EYE IN THE SKY

Even though The Alan Parsons Project is commonly referred to as one of the most commercial artists in progressive rock history, his 1982 release, "Eye In The Sky", just may be the most commercial he ahs ever gotten. Even though the album was intended to be commercially suitable, I think that "Sirius" has taken on a life of it's own shortly after the release. Nowadays, you can't go to a sporting event without hearing "Sirius" before every game.

One thing that draws me, and I'm sure many others, to an album by Alan Parsons is the musical diversity. Sure the keyboards will always be there, but it's always an interesting surprise to see who is enlisted in to vocal categories. For this album, Parsons put together a motley group consisting of David Paton, Chris Rainbow, Lenny Zakatek, Elmer Gantry, and Colin Blunstone, along with Eric Woolfson who provides to the vocals for two songs.

Woolfson's two songs are far and away the favorite vocal tracks of the album. The title track, "Eye In The Sky", features some nice and slow, rhythmic guitar in the background while Woolfson croons away. Anytime you want to hear this song, you can just turn on your local oldies radio station and I guarantee it will be on in the next 20 minutes. His other song, "Silence And I" is another excellent track. It can almost be compared to a primitive blueprint of early neo-progressive music, with it's painful melodies and meaningful lyrics.

Chris Rainbow lends his pipes to "Gemini", which is a god-awful song comprised of filler lyrics and terrible rhythms. David Paton's moment, "Children Of The Moon", is an interesting attempt. It has a very 70's feel to it, and that might be caused by the synthesized orchestra in the background. however the horns add a fresh sense that was lost a few albums back. Elmer Gantry's crazy "Psychobabble" is a song built on a rhythm section, plus the addition of pounding keyboards. "Old & Wise" just may be the exact opposite, however. Colin Blunstone's vocal performance is on a gentle, thinking man's ballad with some great saxophone work.

I think Parsons had recruited Lenny Zakatek for one purpose. Score a hit single. "Gonna Get Your Fingers Burned" is a very cliché 80's rock n' roll song. Just straightforward, no diversity at all. The same can be said about Zakatek's other contribution, "Step By Step". Almost no variety there. Finally, my favorite song on the album, "Mammagamma". One of Alan Parsons's finest moments, this instrumental combined funk and jazz with some powerful keyboard riffs.

Do you like pop music or synthesized orchestras? How about songs made for hit singles? Well then I can highly recommend this album to you. If you want some good instrumentals, I can recommend checking out "Mammagamma", but if you want real progressive to the core, stick your nose elsewhere.

3 stars, some good pop music.

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