Pan - s/t. 1970 Denmark

Pan were a band from Denmark formed by Frenchmen Robert Lelièvre, himself a refugee who skipped town to avoid military service. Once again we have an album that was considerably hyped up back in the rare LP catalogs of the day. In the late 80s and early 90s, I would read these mouthwatering reviews on what an outstanding example of European progressive and psychedelic rock this truly was. Of course the album came with a hefty price tag, and was price prohibitive for me back then (still is I think...).

When the first legit reissue hit the stands from Little Wing of Refugees in 1993 (LP), I jumped at it and paid full price. Well you know where this is going by now. Prog? Psych? Bullcrap I cried! I had similar reactions to albums by Spring (UK), Fantasy (UK), and Think (Germany). It's the Great Bilk I concluded. And subsequently sold the record back into the marketplace rather quickly. Besides it had a stupid cover not reflective of the original (LWoR did that for all their LPs, a most misguided philosophy I might add).

25+ years on from that event, the Karma CD came across the wire for a relatively good price (itself now quite rare) and I nailed it. What do we have here anyway? A sound that was quite typical in Denmark from 1969 to 1971 actually. What was known to the old-timers as "progressive", but it's hardly King Crimson and VDGG. That sound would be hard rock, and that's the genre Pan belongs too. But not of the bluesy variety, as is more commonly found, but rather a bit more rural sounding similar to Culpeper's Orchard and Day of Phoenix (two other bands I didn't think much of either 25 years ago). The hard rocking elements recall bands such as Blast Furnace. There's still remnants of a psychedelic past, especially in the guitar work and the way the songs flow. Right from the beginning the album displays this sophisticated hard rock variety with 'My Time' and 'If'. Other highlights include 'They Make Money With the Stars' (a 5:52 minute length track that is inexplicably missing from RYM's track listing to your left), 'Tristesse', and 'Lady of the Sand'. There's also a lot of references to the French here, and that makes more sense once you know Robert Lelièvre's background.

In conclusion, a very good hard rock album with touches of psych, folk, and even a dash of progressive. If you're already a fan of the Danish rock scene of 1969 to 1971, then Pan definitely will find a comfy spot in the collection.

Personal collection
CD: 2005 Karma
LP: 1993 Little Wing (Germany)

The Karma CD was the first legit CD to market and it appears the definitive choice. There does exist one other from the parent label Sonet in 2010, but it looks to be nothing more than a straight reissue with no extras. The Karma CD also includes their rare 45 also from 1970, and the music there is at the same high quality as the album proper. There are also 5 bonus tracks, one an alternate version and the other 4 sound like a different band. It's darn near country rock, a sound that inexplicably was (is?) popular in Denmark back then. Pickin' and Grinnin'!

The CD booklet has photos and copious liner notes. Unfortunately they are all in Danish so I don't understand them. Would anyone be kind enough to send over a translation, or at the every least, find these online in Danish and we can Google Translate and interpret from there? I will publish it here as well as on RYM for posterity.