ALAN PARSONS PROJECT

"Gaudi" is the final release by this partnership. Certainly not their best album ever, but it is an improvement over their last two releases, where the orchestration was gone and a sterile, synthetic sheen frequently overwhelms the proceedings. Additionally, the material here overall seems a bit stronger (one or two lower points notwithstanding), so both the meal and its presentation are more appetizing.

The opener, "La Sagrada Familia" sounds like classic Project. Not as great or dynamic overall as, say, "A Dream Within A Dream" from "Tales of Mystery and Imagination" or even "May Be a Price to Pay" from "The Turn of a Friendly Card", but the orchestration is back and it's an enjoyable track nonetheless. "Too Late" is vaguely discofied but catchy nonetheless - and Lenny Zakatek is back to sing lead vocals. "Closer to Heaven" tries to recapture the spirit of "Eye in the Sky"'s "Silence and I", and only partially succeeds, unfortunately. The instrumental (and its attendant sax solo) is somewhat interesting, but the vocal portions leave me a bit flat. "Standing on Higher Ground" is a driving rocker somewhat similar to much of the material on "Stereotomy", but it's at least as good as (and probably better than) just about anything on that album, punctuated by some nice bass playing by Laurie Cottle (replacing the departed David Paton). The only truly low point comes now, "Money Talks", a forgettable rocker with a technically perfect but forgettable riff and vocalist John Miles trying his best to sound "tough". However, the best comes last, as the climax of the album, the beautiful "Inside Looking Out", winds the proceedings into "Paseo de Gracia", a musical bookend reworking "La Sagrada Familia"'s instrumentation. "Inside" features Eric Woolfson's gently powerful vocals and is punctuated in its final chorus by Chris Rainbow's backing vocals, a wonderful backdrop to a track wistfully admiring visionaries and their accomplishments.

Is it a perfect album? Far from it. There aren't as many high points as there were on many of their early albums, and it's marred by some occasionally dull filler. It's a "prog-related" album more than a "prog" album, to be sure. But some of the classic hallmarks are there, and there's some very nice, enjoyable material on here, presented in a palatable fashion. Three stars.

What strikes me about this album, is the way it successfully manages to combine so many elements from different genres of music. This makes the album a rather colourful and intricate listening experience, and gives it a certain charm. The album is incredibly retro, yet the synth passages seem to still hold a futuristic appeal, which is quite perfect considering that the album is based upon Isaac Asimov's "I Robot".

I listened to "I Robot" after I read a review on it and found a secondhand copy of it on CD for $1 two weeks later. After listening to it I was left impressed. About a month later, I found a copy on vinyl for $3 and bought it. I have been listening to the album on and off for 2 months now. The album is jazz/funk infused and contains elements of 70s soul and electronica. It is a pleasant listen, but it does demand at least a bit of attention. The key tracks for me, are "I Robot", "Nucleus", and the beautiful "Day After Day".

I recommend this album to anyone looking for a retro progressive rock experience. 3.5 stars.

☮ Peace! ☮

It is a retelling or reimagining of Edgar Allan Poe's infamous Tales of Terror, a subject I have some fascination with. I was inexorably drawn to this album for this one reason. The album is rather odd in its construction, featuring a whole vinyl side of an overblown instrumental reworking of The Fall of the House of Usher.

It opens with a blaze of glory featuring the wonderful keyboard work of extraordinaire Eric Woolfson at his best. The monotone bass work is a trademark of many APP songs over the ensuing years and it works as a heartbeat to the music. Soon we are blessed by the brilliance of The Raven, perhaps one of the greatest APP songs, certainly the one that always seems to rear its head on APP compilations. The way the vocoder processed voice enters is always chilling creating an ethereal atmosphere. The lyrics are affectionately akin to Poe's masterpiece. It builds with Andrew Powell's stunning orchestration, a factor that will appear on almost every APP album hereafter. The actor Leonard Whiting is terrific on lead vocals, with Alan Parsons performing the vocals through an EMI vocoder. The album's liner notes state that it was the first rock song that used a digital vocoder, and of course many artists used the device over the years such as Peter Frampton, Camel, The Sweet and a plethora of others.

Arthur Brown of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown is magnificent on The Tell Tale Heart, as is Francis Monkman, from Curved Air, and founder of Sky. This is a rocking song with a strong melody as is most of the earlier APP songs, always catchy and memorable.

The Cask of Amontillado is excellent with vox by John Miles and a stirring orchestra of blaring horns and choral vocals augmenting the chilling soundscape. In some ways the music could be even more creepy as the tales were always bone chilling in themselves, but the music on this album is pleasant enough to digest on side one, although the lyrics are still chilling.

Following this mesmirising start to the album is the single (The System Of) Doctor Tarr And Professor Fether, and as a hit it went to #37 on the Pop Singles chart, not a bad effort for a debut band nobody had heard about. This song has the duel vocals of Jack Harris and John Miles, and opens with the deep gravelly mantra. It moves into a pop feel but nothing like how the band would evolve into during the awful mid 80s. this album is a totally different beast and actually brims over with invention and progressiveness. These traits would be shed in their 80s period unfortunately.

Side two of the vinyl is virtually a dynamic orchestra filled symphonic suite dedicated to the classic tale, The Fall of the House of Usher. This is difficult to digest at first but soon the brilliance of the musicianship somehow seeps into the system and it really is one of the most captivating suites I have heard. The band never did anything this daring again but it is so refreshing and makes this a cult album. It opens with Prelude, with creepy flute and haunting strings, like the soundtrack of a horror movie, albeit majestic and sweeping.

This is a very avant-garde approach and was inspired by the opera fragment "La chute de la maison Usher" by Claude Debussy from 1908 and 1917. It is akin to classical music or soundtrack music from a movie, but somehow it works as a surprise and a delight on this album.

After some awesome thunder and rain pouring down effects we segue into the next part, Arrival. Dracula organ plays and the scene is set for some Hammer Horror fun. The keyboards are incredible from Woolfson, building into a crescendo outbreak of an organic flowing ambience. The drums, bass and guitar are overlayed with strong cathedral organ; it is a fantastic soundscape.

Intermezzo and Pavane continue the sage with beautiful execution. I love the keyboard motif on Pavane giving it an agreeable Spanish-Latin texture. This is APP at their best, reminding me of In The Lap of the Gods from the yet to be released 'Pyramid'. The atmosphere is dense with imagery of darkened forests and that creepy old house that falls into the tarn after the appearance of the apparition. It segues nicely into the preternatural Fall.

This last part is the finale though it is less than a minute and could have been longer. It builds with crashing staccato keyboard stabs that chill the marrow of the bone as the house sinks into oblivion. It creeps me out everytime, sinister, dark and terrifying on every level, this is as dark as the band would get.

To One In Paradise closes the album with a more pleasant song, though it softens the blow for me, and I would rather it had ended with Fall. Not that this is a bad song, but it is out of place here. This song is very gentle and has lovely harmonies, ending things on a more positive note. It sounds a bit like a cross between The Beatles' Across the Universe and the cosmic scapes of Pink Floyd.

Overall, this is definitely one of the all time great debuts, absolutely essential listening and groundbreaking for prog. The 1987 remix version is also worth a listen as it features dialogue and added segments enhancing this original version. This was when APP were at their most innovative and they would continue to produce one excellent album after another for the next few years until it dissolved into standard AOR commercial pop in the 80s. This album is an astonishing achievement and must be listened to by every serious prog fan.

Too Late is an uptempo song with clear guitar work and great vocals from Lenny Zakatek. The lead break is excellent and although it house the 80s sound the drums are way better on this release, not as tinny and synth like.

Closer To Heaven is a melancholic Eric Woolfson composition driven by keyboards and his gentle airy vocals. It sounds more like the APP of old and is a welcome track for fans of the earlier APP material. I like the way the beat builds slowly and the monotone bassline. It is a lovely song with a sweet melody and excellent studio production. The dreamy saxophone solo by Richard Cottle is beautiful.

Standing On Higher Ground returns to the formulaic pop radio sound that I was never into. It is okay but not as good as the material previous. It does break time sig which makes a change from all the 4/4 tempos, and I like the guitar solo here.

Money Talks has a quirky guitar motif driving it, and John Miles sings well. It is catchy enough but again nothing special. The lead breaks lifts it up a tad but it feels like filler. Inside Looking Out returns to Woolfson's airy vocals and very soft musicianship. It is a real smooth composition, dreamy and ambient with subtle vocals over gentle music; one you can fall asleep to for sure. It even has some dialogue voices over an acoustic layer which are interesting.

The album closes with Paseo De Gracia, an instrumental to bid the band farewell. As the last APP album "Gaudi" is definitely an improvement on the previous 2 releases and at least the band finished with something worthwhile. Eric Woolfson turned the album into the rock opera "Freudiana" in 1990. Alan Parsons continued as a solo artist and released "Try Anything Once" in 1993, that completes the cycle started with this album. "Gaudi" is certainly not quite up to the excellence of the first 3 albums or "Eye in the Sky" but this is a decent consistent quality album worth hearing from the Alan Parsons Project.

Here we have on offer the best track Stereotomy, that is polished studio 80s clarity, tinny synth drums, 4 on the floor sig, and pleasant vocals. The band really play it by the numbers on this release, even Eric Woolfson is wasted talent on this. Occasionally you get some uptempo rock such as In The Real World, with catchy choruses sung too many times and Woolfson's instrumental break.

The next few track blur into insignificance and then it is the instrumental Where's The Walrus? It has a techno beat that appealed for a while though is nothing really special. The guitar is well played, the sax sounds nice, the beat is vibrant, but it is nothing like the amazing instrumentals on earlier APP albums such as "Pyramid" or "I. Robot". Cottle is on sax but is not as good as Mel Collins. Andrew Powell once again provides orchestra but it is not enough to save this album from oblivion.

Next up is Light Of The World, a sappy ballad with nice singing and nice keyboards but forgettable and tedious. We finish with two extremely short tracks, though I am ready to give this one up so it is good that it is almost over. Chinese Whispers (1:02) and Stereotomy Two (1:18). How do I describe these? The first is slow and tedious guitar and keys and then a reprise of a song that opened the song; anyone else smell filler here?

There are some who will like this but as a prog fan reviewing on a prog site it is simply a worthless album. I have heard all APP albums up to this point and it is getting worse. I have heard the best and hopefully the worst which is this album and "Vulture Culture". Hopefully the next album "Gaudi" will be much much better, but I am not holding my breath on this.

At the end of the album I was left feeling empty as there is nothing really that hooks into me and not a shred of prog. The band desperately try to emulate the success of their killer singles by copying the 4 on the floor time sig and tempo of Eye in the Sky and they even throw in the odd instrumental that comes off as a fish out of water. Nothing really here can be salvaged unless you are into mainstream 80s pop with synth tincan drums; though some of the melodies do their job at locking into your system such as catchy Separate Lives and Days are Numbers.

Mel Collins does his best on saxophone as usual and the vocals are always top notch but this is very by the numbers pop and belongs in another decade rather than returning to 30 years later in the hope that it stands the test of time. If one grew up with the album they may be more forgiving but this is really as bad as the most commercial Asia album and nailed the prog coffin shut for Alan Parsons Project.

Now we move onto the bad and there is unfortunately a lot of it. The album reaks of sugar coated vocals and pop, such as the nauseating Since the Last Goodbye that channels The Bee Gees, except is worse. The opening tracks are usually high points of any APP album but this time round we are inundated with AOR drivel such as Prime Time, and Let Me Go Home. The problem is although musically they can play and the production is squeaky clean, there is little to no innovation, the melodies are forgettable and the songs just go by the numbers sticking to formula.

Don't Answer Me is the song I remember on TV during the 80s as the video clip was played ad infinitum with a Casablanca detective theme and very sweet animation, including the protagonist winning the girl, after punching the thug into the moon, and then he wipes away the moon's tears and the stars say twinkle twinkle as the detective drives off with the broad in the jalopy. The melody is nice, the visuals were nice and that's the problem really; it is all so nice it has me reaching for the skip button almost by default. Funnily enough this song jolted me as I actually remember sitting down as a teen and actually being entertained by the visuals on the clip. It is very gimmicky though in hindsight and does not stand the test of time. Mel Collins is wonderful though on 50s style saxophone. That saccharine coated Phil Spector production is sterile though and just drips like golden syrup down the speakers. It really is dated, but this rocketed up the charts and is the last huge single from the group. Perhaps the album is simply too lightweight for serious consumption these days, but this is one that continues to play on the radio; it really is sentimental pap but done well, sounding strikingly like ELO.

Dancing On A Highwire boasts a cool bassline, but again the sound is mellow, light, airy and devoid of any power, unlike some APP on previous albums. On You Don't Believe we get some disco electro, which makes a nice break from the sappy mellowpop. I don't think the track though will win any fans back to the album as it is so dated it is laughable. The band have just shed their progressiveness like a caterpillar emerging from its cocoon, except the butterfly has become a moth; nothing on the album moves beyond pedestrian pop and there is no inventiveness at this stage.

Then we get to the last two tracks.

Suddenly the lights go on and the band become great again, though it would take some patience to get to this point of the album after all the mush. Pipeline is an instrumental and definitively shows what the band are really capable of. Woolfson is a master of keyboards and shows it here. Collins is brilliant on sax lifting the musicscape to the stratosphere. It almost makes me cry to hear this track after enduring the ordinary material previous on the album; why couldn't the rest of the album be more like this?

Finally we have Ammonia Avenue, a progressive, yes, I said progressive, track at last. It opens with melancholy piano, soft airy vocals, almost Pink Floyd in style. It moves into a quirky time sig, a glorious lead solo, jumpy heavy guitar strikes, then blossoms out into full orchestra. It is delightful when the strings and horns chime in, so stirring to the emotions, similarly to Silence and I from the previous album. Again, the whole album could have been like this and at least these last two tracks save this album from complete disaster.

This is how the band used to sound when they were awesome; it seems so long ago since their debut now. They have gone the direction of ELP that fizzled out with "Love Beach" after the brilliance of "Brain Salad Surgery". We can all say that APP are justified in their lapse into commercialism because they were victims of chart success, or we could try to justify that they were just interested in commercial sounds, but then why the heck were they so inventive back in the glory days of "Tales of Mystery and Imagination", "I, Robot" and "Pyramid"? Instead we are left pondering on what might have been; so much talent, so much wasted on mediocrity like "Ammonia Avenue".

This catchphrase will likely jam itself into your brain after hearing the monster single from The Alan Parsons Project's much heralded "Eye In The Sky" album. The single certainly is melodic and infectious and of course captures the signature AOR sound of the early 80s radio airplay. I had heard this on the radio playing in the background as a teenager and I remember thinking who the heck are those wimpy crooners? Of course back then I was too busy to listen to soft rock or AOR as I was obsessed with my Kiss, Kraftwerk, Gary Numan, Ultravox, Pink Floyd and Sweet albums. The radio sound never interested me and I am still ummoved by radio hogs these days with a similar radio friendly sound.

But people change and so do their tastes in music. I still love Kraftwerk, Numan, Sweet, Ultravox and Pink Floyd (not so much Kiss) but I have opened my ears to the sounds of The Alan Parsons Project, particularly their first 3 albums. My ears are now atuned to the infectious melodies of "Eye In the Sky" and the single sung so well by Eric Woolfson, following on so brilliantly from Sirius, the standard instrumental APP opener. Sirius has become synonymous with sporting arenas over the years, such as the Chicago Bulls games, and was even well used on TV. Ricky the Steamboat used it as he made his way to the arena in Wrestling arenas, then it would be played again if he won the bout, and I always wondered where the heck that music came from. It is similar to ELP's Fanfare for the Common Man in the way it has been used to accompany sports events.

Children of the Moon is another melody driven catchy thing, and has some high quality production with ratatat marching percussion and a killer hook musically. APP do not leave any space to contemplate on the depth of the lyrics or to admire songs on their own merit, as the album flies by in mere moments, every song seamlessly moving into the next and soon before you know it you will be caressed by Gemini. It is a sweet sugary sound but it appeases the ears and I couldn't help thinking how much better this album is than the disappointing "Eve" or "The Turn of a Friendly Card".

The next track drifts along on a feather weight musicscape of strings, flute and very soft processed vocals. Silence and I seems to have a lot to say about isolation and loneliness and it does so in a way that is not so much depressing as uplifting thanks to some delightful woodwind. Mel Collins is always a delight on saxophone and Eric Woolfson is unbeatable when his keyboard is allowed to dominate. The orchestra conducted by Andrew Powell is simply beautiful and stirring to the emotions. The track builds with a crescendo of symphonic majesty, a plethora of orchestrated melodies that change time signature and move into classical music dramatis. Then the lead guitar break augments the sound; a masterpiece of music that is then joined by another verse. The early demo vocals of Woolfson are worth listening to on the bonus tracks also. Silence and I was certainly a journey clocking 7:17 and I was quite astonished at the quality of such a track after hearing the mediocrity of "Eve" and "The Turn of a Friendly Card" recently. This type of music on "Eye in the Sky" is definitely from another universe; at polar opposites to the 2 previous albums prior to this release.

The next track You're Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned, is a solid rocker, not the high point of the album but it has a decent rock feel and breaks up the ambience and symphonic layers on previous tracks. Ian Bairnson's lead guitar work is excellent and the track flys by quickly with an AOR feel. Next up is Psychobabble, a tantalising title, and it has a strong bassline and electric piano intro. The vocals are echoed and forceful as it builds with an uptempo beat into a melodic chorus hook. It sounds like the early 80s of course but it drives along with some inventive diversions on keyboards.

Mammagamma is another absolutely brilliant APP instrumental, and as soon as it began I knew it from somewhere, as I listened to a lot of synth albums over the years. You know the ones where a synth player plays a bunch of famous covers such as Equinoxe, Oxygene Part IV, Toccata and er? Mammagamma. This tune sounds like my more preferred Hyper Gamma Spaces of course, but I can never get enough of Eric Woolfson's inimitable keyboard style; he never disappoints in his instrumentals. The way he plays here with staccato key stabs and a blazing guitar accompaniment is awe inspiring. It sounds similar to the rock side of Jean Michel Jarre or Mike Oldfield, but definitively APP all the way. Again it is the instrumentals that really draw me to the band more than anything else. This track is found on most APP compilations along with Eye in the Sky.

Back to vocals and a straight forward AOR sound follows with Step By Step, with a cool keyboard motif and catchy chorus well performed by the harmonised singers. Next up is Old and Wise and it was a delight to return to the flute and symphonic orchestra again. The song softly crooned and has lovely piano and gentle melodies. The ballad sounds similar to ethereal Pink Floyd vocally but that suits me fine. The saxophone work of Collins is mesmirising, lifting up the sound with emotional resonance. It is a melancholy way to end the album, but it works to cap off one of the greatest releases from The Alan Parsons Project.

The bonus tracks are endearing on their own merits. Sirius (Demo) is similar to the album version though has raw edges, but it is great to return to those haunting melodies. Old And Wise is interesting with Eric Woolfson's vocals, and a more pronounced piano treatment, and no orchestra or sax, though misplaced on the album as it has been too soon since we heard this song on this release so it gets a little dull to hear it again at this stage; it would have been better to place this at the end of the album. Any Other Day (Studio Demo) is very rough without vocals, and a bad studio mix, but interesting to hear how it developed from this version to the final album release. Silence And I is a piano driven version, though has the fretless bass, solid drumming, and very nice vocals from Woolfson, but you kind of miss the studio version, with multilayered vocals and full blown orchestra.

The Naked Eye is almost 11 minutes of new material that is always welcome as a bonus track, though it actually a medley of all the album tracks given an instrumental treatment. As such it is like the karaoke version of the album, and I could recognise the music from the actual album without vocals. Mammagamma is there too though without Woolfson's keyboard lead, joined by orchestra, making it sound very different in comparison, but quite interesting. There is also a lead solo and some other unused material worth checking out including acoustics and dramatic distorted guitar, and another saxophone solo to delight in. Eye Pieces (Classical Naked Eye) ends proceedings with 8 more minutes of unheard material during the making of the album, in this case the orchestral sections by themselves. They sound very ethereal without the rock elements or vocals but it is relaxing music and well executed by the orchestra; showcasing the awesome quality of the music on the album.

Overall this album was perhaps the last great Alan Parsons Project, certainly the last time they received any glowing accolades such as a Platinum record. The Hipgnosis designed gold embossed Egyptian eye cover art is recognizable and I remember it well during the 80s proudly displayed in record stores, an album that I tried to ignore, though it wasn't easy as that image was everywhere. It is difficult to rate this album now 30 years on, as it is a product of the times, but the 80s were so lean of prog that it has to be commended that at least APP injected some prog elements into their music on such albums. It was definitely designed for radio airplay, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realise that, and this will have some prog reviewers reaching for the skip button no doubt. However, held on its own merits, "Eye in the Sky" delivers some great music and boasts at least 4 classic tracks worthy of attention. Though not quite up to the standard of the first 3 albums, it buries "Eve" and "Turn of a Friendly Card," so 4 stars is warranted.

Next up on The Gold Bug we have a whistling intro and a finger snapper rhythm. The funk is evident with the fast keyboard work and it boasts a fine brass sax sound. Of particular interest to me are the instrumentals on APP albums that are usually a highlight for me over all the ballads and poppy catchy songs. The Gold Bug is yet another great instrumental, and has some vocal intonations but primarily is dominated by keys and guitars. A definitive highlight, this track is more like the type of sound I like from APP, that was absent on the disappointing "Eve".

The Turn of a Friendly Card Part One is familiar to me as I had heard it on "The Definitive Collection" and part 2 is in a similar vein. I like the full blown orchestral treatment especially in the final coda that fades out. The rest of side 2 blurs into the background and is really radio friendly beyond what my ears can stand. A shame really as the band are potentially innovative and the musicianship is always high quality. But this is really easy listening AOR music, with no threat of prog at all, and as a result quite forgettable and not something I would bother to return to, unlike the dynamic first 3 APP albums.