Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Shadowland
Label: Verglas Records
Release: 1992
Length: 57:27
Rating: 4/5
Shadowland was the first side project of Pendragon’s cult keyboardist Clive Nolan. Even though Shadowland put out three very solid studio albums during their short existence, most neo prog rock fans today see them mainly as a kind of warm-up act for Clive, an overture to his next, far more successful project called Arena. It’s actually a bit unfair to label Shadowland as merely Clive’s project, even though he wrote all the music and lyrics on the debut, since Karl Groom, better known as the guitarist of prog metallers Threshold and already a highly regarded producer back then, in the early nineties, played a major part in making it happen. Shadowland’s sound was defined by a distinctly melodic approach to neo prog with plenty of arrangement touches, which Clive successfully carried over and built upon a few years later as a member of Arena.
The most fascinating thing about »Ring of Roses«, the first Shadowland album, is that on top of showing off his many different keyboard skills, Clive also sang all the lead vocals on several tracks. The fact is that the cult keyboardist is far from a bad singer, as Arena fans, where he also handles backing vocals, have known for a long time, so his voice fits the individual songs on the album well. Clive’s singing style and tone are nothing earth-shattering in themselves, but they’d fit in nicely with some new wave band from the eighties. Karl’s melodic guitar variations blend tastefully with Clive’s keyboard wizardry throughout the whole album, forming a tasty, harmonious sonic seasoning. Clive and Karl got a hand on »Ring of Roses« from drummer Nick Harradance and bassist/acoustic guitarist Ian Salmon, who later made a name for himself as a member of Arena.
»Ring of Roses« opens with the melodic, optimistic »Whistleblower«, which in mood and style sounds a lot like early-nineties Pendragon, which is hardly a surprise. On the 12-minute »Jigsaw«, where melody, melodrama and epic grandeur come together beautifully, you can hear Clive’s vocal approach as it would later become typical for all the Arena singers. As on almost every track on »Ring of Roses«, there’s a seriously melodic chorus here too. The rhythmic finesse is a lot like what Arena would later practice, which goes especially for Salmon’s melodic bass lines. Groom’s melodic leads are a great source of dynamics and sit superbly on top of Nolan’s mighty synth arrangements. Over his career Clive has worked with quite a few excellent guitarists, such as Nick Barrett (Pendragon) and John Mitchell (Arena) besides Groom. With all three of them he always found incredible chemistry, which showed in the final songwriting results as well as ‘live’.
On the enigmatic »Scared of the Dark«, Clive and co. surprise in the intro, where storm effects rule, with world music percussion, before the song tips over into a classic neo prog rock epic. Complex rhythmic structures add the kind of depth you’d expect from such masters to the melodic keyboard textures and mighty guitar phrases. »Painting By Numbers« is another distinctly melodic number, and with its optimistic nature it’s quite different from Clive’s later, much punchier and darker exploits with Arena, but that makes it sound all the more like something he could have made with Pendragon. Groom’s closing guitar solo is pure epic poetry. The 14-plus-minute epic »Hall of Mirrors« is the most ambitious piece on the album, grabbing the listener instantly with an intense mood that slowly builds from minute to minute. It’s another pretty complex piece, where you can pick out a whole range of songwriting and sonic elements that would later shape Arena.
The melodramatic, piano-driven instrumental »The Kruhulick Syndrome« is mostly Clive’s solo showcase, with grand symphonic arrangements on piano and organ. With its solemn, sacral feel and mysterious atmosphere, it’s an interesting experiment and a good stylistic contrast to most of the stuff on »Ring of Roses«. The album closes with the title track, »Ring of Roses«, which has a rather ominous, dark intro but very quickly takes on much more positive, even cheeky shades, best captured by its mighty chorus. Clive’s lyrics aren’t as deep as they’d later be in Arena, though they’re mostly pretty ‘philosophical’ and socially aware.
»Ring of Roses« is a very solid historical document that today will appeal mainly to devotees of everything Mr. Nolan has done, and especially to fans of Shadowland’s next evolutionary stage, namely Arena. Anyone who loves a melodic, more ‘pop’ rock-leaning approach to neo prog will find a heap of great moments and ambient pleasures on »Ring of Roses«. Clive still doesn’t like the unpopular and somewhat controversial media tag neo prog rock for his music, but the fact is that he’s always been one of the key figures of that movement, which was crucial for the revival of progressive rock in the eighties and partly in the nineties too, and »Ring of Roses« is one of the best proofs of that.
Lineup
Clive Nolan – keyboards, vocals
Karl Groom – guitar
Ian Salmon – bass guitar
Nick Harradence – drums
Production
Shadowland
Track list
1. The Whistleblower (6:32)
2. Jigsaw (11:05)
3. Scared Of The Dark (6:09)
4. Painting By Numbers (6:34)
5. Hall Of Mirrors (14:23)
6. The Kruhulick Syndrome (instr.) (6:07)
7. Ring Of Roses (6:31)
