AMMONIA AVENUE

Here Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson attempt to follow up their 'Eye in the Sky' album with limited success. By this time, the Project had become a vehicle for singles and hits, probably at the behest of their recording company - Arista, who was increasingly busy with R&B acts. It's difficult to understand what APP was trying to achieve with some of these songs. Increasingly, and since 'Eye in the Sky', the partnership between Eric Woolfson and Alan Parsons was becoming strained, each with their own radically different writing styles diverging more and more into their own paths. Still, when they collaborated together, the results were fruitful.

Strong tracks: 'Don't Answer Me' - the glockenspiel is the icing on the sonic cake of this great hit. Here, the project proves again it's ability to merge classical instumentation with a pop sound. 'Prime Time' - a pop rock song very similar to 'Eye in the Sky' in sound and tone. 'Pipeline' - which introduces Mr. Richard Cottle, sax player and synth expert to the Project. This may be their best instrumental next to 'Sirius'.

Weak Tracks: 'Since the Last Goodbye' - and this was hard to fit here. Personally, I think the song itself is a beautiful composition worthy of a revisit, but the forced vocals in this recording make me wince. I believe sung by a woman (or by a male in a lower, less grating key), it could have been a hit in it's own right. It's one of those tracks you know Eric Woolfson wrote in the style of musical theatre and would probably be better served there. 'Dancing on a Highwire'. 'Let me go Home' and 'You Don't Believe' are the 'rockers' of the bunch and simply sound out of place when compared to the tracks above.

Overall, Ammonia Avenue is a good, not great recording. It's 'theme' is diluted compared to other past APP albums, but there are some great multi-instrumental tracks here and, of course, Alan Parson's fantastic sound.