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Neo-Progressive music at the height of its inception.
Challenging the likes of Marillion, also in their prime. ****
Listening to this re-master of the 1985 album “The Jewel”
(Yes boys and girls, back in 1985 they were still called “albums”)
is a startling reminder of just how good they were/are even
back then. Keep in mind that in 1985 Genesis was already breathing
their last gasps with works like “Invisible Touch while groups
like Pendragon were getting the ball rolling in the neo-progressive
movement. As I have mentioned in some of my other reviews,
that by virtue of growing up in the Mid-West, before the time
of the Internet, I did not have access to groups like Pendragon.
So, not only is this a review or a re-mastered classic, but
my review as a first impression.****
“The Jewel”, recorded with EMI in 1985 has the original
Pendragon lineup of: Nick Barrett, Rik Carter, Peter Gee,
and Nigel Harris. As a first time listener, the thing that
struck me the most was hearing the youthful voice of Nick
Barrett with 20 less years on it. The other thing is how remarkably
tight and well produced they were even back in 1985. Granted,
they borrowed heavily from the sound of “Genesis” but so did
every neo-prog group of the time. (Heck, they still do) As
with any vocalist who has spent their life singing rock, the
years take their toll. I’m not saying that his voice is shot,
but it can’t hit the high notes like it used to. Even with
the shorter song structures, (the longest being just over
nine minutes), they all flow with well crafted, shorter, movements
and musical virtuosity. The keyboard work is outstanding and
does seem a bit more predominant than in their later works.
I really can’t decide who is better, Rik Carter or Clive Nolan.
They both seem to have similar styles and neither one is any
type of a slouch. One can argue both ways. But I have to admit
that I pay more attention to Carter’s keyboards on this release.****
While I find the over all release phenomenal, and there
truly are no week cuts, there are some outstanding cuts.****
I had only heard “Leviathan” performed live. To here the
original studio version was a real treat. It has the intensity
and crispness of a newly recorded song, and it is great to
hear how the song has evolved over the years to become a Pendragon
concert standard. IT has gotten a bit longer over the years
and the vocals have been refined a bit, but in it’s original
state you could almost tell it was destined to become a classic.****
I’m a bit surprised that “Alaska” didn’t seem to become
a classic as well. With it’s two movements the first being
with vocals, and the second being purely instrumental, I could
see it really becoming an extended show stopper when performed
live. It could easily be extended into a 20 minute piece when
performed live.****
“The Black Knight” is pure neo-prog. A longer number
at about 9 ½ minutes tells the lament of a once powerful knight.
It moves through soft and strong movements carrying the listener
along as the knight recalls his lament “but I’m still in the
dark, or is it just the dark ages? What I would give to be
dressed in silver again.”****
“The Jewel” re-master comes with four bonus tracks. Two
recorded back in 1985: “Fly High fall Far” and “Victims of
Life” and two recorded just last year: “Armageddon” and “Insomnia”.
All four bonus tracks are very strong, not some of the trite
you usually get with bonus tracks. The cool thing is to compare
their sound between ’85 and today. Besides improved recording
techniques, you can really hear how they have improved over
the last 20 years. They have grown tighter, even with the
change in line ups and the melodies have become much more
sophisticated. Nick Barrett’s guitar playing has become much
more advance with increased speed and more sophisticated lead
work. ****
Over all I find “The jewel” to hold up extremely well
compared against their current work. It is hard to believe
that it was recorded 20 years ago. Don’ t hesitate to revisit
this classic or check it out for the first time, like I did!****
GRADE: A
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