THE ALAN PARSONS PROJECTPYRAMID (1978)
REMASTER
320 KBPS
Follow-up to "I Robot", but also a notch down. I noticed Duncan MacKay cut back on the synthesizers a bit here, maybe because Alan PARSONS, Eric Woolfson & Co. wanted to move somewhat back to what they were doing on "Tales of Mystery and Imagination".
Still, the album's full of great songs. The opening is "Voyager", an instrumental in the grand tradition of APP, it then segues in to "What Goes Up". Eric Woolfson does some backup vocals on this song (although the album itself makes no mention of him doing any vocal duties here), so it comes across sounding like prog rock and (when Woolfson does the vocals) soft rock. "The Eagle Will Rise Again" is a nice acoustic ballad, not unlike "Some Other Time" off "I Robot". "Can't Take it With You" received some minor radio airplay, and I always thought this was one of the better cuts off the album. "In the Lap of the Gods" has a more Egyptian feel to it, plus John Leach adds on his cimbalom (Hungarian dulcimer) and kantele (Finnish zither). The end part turns to more typical ALAN PARSONS PROJECT fashion, complete with choir and orchestra. "Pyramania" is a short pop song with silly lyrics about pyramid obsession (in fact the front cover is about the song, and the person you see looking like he has a headache is none other than Alan PARSONS himself). This song also received some minor radio airplay itself (I actually remember when radio stations did play this song, and I was 5 years old back in 1978). "Hyper Gamma Space" is an wonderful synthesizer-dominated instrumental, complete with electric piano. The closing piece is "Shadow of a Lonely Man", which tends to be a rather orchestrated ballad.
The album in general isn't as good as "I Robot", but still a good demonstration of the band's compositional and arranging skills and, utlimately, an enjoying listening experience.
Still, the album's full of great songs. The opening is "Voyager", an instrumental in the grand tradition of APP, it then segues in to "What Goes Up". Eric Woolfson does some backup vocals on this song (although the album itself makes no mention of him doing any vocal duties here), so it comes across sounding like prog rock and (when Woolfson does the vocals) soft rock. "The Eagle Will Rise Again" is a nice acoustic ballad, not unlike "Some Other Time" off "I Robot". "Can't Take it With You" received some minor radio airplay, and I always thought this was one of the better cuts off the album. "In the Lap of the Gods" has a more Egyptian feel to it, plus John Leach adds on his cimbalom (Hungarian dulcimer) and kantele (Finnish zither). The end part turns to more typical ALAN PARSONS PROJECT fashion, complete with choir and orchestra. "Pyramania" is a short pop song with silly lyrics about pyramid obsession (in fact the front cover is about the song, and the person you see looking like he has a headache is none other than Alan PARSONS himself). This song also received some minor radio airplay itself (I actually remember when radio stations did play this song, and I was 5 years old back in 1978). "Hyper Gamma Space" is an wonderful synthesizer-dominated instrumental, complete with electric piano. The closing piece is "Shadow of a Lonely Man", which tends to be a rather orchestrated ballad.
The album in general isn't as good as "I Robot", but still a good demonstration of the band's compositional and arranging skills and, utlimately, an enjoying listening experience.
1. Voyager
2. What Goes Up
3. The Eagle Will Rise Again
4. One More River
5. Can't Take It With You
6. In The Lap Of The Gods
7. Pyramania
8. Hyper-Gamma-Spaces
9. Shadow Of A Lonely Man
Bonus Tracks
10. Voyager/What Goes Up/The Eagle Will Rise Again (Instrumental Version)
11. What Goes Up/Little Voice (Early Demo)
12. Can't Take It With You (Early Demo)
13. Hyper-Gamma Spaces (Demo)
14. The Eagle Will Rise Again (Alternate Version - Backing Track)
15. In the Lap of the Gods (Part 1 - Demo)
16. In the Lap of the Gods (Part 2 - Backing Track Rough Mix)
2. What Goes Up
3. The Eagle Will Rise Again
4. One More River
5. Can't Take It With You
6. In The Lap Of The Gods
7. Pyramania
8. Hyper-Gamma-Spaces
9. Shadow Of A Lonely Man
Bonus Tracks
10. Voyager/What Goes Up/The Eagle Will Rise Again (Instrumental Version)
11. What Goes Up/Little Voice (Early Demo)
12. Can't Take It With You (Early Demo)
13. Hyper-Gamma Spaces (Demo)
14. The Eagle Will Rise Again (Alternate Version - Backing Track)
15. In the Lap of the Gods (Part 1 - Demo)
16. In the Lap of the Gods (Part 2 - Backing Track Rough Mix)
No comments:
Post a Comment