PYRAMID

One of Alan Parson's Project best albums, still strong prog and eletronic influenced, although the pop vein was becoming only too apparent (as a song like the last track, Shadow Of A Lonely Man, clearly shows). The Project was kind of embraced by progheads when they released their first album Tales Of Mystery And Imagination, but the members of the project themselves never claimed to be prog and the fact that they always had a knack for melodic and simple structured songs (even on that first LP) seemed to escape all APP's detractors minds.

Anyway, the music of Pyramid is, as usual for APP's all works, coming from a concept: the pyramids, its supposed secrets and the fascination men always had about them through the centuries. The lyrics are quite interesting and the music around them is very sophisticated prog pop. It is hard to label APP's music at least at this point, since the songs, arrangements and lyrics were too elaborated to be simplified as pure pop and are also too melodic for some progheads. Still, maybe tht's exactly were its appeal lies: they were certainly quite unique and had not dated with time.

As someone mught have guessed by AP's works, his production in a work of art on itself. The same can be said of his engineering of the album, absolutely flawless. Eric Woolfson's (and Parsons) songwriting is great. The musicians are very skilled and the choice of singers is also very well done. Everything might sound a little too tame for the more radicals, but even at their most simple you can't say those guys din't put their hearts on it. Maybe that's why Pyramid still sounds fresh, modern and exciting 30 years after.

If you don't mind some great melodic, lightweighted prog, this is surely a good CD to have. I wouldn't call it essential on a prog site, but it a great piece of music anywhere. So, 3,5 stars seems to me to be a good rating.