Passion is the ninth studio album by English neo-progressive rock

Neo-progressive rock

Neo-progressive rock is a sub-genre of progressive rock, developed in the UK and popular in the 1980s, although it lives on today....

 group Pendragon

Pendragon (band)

Pendragon are an English neo-progressive rock band established in 1978 in Stroud, Gloucestershire as Zeus Pendragon by guitarist and vocalist Nick Barrett. The Zeus was dropped before the band started recording as the members decided it was too long to look good on a t-shirt...

. It was released as a special edition in April 11, 2011 on Madfish, a division label of Snapper Music

Snapper Music

Snapper Music is an independent record label founded in 1996 by former head of Castle Communications Jon Beecher, Dougie Dudgeon and funded by the late Mark Levinson from Palan Music Publishing. In 1999 Snapper broke away from its parent company in an MBO in association with ACT and CAI venture...

 and in regular form through Toff Records, the band's own imprint. Two packaging formats of the Madfish album exist, digi-book

Digipak

Digipak is a patented style of CD, DVD or BD packaging, and is a registered trademark of AGI World Ltd., an Atlas Holdings company.-Features:...

 and super jewel case both accompained by a DVD featuring a behind-the-scenes footage titled 'Progumentary', filmed by the band themselves during the recording of the album. There is also a two-disc, three sided orange coloured vinyl edition with gatefold

Gatefold

A gatefold is a type of fold used for advertising around a magazine or section, and for packaging of media such as vinyl records.- LP covers :...

 sleeve.

Reception

The global impression of the album was generally positive, with a 4.04 out of 5 stars score in Prog Archives, across 123 given ratings as for May 22, 2011. Dangerdog website gave it a 4 out of 5 score, describing it as "intriguing, complicated, and entertaining" and remarking "those who were persuaded by Pendragon's talent and creativity on Pure will likely be pleased with Passion; it's more of the same, but not". Sea of Tranquility advises "in comparison to the light-hearted, feel-good symphonic prog of their albums from the early 90's, this may feel like a radical departure for some", giving it 3.5 out of 5 stars. A more enthusiastic Rock Report states that "because of the diversity and continuous change of atmospheres, it’s hard to point out the highlights" and "maybe it means that the whole album is a highlight". John O'Boyle at DPRP (Dutch Progressive Rock Page) gives it a 9 out of 10 socre and thinks "smartly the band haven’t alienated anyone, they have appealed to the old vanguard as well as exploring a more contemporary approach" and concludes "this is an album that the band have created where they haven’t pandered to things in the past, they have taken large steps forward in developing as a band and Passion may as I said just be the album of their career so far?", while Edwin Roosjen points out "Passion is the next logical step after Pure" and gives it 9.5 out of 10.

CD+DVD edition

CD

1. "Passion" – 5:27
2. "Empathy" – 11:20
3. "Feeding Frenzy" – 5:47
4. "This Green And Pleasant Land" – 13:13
5. "It's Just A Matter Of Not Getting Caught" – 4:41
6. "Skara Brae" - 7:31
7. "Your Black Heart" - 6:46

DVD

• "Progumentary"

Vinyl edition

Side 1

1. "Passion"
2. "Empathy"

Side 2

1. "Feeding Frenzy"
2. "This Green And Pleasant Land"

Side 3

1. "It's Just A Matter Of Not Getting Caught"
2. "Skara Brae"
3. "Your Black Heart "

Personnel

• Nick Barrett: vocals, guitars keyboards & keyboard programming
• Peter Gee: bass
• Clive Nolan: keyboards & backing vocals
• Scott Higham: drums & backing vocals

Charts

Chart (2011)	Peak position
Polish Albums Chart OLiS OLiS is the official list of the highest selling music albums in Poland. The list exists since October 23, 2000 and is provided by ZPAV....	47

External links

• Pendragon's official website
• Passion mini-site
• Passion review on Prog Sphere