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It’s hard to believe (no pun intended) that Pendragon
has been around for decades and that they have released, what,
fourteen records in their career, something like that. Their
release from 2005 Believe was a record that really showed
what the band could do beyond the typical neo-progressive
rock ear candy, stretching the musical boundaries that lined
themselves up with not only colleagues such as IQ or Jadis,
but with the more diverse sounds of Kino & Enchant; this comes
especially after hearing their anthology The History: 1984-2000,
which is filled with more straightforward Marillion-esque
melodic progressive rock.***
Before we go any further, it is fitting to mention that
this is another band that Arena keyboardist Clive Nolan participates
in amongst a long list of others, including supergroup Neo.
These guys aren’t a stranger to Poland, they played to an
enthusiastic crowd at the renown and majestic Teatr Slaski,
and now Past & Presence can bring their live performance to
all of us. They play all the neo-progressive favorites such
as “The Pleasure of Hope,” “Victims of Life,” the ethereal
“Alaska,” “The Black Knight,” and the eerily sophisticated
“Armageddon.” ***
The video, just like the Neo release, has the film warmth
to it, as well as multiple cameras being used with cranes
& tracks. The sound is also discrete, with Threshold’s Karl
Groom having his hand in the stereo mix (there is also a 5.1
mix). There is an interview with guitarist/vocalist Nick Barrett
& original keyboardist John Barnfield (who also joins the
band onstage), other bonus features include behind the scenes
footage which is very rough, but it’s there for us to see
all the antics; there is also a detailed history and a discography
section.***
Besides Nolan, Barrett, Peter Gee, and Joe Crabtree;
we also see Rick Carter, a keyboardist from the earlier days
as well as multi-instrumentalist Julian Backer, which makes
for an overall big performance. Most of the material on Past
and Presence is in the vein of the ‘neo’ or ‘second wave material
that they are known for, so for the curious, this DVD is a
great place to start; and for the fans, it’s mandatory.***
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