THE WINDOW OF LIFE

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In 1993 PENDRAGON performs back in France and for the first time in Portugal (Lisboa), and in November they released "The Window Of Life". The second album from what I calls the "new" PENDRAGON. I think that PENDRAGON took a big step forward with their previous album "The World". The music changed to the better just like their artwork, and their albums became a perfect unit. I have to admit that initially I wasn't a big PENDRAGON fan, but I listened a lot to them and I found that they became better and better between every listening. Now I'm a big "fan" and I can listen to their entire back catalogue and enjoy them, although I think that they became really interesting with "The World" in 1991. This album is not as good as "The World" but almost, as "The World" had slightly better songs. Here they're continuing on their high quality neo-prog in the same vein as MARILLION, GENESIS and PINK FLOYD with nice keyboards and guitar. The best tracks are "The Walls of Babylon", "The Last Man on Earth" and "Am I Really Losing You". This is not their best album, but a must have for every Pendragon fan.

This was the first Pendragon cd I bought. And, from the gorgeous Nolan/Barratt, keyboard/guitar intro to 'Walls Of Babylon', to the lovely starry guitar ending to 'Am I Really Losing You?', the album doesn't let up for one minute in quality. As I have stated, 'Walls Of Babylon' is a masterpiece. A long, beautiful intro, in the best Genesis vein, suddenly explodes into an epic, up tempo song, filled with musical passages and time signatures that change at the drop of a hat, but never allow the song to fragment. A wonderful opener. Listen to it lying down in the dark, or through headphones. For some reason, this song matches the cover of the album perfectly. The next track, 'Ghosts' is another beauty, again reminding me somewhat of Anthony Phillips, around his 'Wise After The Event' period. Very nice! Then comes this album's answer to 'The Voyager', off the last album. 'Breaking The Spell' starts off slowly, and makes one hold one's breath, wondering when the tide will break! And when it does...in comes a magical rhythm from Fudge and Peter, overlaid with superb and delicate guitar from Nick, the entire lot washed in the backdrop of Clive's subtle keyboards. An excellent guitar solo dominates this part of the song, before it ends with a fitting climax. Another classic! Next up is the epic 'The Last Man On Earth' another excellent, long, and intricate track, mixing subtlety and passion. I will say no more, listen to it and decide yourself! Nostradamus is the next song, beginning with lovely guitar work again, then turning into another up temp number. Maybe a little repetitive, but still very good. Finally comes 'Am I Really Losing You?' which rounds off the album nicely, a slow, romantic song, with that lovely guitar ending the album. Enough from me, get out there and buy it!

After the strength of their comeback album in The World after a lackluster performance on Kowtow (they actually considered changing their name to Kowtow), they returned to the studio and in 1993 released The Window of Life. Now the group still hadn't reached the cult status they achieved until 1996 when they released The Masquerade Overture, but this album acts as an... excuse the bad pun... an overture to The Masquerade Overture. The keyboards are lush and diverse, the guitars are soaring, searing, and emotional, the drums and bass are precise and dynamic. This album has it all, but it is only marred by a few miniscule things.

The 6 songs of the album all show (sometimes in a subtle manner, sometimes more outright) the influence of certain bands over Pendragon's main sound, but no song really shows that influence more than The Walls of Babylon. The introduction to this song sounds like a modern version of Shine On You Crazy Diamond, with an extensive guitar solo with varying organ chords underneath it. After about 5 minutes of soloing, though, the song really gets cooking. A strong hooking chorus and some great riffing from Barrett keep the listener in for the full 10 minutes of it. Ghosts has some great piano and keyboard work from Clive Nolan, who always seems to keep himself busy with some kind of subtle work with every project he works with. Some emotional acoustic guitar work from Barrett and some solid work from Gee and Smith round out this track. The dynamic synthesizer work towards the end works well with the wah-washed guitar of Barrett and the mellotron-esque choirs. Not the strongest track on the album, but not a bad track at all.

Breaking the Spell begins with some simple yet effective keyboard from Nolan and some swelling leads from Barrett during the first vocal section. Searing and emotional leads from Barrett are highlights of this track. The Last Man on Earth is as fellow reviewer stonebeard said, "I'll emphasize: "The Last Man on Earth" is Pendragon's "Supper's Ready". A sprawling 15 minute epic that begins quietly with a nice piano motif from Nolan and emotional vocals from Barrett. One can hear the despair and sadness in Barrett's voice as he recites the moody lyrics that are filled with melancholy. A great riff and instrumental breakdown occurs from the 8:30 mark and really takes the listener on a ride of well timed guitar chords and nice double bass from Smith, as well as some well placed harmonica (courtesy of Simon Forster). Expect very dynamic and Tony Banks-esque keyboards from Nolan, Gilmour-esque guitar from Barrett, and some solid and precision rhythm work from Gee and SmithThe showpiece of the album and one of my personal favorite Pendragon's songs.

Nostradamus (Stargazing) is a bit of a throwaway number, and one of the weaker tracks on the album. About 2:30 of guitar noodling before anything really happens, this track seems more like filler than anything else. Am I Really Losing You? has single potential written all over it. Interesting synthesizers gently add layer upon layer of soft textures underneath Barrett's gentle vocals. Again, Barrett's sadness can be heard in the vocals, which while not the best, are better than any average vocalist. A triumphant yet emotional solo rounds out this song that brings this album to a wonderful close.

In the end, Pendragon's The Window of Life is an interesting look into the group before they hit their break (at least in the neo prog scene) with the Masquerade Overture. I really enjoy this album a lot, there's a lot of variety in the songs and there's a lot of creativity in every second of every song. The thing is, though, that this album simply isn't as good as The Masquerade Overture. They are very close to each other in quality in my opinion, though. 4/5.

Window Of Life sounds very much as a logical follow up to the acclaimed The World, and justifiely so. Te production is better, the artwork is more intricated and the songs are more a unit them just a bunch of different ideas thrown together. Wheter if their quality is better than the previous one is debatable. For me both CDs are fantastic and clearly showed how much Pendragon in general and Barrett in particular have evolved.

I really don´t understand some reviews who seem to be written by people who listens to this band just to critisize it and give a bad impression. Take Gates Of Babylonfor exemple. Yes, the beginning is quite similar to Floyd´s Shine On Crazy Diamond, but it is not a rip off. To me is just an influence and a good one. Show me someone totaly original and I´ll give up hearing music. But I can understand those guys. When I first heard Marillion they just seemed a Genesis copy. And this applies to Pendragon which, at first, I thought that sounded too muclh like Marillion! Fortunaltly, I was able to see through those misleading prejudices and found the great band they werer very quickly. Or do you think they´d have all this fame and prestige being just a copycat?

Back on the Windows Of Life: wonderful lush guitar and keyboards interplay, a very tigh and precise rhythm section (Fudge Smith really shines on this CD) and some great tunes that are in Pendragons repertoir to this day. Highlights? Hard to tell, the whole disc is a gem, but let´s point out two of the most beautiful and inspired melodies this band has ever produced: The Spell and Last Man On Earth. Both show how much Pendragon has matured over the years without losing any of their passion and freshness. A classic album that paved the way to one ofthe top progressive bands of all time. Highly recommended!

Their last album "The World" was a brilliant effort, and after a short break in terms of Pendragon (two years), they couldn't deceive their fans. And they won't.

From the very first notes of the opening number, we know that the direction they have taken in "The World" will be investigated again. We are heading towards another great album, apparently. The very long and beautiful instrumental introduction is one of the moment during which I am really thankful to the giant bands we all praised to have inspired some of their followers. This part is spacey, emotional. In one word : superb. The vocals (which won't be too many here) are a bit naive and not really on par with the beauty of the music, but it is a very impressive start.

Did I mention that the intro is reminiscent of a Floyd song and then evolves into a well known Genesis riff ? Ouuuups, I forgot this ! Well actually, I do not really care. When I listen to this type of music, it just remind me my youth (yes, I am bloody old), and I am not too much of a purist. Just a music lover. And I will be satisfied all the way through with this album. From the cover artwork to the last track.

The format of the songs (each being a long piece of music, except the closing number) tend to please me. Their poppish and boring "Kowtow" is definitely forgotten.

"Ghosts" is very much "Cinema Show" oriented at times. The song has many different tempos and lacks a bit in unity. But at least, one can not say that it is boring. Just a bit less achieved than most of the other songs. It does not have the splendor of the opener but it is much more than a filler.

"Breaking The Spell" is another beautiful moment. Very much symphonic. It is amazing to notice the different role played by Clive in Pendragon compared with the one he will have later with Arena. He has a much discreet role here, playing most of the time great backing keyboards, but scarcely having a prominent role (except during some songs, but really not a lot).

With Arena, it will be another story. Being at times even too much dominant like in their album "Immortal". The leading role in Pendragon, Nick holds it. Like he holds and plays the guitar somptuously. Just have a listen to his guitar solo in "The Spell". Great job, my friend. One of the best song of this album (but there will be more).

"The Last Man on Heart" is one of the longest Pendragon track ever. I know that there are a lot of people out there that can't stand this band and his lead singer. In my case, his guitar play and tone of voice are deeply touching me. And this from the very first time I listened to Pendragon. And the same feeling applies when playing live as well. He is funny, relaxed, and very human. Thanks, Mr. Barrett (Nick).

This song holds any aspect of the music I love in Pendragon. it even refers to ELP during one of the rockiest moment of the song, while Nick mentions "welcome to the show that never ends". But it is just a wink.

We will really get the most symphonic and emotional side of the band here. It is definitely the inspirator of their later "Paintbox" from "the Masquerade". They will justify as well their entry in the neo-prog genre during more nervous passages.

It really forms the core of this album together with "The Spell". These two numbers only, make this album a must own for prog lovers.

The least interesting song from this work is "Nostrodamus". It starts with a long and spacey instrumental introduction; but it does not reach the same level than "The Walls Of Babylon". The second part is dynamic and poppish. It sounds a bit flat when compared with some other numbers. But after all, it is not a bad song. Nice to hear when you drive or as background music. Not something to concentrate on and depict it as I am doing here !

The closing number is the shortest of the original album. Nick's vocals are very sad (but I must admit that he hardly sounds funny on a studio album), while Clive's keys are superbly filling the background. Truely poignant. The final guitar break is extremely melodic. A pure jewel of symphonic prog music. I just love it very much.

The remastered editon features four bonus tracks that can be found on their EP "Fallen Dreams And Angels". It is a worthy addition and it sells for cheap, so ...

Just be aware that there is nothing really new in their music. Yes, Pendragon sounds at times like some great bands we all know and respect, but if this feature does not hurt you too much, this album is very much recommended. Still, I preferred the consistency of "The World" and therefore rate this album with four stars.

This album has lots of good, moderately progressive music on it. If I base my rating only on the music, I think this probably warrants four stars. If I directly compare it to Yes and Genesis, then it gets three. I'm going to go with the former, though I really could go either way. Great keyboard arrangements, nice guitar (as always from Pendragon), and for the most part well-written songs describe The Window of Life. This is still a ways away from their masterpiece, The Masquerade Overture, but here they show definite progress from earlier work: more concise songwriting and more restrained vocals.

The Walls of Babylon. Yes, there are Genesis, Floyd, and Yes influences here, but I really don't mind that. What lowers my appreciation for the song is that it's just not as good as its influences. Great guitar and synths, but the lyrics and vocals knock this one down a peg. Still, an effective opener.

The Last Man on Earth. Pendragon's magnum opus, this is an excellent epic--just know that it takes multiple listens to appreciate this gem and not get hung up on minutae (the average vocals, for example). This is also a slow-builder--it's about halfway through the 14 minute run-time that it properly gets going, but when it does, you're in for a great ride. Special note goes to Fudge on drums for really moving this along nicely.

Everything else... There are no bad songs (or even parts of songs) on this album; however, these songs really fail to distinguish themselves as the two extended pieces do. Ghosts alternates nicely between mellow and rocking bits, Breaking the Spell contains a super-extended guitar solo (quite derivative of other guitarists), Nostradamus has a catchy chorus (though you really have to wait for it), and Am I Really Losing You? ends the album with a nice guitar run (though again very derivative).

If you haven't been exposed to Pendragon before, you should probably avoid them if you are sensitive about borrowing from other works and/or you have no tolerance for music that is often slow (and even boring). I like what Pendragon has done here--enough for a tentative four star rating--though there should be no illusion about their obvious flaws.

So I decided to do the reviewing of three essential Pendragon albums in a very short time because these three are related in my opinion. And not just in mine, many people believe that the three albums after The World were more or less like The World. I must say I can only partly agree with this. Where the general style is concerned this statement might be correct but to call this album The World part II and Masquerade Overture The World part III, added with: nothing new under the sun is really rediculous to me. I believe all three albums are different enough and I even detect a sort of development in the three albums and then I mean a development in the right direction, Pendragon getting better and better in the end culminating in Not of this World, their magnum opus to me.

But enough about the general story, time to review this album. This album has two different faces to me. There are the longer tracks that are absolutely wonderful to me and the shorter that are hardly more than average imho. The album starts with Walls of Babylon, a track that has a very heavy keyboardpassage that works really nice to me. The rest of the song is a bit slow but not really annoying in that sense. Next is Ghosts, a track I count in with the shorter tracks, it doesn't do much for me, it's more of an interlude to the next great track, my favourite of the album actually: Breaking the spell. This track shows Nick Barrett at his very very best. What an amazing guitar player this man is. I have seen him playing this song live recently: it's absolutely shivers down the spine. Neo prog at its best ! After this the only real epic of the album: Last man on earth. This my second favourite and also an absolutely fantastic effort by this band. Brillant composition with some tempo changes that make it even more interesting. The last two are less interesting to me though I have to say: Stargazing is a very popular live track (to the rest of the audience).

So it's one of those 50-50 albums but unless my final outcome with The World I am a lot more positiv about this one. If an album contains 3 great tracks I think it's fair to say it deserves at least 4 stars. (4,25)

PENDRAGON are one of my favourite neo-prog bands, and this album is one of their better ones.It seems like such a long time since i've listened to this band,so when i put this on last week it was like an emotional meeting with my old friends Nick Barrett,Clive Nolan,Peter Gee and Fudge Smith. "The Walls Of Babylon" opens with powerful organ runs then Gilmour-like guitar joins in.This is very PINK FLOYD-like with those guitar melodies and the organ floating in the background.It isn't until after 4 minutes that we get a change as drums and vocals come in and the tempo picks up.A full sound before 5 minutes is the result.It settles a minute later and it sounds fantastic! Blistering guitar 8 1/2 minutes in. "Ghosts" opens with piano and synths before it kicks into gear with vocals.I can't help but think of GENESIS 2 1/2 minutes in.A calm with piano and vocals before 4 minutes.The tempo picks up again after 6 minutes.This is the most GENESIS-like track on here. "Breaking The Spell" is mellow to start with as vocals,synths and guitar lead the way.The guitar 2 1/2 minutes in reminds me of Latimer.The soaring guitar after 4 1/2 minutes is great.A nice rhythm follows.Barrett starts to light it up after 7 minutes.Nice.Vocals are back with passion before 8 1/2 minutes to end it. "The Last Man On Earth" is my favourite track on here.It's almost 15 minutes and has some powerfully emotional sections.Keys and synths to open as Barrett starts to sing so beautifully.The lyrics and vocals are so moving.Gulp. The chorus is both touching and so uplifting.Guitar then comes ripping in at 2 1/2 minutes as the melody changes.Lots of atmosphere after 5 minutes.Fragile vocals 6 1/2 minutes in and the backup vocals recall FLOYD.It kicks back in after 8 minutes.Fudge shines during this section.Back to the chorus after 12 1/2 minutes.Amazing! "Nostrodamas(Stargazing)" opens with guitar and synths that create emotion and wonder for almost 2 1/2 minutes.Then vocals and a new soundscape take over.Waves of synths 6 minutes in to end it. "Am I Really Losing You?" again is filled with so much emotion as keys and synths float in the background of Nick's reserved vocals.The lyrics suggest he's losing his faith in God.Passionate guitar after 2 1/2 minutes as drums join in.This continues to the end. A solid 4 star album and a must for those seeking out melodic and passionate music.

Echoes of the past and a vision of the future

Released in late 1993/early 1994, Pendragon's fourth full album "The window of life" sees the band consolidating and refining their neo-prog sound which will remain with them on subsequent albums.

The opening "The walls of Babylon" sets out very much in the vain of Pink Floyd's "Echoes" before the rhythm of Genesis "Watcher of the skies" takes over and Nick Barrett delivers the first vocals. Pendragon have never made any great attempt to disguise their influences and the Gilmour like lead guitar and Banks like keyboards here are as familiar as they are enjoyable. Interestingly, we also get a bit of Supertramp ("Hide in your shell") in the vocal melody as the 10+ minute track takes us through a delightful segue of rhythms and moods.

The 8 minute "Ghosts" which follows is introduced by an unaccompanied piano recital by Clive Nolan, the track later including what sounds like a "Dance on a volcano" (Genesis) reference. The song is lyrically intense, Barrett getting into full flow as the song builds climactically. "Breaking the spell", which runs to over 9 minutes (yes prog this album most definitely is!), sets out as a reflective, slightly downbeat song before Barrett's Floydesque guitar leads the development of a more symphonic sound. Structurally, the song is along the lines of the later "The shadow", and just as enjoyable.

The longest track on the album is the 14½ minute "The last man on earth", a two part suite which includes the album's title lyric. Once again, the symphonic structure of the piece is complex yet remarkably easy to listen to. Here there is a Moody Blues like melody in the "I'm never gonna lose your precious heart (love)" vocal line, which reflects a similar line in "Watching and waiting".

The album closes with two relatively shorter songs. "Nostradamus (stargazing)" has the now familiar Gilmour like lead guitar intro backed by orchestral keyboards leading to an upbeat, melodic anthem. "Am I really losing you" is a delicate (keyboards) orchestrated ballad offering a peaceful end to the album. The guitar work here is more along the lines of the weeping guitar of George Harrison, the simple refrain being as effective as it is straightforward.

In all, a magnificent collection of beautifully crafted songs which sit together perfectly. The richness of the sound and unagressive nature of the arrangements results in an album which is easy to listen to, yet which demands repeated listening. Recommended.