THE VERY BEST OF LIVE

My parents normally do not like symphonic rock-related music, but there are exceptions. For instance: Pink Floyd and Alan Parsons (Project). I kind of grew up with their music and I have good memories of going on holiday in France and listening to what later appeared to be the "I Robot" and "Eye in the Sky" albums. However, now I've grown up and have a better musical insight than in those days. What I thought was most obvious thing to notice while listening to Parsons' music, simply has to be the fact that he has major talent for picking horrible vocalists for his music. There are of course a few exceptions, but nowadays I mostly listen to Parsons' instrumental works. or this live disc.

At one point, about two years ago, I stumbled across this disc in the discount section of my local record shop and I decided to buy it as a birthday gift for my father. Funny though, is that although I gave the disc to him as a present, I am still the person that listens to the disc most often :-).

What amused me most about the album was the sonic quality. The mix is perfectly clear and the audience is well present from the very first tone of opening track Sirius, to the ending section of Standing on higher Ground, the last song included on this disc. Even more remarkable is the fact that I enjoy the vocalists! Perhaps the inclusion of only two lead vocalists makes it a lot more bearable for me to listen to and to enjoy it to the max.

What's also a good thing is that everything is performed live, thus also the saxophone solo in the Old and Wise song.

Most of the tracks on this album are quite clearly the relatively most accessible songs from Parsons' back catalogue. Most of the songs are even better on this live disc than on their various studio releases. A good example of this is the two piece Sirius/Eye in the Sky. This little suite has a lot more vibe when performed live if you contrast it to the studio versions on Alan Parsons Project's "Eye in the Sky" album. Also there is a lot more noticeable guitar playing and soloing included live!

Another part that is superior to its studio counterpart is the psychedelic mid part of the song Psychobabble. It sounds far more chaotic live than on the studio version. Regarding the fact that this chaos is meant to be there at the very moment, I can only say this is a good thing and creates the perfect atmosphere for the song.

The vocals in the song The Raven are also better than those included with its studio counterpart on the "Tales of Mystery and Imagination" album. Especially the vocoder segment is clearer than in the studio mix, clearer as in the fact that the lyrics are better to understand. The song's dynamics also only get better live. The band surely loves to perform, what a vibe!

I also saw that this live album was sold as a double album together with "The Best of Alan Parsons Project," but when compared, I personally think you are better of by buying the live disc on its own, because otherwise you might get disappointed by the quality of the songs on the studio best of disc.

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