LA MOSAÏQUE DE LA RÊVERIE

Among the hottest names of the 80's Japanese Symph Prog movement, Pageant were found in 1981 by ex-Fromage guitarist Ikkou Nakajima along with keyboardist Ieteru Monno and joined soon by female singer Hiroko Naga, bassist Nobuyuki Nagashima and drummer Shirokatsu Sato.In 1982 Sato and Monno were replaced by ex-Scheherezade Hideaki Indou on drums, while Naga took on the keyboard duties.During the spring of 85' a Pageant track appeared on the ''Progressive battle'' sampler, leading to a contract with Made in Japan Records.The recordings of the band's debut took place between December 85' and January 86' at the Jam Studios in Osaka, featuring also bassist Kazuhiko Yamada and guitarist/flute player Kazuhiro ''Mr.Sirius'' Miyatake, who also spent time with Mugen around the period.

Pageant were among the few bands trying to avoid the cheesiness of many Japanese prog acts of the time, leaning towards the Classical education of Naga on vocals and keyboards and leaving aside the bombastic synthesizer stylings.So the music of the band relied heavily on Nakajima's guitar work, offering some splendid breaks and evident Classical influences, but there was also plenty of space left to Miyatake for a strong amount of acoustic guitars and delightful flute passages.The keyboards are distinct with alternating grandiose synthesizers and nice organ throughout.The arrangements of the band are mostly interesting, following the symphonic fundamentals with light interplays and plenty of good melodies.The two shorter tracks however still contain the familiar flaws of the Japanese scene: Groovy cinematic prog with a rather plastic sound and average vocals by an otherwise quite decent vocalist like Naga.From the (good) rest of the album ''Un Giel De Celluloide'' shines through: Excellent Symphonic Rock with dramatic moments, surprisingly the only one where Nakajima himself handles the vocals.

The decent fame that followed the band throughout their short career finds some good reasons in ''La Mosaïque de la Reverie'', with most of its part being well-played and often romantic Symphonic Rock with Retro influences and a good effort next to the files of MUGEN and SHINGETSU.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.