VULTURE CULTURE

"Vulture Culture" is 80s synth pop at its lowest degree, without a shred of the prog resonances that used to permeate each Alan Parsons Project album leading to the 80s. Success tarnished the brush and then the band opted to paint each canvas with infectious hooks, commercial AOR sounds and a sugar coated harmonised vocal treatment. The result is a very mediocre slew of albums. If one wants to delve into the best of the band it is definitely found in their first 3 albums along with "Eye in the Sky" and portions of others. I was warned primarily away from this album by the very fact that the songs rarely appear on Best Of APP compilations. Anyway I took the plunge and listened anyway.

At the end of the album I was left feeling empty as there is nothing really that hooks into me and not a shred of prog. The band desperately try to emulate the success of their killer singles by copying the 4 on the floor time sig and tempo of Eye in the Sky and they even throw in the odd instrumental that comes off as a fish out of water. Nothing really here can be salvaged unless you are into mainstream 80s pop with synth tincan drums; though some of the melodies do their job at locking into your system such as catchy Separate Lives and Days are Numbers.

Mel Collins does his best on saxophone as usual and the vocals are always top notch but this is very by the numbers pop and belongs in another decade rather than returning to 30 years later in the hope that it stands the test of time. If one grew up with the album they may be more forgiving but this is really as bad as the most commercial Asia album and nailed the prog coffin shut for Alan Parsons Project.