PETER BARDENS
''WRITE MY NAME IN THE DUST''
VERVE/FORECAST
1971
01 - North End Road/1:25
02 - Write My Name In The Dust/6:33
03 - Down So Long/6:58
04 - Sweet Honey Wine/4:24
05 - Tear Down The Wall/7:20
06 - Simple Songs/2:19
07 - My House/6:14
08 - Feeling High/5:06
09 - Blueser/2:11
All Tracks By Bardens
Peter Bardens /Keyboards, Producer, Vocals
Victor Brox /Violin, Vocals
Andy Gee /Guitar
Reg Isadore /Drums
Linda Lewis /Vocals
John Owen /Bass
Anita Pollinger /Vocals
Judith Powell /Vocals
Liza Strike /Vocals
REVIEW
by Richie Unterberger
Write My Name in the Dust was the American release of Pete Bardens' second album, which was simply titled Peter Bardens in the U.K., though the contents were identical. It was a curious low-key, slightly downbeat affair whose unspectacular mixture of hard rock, blues, some female soul-gospel backup vocal arrangements, and more meditative jazz-classical-influenced progressive music was very much of its time. Bardens' first album (1970's The Answer) had suffered from drawn-out song construction, a trait that remained present to a large degree here, though without guitarist Peter Green on hand to help lift the proceedings. There was a lethargic hangover feel to tracks like "Feeling High," and attempts at pure blues and lighthearted music hall on briefer tracks were inconsequential distractions. The more serious and stately passages demonstrated Bardens' formidable genre-blending skills as a keyboardist, particularly on organ. But the material wasn't up to the standard of his playing, though the lighter, more focused moodiness of "Sweet Honey Wine" resulted in the record's best track.
BIOGRAPHY
by Rovi
An accomplished organist, Peter Bardens was a founder member of the Cheynes, prior to a brief spell in Them. By 1966 he was fronting a club-based act, Peter B’s Looners, which included drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Peter Green. The unit recorded a single, "If You Wanna Be Happy," but was then absorbed into the Shotgun Express, a soul-inspired revue that featured Rod Stewart. Bardens later formed the short-lived Village before releasing his first solo album, The Answer, in 1970. This informal selection featured several telling contributions by Peter Green, masquerading under an "Andy Gee" pseudonym, but an undisciplined approach undermined its obvious potential. A second collection, Peter Bardens, was more focused and showcased the artist’s touring group, which included the multi-talented Victor Brox, a former member of the Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation.
In 1972 Bardens formed a new band, Camel. He remained with this successful unit for the next six years before resuming his solo career with Heart to Heart. He later divided his time between session work and crafted adult rock and new age material, exemplified on the U.S.-charting 1987 release Seen One Earth and 1991’s Water Colors. In 1994 he formed Mirage with several leading prog rock musicians, including his former Camel bandmate Andy Ward and Caravan's David Sinclair. On January 22, 2002, Bardens succumbed to lung cancer in Malibu, CA. Write My Name in the Dust, a two-CD set covering his entire career, was released in 2005.
''WRITE MY NAME IN THE DUST''
VERVE/FORECAST
1971
01 - North End Road/1:25
02 - Write My Name In The Dust/6:33
03 - Down So Long/6:58
04 - Sweet Honey Wine/4:24
05 - Tear Down The Wall/7:20
06 - Simple Songs/2:19
07 - My House/6:14
08 - Feeling High/5:06
09 - Blueser/2:11
All Tracks By Bardens
Peter Bardens /Keyboards, Producer, Vocals
Victor Brox /Violin, Vocals
Andy Gee /Guitar
Reg Isadore /Drums
Linda Lewis /Vocals
John Owen /Bass
Anita Pollinger /Vocals
Judith Powell /Vocals
Liza Strike /Vocals
REVIEW
by Richie Unterberger
Write My Name in the Dust was the American release of Pete Bardens' second album, which was simply titled Peter Bardens in the U.K., though the contents were identical. It was a curious low-key, slightly downbeat affair whose unspectacular mixture of hard rock, blues, some female soul-gospel backup vocal arrangements, and more meditative jazz-classical-influenced progressive music was very much of its time. Bardens' first album (1970's The Answer) had suffered from drawn-out song construction, a trait that remained present to a large degree here, though without guitarist Peter Green on hand to help lift the proceedings. There was a lethargic hangover feel to tracks like "Feeling High," and attempts at pure blues and lighthearted music hall on briefer tracks were inconsequential distractions. The more serious and stately passages demonstrated Bardens' formidable genre-blending skills as a keyboardist, particularly on organ. But the material wasn't up to the standard of his playing, though the lighter, more focused moodiness of "Sweet Honey Wine" resulted in the record's best track.
BIOGRAPHY
by Rovi
An accomplished organist, Peter Bardens was a founder member of the Cheynes, prior to a brief spell in Them. By 1966 he was fronting a club-based act, Peter B’s Looners, which included drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Peter Green. The unit recorded a single, "If You Wanna Be Happy," but was then absorbed into the Shotgun Express, a soul-inspired revue that featured Rod Stewart. Bardens later formed the short-lived Village before releasing his first solo album, The Answer, in 1970. This informal selection featured several telling contributions by Peter Green, masquerading under an "Andy Gee" pseudonym, but an undisciplined approach undermined its obvious potential. A second collection, Peter Bardens, was more focused and showcased the artist’s touring group, which included the multi-talented Victor Brox, a former member of the Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation.
In 1972 Bardens formed a new band, Camel. He remained with this successful unit for the next six years before resuming his solo career with Heart to Heart. He later divided his time between session work and crafted adult rock and new age material, exemplified on the U.S.-charting 1987 release Seen One Earth and 1991’s Water Colors. In 1994 he formed Mirage with several leading prog rock musicians, including his former Camel bandmate Andy Ward and Caravan's David Sinclair. On January 22, 2002, Bardens succumbed to lung cancer in Malibu, CA. Write My Name in the Dust, a two-CD set covering his entire career, was released in 2005.