To be honest, I\u2019m not quite sure why the Alan Parsons Project doesn\u2019t get more play around Casa De Clutterbuck.<\/p>\n
Whenever one of their songs or albums gets played, I marvel at the production and their overall strength, since they had perfected a progressive pop sound that converted prog-rock bands like Genesis and Yes couldn’t quite reach in the 1980s. Now, fellow reviewer Duke Egbert is probably going to strangle me in my sleep for simplifying the matter thusly, but it\u2019s the truth. <\/p>\n
Maybe it was the eye-pleasing album cover of Card<\/i> which I love, or the album\u2019s theme of gambling — which to my knowledge really has not been covered much in popular music — but something about the record called to me. So when I had the opportunity to pick up the vinyl for a few bucks at the local used bookstore, I couldn\u2019t pass it up.<\/p>\n
Ok, so maybe The Turn Of A Friendly Card<\/i> is a weak concept album. After giving it multiple spins, I got the sense that Parsons and Woolfson were forcing the matter. Hell, the entire first side could have placed on any other non-concept album and the songs would have worked. That being said, the first four numbers are rather good.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve always enjoyed the fact that the Alan Parsons Project was not linked to just one vocalist, which allows for variety. The first three songs have different singers, but each seems tailor-made for their song, such as Elmer Gantry capturing a slightly off-beat and intense vibe indicating that indeed, \u201cSomething\u2019s wrong in the house today\u2026\u201d <\/p>\n
Eric Woolfson, who was the man behind the Project\u2019s bigger hits, delivers a breathtaking vocal on \u201cTime\u201d which has less to do with the album\u2019s theme than any other number. That, of course, doesn\u2019t stop it from being a gorgeous ballad. \u201cGames People Play\u201d has been a favorite of mine for a while now; its driving keyboards and infectious chorus mesh quite well.<\/p>\n
Of course, as with any Parsons album, its success hinges on the wide sweeping numbers. In this case, the whole second side of the album serves as the grand statement, and it’s here where the record shines. Classic instrumental \u201cThe Gold Bug\u201d kicks this off and forces the listener to just sit back, and revel in just how good of a producer Alan Parsons is (as if Dark Side of the Moon <\/i>hadn’t convinced you already). <\/p>\n
His albums are clean and focused yet keep from sounding processed and cold. The orchestral arrangements on the title track and \u201cThe Ace of Swords\u201d alone place him above many of his contemporaries. In this case, with the record having come out in 1980, the more traditional orchestra weaves seamlessly in and out with what was considered \u201cmodern\u201d technology then, crafting a brilliant blend of the old and new.<\/p>\n
Lead vocalist Chris Rainbow has the lion\u2019s share of the vocals on the suite and just knocks them out of the park. His work on the different parts of the title track is the highlight of the record for me. Actually, the man at times reminded me of Jason Scheff, who replaced Peter Cetera in Chicago. Rainbow employs his falsetto with tremendous confidence yet never comes off sounding as wimpy.<\/p>\n
The Turn Of A Friendly Card<\/i> will likely turn you on to seeking out the rest of the Alan Parson’s Project work. At least, it did for me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":24708,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[5840],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-39941","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-the-alan-parsons-project","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39941"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39941\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=39941"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=39941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}