Warthur Pendragon's first album is a pretty decent effort, its qualities having been overlooked at the time - it had the bad luck to come out at around the time Misplaced Childhood by Marillion left all the other neo-prog acts firmly overshadowed in the public eye, and early CD issues were somewhat hampered by a muddy production which the 2005 remaster does a reasonable job of fixing. Earlier versions of the album failed to capture the spirit and energy of the band's early live performances, though the new version now teases that out.

At this point in time the band were a regular feature of the UK neo-prog scene, and alongside IQ frequently supported the likes of Marillion, Pallas, and Twelfth Night at the Marquee and on tour. In seven years the band had managed to craft a solid live show, as documented on 9:15 Live, which The Jewel represents the cream of, albeit with less of the harder-edged side they shared with Trilogy that was showcased on the Fly High, Fall Far EP.

The songs on here all have their merits, provided that you're willing to accept some 1980s synthesiser sounds; they range from poppy, catchy numbers like Higher Circles - clearly intended to be the radio anthem this time around - to full-on progressive numbers like Leviathan and the album closer The Black Knight. The Black Knight deserves a closer look, in fact, because it is easily the best song on the album - and at the same time, it's also the odd man out. Most of the songs here put a strong emphasis on the keyboards - Nick Barrett's lead guitar work plays an important role, but mainly provides fairly middle-of-the-road guitar breaks to support the keys, Nick's main focus being on his singing. The Black Knight, by contrast, is all about the guitar - and it's the first sustained glimpse we have of Nick's incredible David Gilmour/Andrew Latimer-inspired soloing given a central spotlight. It's breathtaking and epic, and it's a first sign of the style the band would adopt and perfect from The World to Not of This World.

Shave half a star off if you are dealing with any of the pre-2005 issues of the album and go for the remaster, which really brings out the best of the album.

siLLy puPPy Amongst the bands that kept progressive rock on life support in the 80s, only Marillion gained superstardom and achieved arena live setting status but there were quite a few other bands that came and went without much fanfare. Included on a different list is the band PENDRAGON who came but never went away and in the process found relative success in the 80s neo-prog boom along with other bands such as Pallas, Solstice and Twelfth Night. The band actually was formed all the way back in 1978 by vocalist and guitarist Nick Barrett but soon joined by bassist Peter Gee. The two have been the only constant members since the band’s inception when it was called Zeus Pendragon. The Zeus part was quickly dropped.

The band went through several lineup changes and released a few EPs before crafting the debut album THE JEWEL which is the only album not to feature long time keyboardist Clive Nolan. At this early stage that task was performed by Rik Carter who was actually the second keyboardist after John Barnfield. The band was completed with drummer Nigel Harris who himself would soon be replaced after this album. While many neo-prog artists in the mid-80s were starting to differentiate, PENDRAGON followed the playbook of imitating Fish-era Marillion, the symphonic prog of 70s Genesis as well as the space rock of 70s Pink Floyd although like many contemporaries traded in the Moogs and mellotrons for digital 80s synthesizers that gave many of these bands a clear connection to the era.

THE JEWEL is the typical neo-prog album of the 80s that implemented the dramatic emotional lyrical outpouring with heavy keyboard-laden arrangements that ran the gamut from the cheesy AOR pop opener “Higher Circles” to the more fully gestated multi-suite prog gem “Alaska.” Despite a fairly consistent set of tracks that display the bands talents and showcase a somewhat gentler approach than the bombastic theatrical nature of Marillion, THE JEWEL unfortunately suffers from an extra weak production and if you ask me, nothing sounds worse than the one two punch of cheesy synth sounds of the 80s with a lackluster production job, however not all is lost as the compositions keep an even keel pace that allows the emotional connection to remain despite the flaws on board.

While not exactly excelling as they would with their 90s works, PENDRAGON became one of the more active bands which led them into the next chapter of the progressive rock revival that began in the 90s and in many ways the most familiar neo-prog sounds of that era resemble what PENDRAGON was doing at this moment rather than the idiosyncratic style of Marillion. While a pleasant experience of early neo-prog, i wouldn’t call THE JEWEL an absolutely essential piece of its history at least for a top dog in the quality department. While historically important for its role in defining the sub-genre as it evolved, THE JEWEL basically comes off as a typical example of 80s synth-laden progressive rock with a firm connection to the AOR melodic rock scene that was all the rage at the time.

Nothing is particularly bad here. Barrett’s vocals are in top form. The melodic guitar solos the same and the compositions are well done as well however neo-prog is a style of music that requires a decent production job and in the case of THE JEWEL even the 2005 remastered versions can’t quite make it sound complete, however definitely not a bad beginning and one that should be explored if you have any interest in PENDRAGON’s early origins that allowed them to garner enough clout to continue on as one of neo-prog’s most successful artists. The album was originally recorded at Soundmill Studios and Cloud Nine Studios in 1984-85 and then remastered at Thin Ice Studios in 2005 but in this case everyone failed in that department. So a crown JEWEL? Not really but one that was dug up and needs a little TLC to make it shine.

Modrigue A semi-precious neo-prog gemstone

With MARILLION's (overrated) "Misplaced Childhood" and IQ's "The Wake", 1985 was definitely important for the development of the neo-progressive genre. Nonetheless, considering the same year, my preference goes to the lesser-known rocking PENDRAGON's debut album. Why? Because, despite shorter compositions, this was one of the most original opus in the genre at the time, different than the two aforementioned bands, still inspired by GENESIS, and more epic than PALLAS' "The Sentinel". In fact, the genuine influence of "The Jewel" may be SAGA.

The two first songs are however not the best choices for a beginning. "Higher Circles" seems inspired by STYX, but is a little cheesy. "The Pleasure of Hope" is slightly better, even if its melody remains average. Don't leave now, the real adventure starts now with the fantasy rock "Leviathan" and its enchanting keyboards. The opening of "Alaska" may sound a bit floydian, but then become more melancholic and typically neo-prog-esque with its nervous synthesizer and guitar soli. This rocks!

"Circus" is also quite lively and possesses an enjoyable new-wave feel, a groovy bass, and other elements showing the band's various inspirations. The journey continues with the very nice "Oh Divineo", a piece alternating calm, playful and bravery. Nonetheless, the jewel of the album is clearly the mini-epic "The Black Knight". Longest composition, a true musical fairytale, and one of the best creations of the neo-prog genre! Released as a single one year before, the hard rocking heroic "Fly High Fall Far" is really powerful! Unfortunately, this deluge of epicness is stopped by "Victims of Life", also released in 1984, but a little uneven and hard to follow.

Whereas MARILLION and IQ were merging the style of the 70's prog ancients - such as GENESIS and PINK FLOYD - into the musical landscape of the 80's, which was also pleasant, I personally find that PENDRAGON took the reverse approach by painting the catchy sharp rock of the eighties with progressive colors. For sure, it contains a few moments influenced by the Gabriel-era of you-know-you, but this not the musicians' primary intention. Here you hold a refreshing neo-prog disc full of knights and legends! Not a surprise for a band whose name is Pendragon. The only thing you have to do is to cut the beginning and the ending...

Despite its typically 80's sonorities sounding a bit dated, "The Jewel" is one of the best PENDRAGON releases, more inspired than the commercial-oriented "Kowtow" and than their soapy FLOYD-inspired efforts of the 90's. One of the rock-iest albums of the neo-progressive genre!