Dream Of Men (Ltd.Ed)

This is an excellent example of great music. This CD puts Pallas in a position to take command of the other progressive greats out there such as IQ and Arena. Pallas has taken their time to construct dramatic, pasionate pieces of music that are both aggressive and beautiful. I would like to thank all the members of the band but a special note must be to Ronnie Brown. Brown is a killer keyboard player with interesting ideas all over the CD. During the fabulous "Too Close to the Sun" Brown seems to be channeling Genesis circa late 70s- what an incredible sound. In "Bringer of Dreams" he flies on the keyboard. Amazing musicianship throughout. It's wonderful how Pallas has really kept the prog going with "The Cross and the Crucible" and now with "The Dreams of Men". Absolutely essential for anyone that enjoys progressive music. Purchase this one now proggers!!!

Pallas are a Scottish progressive rock band who are typically labeled as "neo prog". They've always been a difficult fit, as they have strong progressive rock influences as well as heavy and melodic rock leanings. Pallas tend therefore to be somewhat on the rock side of progressive rock. With a history that has spanned over a quarter of a century, they have consistantly been one of the best live acts in the British progressive rock field. Their broad scope as well some unfortunate treatment by former record companies has left a number of their priot albums somewhat patchy.

Having pretty much given up on the music industry in the late 80s, the band found that there was a strong interest in their music online, and that the Internet gave them a viable avenue to connect with their fans. In the late 90s they came back in impressive form, releasing Beat The Drum, which kicked their prior recordings into touch at least in terms of overall composition and performance, if not consistancy. They followed up with Cross and the Crucible, which was something of a rough diamond. This release see Pallas developing their sound to a new level and entirely eclipsing their back catalogue.

The album opens strongly with The Bringer of Dreams. A delicate and haunting synth opening seduces the listener, the guitar builds on the melancholia, strings build tension, and the rhythm section explodes into the song. Its complex and sinister, as befits the lyrics. Warriors follows, a charged and emotional piece that deals with fanatical suicidal terriorists. Next up is Ghostdancers which opens with lovely violin and a great vocal. This is a great song, and it steps the album up a notch. What follows it is wonderful. Too Close To The Sun is a stunning progressive number, a complex and majestic piece performed largely in 11/8 time but with clever changes. Not only is the music inspired, but the vocals here are really good stuff. The first time you listen to this album through, you're sure that this is going to be the pinnacle. It's not.

Messiah is something of a rock song, though a well paced, and entertaining number. The guitar shredding is spectacular, and there's some nice backing vocals towards the end which changes things up nicely. A touching instrumental interlude in the form of Northern Star sets the stage for Mr. Wolfe, a raucous and dynamic number that mixes heavy synth stabs and some really fun bass and drum interplay. Another big step up for Invincible, a wonderful number about the nanny state, this is big sounding track, with lots of lush guitar, sinister bass lines, a real progression of tempo, and an anthemic refrain.

Which brings us to the last track on the album proper. Probably the best song Pallas have ever recorded. This is a lovely vocal number - starting off with one of the most dramatic vocals I've heard Alan Reed sing. The instruments are wonderfully arranged and placed - its not just a great track, its a remarkable production performance. The final section with the operatic vocals of Pandy Arthur is stunning. The song will melt the coldest heart.

Overall, this is a compelling album that makes you want to repeatedly listen to the whole thing through. In an age when even progressive rock albums are regularly dissected and individual tracks played on iPods, this is a rare and pleasant thing. There are some tracks that stand taller than others, but its a complete work without any real filler. The bonus disk contains some alternate mixes which are of interest, some studio out-takes, and a great version of Fragments of the Sun, one of the strongest tracks from Beat The Drum. Especially welcome in this version is the wonderful booklet. The artwork makes it a fine edition.

This album easily earns its five stars, and is not only my favorite Pallas album, but my favorite album of 2005, a year that saw some very significant releases.

Scotland's Pallas were once part of the U.K. art-rock scene of the early 80's along with Marillion,IQ, Pendragon and Twelvth Night, and return here with one of the top records of 2005 in the often called 'neo-prog' genre. Four years has passed since their excellent 'Cross & The Crucible' album from 2001, and although Pallas releases are few and far between, it is often worth the wait.

'Dreams Of Men' continues in the more symphonic direction they embarked on when they first returned to active service in 1998 with their 'Beat the Drum' album, and here they waste no time making up for lost time with a solid- though lengthy- 70+ minutes of cinematic and melodic rock which goes through many moods and textures ranging from dramatic orchestral washes to heavier, almost prog-metal guitar bite. This is modern Neo with some meat on the bones, and though this lengthy disc is filled to the end with music, it's solid and still merits repeat listenings. Lyrically, 'Dreams' has a loose concept about, well, the dreams of mankind- what drives us, our hearts desires, our darkests fears and anxieties. Cheery stuff, I know, and occasionally preachy, but the songs stand alone, so any linking thread can be irrelevant. The album starts off powerful, but the best material is towards the end.

The line-up remains the same as ever: guitarist Niall Mathewson, keyboardist Ronnie Brown, drummer Colin Fraser, Graeme Murray playing some fine Chris Squire-esque bass and of course vocalist Alan Reed. The artwork is excellent, though that one band photo is a bit eerie. The songs:

THE BRINGER OF DREAMS: An orchestral intro opens the circus of dreams, finally breaking through with powerful guitar, and drags you through ten minutes of prime Pallas. All the trademarks of their last album 'Cross & The Crucible' come to the table here, a solid opener and a good taster for what both this album and Pallas are about.

WARRIORS: Rush-like guitar opens this rocker about the dreams of the fanatical 'holy warrior', the type who would, say, ram a hijacked plane into a building of innocents who never saw it coming. A more guitar-driven track.

GHOSTDANCERS: a violin opens this sombre track about the New World told from the point of view of first the immigrant and later, the Native American. With guest violin, some of this track has a distinct sound of American proggers Kansas. Powerful lyrics, though the chanting and gunshot sound at the end may have been an overdone cliche.

TOO CLOSE TO THE SUN: This one is a progressive rock lover's dream, going through some tasty instrumental flavors and changes. Special mention must go to the nice Emerson-style synthesizer bits from Ronnie Brown. I gather this song is about our natural flair for going too far in pursuit of our dreams and the inevitable consequences. 'Don't fly too close, the wax may melt'.

MESSIAH: A shorter and almost funky rock track similar to an earlier Pallas track called 'Dinosaur'. Murray's bass also reminds me of 'The Messenger' from Yes' 1999 album 'The Ladder'. I hear some Squire in there. I think this track is a dig at George Bush. There's guest female vocals at the end too.

NORTHERN STAR: a beautiful instrumental with nice guitar and atmospheric keyboards. Being an often vocal/lyric-oriented genre, there are precious few neo-prog instrumental moments, with the exception of some Pendragon and early IQ material. This is a reflective calm from the stormy songs around it, and a pleasant track indeed. No words are needed to convey that this track is meant to be about your(you the listener)own dreams and desires. When you wish upon a star...

MR. WOLFE: another shorter track(six minutes is short for Pallas)with a somewhat Gothic feel with use of some organ. This is probably about the selfishness of those whose dreams are material gains at the expense of others. This theme moves into the next track as well.

INVINCIBLE: the last two tracks on this album are astounding. This one is the longest and most involved track, separated into 'movements', and going through many dramatic sections. The sound of a machine-like percussion pattern repeats its way around Alan Reed declaring 'It's my life, and YOU CAN'T HAVE IT!'. This is not too unlike something from IQ's 'Seventh House' in places. Basically this one's about how we're all expected to be numbers, living robotic lives endlessly working and pumping money into our credit cards while chasing unattainable goals and going along with whatever corporations feed us. Yet invincible if we dare to break out.

THE LAST ANGEL: an emotional anthem closes this disc, one with all the trademarks of some of the best melodic Neo elements. It starts as a mellow almost Peter Gabriel-like slow theme(think Biko, but that's stretching it), and goes through a Hackett-like guitar bit, an Arena-like dark section, and a powerful anthemic close with additional female vocals. A powerful closer, play this one loud. I believe this may be about an Angel who comes to help mankind, only to find nothing worth saving. However this album is worth saving for your collection, and stands with Arena's 'Pepper's Ghost', Pendragon's 'Believe' and Kino's 'Picture' as best Neo albums of 2005.

Also- the 'special edition' comes with a second disc, also stuffed to the guts with 70+ minutes of music, which features remixes of some album tracks, instrumental tracks(very tasty) and another version of 'Fragments Of The Sun' from the 'Beat The Drum' album. Of course get the two disc version and enjoy.

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