Music Reviews - P

Pallas - The Sentinel

★★★★

NOTE: This review is of the CD reissue of the album, AKA how the album was intended to be listened to.

Now here's an artist that comes in swinging. Pallas wastes almost no time in establishing itself as an unabashedly epic act, with the majority of their debut album being taken up by the grand "Atlantis Suite". It's executed very well too, with powerful instrumentation, excellent vocals courtesy of Euan Lowson, and plenty of progressive moments including odd time signatures scattered about. Even the more "commercial" songs at the beginning that are not part of the suite are amazing; in fact, Shock Treatment might be my favorite cut from the album. Although somewhat repetitive at points, this is an essential neo-prog album.

Pallas - The Wedge

★★★★

To start out blunt, The Wedge is a step down from its predecessor. It abandons the shameless awesomeness of the first album in favor of a more concise, commercial flavor, and I don't like the vocalist as much as Euan Lowson. However, in spite of these things, it's still a very good album, maintaining the band's strong affinity for melodies and hard-rocking passages. So while it's a step down, it's not significantly worse than The Sentinel, and as long as you temper your expectations this record is a great experience. My favorite tracks are the last two, the progressive Ratracing, and the beautiful (and aggressively 80s) ballad, Just a Memory.

Pendragon - The World

★★★★

The World, nay, Pendragon in general, is possibly the most profound example of excellent neo-prog music. It's got it all. Long, dynamic tracks littered with 80s synths and a beautiful melodic guitar as its centerpiece. Don't mistake Pendragon as a "vanilla" band, though, for they have a very distinct sound powered by Nick Barrett's pretty (and very British) vocals and slide guitar, as well as Clive Nolan's great keyboard and synthesizer playing. The World is a beautifully done album with two distinct highlights; The Voyager, a 12 minute track with an emotional solo, and the Queen of Hearts suite, which really highlights the great synth work and the band's use of hooks to make every second of the 22-minute song memorable. Compared to their later efforts, though, The World can come off as a little restrained at times, with some moments that are pleasant but don't have much going on. However, this is something that would be fully remedied by the next album...

Pendragon - The Window of Life

★★★★★

...And there it is. Pendragon fully realizes itself with The Window of Life, and it does so immediately, opening with a nearly 4-minute guitar solo on The Walls of Babylon. The guitar solos are more plentiful and absolutely fantastic, rivaling Camel in emotional intensity. You can tell right away that this album is going to be something special. Barrett's vocals are stronger now; in fact, any of the chains that kept The World from being a masterpiece have been broken in this album. Every track is incredibly impactful and distinct. I struggle to emphasize just how great The Window of Life is. The highlight of highlights is the absolutely incredible Breaking the Spell, opening with a quiet vocal, into a winding and technical guitar solo, into a climax with the vocals returning loudly. It's beyond words. Go listen to this album right now, it'll change your life.

Pendragon - The Masquerade Overture

★★★★

Pendragon hits it out of the park again with The Masquerade Overture. This is one that gets better the more you listen to it, since it's a little less formulaic than the albums beforehand. The drumming's a little crazier this time too, with some wild fills throughout courtesy of Fudge Smith. I still think I prefer The Window of Life stylistically, and this one's not as consistent, but peaks just as high. It comes down to preference, really, I can see why this is many people's favorite Pendragon album. All five full tracks are very good, with my favorites being Paintbox and Guardian of my Soul. There's also a couple of interlude tracks that you'd never really listen to standalone, but serve the album fairly well when listened to in full. Seriously, you can't go wrong with a band this good.

Phillips, Anthony - The Geese and The Ghost

★★★★

Anthony Phillips is one of the most powerful artists I know. His work is incredibly emotionally potent, whether it be through a full lineup of session musicians, or just Phillips himself and his acoustic guitar. The Geese and the Ghost is a wonderful solo debut. It's nothing that will blow you away, rather, it will suck you in with its hypnotic beauty and peaceful atmosphere. Phil Collins sings on a couple tracks, incredible as usual, but the majority of the album is instrumental and reserved. Like much of Phillips' solo work, it's a unique and extremely pleasant experience, especially for acoustic guitar lovers, for I believe Anthony Phillips is unmatched in acoustic guitar playing... he's wonderful beyond words.

Phillips, Anthony - Wise After The Event

★★★★★

The Geese and the Ghost was beautiful through its simplicity and acoustics; Wise After the Event is arguably even more beautiful through supremely produced arrangements. This is an incredibly strong album, with every track possessing its own identity and a heavenly chorus. I can't emphasize how much the superior instrumentation uplifts the album, though. Through the acoustic guitars and occassional ethereal synthesizer, and Phillips' own overlaid vocals (which despite what anyone says, I think arte absolutely fantastic), Wise After the Event is a highly emotional masterpiece often forgotten even among prog aficianados. The track (Now What) Are They Doing to my Little Friends will melt the hearts of even the coldest souls.

Phillips, Anthony - Sides

★★★★

Sides seems like an album destined to fail... how can an art music veteran like Anthony Phillips possibly make pop rock? The answer is, for the most part, he doesn't. Side 1 is rather inconsistent, admittedly, although Um and Argh is a fun track. Side 2, however, is prime Phillips, featuring heavy amounts of acoustic instrumentation and beautiful melodies. Magdalen is a supreme cut, as are the instrumentals Sisters of Remindum and Nightmare. The compositions are actually more progressive than those on Wise After the Event as well. It's possible Sides could've been even better than its predecessor if it were dedicated to the direction the second side of the album takes, but even as it is, it's an excellent product.

Pink Floyd - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

★★★★

What a debut this is. One of the first and finest examples of space rock out there, combined with a whimsical 60s pop sensibility, drug-induced joy and terror, and lots of psychedelia. It's not hard to see why Pink Floyd was a successful band from the start. It's not from their peak period, but The Piper at the Gates of Dawn stands the test of time as one of Syd Barrett's exquisitely made projects. It stands up to a lot of their later discography as well, a very impressive feat. There's a lot of great cuts here, but I'd probably go with Astronomy Domine, Matilda Mother, and Interstellar Overdrive as some of my favorite tracks. One of the best albums of the 60s.

Pink Floyd - Ummagumma

★★★

While I'd call myself a fan of avant-garde music, I'd call myself much less of a fan of musique concrète. That's why I'm not a fan of the studio side of Ummagumma for the most part. I will say, there's one really good track, the one titled Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict. The name's ridiculous, the track's rather ridiculous, but all the tape-looped sound effects including Roger Waters making who knows what noises with his mouth actually make a pretty awesome product. The rest doesn't land for me, though. The live side saves the album, as it contains some very good performances of tracks from earlier albums. As a result, I mainly listen to the live side of this one, and would overall call it a decent album, even with its wealth of less interesting parts.

Pink Floyd - Atom Heart Mother

★★★★★

The Dark Side of the Moo, one of my favorite Pink Floyd albums. The first side is experimental rock at its best, filled with symphonics, motorcycle revving, and a ghastly orchestra. I don't care how weird I look for saying so, it's a masterpiece and any true Pink Floyd fan knows it. The second side is incredible in its own right, featuring psychedelic folk songs with subdued, pretty vocals and wonderful guitar, both acoustic and electric. Aside from the title track, Summer of '68 by the late and great Rick Wright is particularly good with its spacey harmonies. Atom Heart Mother just hits all the right spots for me, and if it weren't for the more emotional potency that lifts their later albums above it, it would definitely be my favorite Pink Floyd album.

Pink Floyd - Meddle

★★★

I don't enjoy side 1 of this album much. The ditties don't stay in my mind, and it's not the kind of fun that I came to expect from the playful moments on Atom Heart Mother or The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Side 2, though? How could I ever hate Echoes? It's a beautiful piece, the birth of modern Pink Floyd. Excellently produced as well. I have no problem sitting through the track's more meandering moments because there's always some kind of beautiful sound to take in (up to and including whale noises). Echoes is the only part of the album I really revisit, though; perhaps I will learn to appreciate the rest some other day.

All album cover images are either from Wikipedia or Progarchives.