It’s one thing to go buy an album that is popular. The singles
are on the radio, there’s a great deal of hype, and usually a lot
of people can comment on the merits of said album. In the end, the
choice can be pretty easy. However, it is an entirely different
matter altogether to go out on a limb and acquire a CD that you’ve
heard nothing about. There’s a genuine “risk” involved. And being
the poor college student that I am, there’s nothing worse than
shelling out 15 bucks for a CD that just isn’t very good.
Luckily, this wasn’t the case with
A Valid Path.
I recalled vaguely that Duke had reviewed this album in August
of last year, and I had purchased the single “More Lost Without
You,” but that’s all I knew of this particular project by Alan
Parsons (no pun intended). So in terms of expectations going in,
there really weren’t any, save that it would be an expertly
produced work. That
A Valid Path most certainly is, as well as much more.
My friends are big techno/electronica fans, and to be honest I
could not figure out why. To me, these styles of music were
soulless, computer enhanced beats and rhythms, with no substance to
them at all. However after giving
A Valid Path a few listens, my eyes have been opened just a
little bit. These songs do have some life to them, especially the
instrumentals. The opener, “Return To Tunguska” varies things
around, shifting from the eerie, Arabian-sounding opening segment
to a pulsating, driving beat that climaxes with an appearance by
guitarist David Gilmour of Pink Floyd.
After the first track, things just keep getting better and
better. “More Lost Without You,” was the single from the record,
and is the most commercial song I have heard from Parsons. It is
undeniably catchy, with a strong refrain and a few electronic
flourishes. “Mammagamma04,” apparently a remake of an earlier
Parsons song, could have been taken straight out of a dance club.
Other highlights include “We Play The Game,” the second of the
three vocal cuts on the album and Parsons’ best performance of the
album, and the powerful “Chomolungma,” which mixes sounds such as
Gregorian-style chanting, and a stirring orchestral and
synth-driven ending featuring John Cleese and some
Pet Sounds-esque barking.
How much one appreciates this work will depend solely on how
much of this sound one can take. This album after a while does get
repetitive, but Parsons manages to create enough good material that
it is less noticeable. The only track that fails to take off is
“Tijuaniac.” I agree with the good Mr. Egbert, in that the atonal
binges the song contains are quite simply annoying.
This was a “risky” buy, but as I said before, it turned out to
be worth it. Parsons has reached out into a whole new branch of
music, and applies his usual stellar production. The result is a
unique listening experience that provides an opportunity for old
Parsons fans to hear something new.
