KOWTOW

The least we can say is that Pendragon is not very prolific those days, and won't be throughout their career if you except their awful lot of compilation and live albums : respectively eight and six referenced on this site; for a total of seven full studio albums !

Their last studio effort was released three years before this one. And the fans will wait for another three years to get the next one. I remember when seeing them live, that Nick mentioned that they were probably lazy guys. My opinion is that he is probably too much left alone by Clive who has too many projects running at the same to really support him. It is even more true from 1995 onwards and his commitment to Arena (amongst others).

I have expressed my admiration for Pendragon and its very melodic music and wonderful guitar breaks. I must admit that "Kowtow" is probably their weakest effort. During the same concert (June 2006, at the Spirit Of 66, of course) Nick announced "and now one very old song. From Kowtow". He was expecting enthusiasm from the audience but none appeared. This says sufficient.

The opener "Saved By You" and "the Mask" are poppy songs vaguely disco influenced. Rather poor. But nothing in comparison with "Time For A Change" : AOR with sounds remininding me of "Owner Of A Lonely Heart". Pendragon at its low.

What I like most in Pendragon is their melancholic but passionate ballads. "I Walk The rope" is anything but passionate. A dull and poorly mellowish number. "Kowtow" is extremely weak so far.

The jazzy "2 AM" is very quiet, with a gentle sax part. Sad mood all the way through. Even if one feels depressed after having listened to this song, it is a nice and peaceful break.

The same mood is shared in the intro of "Total Recall". Even if it sounds a bit flat, I prefer this type of songs than the poor attempts to disco-pop ones I had to suffer earlier on. A bit more emotional and a good guitar solo could have turned this song in a good one; but as such I must say that it is not very brilliant. One has to turn up the volume seriously to hear something. Nice to get faster asleep.

"The Haunting" is the longest piece of this album. Usually, when Pendragon produces a long track, it is very often a good one. Considering the very low level of "Kowtow" so far, it is one of the best numbers on the album. Actually, if we except again a (too) tranquil intro, the song shows a nice development and finally features the so recognizable and beautiful guitar solo from Nick. Pendragon is back again, but it was about time !

"Solid Heart" is another poppish song. At least it shows some type of enthusiasm. But it won't be enough to make it a good one, alas.

So, we have already reached the final and title track. The first half of the song is again very quiet and a bit dull; but he second one features a nice melody as the band is used to produce. It saves this track and the listener is finally rewarded to have waited so long to get an interesting moment with the very good and rocking (!) finale.

I guess you all have understood that with "Kowtow" we are not confronted to a masterpiece of music. The band will release much (and I mean really much) better albums later on. Do not start your Pendragon experience with this album, please.

You would have a wrong image of this band. Two average tracks is all we will get here. Fortunately these are the longest ones.

"Kowtow" is for completionists. But even for them, it doesn't hold enough great numbers to make it worthwhile (at least it is my case, and I can tell you that I like Pendragon a lot). Two stars, but I have forced this rate on the up side.