TALES OF MYSTERY AND IMAGINATION

While not being really a band with permanent members, the Alan Parsons Project had very good musical ideas, mostly created by Eric Woolfson, and recorded, mixed and produced by Alan Parsons, one of the best studio engineers from England. Alan Parsons knows it well, that most of his contributions for their albums were more done in the creative process during the recording, mixing and general production of the sound of their albums. He also recognized it in one interview which I read in one magazine in the mid nineties: he was asked why the Alan Parsons Project`s name wasn`t used anymore for his new albums. He said that most of the songs were composed by Eric Woolfson, so he thought that it wasn`t fair to use the name for his new albums, so he released them under his own name.

I think that this is their most Progressive Rock album. But there are still some things which were very characteristic in the sound of this band, even some Pop Rock influences in the final song of the album called "To One In Paradise", which could have been a hit single. Was it relased as a single? Other very characteristic things also appear in this album: the very British dramatic vocals by the hired lead singers , the very characteristic use of the synthesizers, the very good backing vocals, and very good orchestral arrangements. The orchestra mostly appears in the longest piece of music in this album called "The Fall of the House of Usher", which is mostly instrumental, with some mysterious musical atmospheres. The song To One In Paradise is really like a light song to finish the album after the mysterious musical atmospheres of "The Fall of the House of Usher". The spoken vocals also add mystery to the album`s sound. The song called "The Raven" is also very good, and it is also one of the Pop Rock influenced songs of the album. But as a whole the album is very good and the much closer to Prog Rock that this band recorded.

I read some of Edgar Allan Poe`s works so I`m a bit familiarized with the themes of the stories. But it was a very long time ago that I read them (in Prep School, I think, it was 26-27 years ago!). Anyway, this album is very good to listen to from start to finish to let your imagination flow.