VULTURE CULTURE

Guilty pleasures # 2, I guess. I´ve always loved this album, especially around the time it was released. Ok, nothing´s really new here. Once again you have a fine collection of prog pop songs with nice melodies, great hooks, creative arrangements and orchestrations, superb production and all. But nowadays I have to admit that Vulture Culture (still a concept album of sorts) is probably their weakest moment at least in prog terms. Even the sole instrumental of the whole album (Hawkeye) is too bland and superficial. Still I can´t give this one less than three stars, since all the above qualities (always a trademark of APP) are intact. And the songwriting duo of Woolfson and Parsons is something special, as ever. Two of the project´s best ballads are here anyway (Days Are Numbers and The Same Old Sun).

If you´re a fan of APP, go for it. If you´re a newbie try their earlier stuff first, than follow its discography in chronological order (at least until the late 80´s). Vulture Culture is good on its own way, but certainly they have released better albums, before and after this one.