GAUDI

Well, it's time for me to review an album of Alan Parsons Project again and now the time has come for their tenth one and the final with the Alan Parsons Project name, even if it's not the final album. I think the album in many ways is characteristic for the band's whole career. As total they have done many albums which hold a high quality and shows good music for many tastes but the real hightlights are few. Until now I have heard three albums of them I can recommend warmly and a lot of other good things and not many bad things at all. "Gaudi" from 1987, eleven years from their debut is just as many other APP record well produced and a bunch of decent songs. The cover is very pink and modest such as the music tends to be sometimes. The staff are Laurie Cottle, Stuart Elliott, Ian Bairnson, Richard Cottle, Eric Woolfson, Bob Howes, David Cripp, John Heley, John Miles, Lenny Zakatek, Geoff Barradale, Chris Rainbow, Andrew Powell and The English Chorale.

Just as "Stereotomy" does the record start with the album's best and most powerful song: "La Sagrada Familia" (8/10) a varied, long and both interesting and exciting song about the church by the Catalan architect Gaudí which the whole album is inspired by. Beside this one I like the closing instrumental "Paseo de Gracia" very much(7/10). The other songs hold a high standard, they are sung by qualified singers and performed in an model way. "Money talks" shows a rocky and mighty voice of John Miles and "Closer to heaven" is also a sweet and pleasant experience(6/10). The least interesting tracks are "Standing on higher ground" and "Inside looking out". I have not many things to complain about for this record. It feels like it's so well organized that it is written in the book about how to produce music. Perhaps it's a little too much commodified. The band should have challanged itself and done more adventurous compositions. But then, the band shouldn't have been the same so why complain. This is absolutely nice enough for three stars!