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The Alan Parsons Project - Live In Colombia CD (album) cover

LIVE IN COLOMBIA

The Alan Parsons Project

Crossover Prog


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4 stars This is "Alan Parsons Project after Woolfson" who was their main vocalist (although most albums have a number of singers) and constant composer. (Through the years the most common composition credit is E. Woolfson/A. Parsons, indeed that is the credit given for all tracks on this album.). There are no new tracks here so his compositional abilities aren't really missed. Indeed this is one of the better live "symphonic" albums, so somebody (Parsons?) knows how to transpose music for an orchestra.

P.J. Olsson does a good job on the vocals of most of the tracks (there are a couple where he's not completely covering the range of the song). A live performance is always a little unkind to singers and magnifies minor faults but overall he does well. With over 20 tracks. I'm not going to cover every one, just short mentions.

The concert opens with an unbelievable version of I Robot. The Orchestra and backing vocals are simply superb. 5/5

The Raven (track 5) is the first time I feel Olsson falls short of the mark but the performance is saved by some really skillful acoustic piano playing that has been added to the piece. 3/5

La Sagrada Familia (track 8) is the standout piece of the whole concert. I was totally blown away by this, far more proggy than much of their work, and absolutely luscious to listen to. The orchestra, the vocals, the arrangement, all perfect. 5/5 (I went and bought "Gaudi" because of this track; and boy was I disappointed; the studio recording is a pale reflection of the live performance.)

The next few tracks are side two of "Turn Of A friendly Card". Has some pleasant orchestration but again Olsson struggles with a couple of songs. 4/5

What Goes Up... opens CD2 and is another track that is well-handled, Olsson strains but gets there. The orchestration is very restrained here and are not really heard until the 2 minute mark. A very polished piece of work. 5/5

Luciferama is another symphonic instrumental triumph. 5/5

Silence and I is Olsson's worst performance, not sure why they included it 2/5

Games People Play closes the concert and is performed pretty straight, with the whole band supplying vocals. It has really top class guitar and sax solos. 5/5

If you like The Alan Parsons Project this album is a must. I would buy it just for La Sagrada Familia (and probably for I Robot and Luciferama as well). They have updated a number of tracks and made them a little more proggy, while retaining ballads like Silence and I & Old and Wise. There is very little crowd noise during the Concert (which I consider a plus). Overall 4/5

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Posted Sunday, April 14, 2019 | Review Permalink

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