 1991 was a dark time if you were a fan of the veterans of the Marquee scene and their early 1980s sound, and The World was an excellent alternative, rooted in the neo-prog sound and incorporating influences from Marillion and other big names without compromising Pendragon's own style. Hand on heart, I can't say it's the most experimental or original neo-prog album out there, but it's still a entertaining disc which filled a gap at a crucial period in the genre's development. It's preaching to the neo choir a little, but it's a fine fine sermon indeed.