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Alan Parsons - The Time Machine CD (album) cover

THE TIME MACHINE

Alan Parsons

 

Prog Related

2.46 | 72 ratings

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Tristan Mulders
Prog Reviewer
2 stars Alan Parsons - The Time Machine

About two years ago I came across this album, along with Alan Parsons' "The Best of. Live," in the discount section of my local record shop. I was quite in a hurry, so I only listened to the disc rapidly while still in the shop and I really like the opening piece The Time Machine: Part I. So I decided to buy it and also buy "The Best of. Live" as a gift for my father's upcoming birthday.

That must have been my biggest mistake in my 'career' as a music lover!!!

I expected a collection of catching songs, like I was used to from The Project, but at the time I did not even know the APProject did not exist anymore. I read comments about the 'modern' sound of this release, but according to my standards only the title track (both parts) and Far ago and long away can live up to those opinions. Most of the other tracks are relatively dull ballads or 'rock' songs. The drumming Out of the Blue sounds as if the track were a demo recording! Too far in the background of the mix and the sound is also very 'flat'. One song that reminded me of the old Alan Parsons Project days was Rubber Universe. Despite the amazing bass guitar playing, I only think the guitar solo is any good. The other things in this track are very boring or plain annoying, especially the melody that is played throughout the whole track. The song sounds a lot as if it were a bad leftover from a recording session from the old days. Oh, the outro is quite good and it is a relief to hear after the annoyance that preceded it.

The Call of the Wild starts with a promising slow guitar solo, but what follows is a highly unoriginal song in my opinion. The vocals are horrible, but the addition of the bagpipe is quite nice. Just when I thought the song could get a bit interesting, during the up-tempo section, things slowed down and what follows is a tedious repetition of the dull begin section.

The second modern-sounding piece is the dark, techno-like instrumental Far ago and long away. The song reminds me a bit of the song "Voyage 34: Phase 3" by space rockers PORCUPINE TREE. A slow beat with layers of sounds played over this beat. This piece of music crossfades with the last song on the album, which is a reprise section of the title track. This Part 2 song, weird enough, gives me a satisfied feeling when the album is finished, but the album is not even close to being satisfying for me!!

Well, ain't I lucky, there's a bonus track included with my release. the so-called Dr. Evil Edit of the title track. Basically said, this is the same song, but with some slightly different sections within the composition and of course the inclusion of the voice of Mike Myers' character from the film "Austin Powers: The Spy who shagged me".

After listening to this album, I really feel like giving Parsons' most recent album, "A valid Path," another spin, because that one is more coherent and the incorporation of electronic music is more successful to my ears than on this release.

Tristan Mulders | 2/5 |

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