PYRAMID

Alan Parsons Project are a band that I have encountered mainly on compilations, though I thoroughly enjoyed "I, Robot" and "Tales of Mystery and Imagination". It has always been a bit hit and miss with their albums, some tracks are downright classics and others are rather mediocre. As with other albums "Pyramid" has some genuine treasures and others fade from memory immediately after the album has ended. The delightful thing about this album is it has very progressive moments particularly the instrumental sections with the dynamic opener "Voyager", and this is followed seamlessly by the very melodic infectious "What Goes Up?"that I couldn't get out of my head for ages. The bassline is delightful pulsating along on a monotone Daft Punk setting.

The third track is also excellent with soft tranquil vocals and gentle melodies on "The Eagle Will Rise Again". All three tracks feature on "The Definitive Collection" 2 CD compilation and are songs I have returned to often. After this killer opening things settle into contemporary AOR rock on the uptempo "One More River" and "Can't Take It With You", that received some airplay and is very poppy. It is a terrific side one so one would hope for more of this quality on the flip side.

Side two returns to APP at their best with a blast of prog on "In The Lap Of The Gods" that I adored on first listen with its Egyptian nuances. The beautiful melody is haunting and conjures Egyptian imagery; it works on the conscious level and again remains embedded in the memory with its simple synth lines and majestic vocals. "Pyramania" is a popular melody driven track singing of obsessions with pyramids with amusing lyrics, but I always look forward to the wonderful instrumental that follows.

"Hyper-Gamma-Spaces" is my favourite track on the album with a memorable keyboard phrase from legendary Woolfson, and it has a groove that locks in with bass and drums. It is certainly in my top 5 tracks of Alan Parsons Project. The melody is simple and repeated but it is totally effective, and it resonates along a fast tempo sequenced synth line. The album finishes with "Shadow Of A Lonely Man" that is lightweight and pleasant but is an anticlimax after all the progressive elements.

Overall, "Pyramid" is a solid album from The Alan Parsons Project. I can recommend it for at least 4 incredible tracks, and it feels very much like the incredible art rock on "I, Robot" that also opened with 3 brilliant tracks. My gut reaction on first listen was this was worth 3 stars, but it soon grew on me with every listen and I would rank this as good as "I, Robot" so 4 stars is well deserved on a very catchy melodic 1978 album; one of the best from this innovative artist.