TALES OF MYSTERY AND IMAGINATION

My first attempt to drawing closer to the Alan Parsons Project...and probably my last.

I believe that this album is enough to give me an idea of what the mid 70's nerds referred to technical prodigy. At that time, this album surely seemed like a revelation, the top of the hill in terms of sound quality, the apogee of Dolby technology...unfortunetly, this is also the kind of album that do not age well, where the style, the approach of the concept album is less attractive compared to Dark Side of the Moon or the Wall. The type of melodies have that 'classic rock' feeling, the type you hear on a boring car ride on a sunday afternoon. To youngsters, it takes more attention not to laugh, to yawn or to maun at the price you paid for it.

Why am I stating Pink FLoyd? The most obvious influence is of course the great Floyd himself, and the Beatles for the rest. Many times we hear waves of Dark Side or singing type a la The Wall. Not a bad thing at all. This album provides lots of trippy moments, especially the suite called the Fall of the House of Usher, where the exquisite narration of Orson Welles interacts with orchestration worthy of the old Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi movies. Once again, youngsters will bore out very quickly, and those without imagination could regret the purchase...I almost did!

This album is definitely a grower, a cd to pop in often to finally being able to grab the feeling of the oh so groovy 70's.

Classic for rainy days or candle light evenings.