STEREOTOMY

I gotta tell you up front, I'm not at all certain what any of this means. The demonic album cover, the references to a man divided, songs about the real world and the way it shapes us, the closing "Light of the World" that looks for the "fire in a true believer's eye." Anyway I look at it, "Stereotomy" seems to be about finding true meaning in the world, though this isn't a diamond cut for clarity. So I'll put the album's concept aside for a moment, file its possible religious ramifications under K for KANSAS, and tell you about the music. Despite the group's waning popularity, "Stereotomy" still delivers what you'd expect from a good Alan Parsons project: immaculate engineering, mildly hypnotic instrumentals, a lush ballad or two and a couple of catchy pop songs. Some (wink, wink) PINK FLOYD references remain, from brief bursts of Gilmourian guitar to spoken voices in the segues between songs, as does an invitation to dance again with Lucy in the Sky on "Light of the World" (vocalist GRAHAM DYE initially sounds like a ringer for John Lennon). The album's single, "Stereotomy", is certainly substantial, but maybe a little too so for a single; "Beaujolais" is far and away the catchier track (synchronized to THE POLICE's radio), but again perhaps too quirky for a radio APPetizer. The instrumentals break things up nicely (though at the expense of story development), with "Urbania" and "Where's The Walrus?" providing the usual two-penny tour of PINK FLOYD's dark corridors. Of the remaining songs, Gary Brooker's cameo on "Limelight" comes off sAPPy (remember "Don't Let It Show?"), but JOHN MILES achieves a coolly detached stance on "In The Real World," a song that otherwise would have worked on ASIA's less-inspired efforts (you know, the other ones).

If the music of ALAN PARSONS PROJECT speaks to you, then go ahead and listen to "Stereotomy". What's missing from here is a readily identifiable hit, what remains is the quality associated with all of their releases.