THE WORLD

This was the third Pendragon cd I bought, although the second track, 'The Voyager' was the first song by them I ever heard - through a cassette sampler a friend of mine had. I love this track, and feel there is a big Genesis influence here. In fact, I have often thought this band are closer to Genesis than ever Marillion were, even in their early days. Of course, it was always Fish's voice, and Mark Kelly's keyboards that connected the the two bands, but with Pendragon it is a lot of the songs' structures that bring to mind Genesis. The other band whose influence shows most is Pink Floyd, especially in the guitar solos and the female backing vocals sometimes used. This cd kicks off with the brilliant 'Back In The Spotlight', an excellent and powerful opener. Next comes the aforementioned 'Voyager', a classic. 'Shane' is the shortest song on the cd, but one of the best. I love this track. It has everything. Strong melody, beautiful backing vocals, and an inspirational guitar solo at the end. Tremendous! The next track, 'Prayer' is another strong song, though maybe slightly weaker than the first three. Not much in it though! The epic, 'Queen Of Hearts', is another tremendous piece of composition, alternating between gentle passages, with harp-like interludes, and powerful guitar work. An excellent track! The final song, 'And We'll Go Hunting Deer', is another lovely, gentle piece, which reminds me very much of Anthony Phillips's best work. It sounds like something he could have composed. A nice ending to a lovely and varied album. Essential listening. Whilst I don't believe it to be their best album, it is a must for every serious prog fan, especially those who enjoy Genesis and Marillion. A word of warning though, Nick Barrett's voice takes some getting used to!