EYE IN THE SKY

"Eye In The Sky" was released in 1982, around the time that many prog giants were turning to pop. Yes, King Crimson and ELP alumni had debuted as Asia and Alan Parsons Project had found itself releasing an album of music in a similar vein. The music on "Eye In The Sky" is primarily keyboard-based pop and soft rock, though there is still prog present. And unlike on "Asia", the prog content is a lot more deliberately delivered.

While the vast majority of the album's content is pop, strong moments still abound. After a dull instrumental start with "Sirius", several catchy, hum-able soft rock songs give way to the ballad "Silence And I", which is one of the strongest works in the Alan Parsons catalog. Featuring emotive instrumental performances and sophisticated orchestral arrangements, this is a crossover prog gem. The remainder of the album is done largely in the same fashion as the first half, with another masterpiece rounding out the record. "Old And Wise" is a wonderful ballad, melancholy and nostalgic, moving and powerful. The vocal performance is delivered very expressively and the final saxophone solo is one of those ones that gets me emotionally every time.

While there's a lot of uninteresting material to wade through to get to it, "Eye In The Sky" does have its moments as a quality prog album. And being an Alan Parsons Project album, the production is top-notch. An accessible, well-done 3 star album, I'd highly recommend this to anyone who is starting to get into prog but isn't looking for anything too complex just yet.