TALES OF MYSTERY AND IMAGINATION

One of the best debut albums ever! Sad how Project went down later on, into crappy pop (wannabe) hits. If only they had continued in this style, inspired by classic literature, then they sure would be among my dearest bands. And what would be a better source of inspiration than horror stories and poems of E. A. Poe? Parsons and Woolfson (and Powell in his orchestral opus 'Fall of the House of Usher') succeeded perfectly to catch the spirit without turning into cliches. The lyrics also are thoroughly thought, independent SONG lyrics, not just rearranging Poe's own vocabulary or trying to retell the stories too literally.

Original LP didn't have Orson Welles narrating ('A Dream Within a Dream' and Usher's prologue) but he surely adds a delicious ingredient. 'The Raven' is famous for the use of vocoder and is extremely powerful and atmospheric prog song. 'The Tell-tale Heart' features Arthur Brown, exactly the right singer to deliver the paranoid madness of the story. My favourite is 'Cask of Amontillado' - calm but very full of horror atmosphere about being locked in a catacomb. Fantastic arrangement again, as in the whole album. And the beautiful and peaceful 'To One in Paradise' balances the album nicely, leaving the lines of Poe's poem linger in mind.

This album is a fantastic classic (with great artwork too) which you'll love especially if you ever have enjoyed Poe yourself. It has none of the dullness of later A P Project and the choice of singers is perfect here.