AMMONIA AVENUE

First off, remember that this is 1984 and it's the Alan Parsons Project. Musically, they are getting into electronic drums and synths more than ever. If you can't get past that, your listening experience will be tainted, and you probably won't enjoy at least half of this album. If you can , however, allow yourself to enjoy the music for what it is (which, I admit, I cannot always do, but I do for the Project), you will find one of the richer experiences Woolfson and Parsons have created. I am yet to find anyone who actually knows what this album is about, and most reviews I have read criticize the lyrical content for -contradicting itself, -being muddled and confusing, and even -showing a pathetic passiveness. I had this album for 6 years before the real meaning of what Ammonia Avenue was, and I don't want to completely ruin the experience for those who care, but I will say this- It is not about romantic love like I had originally assumed. It is based on the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous and is about the many behaviours and the mentality of addiction and trying to recover from it. When I realized this, the album opened up to me in a way I didn't think it could. They didn't make it obvious, and thank God they didn't. I hear enough obvious music on pop radio. This is Art Rock at it's truest.