TALES OF MYSTERY AND IMAGINATION

I knew of Alan Parsons back in the early eighties and perhaps before that. He's somewhat famous for being the engineer on both "Abbey Road" and "Dark Side Of The Moon" before this band came to be. I knew the song "Eye In The Sky" very well from the radio and my other Parsons memory would be when I drove from the College I was going to in Toronto back home with two friends in a drug fuelled adventure that would have made Cheech & Chong proud. One of the guys on this road trip had an ALAN PARSONS PROJECT cassette with him and we listened to it on the way up North. I couldn't begin to remember which album it was though.This particular album seems to be the favourite among Prog fans perhaps because it's a concept album and there's a fair amount of orchestration. Both of these features are negatives for me unfortunatley. Actually Andrew Powell who conducted and arranged the orchestral sections would go on to produce Kate Bush's first two studio albums. I have the remasterd version which is the one where Alan re-did the guitars, synths and drums. Plus he got Orsen Welles to open the album with that monologue.

"A Dream Within A Dream" has Orsen speaking before the music takes over and builds. It blends into "The Raven" where we get processed vocals joining the beat. Both get louder then it settles with vocals, the tempo will change often.The guitar leads after 2 1/2 minutes. "The Tell- Tale Heart" has a catchy beat with vocals from none other than Arthur Brown, and yes he does get theatrical. It turns spacey after 2 1/2 minutes then builds. "The Cask Of Amontillado" is melancholic with reserved vocals and orchestral strings. It turns BEATLES-like then the tempo picks up.Themes are repeated. "(The System Of) Doctor Tarr And Professor Fether" opens with drums and guitar as the organ then vocals join in.

"The Fall Of The House Of Usher" is a five part suite. All of the tracks blend into each other. First up is "Prelude" with it's atmosphere and spoken words. Orchestral music before 1 1/2 minutes takes over. Not a fan of this. "Arrival" has thunder and rain before the music returns. "Intermezzo" is dark and orchestral. "Pavane" sounds really good with the synths and a beat. It's fuller as the drums come in after 3 minutes and it continues to build. "Fall" is a short less than one minute piece before the final track of the album "To One In Paradise" ends it.This is kind of dreamy with vocals.

A good album no doubt about it, but one that falls well short of 4 stars.